Any advice?? Food for thought for a new pilot
12-27-2015, 07:48 AM
#1
New Hire
Thread Starter
Joined APC: Dec 2015
Posts: 4
Any advice?? Food for thought for a new pilot
Hey I'm 19 currently and in pilot training at ATP in Charlotte. Right now I am working on my private and my check ride is scheduled in a few days and really I just wanted any good advice and tips as far as training, career options, and just any good tad bits of info thanks.
One question I do want your answer and opinion on is, Should I go to CFI school after I get my commercial ratings? I have never saw myself as a CFI I have always wanted to fly night time cargo or maybe do part 91 or part 135 ops until I reached the magical 1500 hours and go to the regionals or maybe stay for a while after that and see where it goes.
But yeah all advise is welcome and thank you
One question I do want your answer and opinion on is, Should I go to CFI school after I get my commercial ratings? I have never saw myself as a CFI I have always wanted to fly night time cargo or maybe do part 91 or part 135 ops until I reached the magical 1500 hours and go to the regionals or maybe stay for a while after that and see where it goes.
But yeah all advise is welcome and thank you
12-29-2015, 07:19 AM
#3
New Hire
Joined APC: Dec 2015
Posts: 9
Seek out the OTHER options in Life...
1) Enjoy the journey in aviation, if you want a career where you go to school and are "done" go be an accountant, lawyer, or factory worker. In aviation you are never done. Even when you get your ATP, you will still have, type ratings, recurrent training, Check Airman training, Chief Pilot Training, etc. it never ends. Enjoy it all and remember it's the big picture that matters.
2) In your check rides there are usually a handful of things that are absolute pass/fail and a whole bunch of other crap that doesn't matter at all. For example, in your instrument oral, if you don't know the pitot static system by memory and in theory, good chance you fail the oral. On the flip side, DPE guy, will probably care less that you didn't know what color the taxi way lights are. (This is one from my experience :-) ) or On your commercial spend the most time on the engine out procedure. If you don't make it on the runway, boom you fail. On the converse, if you don't do your lazy eights perfectly, more than likely DPE guy won't care. (I had an instructor that was so worried about lazy eights, but we only did like four emergency procedures) turns out I passed that one anyway, but wondered why we spent so much time on some other things. So ask your instructor what the "absolutes" are and focus some study or flight practice there.
3) In training, YOU ARE THE BOSS, YOU PAY THE BILL!!!! More than likely your instructor knows what is best for your learning, but in the end, YOU ARE IN CHARGE! If you want to do take offs and landings for 100 days straight, YOU ARE THE BOSS, if they won't practice what you want, go find a new instructor. If you want to go sightseeing everyday, go sightseeing, YOU ARE PAYING THE BILL. (Of course, sightseeing wont get you a rating very quickly, but if that's what YOU want, GO FOR IT!!!)
4) Best advice I could give anyone ever in most of life is : Seek out the other options in life! Just because everyone else is a flight instructor, doesn't mean you have to. Just because everyone else comes out of flight training $100,000 in debt, doesn't mean you have to etc, etc, etc. The list goes on and on in aviation, most of it is crap. Part 141 vs. 61 - another total rip off in aviation. I did all mine 61 and have flown for years part 135 and just got hired at a regional, no one has ever even asked about my training. It could be a deal breaker at a place like Fed Ex though someday, but that's not where I am going so it doesn't matter to me. So always look for the options that work best for you and your goals, think outside the box a little bit, don't always just pay your bills in training, think about what you are paying for and why, can I do this cheaper with the same outcome, quality of learning, etc???
5) One option if you are thick skinned and looking for adventure and don't want to be a CFI. Get your 250 hours and go sit right seat in Alaska. I know Ryan Air Ryan Air ? Home Page hires very low time guys to sit right seat and fly a CASA 212. More than likely you will work out of Bethel, AK, a total crap hole, but you will get twin turbine time, make $35,000 a year, only work 2 weeks a month, and have jump seating. I worked there when I first started and some of the guys in my ground school were 22 years old, fresh out of school, and only had 250 or so hours. Beware, this isn't for the faint of heart, do your research, but is an option to not be a CFI. In one year you would almost fly 1000 hours.
6) Make your own path, blaze your own trail, be positive and happy. If you don't like something in aviation, change it for yourself or go somewhere else. Don't get stuck on all the negativity that is in this forum. Quality of life, happiness, and other people are more or less the most important things you will ever deal with, never sacrifice those for money, promotions, or some crappy airline job, you may never get them back.
