My name is Mathias Klenske and I’m 32 years old. I got my CPL back in 2007, at the beginning of the financial crisis, so it was nearly impossible to get a job, even for those with several thousand hours total time. After a few years as ground handler in a company, I decided to stop and focus on something else… But the dream of flying never died. 

The ATR-rating was the obvious choice for me. Would I like to fly a jet? Of course, but the first job is SO important, and I believed I had a much better chance of getting that with the ATR. There is a lot being produced and most pilots eventually go from turboprop to jet, not the other way around. Therefore I believe there must be a relative high staff turnover. 
After having talked to three other firms offering the ATR-rating, I chose GAC. Here I felt comfortable right from the start, no false promises were made and they managed to combine seriousness with informality. As opposed to some of the others, both Kaj and Nina told me what to expect, not what they thought I wanted hear. That was quite liberating. 

After three days of ground school and A LOT of studying beforehand, me and my sim-partner went to Dublin, where 12 days of flying awaited us. We quickly learned that the ATR is not the easiest machine to fly. It’s very hands on flying, and if you lose an engine, you better be ready to fight. But our instructor, Henry, had a lot of experience on the machine, and a long with some great stories and a lot of laughs, he taught us how to handle the machine, and when it was time for my skill-test, I was more than ready. 
Now, 6 days after my base training in Aarhus, I’ve been invited to my first job interview. In this business, that’s impressive! 

All in all, I’m more than satisfied with my training at GAC, and I would recommend it to all who doesn’t just want to fly the ATR, but really wants to LEARN how to fly it. 

Best regards 

Mathias Klenske