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TransPac Aviation Academy

Is this your company?

You have to know what you're signing up for - CFI/CFII TransPac Aviation Academy Employee Review

3.0
20 Jul 2017
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

It's a flight instructing job. It seems most people reviewing here didn't know what they were signing up for. I enjoy teaching, but came here to build my hours more quickly and it's definitely getting me closer to my goal. In PPL like fewest I flew in a month was 50 hours and that when all my students were soloing. The most in PPL I flew was 90. I consistently fly over 100 hours per month teaching instrument. It's nice to have a scheduling department. I just check my schedule and come to work and do what it says. The students have ground school and are generally hard workers so at times little brief time is required before flight - they come prepared. You won't get this at a smaller part 61 school. The salary is bad, but somewhat comparable to similar schools in the Valley. The benefits are actually pretty good (Health, Dental, Vision, 401(k) match, etc). Remember you don't come here to get rich, you come to teach and build hours. Weather in the Valley is good - it's rare to have a flight cancel for weather with the exception of monsoon season. I've seen bad remarkers regarding the maintenance here. I think it's amazing compared to other schools I've either worked at or been a student at. If you squawk a plane, it's down. Most of the time the mechanics come out and fix it right then if it's something minor. If ever I have a concern with something with my preflight, I call and they come right out and address the concern. I've never been tempted to fly something I didn't feel was safe nor have I had any mechanical issues on flights with over 500 hours flown here. If this is your first flying job, don't expect it to be glamorous. It's not. But the flying you'll do here will make you a better pilot if you choose to take your job seriously. Partnership with SkyWest is very nice. Extra money for CFIs who go there from TransPac.

Cons

There's WAY too much pressure to satisfy all missions. They're under immense pressure from the airlines to get these guys finished with their training quicker, and that pressure is simply pushed down to the CFIs on the line. This is an awful and potentially dangerous way to run a flight school. If a student is not ready for a solo, he shouldn't solo. If he's not ready for a checkride, he shouldn't be given a sign off. Luckily all my guys have excelled and I haven't had this dilemma but I know many guys who have. They incentivize completed missions by promising 200 dollars to all employees at the end of the month if we hit a goal. Again, stupid and dangerous. They're trying to incentivize pass rates by giving us overtime pay ONLY if they rolling 30 day pass rate is above 60 percent for first time check ride attempts. This means you don't even know if you'll get paid for it until you're already working. I hate to say it, but quite a few CFIs here are utterly worthless. Your students will fly with these people and they won't care about their performance because they have nothing to lose. I get that there is a shortage of instructors - but it's a bit draining to surround yourself with other instructors who either have no clue how to teach, or don't care to be a good teacher for these guys. On the flip side, I've met really awesome people at TransPac who will undoubtedly become lifelong friends. They treat everyone the same, no matter how hard you work. Scheduling is nice, but makes mistakes. A school with 500 students, it's going to happen. Managers are usually pretty good at addressing the issues though. Flying in the Valley can be stressful. Thousands of pilots per year are trained here an the airspace is busy. ATC is awesome dealing with it but you gotta be on your game. You'll be flying at night during instrument until 0400. No relaxing while you're up there trying to stay attentive to teaching, managing fuel, and not busting bravo.

Explore other reviews about TransPac Aviation Academy

5.0
14 Apr 2017
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Caring, dedicated, hardworking employees. Enormous untapped potential. During my tenure, I can attest to the fact the TransPac is filled with great people who are yearning to grow and improve the company. Operations is dedicated to safety. Systems are very sophisticated for a relatively small company and, as a flight training provider, TransPac stands out as having unmatched potential to leverage capabilities and grow. While I was employed in management, Operations was moving in the direction of industry best practices for safety and training effectiveness as well as embracing the career path pilot training paradigm that can enable growth and a significant role in developing the next generation of professional aviators.

Cons

Clarification needed: TransPac was sold on July 29th, 2016 to a new firm. CEO Captain Curtis Brunjes was terminated on September 3rd, 2016. Steve Kliff assumed the CEO role after the termination of Curtis Brunjes. Mr. Kliff is a Consumer Products Operating Partner for Diversis Capital and remains CEO as this review is written. This review refers to the period of time under prior ownership and leadership. No opinion on current ownership and leadership.

4
2.0
25 Jul 2014
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Get hours fast Generally better pay than other flight schools Pays salary They give you ForeFlight Pro for free Easy to move up into management rolls if you want. That just means less flying and being a FI for a long period of time

Cons

When Hired they said, " you will only work a maximum of 10hrs a day" - - That was meant to be, You are REQUIRED to work 10 hrs a day. They will not schedule for anything less than 10hrs a day. That means you are technically only getting pay about $10 before taxes Benefits are not worth the money. Its cheaper to get your own. company has a lot of issues. They are losing contracts with airlines due to their high accident rate in the past few years. This results in shutdowns, lower student count. They fly old airplanes with out date equipment. Some of their aircraft have over 16000TT on them. Company wont put any money into fixing them up. They will only do the required MX to stay legal with the FAA. Most of the aircraft parts are pilled from other aircraft. You will see rudder, ailerons, cowling covers, wing flaps, and many more from other aircraft. I have counted a few planes that have been patched or held together with what looked like duct tape They have lost over 5 or 6 aircraft in the last 5 years due to accidents. The management wont replace them. They know you came there looking for hours. so they hold that over your head.

5
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