Blog #2: Ascend Pilot Academy

 Introduction

In the next several blogs I will be going in-depth and talking about a particular flight school I am considering applying to in April. I am going to be sharing information on the flight school and the requirements it takes to be accepted and apply to the school. The flight school I will be going over to today is Ascend Pilot Academy. Ascend Pilot Academy is a flight school through Alaska and Horizon Airlines.


Location and Costs

Ascend Pilot Academy has two locations. Hillsboro and Redmond Oregon. Each location provides housing. The housing cost at Redmond is $770 a month and at the Hillsboro location, the housing cost is $1,300. The cost of training will be between $65,000 to $80,000. After you are done getting all of your ratings you can earn a stipend of up to $25,000 to be a flight instructor while you are earning your in-flight hours.


Timeline

The program is structured as an accelerated-paced program. The estimated program duration is 3 to 3.5 years to complete training and acquire the necessary hours to qualify as an airline pilot. The estimated target timeline is:

  • 11 weeks for Private Pilot’s License

  • 13 weeks for Instrument & Commercial time building

  • 9 weeks for Single Engine Commercial

  • 3 weeks for Multi-Engine Commercial Add-on

  • 8 weeks for CFI

  • 3 weeks for CFII

  • CFI: 24-month target to accumulate 1,500 hours


Schedule during Training

Flight students will be scheduled for up to 6 activities per week. These activities can vary between ground school lessons, flight activities, or flight simulation training. The activities are scheduled based on progress in the course, weather, and availability of resources. There is no set schedule per day. A day can average between 2-6 hours depending on scheduled activities. 


Requirements

There are several requirements you must have in order to apply to the Ascend Pilot Program:

  • Valid passport allowing unrestricted travel to and from the U.S.

  • Valid driver’s license

  • Hold a First Class Medical

  • Ability to work for a variety of schedules including nights, weekends, and holidays.

  • Ability to communicate in English and authorization to work in the U.S. 

  • Little to no flight training experience, experience not exceeding a Private Pilot’s License


Conclusion

Ascend Pilot Program offers a lot of good resources and is an accelerated program that can help you get to the airlines in a realistic amount of time. I look forward to applying in April. If you are interested in more information regarding the Ascend Pilot Program I will put a link to their website below. Next week I will be going over Destination 225, Southwest’s pilot program.



https://careers.alaskaair.com/career-opportunities/pilots/pilot-training/ 

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