Rama

You also need to understand that some (or more) pilots may spend 10 or 15 years at the company they plan on retiring from only to have it go under and lose their pensions, left seat position, good schedule or city where they live etc. Now they are starting all over at some outfit they might not have wanted to be at working for slave wages, commuting, losing their house and so on. It can be a great career however airline management and unpredictable circumstances tend to take the fun out of it.

NaviNut

THANK YOU!!! So, how does this sound (and how realistic)?

Age 16 - Get student pilot liscence (at end of year have +/-20 hours
Age 17 - Get ppl (at end of year have +/-70 hours)
At 60 hours get introduced to complex aircraft
IFR Certified
Age 18 - Gain hours (end of year +/- 150)
Multi engine rated
Age 19 - Get commercial
Become CFI rated
Age 20 - Become CFII, CFIME ect rated
Age 21 - Gain hours
Age 25 - Get a job at fed ex (caravan 208)
Age 30 - Fly a bigger plane for fed ex
Age 35 - Jets?

I would also fit college somewhere in there too.

lear553560ed

I am so tired of reading anything on all of APC forum. There are too many disenchanted individuals who are so self engrossed, that I believe they went into flying for all the wrong reasons. I CHOSE this profession because I was given a plastic toy plane at the age of 5. Not for money, not for the "Dream" whatever that is, but because I love to fly. I may have been lucky in my chosen profession so far, but what in life is guaranteed? To all who share a true passion for anything, just do it. To all else, you are already dead.

NaviNut

Isn't that how all pilots are? When I was 5 years old, my brother got one of the first flight simulators. Now as I look back at it, its kind of funny to see a five year old land a 777 with a perfect flare. But anyway, I have always wanted to be a pilot and that is what I am going to be. The reason money is an issue is because I dont want to live in an apartment for the rest of my life, but I would like to have a house with a family.

lear553560ed

I did it, so can you. I moved from a small town in the middle of nowhere to a big city only because there were no flight schools. I became a Helicopter pilot, bought a house at the ripe age of 25, worked many line jobs at my airport that got me into my present company. Guess what, I don't fly helicopters anymore. I'm a pilot flying Learjets, yes of course I am now a fixed wing pilot, the point being is, things don't always work the way you think they will. Be flexible, hard working, and don't ever think you are owed anything. Good Luck, and I am glad you saw my post as I was directing it toward you, beacuse I didn't want you to lose sight of your goal given all the naysayers.

FlyJSH

Pretty good. Two suggestions:
1. don't bother with the multi until you are at or near a commercial. The extra cost of flying a twin for fun is too high.... unless you find somebody to take you under his wing and give you a deal
2. The Caravan is great, but don't get locked into that path. If a good job lifting jumpers, patrolling pipelines, traffic watch, or anything else that PAYS you to fly is a good thing. Just don't be married to your plans. Stuff changes and your plans should be able to change too.

It sounds like you are under 16, if so, you might consider flying gliders first (I think you only need to be 14 to solo, but it has been a long time and I may be wrong). Something many folks overlook is that a glider rating teaches a ton of basic airmanship (like instructing).

And lastly, always have an out. Aviation is a fickle business, companies come and go, so you need to have something else you can do. Get your degree or vocational training in something OTHER than aviation, if nothing else learn to bartend,

Good luck

runge

You'll pretty much have to have a college education in order to fly for most of the airlines nowadays. But it is completely possible to be a flight instructor through college; it makes a great part time job, just because of how good the hourly pay is and the fact that most of your students will only want to fly after-hours or on the weekend. A good friend of mine who also gave me some lessons during my instrument checkride prep had soloed at 16, private by 17, CFI/CFII by 19, and instructed all through college. He had about 500 hours by the time he was graduating from college (age 22), which is enough with the right connections to get people to at least look at your resume and consider hiring you.

So it can be done, but *******, those first couple hundred hours are hella expensive, because you're dumping in money and getting nothing in return except logbook kudos and lots of knowledge.

