FAA
Airline Dispatcher Certificate
2. Is
formal schooling the most efficient method of attaining the required
"Experience" requirements?
Yes,
without a single doubt. Regulations FAA
Part 65 (65.57)
allow a substitution of credit for prior aviation-related experience.
A school (or FAA examiner) may subjectively give credit for almost
any remotely-related aviation experience. Those
who attain the license in this manner may have a difficult time gaining
employment with any respectable airline, or have a difficult time
during initial training. If the experience is genuine with respect
to airline dispatching, these individuals should merge into a company
easily.
2a.
Is "FAA-approved" the same as "FAA-compliant?"
No,
"FAA-compliant" is a marketing term used by some
schools to lure students into their program. It is used to disguise
the fact that the "school" is not FAA-approved in their
area/location of operation. Passing these programs may result in
some sort of certificate, but it WILL NOT
result in an FAA Aircraft Dispatcher Certificate. Don't be
fooled by these course operators. Sheffield
School is FAA-approved and has been in the dispach-training business
for 60 continuous years.
3. After
graduating from your school, will I know everything about dispatching?
No. We
do guarantee that you will be exposed to a greater quantity and quality
of material. The feedback from our graduates, the hiring airlines,
working dispatchers in the field, supervisors, etc. has been consistently
positive. As you browse through our site, take note of the correspondence
received by Sheffield over the years.
Left,
a view of KSFO,
San Francisco Airport.
Airport layout, runways, lighting systems, departure and landing
weather requirements, runway analysis (weight limitations) are
covered during the course.
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4. How
will my previous aviation experience help with respect to the 6-week
course?
If it
is kept in check, it will benefit you to some degree. However, when
an individual enters our course thinking they know everything, they
usually fall below their expectations. Our course is designed to be
the most comprehensive 6-week course in the world. You are invited
into our class with two goals in mind: first, to learn how to become
a conscientious flight dispatcher; and second, to earn a license to
enable you to apply what you've learned. Sheffield School has never
been a "freebie" or "sell-out" course. We sincerely want our graduates
to not only succeed in their airline initial training courses, but
to become innovative thinkers and leaders.
5.
Do I need prior aviation experience?
No. It
could help, but since it is not a formal FAA prerequisite, we'll start
from the ground up. We will assume that you have no prior background.
There are videos and other multimedia tools in our classroom to facilitate
your learning. We also remain after class for tutoring sessions for
anyone who requests it. Our goal is to get you through this course
without compromise. It is not to "weed out" individuals. Our pass
rate for a typical class will range from 90-100%.
6. Some
schools claim to have a near 100% pass rate. Is this correct?
Some
schools will pass anyone to hang on to the almighty dollar. We would
rather cut a refund check periodically to someone who didn't put forth
the effort than to have our 60-year reputation tarnished by becoming
a license mill. Be wary of schools claiming "come have fun - our class
is a breeze." During an interview, you're unlikely to hear this
question "So did you have a lot of fun?" Our students enjoy the class,
typically state that it exceeded their expectations, and that they
never learned so much in their lives. Typically, our graduates are
hired while they are still in class or within a few weeks of graduation.
Another
important fact is this - most graduates are seeking employment. Many
come to us once they do their homework and learn directly from an
airline that a student's "hiring-quotient" will escalate if they choose
a highly reputable school. Many airlines interview first (or exclusively)
at our school because they know every graduate has been thoroughly
prepared, and there won't be any surprises when they begin training
on the job.
6a (August
7, 2007). "I spoke with a school that claimed a 100% pass rate
and a 100% job placement rate." How can this possibly be true?
This
is a ridiculous claim and a desperate attempt to lure students into
enrolling. It is misleading and unethical at best.
An airline
from the Chicago area visited Sheffield yesterday wanting to hire
directly from us. Why? Because they currently have 2 new hires from
another school, who were actually recommended by their school because
they were the "top 2 graduates." The main problem is
that they may not keep their jobs because they are failing everything
within their airline initial training. THAT airline
pass rate seems to elude those ticket mills claiming
to pass anyone and everyone to draw in students. (If anyone needs
verification of this visit, just email me.)
If you
hear those type of nonsensical statements from any school, you should
contact the FAA in order to have them investigated. Find out who their
local FAA inspector is and ask them for the reasoning behind these
absurd promises. Ask them if "FAA approval" includes irresponsible
claims and more. They may or may not help you. At that point, contact
the FAA in Washington D.C. for assistance. Still no help? Email us
and we will refer you to the people who are required to assist
you. Can you imagine going to your
doctor who was guaranteed a medical license? How about taking your
family on a flight planned by a dispatcher who can't read the simple
remarks of a weather sequence report along with a pilot who bought
his flight certificates?
Sheffield
can promise you an unparalled education and unmatched job placement
assistance and a much higher airline success rate than everyone else.
60 years still means something these days - integrity.
Any school
can promise that everyone will pass "eventually" (some students
need a bit more time), and that they will all be working "eventually",
but that is misleading to prospective students. Have them show some
proof. Ask for the emails of every graduate they've ever had. Ask
each graduate how long it took to be signed off for their practical
exam, how many exams were required to pass, then how long it took
to be hired. Feel free to ask how many rejection letters they received
as well. And how many times they have failed initial airline training
or were fired. The school's response will likely be "well, uhhhh...we
can't do that." They WON'T do that.
