Flight Plan - ATP

Here's the deal. I finally have reached ATP minimums. I have been studying for the knowledge exam for quite some time as well. I began studying for it in 2008 when I was interviewing with regional airlines. As far as I know, I did really well on the interview exams. The companies I interviewed with couldn't tell me exactly how well I did, but I felt satisfied with my answers and the airlines did hire me. Ever since my last job interview, I have been studying for it here and there. Now that I have the required flight time, it's time to get down to business and get this done. Over the last few weeks I have debated whether or not I should take the part 121 or part 135 knowledge test. In the end it does not matter which one I take. An ATP certificate is still an ATP certificate regardless. I prepared for airline job interviews by studying the part 121 regulations. As I already am familiar with 121 regulations, I have decided to study for the part 121 knowledge exam.

In preparing for my job interviews I studied part 121 regulations, aerodynamics, flight operations, weather ... pretty much everything except for performance and weight and balance. I have retained most of this information over the past year and still review it from time to time. Recently, I began studying the aircraft performance chapter. As of tonight, I have completed everything in the performance chapter up to the "Flight Logs" section. This evening I spent about an hour practicing flight logs and answering the subsequent questions. Once I am able to finally get the kiddos to stay in bed I'll continue practicing the remaining 20 pages worth of questions. I most likely will not get finished with all 20 pages tonight, but I plan to make some decent progress.

My goal is to have my ATP certificate by the end of this year. That's right. Within the next three months. In an effort to hold myself accountable and reach my goal of holding an Airline Transport Pilot certificate by the end of 2009, I'll update my progress via this blog.

Now, back to work...