If you work hard at it, it is possible to hit 250 hours and go almost straight from your commercial checkride to your cfi checkride. One of the guys I'm flying with right now in my club is 19, and he's a CFI. He's only got 330 hours, but he's a good pilot, and by the time he finishes school he'll be ready to start sending out applications for his first non-instructing jobs.

Even if you're not worried about making a lot of money in flying, the finances of the matter will hit you hard. You'll probably spend something like $50K on lessons and training, plus books and odds and ends before you'll ever be eligible to fly for money, much less start breaking even. Most people who fly commercially at any level, either:
a. were in the military
b. have awesome parents who don't mind dumping money into something that we love
c. took on huge loans.

If I had it to do over again, I'd just join the military straightaway. Something like the Air National Guard or Air Force Reserves won't 100% consume your life, will teach you to be an excellent pilot, and while you're at it full time you'll make more money than any of the typical jobs that young pilots are able to get.

Personally, I've been pretty lucky. My parents, starting in college, supported my flying through my private and instrument checkrides, which took me up to about 170 hours, since I wasn't able to fly very consistently during college. Now I'm on my own dime, which as a grad student doesn't leave me much for flying, but I'm going for my commercial checkride in a few months, and with any luck I'll be a CFI within a year or so. If I can get my local club to hire me, which is likely, then after sending $50K in the wrong direction I'll finally be able to make 50-100 bucks a week off of flying. It won't pay the bills, and it won't even begin to recoup all the money I've sunk into it, but it's a start.

If I were you, since you're starting with a clean slate, I'd look long and hard at the military. They fly cooler planes (the air force basic trainer, T-6ii, has 1,100 HP and rocket seats, as compared to 108 HP and broken vinyl in a cessna 152), they make more money, they train you better, and there are better benefits than any typical CFI or freight dog job. But that's just my opinion. I'm at 230 hours, and even though I'm on my way to a commercial checkride, I'm pretty sure I'm going to go into the military, just because I think it will be a good experience, I want to serve, and because I'm tired of flying 30-year-old Cessna 172's at 110 kt.

Convairator

No! (Karate Explosion, needed more characters)

bozobigtop

If I was a judge, I would sentence you to flying to all 50 states, two cities in every state, one large city and one small city. if you complain, you can do the rest of your trip from jail. I bet you would like jail better.

bryris

To the OP:

You've got to understand that most people who complain are disgruntled due to the rat race that is being a pro pilot. This industry is largely what it is because of the endless folks with the dream to fly that will do it because they played with airplanes at 2 years old, etc. This profession in ingrained into our psyches to a greater degree than most other professions. Because of this, the standard rules of supply/demand of labor are tempered quite a bit.

There aren't many jobs open right now, large amounts of pilots who have already made it are without work. Couple that with the slew of new guys salivating over flying a jet and it gets frustrating to those who have already worked their way up the pole.

Often times, due to cost cutting, regional airlines would rather hire a new guy who can't work anywhere else and is still in the "honeymoon" period of their careers because they'll stay longer and put up with more crap than a seasoned guy who has more options available and more overhead (comes with age).

What you need to do is just put on horse blinders, figuratively speaking, and just run after your goal. You are entitled to the opportunity just the same as anyone else. How you play the hand you have at any given time is up to you.

The profession is most likely on its way down. The trend has been a steady decline in all that is rewarding in terms of QOL for the last many years. Whether it will return to something "glorious" or not is anyone's guess.

To that end, you really need to diversify yourself. If you love flying, you are doing primarily for the fun of it. Obviously to survive in this world you must make money. If you can, later on, fuse these two things together, then GREAT! However, in my opinion, you need to think about how to get yourself credentialed for another, more stable, profession that interests you and fly "for fun" - because that it what it is all about anyway.

Then, later on, stick your finger in the breeze and make the right decision. Too many guys are stuck in this field who don't have any other options because they put all their eggs in this basket. You are young enough to not follow down that road.

Think about it.