Question
to ponder: Can you imagine how unprepared (for real life working
conditions) the other students at this school were? Other similar
examples can be read at this
link. It is sad that many of these aspiring dispatchers
are basically never going to work as disptachers or will be out of
the industry within 12-24 months. Some, however, come to Sheffield
and are glad they did.
Our pass
rate for motivated individuals who study hard and follow
direction well is virtually 100%.
7. What
can I study prior to attending your school?
Do
not purchase regulations books and the Aeronautical Information
Manual (AIM) to read through and study (as I've seen recommended on
the internet). Without proper guidance, you may waste valuable time
or misinterpret something. A good portion of subject matter discussed
and applied in class is not found in commercially-available
books.
To help
prepare for the course, study the FAA knowledge material on our web
site. That is not really what our course is about - self study - but
it will give you a head start in preparing for the FAA ADX test. Other
than that, you can visit our "aviation bookstore" online
and check out the weather books since we apply a lot of weather in
the course. We don't really supply FAA books in the course since you
can get them for free on the Internet. We write our own manuals and
sections to study. For some free books, go to "dispatcher
resources" on our site and you can link to Regulations,
Weather circulars (Aviation Weather Services) from the FAA, and the
Aeronautical Information Manual. All are helpful information to browse
through or print out to give you an idea of the type of material involved
in the course.
If you want to pursue regulations ahead of time, the main section
is FAR Part 121 - Subpart U. This subpart contains
the majority of Dispatch rules that you will apply in the course and
on the job.
8. How
many students usually enroll in the course?
Between
12 and 25. The average is probably 15 (lately 20-25). If you check
our class pictures, you'll notice that the enrollment numbers are
consistent. It is comforting to see that many people do their research
and make the correct choice. We admire these students who crave a
quality education. On graduation day, their faces say it all - that
they have just earned something very special in this industry:
A
diploma from Sheffield School of Aeronautics!
9.
How long is the program and what does it cost?
The Aircraft
Dispatcher Certification Course is six weeks long and covers at least
200 hours of classroom instruction (as required by Federal Aviation
Regulations). The 2008 total cost is $4,600.00. This includes textbooks,
the computer examination fee (normally $90.00 if taken privately)
and the Practical Exam (normally $150.00 to $300.00 if taken privately),
web site passwords, job assistance and airline lists, and computer
use.
10.
Are textbooks/notebooks included? What books will be used?
Sheffield
has produced it's own textbook which relies on FAA sources as well
as Airline material. All books are included in the tuition fee. If
a person is interested in jump-starting their studies prior to attending
our course the following textbooks are highly recommended since meteorology
(weather) comprises over 35% of the total academic subjects:
Aviation
Weather Advisory Circular (Chapters
1-16 of the AC 00-6A as a 15 mb bookmarked pdf file) -
Chapters 1-13 are a good reference to prepare for Sheffield's dispatcher
course.
Aviation
Weather Services Manual (AC-00-45F)
-
good reference to prepare for Sheffield's dispatcher course.
(issued 10/01/2007)
11.
What are the main subjects that are covered in the program?
Meteorology
(weather), Navigation, Air Traffic Control, Jeppesen Approach charts
and enroute charts, Aeronautical Information Manual, Aircraft Systems,
Performance and Weight and Balance, Federal Aviation Regulations,
Communications, and Practical Flight planning applications are included
subjects in our Aircraft Dispatcher Course.
12.
Do all schools teach the same material?
No. All
FAR Part 65 schools must adhere to their basic curriculum guidelines;
however, Sheffield decided long ago to provide extra airline-related
material to ease our graduates transition into airline initial training.
We do not believe in telling our students "Don't worry about
that - your airline will teach you that." Granted, there are
some topics that we cannot teach since it is not only the responsibility
of the airline, but each airline may have a different FAA approval
for how they apply certain procedures. But there are MANY topics,
scenarios, etc. that our students are exposed to that have impressed
many airline hiring managers. Just check our testimonials!
13.
How soon after the program is the first test?
Friday
of the first week is a test on Weather Theory. It is a Sheffield-produced
test. Much (but not all) of the material comes from Chapters
1-13 of the combined links below (AC 00-6A Aviation Weather).
We will spend the first week refining what we would like you to know.
Aviation
Weather Advisory Circular (Chapters
1-16 of the AC 00-6A as a 15 mb bookmarked pdf file) -
Chapters 1-13 are a good reference to prepare for Sheffield's dispatcher
course.
14.
What are the class start dates?
Course
schedule.
15.
What are the class hours?
Classes
will normally be held from 8:00am until 4:00pm or 5:00pm, weekdays.
There will be short breaks throughout the day and a one-hour break
for lunch.
16.
What
are the admissions procedures for the course?
(pdf files)
2008
Admission Procedures: Domestic Students
2008
Admission Procedures: International Students
2008:
6-week course Application form
2009
Admission Procedures: Domestic Students
2009
Admission Procedures: International Students
2009:
6-week course Application form
Back
to FAQ index
Contact
us at:
499
NW 70th Ave Suite 110
Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33317 - USA
Tel 800-843-8289, 954-581-6022
Fax 954-584-8980
email morris@sheffield.com
