Originally Posted by skylover

To be honest, I felt a little sick too! I kept on jerking the yolk in, which created a very bumpy experience; I got that feeling of my stomach launching up into my throat..

Originally Posted by JamesNoBrakes

I'm not in that environment anymore, but this plan backfires more times than not. This ONLY saves money if you are proficient in all of the areas for your private, and according to 141 regulations, these schools have to assess your proficiency and make sure that you meet all the standards of the certificate you already hold (to take advantage of lowered minimum times). The lack of standardized training and holding students to standards, DPEs "rubber-stamping"-because "you're going to a big flight school", and completeness of the flight training are usually not up to the same level. I know lots of people push the "mom and pop" flight schools here, and I did do one of my certs at those, but it wasn't all that. I ended up having to "retrain" most of those. If you do this route, make sure you really know and understand the standards. Not just what your flight instructor tells you, but understanding the test standards and what's expected. If something seems impossible or you and the instructor can't get it right, that's probably a warning sign. Good luck though. With the right instruction and experience you can learn and be proficient with the material. Don't learn it to "brain dump" the next day after the checkride. This is stuff you will be using for years on end. It takes lots of repetition and practice.

Originally Posted by bcrosier

Yeah, that's the same feeling I get every time I look at my empty bank account.

And why were you beating eggs or something on the flight? Were you making as omelette or something? It's yoke - not yolk; sorry to bust your chops, but I couldn't resist (says the guy who spelled hangar incorrectly for at least five years before someone pointed it out to me).

Anyhow - glad you enjoyed the ride. You'll smooth out on the controls with some practice.

I've only done one glider flight, but I've heard great things about the skills you gain from the rating from others with more experience in that area - definitely worth checking into!

Originally Posted by DirectTo

What they want today is not what they will want by the time you're remotely qualified to go to a regional. Requirements go up and down as the airline's needs fluctuate.

For now, focus on actually enjoying the flying you do. Talk to pilots doing a variety of jobs and find out which ones seem the happiest.

By the time you finish flight training you'll need to find a way to amass the rest of the time required...plan on having 1500 total time and 2-500 multi engine time to get hired. You'll probably have to instruct or find some other bottom-of-the-barrel job to get those initial hours.

If you want to go to a major, you'll need several thousand total, at least a thousand turbine PIC, and a four year degree for the most part.

It's all about checking the boxes. Irregardless, the market will be totally different by the time you're ready, so just stick to looking at the short term, and like I said, actually enjoy your training.

Originally Posted by skylover

First of all, I am kind of like you in that I have not begun training yet. However, I've done extensive research and I've talked to experienced pilots about this, and I'm happy to pass that along to you.

No, regional airlines will not assist you with education choices. Frankly, I'd be surprised if they even would respond to your email - it is not their job to hold your hand. Also, I'd wager that the info here is much more valuable than whatever they'd tell you anyway.

Education options...

• Aviation colleges. If you are past college-age, this is not an option. Examples of large ones are Embry-Riddle and University of North Dakota. They integrate flight training into an Aeronautical Science curriculum. Pros include the fact that you get lowered minimums for an ATP certificate, now required for any airline pilot, and the fact that you can flight instruct as an undergraduate once eligible, allowing you to gain hours during college. The cons are that they can be (very) expensive, and an Aeronautical Science degree may not be very valuable if you somehow are unable to fly anymore.
• Local flight school. These operate under part 61 or part 141 regulations. Part 61 means that your flight instructor is responsible for your lessons, and simply has to get you to a point where you can pass the assessments. Part 141 means that your flight instructor follows a curriculum with set lessons, and training is more structured. Aviation colleges run under part 141, and they are required to have a certain % of students passing, otherwise the FAA will intervene.
• Military. I don't know a lot about this, but you may want to look into it.

Unfortunately, because of new FAA regulation, the days of "zero to hero" training are over, since you have to have a very high amount of flight hours to be able to fly as an airline pilot now. (750 military, 1000 av. college, 1500 regular training)

You can expect training to take several years no matter what approach you decide on.
Please feel free to PM me if you have any questions.