2) In your check rides there are usually a handful of things that are absolute pass/fail and a whole bunch of other crap that doesn't matter at all. For example, in your instrument oral, if you don't know the pitot static system by memory and in theory, good chance you fail the oral. On the flip side, DPE guy, will probably care less that you didn't know what color the taxi way lights are. (This is one from my experience :-) ) or On your commercial spend the most time on the engine out procedure. If you don't make it on the runway, boom you fail. On the converse, if you don't do your lazy eights perfectly, more than likely DPE guy won't care. (I had an instructor that was so worried about lazy eights, but we only did like four emergency procedures) turns out I passed that one anyway, but wondered why we spent so much time on some other things. So ask your instructor what the "absolutes" are and focus some study or flight practice there.
3) In training, YOU ARE THE BOSS, YOU PAY THE BILL!!!! More than likely your instructor knows what is best for your learning, but in the end, YOU ARE IN CHARGE! If you want to do take offs and landings for 100 days straight, YOU ARE THE BOSS, if they won't practice what you want, go find a new instructor. If you want to go sightseeing everyday, go sightseeing, YOU ARE PAYING THE BILL. (Of course, sightseeing wont get you a rating very quickly, but if that's what YOU want, GO FOR IT!!!)
4) Best advice I could give anyone ever in most of life is : Seek out the other options in life! Just because everyone else is a flight instructor, doesn't mean you have to. Just because everyone else comes out of flight training $100,000 in debt, doesn't mean you have to etc, etc, etc. The list goes on and on in aviation, most of it is crap. Part 141 vs. 61 - another total rip off in aviation. I did all mine 61 and have flown for years part 135 and just got hired at a regional, no one has ever even asked about my training. It could be a deal breaker at a place like Fed Ex though someday, but that's not where I am going so it doesn't matter to me. So always look for the options that work best for you and your goals, think outside the box a little bit, don't always just pay your bills in training, think about what you are paying for and why, can I do this cheaper with the same outcome, quality of learning, etc???
5) One option if you are thick skinned and looking for adventure and don't want to be a CFI. Get your 250 hours and go sit right seat in Alaska. I know Ryan Air Ryan Air ? Home Page hires very low time guys to sit right seat and fly a CASA 212. More than likely you will work out of Bethel, AK, a total crap hole, but you will get twin turbine time, make $35,000 a year, only work 2 weeks a month, and have jump seating. I worked there when I first started and some of the guys in my ground school were 22 years old, fresh out of school, and only had 250 or so hours. Beware, this isn't for the faint of heart, do your research, but is an option to not be a CFI. In one year you would almost fly 1000 hours.
6) Make your own path, blaze your own trail, be positive and happy. If you don't like something in aviation, change it for yourself or go somewhere else. Don't get stuck on all the negativity that is in this forum. Quality of life, happiness, and other people are more or less the most important things you will ever deal with, never sacrifice those for money, promotions, or some crappy airline job, you may never get them back.
12-30-2015, 08:01 AM
#5
On Reserve
Joined APC: Nov 2015
Posts: 16
I was the same as you, except I was inclined to be a teacher before I learned to fly, so CFI was a little bit easier to go for.
If you have an idea of what you might want to end up doing (you might get there and decide you hate it), adapt your training to prepare for it.
Want to fly cargo for a living? Get lots of night time experience, "hard IFR" experience, and you might start out with a company that feeds UPS or FedEx to see if you like the schedule and lifestyle.
Want to end up at the regionals? Learn all you can about flying IFR, and getting your CFI will be handy -- as it helps you reinforce all that knowledge you'll need for the interviews.
Network. I'm not, and wasn't, good at it but I've heard lots of stories about low-time pilots (<1000h) ending up in right seats of various jets, earning double my starting salary.
If you have an idea of what you might want to end up doing (you might get there and decide you hate it), adapt your training to prepare for it.
Want to fly cargo for a living? Get lots of night time experience, "hard IFR" experience, and you might start out with a company that feeds UPS or FedEx to see if you like the schedule and lifestyle.
Want to end up at the regionals? Learn all you can about flying IFR, and getting your CFI will be handy -- as it helps you reinforce all that knowledge you'll need for the interviews.
Network. I'm not, and wasn't, good at it but I've heard lots of stories about low-time pilots (<1000h) ending up in right seats of various jets, earning double my starting salary.
01-03-2016, 06:56 AM
#6
New Hire
Thread Starter
Joined APC: Dec 2015
Posts: 4
Originally Posted by pleasedontripme
1) Enjoy the journey in aviation, if you want a career where you go to school and are "done" go be an accountant, lawyer, or factory worker. In aviation you are never done. Even when you get your ATP, you will still have, type ratings, recurrent training, Check Airman training, Chief Pilot Training, etc. it never ends. Enjoy it all and remember it's the big picture that matters.
