FlightSchoolCandidates.gov - Issues?

[JoeMadDog]

Hi folks!

I wondered if any other new pilots here have / had issues with getting documents to upload for TSA clearance? I've tried 3 different browsers across Mac and PC daily for the past 4 days and it seems to be down. I've emailed them, but considering the frustration of finally being able to afford my training and now on hold and unable to fly I figured I'd ask here too.

Sorry for what has to be the lamest and most niche first post I've ever managed in any forum

 

[IK04]

You can bet a website in the .gov domain doesn't work as advertised, if at all...

 

[Unit74]

I’ll bet you have never used eApis before and been stuck out of country, with limited internet and no phone on a hot ramp and all you want to do is come home!


That is a serious problem!

 

[JoeMadDog]

I can't lay claim to that one, but I've had enough dealings with the US system to last me a lifetime! Getting engaged and married to a US citizen and going through the immigration process is long, expensive and mentally draining. She's totally worth it though.

I've had a few similar experiences to yours though in my time traveling this world. I was stuck in Mexico with no passport for 4 days at one point, but my coolest story of being stuck with no comms is definitely from my time in Sierra Leone. I was trying to get back 40 miles from Freetown (to my tent on a beach in the middle of nowhere), after dark and with a huge lightning storm rapidly approaching, so I had to resort to motorbike taxi. That was all well and good until the headlight went out, then the bike broke down in the middle of nowhere as the chain had come off. I had to use the last 3% of my phone battery (no service anyway) for a torch to light up the back wheel while the rider fixed it roadside. THAT was a serious problem, this one is just an annoying delay of game

Speaking of which, it still isn't working today

 

[Unit74]

You said Sierra Leone... You win.

 

[JoeMadDog]

Haha I'd love some more details on what happened to you! Such stories are always good to know in case I find myself in the same situation one of these days. Definitely planning on flying internationally.

Sierra Leone is actually an awesome country. Adding in hindsight though, the scariest part of that trip was another motorcycle breakdown. We went and sat in a roadside bar (someone's house with a wooden crate of drinks balanced on a wall) while they fixed it. One of the riders was from Guinea, where Ebola had already started, and all the riders were joking that he was going to make them ill and they'd die. I don't know if any of them subsequently did, but the outbreak was declared an emergency 3wks after I left and I still have about $100 of local currency because I've never made it back there. They were all really nice people, I hope they all made it through, but chances are I'll never know.

 

[JoeMadDog]

Entire FlightSchoolCandidates website is now down... hopefully that means they're fixing it!