Attn: Resident r3v pilots

[Roland H]

can you tell me where you can go from having 0 hours to sitting right seat in 18 months in a regional airline?

Find a local FBO/flying club and a full time instructor, go work as a ramp rat or CSR at a regional, and you can do it in less than a year.

My friend was working at GLA as a ramp employee, did all of his ratings and 25 ME hours, and was hired on as an FO at GLA with <300 hours, this was in 2010.

[Vedubin01]

Find a local FBO/flying club and a full time instructor, go work as a ramp rat or CSR at a regional, and you can do it in less than a year.

My friend was working at GLA as a ramp employee, did all of his ratings and 25 ME hours, and was hired on as an FO at GLA with <300 hours, this was in 2010.

That is way to much work to do and hold a job down to complete in a year. At Delta Academy it was almost 12 hour days for over 12 months and a good 8 hours afterwards. No vacations, holidays, etc... reporting to the flight line at 5:30am up to 12 midnight every day.

[mr2peak]

I just did a ton of research in this direction, unless it is a passion that you can't live without it's probably not a good idea.

I want to have a family at some point, and flying from one continent to the other, away from my family for a lot of time, doesn't seem like a good way to go for me.

[bjhcamaro]

Look into helicopters. The industry is a little easier to get into. Not nearly as many rotor-craft pilots as fixed wing. Like all others said though it is still difficult and VERY expensive, helicopters even more so. It is fun though. About to wrap up my CFI now.

[FLYNAVY]

Right about now, I'm reaaaallly glad I went the military route. Way too many friends from my civilian flying days that are now furloughed, about to be furloughed, or just hating life. You can make it happen, but it is going to take a lot of patience and perserverence.

[hoveringuy]

I spent 3 1/2 years flying military transport missions with every flavor of professional pilot imagineable as my reserve co-pilots. Corporate. Netjets. Fedex. Regionals, Majors. Startups. Domestic, International. Narrow bodies. Wide bodies.

The one thing they all had in common is that they bitched incessantly. They bitched about the pay, or the passengers, or the management, or commuting or paycuts, furlough, stagnant left seats. Flight attendants (they're all old or gay), hotels, the FAA, the TSA and the MPAA.

I love to fly but decided not to mix love and money, so now I work at Boeing for the money and fly Cessnas for fun.

That said, don't let me dissuade you. The Navy says "a bitching sailor is a happy sailor" so they were all happy in their own way.

[Vedubin01]

^^^ that pretty cool! To the OP also check out the Civil Air Patrol. A great way to earn hours and do some cool missions. Stay in it long enough and you can pilot and do missions such as a spot plane for drugs and such. A lot of older guys in there will war stories to keep things moving.

[thearkitekt]

Find a local FBO/flying club and a full time instructor, go work as a ramp rat or CSR at a regional, and you can do it in less than a year.

My friend was working at GLA as a ramp employee, did all of his ratings and 25 ME hours, and was hired on as an FO at GLA with <300 hours, this was in 2010.

this is good advice if the OP wants to go the airline route. not everyone does though (ie ME) but the idea holds true. find a corporate gig near you and try to do ground work, wash airplanes, plug in power carts, whatever you can do.

[Roland H]

That is way to much work to do and hold a job down to complete in a year. At Delta Academy it was almost 12 hour days for over 12 months and a good 8 hours afterwards. No vacations, holidays, etc... reporting to the flight line at 5:30am up to 12 midnight every day.

Thank you for this, as it's currently justifying my policy of telling people to avoid places like that...

I just did a ton of research in this direction, unless it is a passion that you can't live without it's probably not a good idea.

Yeah, it's really not such a great career to get into now that the pay doesn't even make it worth it.

I want to have a family at some point, and flying from one continent to the other, away from my family for a lot of time, doesn't seem like a good way to go for me.

You can opt to stay at a regional and stay local, or bid a domestic line that pays less, but it's always a trade-off. Everything in aviation is a trade-off.

Look into helicopters. The industry is a little easier to get into. Not nearly as many rotor-craft pilots as fixed wing. Like all others said though it is still difficult and VERY expensive, helicopters even more so. It is fun though. About to wrap up my CFI now.

Congrats on the CFI. Rotorcraft scare the crap out of me, otherwise I'd totally do it.

Right about now, I'm reaaaallly glad I went the military route. Way too many friends from my civilian flying days that are now furloughed, about to be furloughed, or just hating life. You can make it happen, but it is going to take a lot of patience, perseverance, and foreveralone.jpg

ftfy. ;)

I spent 3 1/2 years flying military transport missions with every flavor of professional pilot imagineable as my reserve co-pilots. Corporate. Netjets. Fedex. Regionals, Majors. Startups. Domestic, International. Narrow bodies. Wide bodies.

The one thing they all had in common is that they bitched incessantly. They bitched about the pay, or the passengers, or the management, or commuting or paycuts, furlough, stagnant left seats. Flight attendants (they're all old or gay), hotels, the FAA, the TSA and the MPAA.

I love to fly but decided not to mix love and money, so now I work at Boeing for the money and fly Cessnas for fun.

That said, don't let me dissuade you. The Navy says "a bitching sailor is a happy sailor" so they were all happy in their own way.

It's pretty much impossible to meet a pilot that doesn't complain. :D

^^^ that pretty cool! To the OP also check out the Civil Air Patrol. A great way to earn hours and do some cool missions. Stay in it long enough and you can pilot and do missions such as a spot plane for drugs and such. A lot of older guys in there will war stories to keep things moving.