2) In your check rides there are usually a handful of things that are absolute pass/fail and a whole bunch of other crap that doesn't matter at all. For example, in your instrument oral, if you don't know the pitot static system by memory and in theory, good chance you fail the oral. On the flip side, DPE guy, will probably care less that you didn't know what color the taxi way lights are. (This is one from my experience :-) ) or On your commercial spend the most time on the engine out procedure. If you don't make it on the runway, boom you fail. On the converse, if you don't do your lazy eights perfectly, more than likely DPE guy won't care. (I had an instructor that was so worried about lazy eights, but we only did like four emergency procedures) turns out I passed that one anyway, but wondered why we spent so much time on some other things. So ask your instructor what the "absolutes" are and focus some study or flight practice there.
3) In training, YOU ARE THE BOSS, YOU PAY THE BILL!!!! More than likely your instructor knows what is best for your learning, but in the end, YOU ARE IN CHARGE! If you want to do take offs and landings for 100 days straight, YOU ARE THE BOSS, if they won't practice what you want, go find a new instructor. If you want to go sightseeing everyday, go sightseeing, YOU ARE PAYING THE BILL. (Of course, sightseeing wont get you a rating very quickly, but if that's what YOU want, GO FOR IT!!!)
4) Best advice I could give anyone ever in most of life is : Seek out the other options in life! Just because everyone else is a flight instructor, doesn't mean you have to. Just because everyone else comes out of flight training $100,000 in debt, doesn't mean you have to etc, etc, etc. The list goes on and on in aviation, most of it is crap. Part 141 vs. 61 - another total rip off in aviation. I did all mine 61 and have flown for years part 135 and just got hired at a regional, no one has ever even asked about my training. It could be a deal breaker at a place like Fed Ex though someday, but that's not where I am going so it doesn't matter to me. So always look for the options that work best for you and your goals, think outside the box a little bit, don't always just pay your bills in training, think about what you are paying for and why, can I do this cheaper with the same outcome, quality of learning, etc???
5) One option if you are thick skinned and looking for adventure and don't want to be a CFI. Get your 250 hours and go sit right seat in Alaska. I know Ryan Air Ryan Air ? Home Page hires very low time guys to sit right seat and fly a CASA 212. More than likely you will work out of Bethel, AK, a total crap hole, but you will get twin turbine time, make $35,000 a year, only work 2 weeks a month, and have jump seating. I worked there when I first started and some of the guys in my ground school were 22 years old, fresh out of school, and only had 250 or so hours. Beware, this isn't for the faint of heart, do your research, but is an option to not be a CFI. In one year you would almost fly 1000 hours.
6) Make your own path, blaze your own trail, be positive and happy. If you don't like something in aviation, change it for yourself or go somewhere else. Don't get stuck on all the negativity that is in this forum. Quality of life, happiness, and other people are more or less the most important things you will ever deal with, never sacrifice those for money, promotions, or some crappy airline job, you may never get them back.
2) In your check rides there are usually a handful of things that are absolute pass/fail and a whole bunch of other crap that doesn't matter at all. For example, in your instrument oral, if you don't know the pitot static system by memory and in theory, good chance you fail the oral. On the flip side, DPE guy, will probably care less that you didn't know what color the taxi way lights are. (This is one from my experience :-) ) or On your commercial spend the most time on the engine out procedure. If you don't make it on the runway, boom you fail. On the converse, if you don't do your lazy eights perfectly, more than likely DPE guy won't care. (I had an instructor that was so worried about lazy eights, but we only did like four emergency procedures) turns out I passed that one anyway, but wondered why we spent so much time on some other things. So ask your instructor what the "absolutes" are and focus some study or flight practice there.
3) In training, YOU ARE THE BOSS, YOU PAY THE BILL!!!! More than likely your instructor knows what is best for your learning, but in the end, YOU ARE IN CHARGE! If you want to do take offs and landings for 100 days straight, YOU ARE THE BOSS, if they won't practice what you want, go find a new instructor. If you want to go sightseeing everyday, go sightseeing, YOU ARE PAYING THE BILL. (Of course, sightseeing wont get you a rating very quickly, but if that's what YOU want, GO FOR IT!!!)
4) Best advice I could give anyone ever in most of life is : Seek out the other options in life! Just because everyone else is a flight instructor, doesn't mean you have to. Just because everyone else comes out of flight training $100,000 in debt, doesn't mean you have to etc, etc, etc. The list goes on and on in aviation, most of it is crap. Part 141 vs. 61 - another total rip off in aviation. I did all mine 61 and have flown for years part 135 and just got hired at a regional, no one has ever even asked about my training. It could be a deal breaker at a place like Fed Ex though someday, but that's not where I am going so it doesn't matter to me. So always look for the options that work best for you and your goals, think outside the box a little bit, don't always just pay your bills in training, think about what you are paying for and why, can I do this cheaper with the same outcome, quality of learning, etc???
