swhitlow

I am seriously considering a career change. My brother is a pilot for AA, we live in the same neighborhood and he loves his job. I can’t say the same thing.

I turned 41 in Nov 18. I am taking the initial flight Saturday to see if this is for me. I love flying for work, pleasure, etc. but this is a very different thing obviously.

My questions are these.
1. Am I too old to start a career?
2. If I can get my PPL, Instrument, Multi over the next 7 months. I can’t quit my job family, etc. does this make the timeline still achievable?
3. Am I kidding myself???
4. Can’t got to something like ATP, Bc I can’t quit my job. Would buying a Cessna 150 help get the hours up quicker if I can of course find one that is in good condition and not cost more than just renting one. $135/wet locally.
5. They have a smaller flight school, would it make sense to join this and still go part time until I get the hours needed to where I can make at least $60k/yr.?

Again is this a pipe dream and just dumb? Thank you for your help!


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rickair7777

No. Assuming no serious economc hichups, you should reasonably be competitive to be hired at a major by age 50 or sooner if you start now. You will never be a widebody CA, so reasonable economics would be FO for 5-7 years and then narrow-body CA to retirement. Timing depends on where you want to live, where you must live, and whether you can relocate. Do the math, your Bro knows what they get paid.

Yes, but if you have a job the family will need to suffer. You'll be flying nights and weekends, several times/week (in addition to study time).

Old-school CW would say you're too old, but there are no longer any age limits on hiring, so the only factor is can your have enough seniority progression to have QOL on your terms? Again that depends on your flexibility as to where you live. Majors have hired folks well into their 60's recently, but obviously those folks are just doing it to check a bucket list item.

Maybe. There would be hassles with that, and while it would be cheaper than renting typically, if something breaks it could end up being very expensive. I wouldn't do it myself.

You need to a lot of research (do some reading here). I would recommend a school for continuity, vice a freelance instructor unless you can find an instructor who is older, established and NOT leaving for the airlines. The young ones will leave you hanging out to dry when they get to 1500 hours. With a school, they'll still leave but the school can provide continuity (management, standardization). Most local schools will teach in a plane you own.

TiredSoul

“American Airlines” pilot is all nice and dandy but don’t forget how to get there.
You need at least 1500 hrs to get with a regional that may have flow.
These flows are not guaranteed to last forever either.
Those agreements can be cancelled.

Flight training 1 year
Get to 1500 hrs another 2 years.
You’ll probably will not find a local time building job unless it’s flight Instruction.
You will need to bleed and bend every which way for 3 years.
Your time building job will be low wage.
Do you have a $50-$60k financial buffer to make it through those years?

kevbo

He will need more than that unless he keeps a full time job. Zero to 1500 hrs is basically working full time for at least three years. Only you won't net much if any income.

viper548

I did my flight training while working full time in the Air Force and supporting a young child. It can be done. I flew as much as I could, doing two or three lessons in a day sometimes. I did a lot of my instrument rating at night after work. 7 months is pretty optimistic to get all of your ratings even when doing training full time without a job. You'll need a plan to get to 1500 hours before you can get hired at a regional. I'm not sure what flight instructing pays nowdays. If you go that route and can't quit your day job to be a flight instructor it's going to add a lot of time onto your timeline.

Buying a plane and hiring an instructor could be a good way to keep costs down but buying a plane is not like buying a car. An engine overhaul is 20K-30K dollars. If you go that route you need to find someone very knowledgeable to help you find the right plane.

Rama

The biggest consideration in this is financial. You can' quit your job, that is fine, but how will you pay for your training? Once you get a commercial, what will you do to build time?
Jobs at the bottom end pay very little. To take of a family at this level is nearly impossible without some other income or savings.

Sliceback

You can get your ratings on the side in 9-12 months. You will have no other life. Will the wife and family support that? Do you have that much excess brain power, focus, and drive AFTER doing your regular job?

Now you're approaching 43 yrs old with a CFI. Are you going to keep working and just fly on the side? That will take 4-6 yrs to get to a regional?? Another five years at a regional? 52-54 before you have an average resume for the airlines? Of do you quit your current job and go full time into CFI'ing? That drops the time to a regional down to 1-5.2 yrs and adds 2-4 yrs onto the back of you possible airline career. Net money is worth it ** BUT ** can you maintain your family's lifestyle on CFI pay ($30-40K??) while you chase your flying dreams?

Everything is possible. It's the sacrifices, and pain, that makes people pause.

For younger people lurking there's a huge value to being young, and single, which allows you to invest 100% into your career without having to make trade-offs. Even a dog slows you down. Married? Kids? The decision making process gets much tougher because the choices you make have significant impact on others.

LongRoadAhead

I hope it's not a dumb idea because I'm currently trying to do the same thing. I started my PPL training Part 61 back in September. I hope to be completed by the end of April, the hardest thing for me has been the weather here in the Northeast causing me to cancel lessons. Once that is done the plan is to complete my Instrument/Commercial Part 141, and then hopefully the CFI route. My situation is a little unique due to the fact that I can retire from my current job in 6 years when I'm 44 with a good pension and full medical for life. Anyway my point is you don't know until you really give it a shot. I know the cost of attempting this venture and the difficulty in completing these certifications while working full time. If you decide to do it good luck on your journey.

swhitlow

I would continue working full time only until I get my rating. Once I get that, I would focus on flying career. My wife works so if I can make $40k we can make it work, it will be tough for a few years but I think the end far out weighs those few years of hard work. I work long hours and travel now so me being gone is nothing new.

Would you think getting ratings and then going to someone like ATP to move things along faster a wise decision? I could at least get that via student loan to help offset that cost and get hours faster via CFI. I know that’s not the best option but as I said, 3 kids, 2 dogs, mortgage lol. But we can make it work if I can make ~$40k.

Suffering for a few years I think will help us long term, family trips with free flying down the road to make memories would be great. Sucks now but long term awesome.

I just want to know I am not stupid for doing this haha.


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swhitlow

I live in the south so weather should be better. I’m seriously considering a Cessna 150 to just bang out hours and feel comfortable behind the stick. I don’t want anything big enough to fly the family in, this will strictly be used for hours then sold. I’ve found a few in the $15k-$20k range with 300-500 hours SMOH. So it should be good for me to put another ~500 hours on and not lose my shorts when selling it. I’d rather pay $30-40/hr than $135/wet like it is at the airport 20 minutes from my house. Trying to con my brother into going in on it with me, but it would have to be a 172 for that to happen as he is a family of 4 and well a 150 won’t work for him.


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