daytonaflyer

No offense man, but if you pay for your training to an airline, you are making a huge mistake. Do you know how many people hate pay for training guys in this industry? These other guys DO know what you are going through. They have been there too. The only difference is that they have more experience with your problem and therefore are able to make better decisions. Perhaps you should take their advice. Try traffic watch if you live in SoCal.
Do you really want to have your co-workers think you are a bottom-feeder before they even know you? If you must pay for flying, just go buy some multi time; you could try Ari-Ben Aviator in Florida or Arizona Aviation in Phoenix. You could get 250 hours of multi time for about $18,000. That way you are not lowering the pay for the rest of the industry. When you pay for airline training, you are helping to lower salaries industry-wide, this damages people's ability to support their families and when you hurt someone's family, they usually don't like you very much.
Be smart and take the advice from people with more experience in the industry than yourself.

nick@FL350

daytonaflyer- thanks for the info, didn't mean to offend anyone or their families. Just being young their are a lot of things in aviation you learn as you go, i think most of you guys know that. I'll take all of your guys advice and put it to good use. Do you know where i can find information on trffic watching here in southern california?

Jetpilot

Your initial post struck fear in many of those who have come before you, or are with you now. It's not a chip on their shoulder, it is a legitimate fear that your mentality will erode the quality of this profession even further than my generation did.

When you were 10 or 11 years old, my career was stalled when too many who were not only willing to work for free, actually paid $10k for their "training" to get a job paying $14k per year at regional carriers. The reason you "may" (airline minimums are notoriously fluid) get that commuter job at 600 hours (I had to have 2500) is that the growth of the regional airlines is coming at the expense of the majors, where we all set our sights on when our "addiction" with this drug called aviation started. It is very possible that the pinnicle of you career could be as a captain on a 120 seat regional jet making $60k/year flying 20 days/month.

Fortunately, I've managed to find my way to a major cargo carrier, and it "may" provide me the career I've worked so hard to get, until my retirement in 20 years. To show you how meaningless the "averages" are; the average age one got hired at a major at was 31 until I turned 31, then it moved up each year as I grew older. I quit keeping up with it after 9/11, but I didn't get on at a major until I was nearly 41. I never paid for a job and never flew for free, but I certainly suffered the consequences of those who have...

The message here is that there is no "easy" way to get there from where you are, only choices you make about how, and the effects of each. The reason the airline business is in the disarray it is today is as much because of the greed and short-sightedness of the pilots, as well as managment. Those who sent you "nasty" replys to your post saw the "will fly for food" mentality that has severely degraded the quality of the career aviation once held.

Without a doubt their replys should have been more educational than harsh, so as you grow in this career, keep in mind that preserving the quality of this career is the best way to ensure you have an opportunity to finish your career within it, as you envisioned it when you began.

Blue skies,

Jet

check6

Nick,

Good luck. I'd instruct. Ask any "jet captain" out there what one of their most memorable jobs was and they'd answer with flight instructing. 300 hours is nothing. You can't even be a day VFR 135 pilot. Don't think you are committed to aviation because you have "paid 40,000" for flight training. Furthermore, I don't know if Gulfstream is even around right now. I think you have the wrong attitude for this industry.

ShadowFlight

Most, if not all, airplane traffic watch contracts in Los Angeles are held by Exodus in Lancaster. They fly 172's under contract for Metro Traffic and, speaking from experience, I don't believe you'll have much luck obtaining a contract on your own. If I recall correctly, Metro is part of Clear Channel Communications. Mike Nolan flys the contract for KBIG and KOST using his own 182 so that's not an option.

I had about 500TT when hired to fly traffic watch (the company no longer has the contract) but I was also a friend of the Chief Pilot. In aviation, it's not what you know but WHO you know.

Whatever you decide, do NOT attend Gulfstream or agree to fly for free. You'll only be doing yourself a disservice in the future.

We all were low-time at one time. Don't despair - your time will come.

Good luck.

Peace

SF