This.

this is good advice if the OP wants to go the airline route. not everyone does though (ie ME) but the idea holds true. find a corporate gig near you and try to do ground work, wash airplanes, plug in power carts, whatever you can do.

The gist, successful aviation careers rely on solid networking and never burning a bridge. You never know who you'll meet washing a plane. :)

[walktheboard]

Wow, I am almost overwhelmed with information right now. I appreciate it all and am most likely going to continue with my mechanical engineering degree. What would be a good minor to go with this? or even a major that might have some more focus on aero? My current focus is on automobiles, but I have a passion for anything that is powered by fuel.

[FLYNAVY]

Wow, I am almost overwhelmed with information right now. I appreciate it all and am most likely going to continue with my mechanical engineering degree. What would be a good minor to go with this? or even a major that might have some more focus on aero? My current focus is on automobiles, but I have a passion for anything that is powered by fuel.

I'd absolutely recommend sticking with ME. It's a college degree which is really all that matters to most employers, aviation or not. Trust me, there are hundreds of low time pilot mill grads with tons of debt and otherwise useless aviation science degrees....the professional pilot community is not going to favor them over you on the basis of your degree not being in aviation. I did ME as well, and found it to be worthwhile; ME also touches on a lot of useful aviation topics once you hit systems/controls and the thermo/fluids series of classes. Not that those things are applicable to being in the cockpit, but if you are yearning to have a little aviation in your classes, I'd say you can have it too. You should be able to minor in fluids, or aero depending on your school's course schedule. My minor was Naval Science as I was an NROTC guy (and they were classes I had to take anyway), but I think I would have enjoyed an aero minor as well. The most important thing is that once you are done, you will have a degree that means something, and will give you options for good jobs if you decide the aviation thing isn't for you.

[nbio]

^^^ that pretty cool! To the OP also check out the Civil Air Patrol. A great way to earn hours and do some cool missions. Stay in it long enough and you can pilot and do missions such as a spot plane for drugs and such. A lot of older guys in there will war stories to keep things moving.

I don't know how it is in other states, but I'm a member in NJ and it's difficult to actually get qualified on their a/c. Last time I heard you need over 150hr PIC just to fly transport missions. SAR and Counterdrug missions require even more time, somewhere in the 350 range. But it is a cool organization, and volunteering always looks good on the resume. Plus, if you can find an instructor pilot, you can basically rent their aircraft at cost. In NJ, you can rent a 172 wet at $70 an hour. The FBO my school flies with charges 140:hitler:

[Liam]

If you are serious about making a living as a pilot the military is the way to go for training.

[Vedubin01]

I don't know how it is in other states, but I'm a member in NJ and it's difficult to actually get qualified on their a/c. Last time I heard you need over 150hr PIC just to fly transport missions. SAR and Counterdrug missions require even more time, somewhere in the 350 range. But it is a cool organization, and volunteering always looks good on the resume. Plus, if you can find an instructor pilot, you can basically rent their aircraft at cost. In NJ, you can rent a 172 wet at $70 an hour. The FBO my school flies with charges 140:hitler:

When I went in I had over 600 hours with 250 in multi engine. I ended up not being able to hold a medical due to cancer and just fell out of the program. But it was pretty cool though.

As for the 141 school, I would have it no other way. I was able to stay focused on the task at hand and it was run like a military school. E.R. in Daytona would take all the drop outs from our school and make them instructors. At the academy you would at least make it though CFI before the cut as long as you had the money. It was super hard, only 4 out of 16 in my start class I know made it all the way though the program. And it was costly even back in 2000.

[mrsleeve]

Basically youre looking at ~$60-$120k in cost to become a "professional" pilot. To just learn how to fly and be a "weekend warrior" youre looking at ~$8000. The weekend warrior would allow you to fly a small plane, take friends, and go places, day or night.

If youre looking to get paid to be a pilot youll be on a long and hard road. Youre going to invest 4 years into school to combine a degree in aviation with your pilots licenses. Youll be buying ~190 hours out of pocket, then after that you'll have to "build time" in order to get to the next job.

There are several ways to build time:

1: flight instruct. this is the BEST way to build time. It teaches you about aviation and refines your flying skills in a safe and fun environment.

2: tow banners. This is the easiest way to get killed. Ive had several close friends who are no longer with us that cut their margins too close and didnt make it.

3. tour flights/sky divers. Harder to get these jobs, and like banner towing airlines dont really honor this as valid time.

So after school assuming you flight instruct youll be looking at ~$17-$20,000 / year. Basically youll be qualifid for food stamps the first few years. Expect to instruct for 1-3 years to build time. Most airlines want 800+ hours of total time, and 200+ hours of multi engine time. If you want to go charter or corporate route they expect 1200+ hours.

Airlines will pay shit at the beginning as well, expect around $22,000. some are more some are less. Most of these companies will bump the pay $10,000 after the first year.

Charter jobs pay better to start, expect somewhere in the $30ks.

Corporate jobs vary in pay and are the hardest to get.

The direction of your career is entirely your choice. If you want to fly a big shiny jet, go airlines. Its a job of get in, shut the door and fly. Charter will be more interesting missions with varying destinations. Corporate is about the same, but youll be flying the same passengers around most of the time. with corporate youll be expected to clean the plane (most likely), pick up catering, that kind of stuff, where the airline guys wont do that.

If you have any questions let me know.

What this guy says


I have a very good friend thats will graduate form commercial flight school here next spring with about 130k in School debt