Airline Pilot Forums

I have about 400 total and 36 multi and am looking at possibly getting my dispatch certificate to beef up my resume and have it as a back up career. I do have two questions for all you out there:

1) Would it be worth it.
2) I am currently 21 years old. I know you have to be 23 for the certificate per the FAR's, but 21 to take the written with the 2 year expiration. Some schools, such as Sheffield say you only have to be 21 for their training and for the practical. Do they have some way around the 23 requirement, or are they hiding in their advertising the fact that I could not take the practical when I complete their course? I am looking at the Distant Learning and One Week in FLL class.

Thanks.

I have about 400 total and 36 multi and am looking at possibly getting my dispatch certificate to beef up my resume and have it as a back up career. I do have two questions for all you out there:

1) Would it be worth it.

Getting your dispatch certificate COULD be worth it in at least two situations that I could offer:

1) Obviously if becoming a Part 121 aircraft dispatcher is a primary career goal, then having the dispatcher certificate is a requirement for that type of employment. A shortened dispatcher course for someone with aviation experience but no air carrier experience is probably around 80 hours of training. With whatever available time your current schedule allows, I would back out the 80 hours of training from your 23rd birthday and start at that time. So if you can put 4 hours a day into the distance learning, you can have that part of it done at home in 20 days (3 weeks). Add another week for the class in FLL, and you should start pursuing a dispatcher certificate approximately one month before your 23rd birthday.

2) If you plan to work in a pilot position that requires an ATP certificate, then taking the dispatcher written is essentially the same as taking the Part 121 ATP written exam. You didn't mention if you had taken the ATP written exam yet. If not, why study the same material twice? Study now for the Part 121 ATP and get your ATP written completed. Use that to beef up your resume. Then add an extremely short training period (one week at most) to add in the additional dispatcher knowledge, and take 98% of the same written that you did for ATP, but this time for aircraft dispatcher. When you are 23 years old and eligible for the ATP practical, then you're also eligible for the dispatcher practical.


I know you have to be 23 for the certificate per the FAR's, but 21 to take the written with the 2 year expiration. Some schools, such as Sheffield say you only have to be 21 for their training and for the practical. Do they have some way around the 23 requirement, or are they hiding in their advertising the fact that I could not take the practical when I complete their course?

I'm not aware of any exemption to the 23 years of age requirement for the dispatch practical exam. I used to teach aircraft dispatching, and some folks were as young as 18, right out of high school! Personally, I thought that they might be wasting their time, and their weekly exam scores kind of told the same story. It's always possible there's an exemption to the age requirement somewhere, somehow. The reg is FAR 65.53, so I'd have that text in front of me, and then speak with someone "in-the-know" at whatever schools you plan on attending, and ask them specifically how that regulation is complied with.

Anyone I've known that has graduated from a dispatcher course before turning 23, has then only been able to find employment as a "flight follower" (Fractionals, Corporate, and Part 135), "dispatching assistant", or "crew scheduler" until turning 23 and taking the practical exam to become a certificated aircraft dispatcher. A graduation certificate from a dispatcher course also has to be revalidated every 90 days until you take the practical exam. So if you find out that there is no waiver to the requirement to be 23 to take the practical exam, that's going to be quite a few revalidations between now and the time you turn 23.

You can take everything at age 21. If you pass the practical, the FAA will "freeze" your dispatcher ticket until you turn 23. The day you turn 23 you mail back the paperwork the FAA sends and they send you your license. Simple as that. With your ticket frozen, you could "dispatch" at a 121 supplemental carrier if they don't have "age 23" in their job requirements.

I would like to suggest Airline Ground Schools in CVG. They are very good and get you the ticket quickly, which allows you to learn off it. They don't bog you down with all the "extra" stuff that programs like Jeppesen do. Also they have an accelerated program for people with their private pilot license or greater.

The airplane they use is the 737-300, so fairly modern compared to programs that still use the 727 or DC9.

Airline Ground Schools | In Business Since 1967 FAA-Approved Aircraft Dispatcher Training (http://www.agschools.com/)

It's more like they hold it for you till you turn 23. You can release a supplemental flight without any certificate if that's allowed in the operator's manuals. The POI of the supplemental I used to work at had us put a requirement for a dispatcher certificate to release a flight in our GOM.

Everthing you could want to know is here:

http://fsims.faa.gov/PICDetail.aspx?docId=A3BC3E781C87A1038525734F00766 67F

What is the best route for gaining my dispatcher's certificate?

I am currently a military fighter pilot (1800 hours PIC) with my ATP. I understand I can study the Dispatcher question bank and pass the written, but I am a little uncertain about what the practical test entails. Do I really need to spend $3K+ to take a Dispatcher course?

Suggestions, please?