5) One option if you are thick skinned and looking for adventure and don't want to be a CFI. Get your 250 hours and go sit right seat in Alaska. I know Ryan Air Ryan Air ? Home Page hires very low time guys to sit right seat and fly a CASA 212. More than likely you will work out of Bethel, AK, a total crap hole, but you will get twin turbine time, make $35,000 a year, only work 2 weeks a month, and have jump seating. I worked there when I first started and some of the guys in my ground school were 22 years old, fresh out of school, and only had 250 or so hours. Beware, this isn't for the faint of heart, do your research, but is an option to not be a CFI. In one year you would almost fly 1000 hours.
6) Make your own path, blaze your own trail, be positive and happy. If you don't like something in aviation, change it for yourself or go somewhere else. Don't get stuck on all the negativity that is in this forum. Quality of life, happiness, and other people are more or less the most important things you will ever deal with, never sacrifice those for money, promotions, or some crappy airline job, you may never get them back.
01-03-2016, 06:57 AM
#7
New Hire
Thread Starter
Joined APC: Dec 2015
Posts: 4
Originally Posted by BoxedinIowa
I was the same as you, except I was inclined to be a teacher before I learned to fly, so CFI was a little bit easier to go for.
If you have an idea of what you might want to end up doing (you might get there and decide you hate it), adapt your training to prepare for it.
Want to fly cargo for a living? Get lots of night time experience, "hard IFR" experience, and you might start out with a company that feeds UPS or FedEx to see if you like the schedule and lifestyle.
Want to end up at the regionals? Learn all you can about flying IFR, and getting your CFI will be handy -- as it helps you reinforce all that knowledge you'll need for the interviews.
Network. I'm not, and wasn't, good at it but I've heard lots of stories about low-time pilots (<1000h) ending up in right seats of various jets, earning double my starting salary.
If you have an idea of what you might want to end up doing (you might get there and decide you hate it), adapt your training to prepare for it.
Want to fly cargo for a living? Get lots of night time experience, "hard IFR" experience, and you might start out with a company that feeds UPS or FedEx to see if you like the schedule and lifestyle.
Want to end up at the regionals? Learn all you can about flying IFR, and getting your CFI will be handy -- as it helps you reinforce all that knowledge you'll need for the interviews.
Network. I'm not, and wasn't, good at it but I've heard lots of stories about low-time pilots (<1000h) ending up in right seats of various jets, earning double my starting salary.
01-03-2016, 06:58 AM
#8
New Hire
Thread Starter
Joined APC: Dec 2015
Posts: 4
Originally Posted by Sliceback
Not too many saw themselves as career, or even multi-year CFI's. It's the stepping stone many take because it's the most common path forward.
01-05-2016, 02:48 AM
#9
Line Holder
Joined APC: Aug 2015
Position: Yes
Posts: 52
Originally Posted by pleasedontripme
1) Enjoy the journey in aviation, if you want a career where you go to school and are "done" go be an accountant, lawyer, or factory worker. In aviation you are never done. Even when you get your ATP, you will still have, type ratings, recurrent training, Check Airman training, Chief Pilot Training, etc. it never ends. Enjoy it all and remember it's the big picture that matters.
2) In your check rides there are usually a handful of things that are absolute pass/fail and a whole bunch of other crap that doesn't matter at all. For example, in your instrument oral, if you don't know the pitot static system by memory and in theory, good chance you fail the oral. On the flip side, DPE guy, will probably care less that you didn't know what color the taxi way lights are. (This is one from my experience :-) ) or On your commercial spend the most time on the engine out procedure. If you don't make it on the runway, boom you fail. On the converse, if you don't do your lazy eights perfectly, more than likely DPE guy won't care. (I had an instructor that was so worried about lazy eights, but we only did like four emergency procedures) turns out I passed that one anyway, but wondered why we spent so much time on some other things. So ask your instructor what the "absolutes" are and focus some study or flight practice there.
3) In training, YOU ARE THE BOSS, YOU PAY THE BILL!!!! More than likely your instructor knows what is best for your learning, but in the end, YOU ARE IN CHARGE! If you want to do take offs and landings for 100 days straight, YOU ARE THE BOSS, if they won't practice what you want, go find a new instructor. If you want to go sightseeing everyday, go sightseeing, YOU ARE PAYING THE BILL. (Of course, sightseeing wont get you a rating very quickly, but if that's what YOU want, GO FOR IT!!!)
4) Best advice I could give anyone ever in most of life is : Seek out the other options in life! Just because everyone else is a flight instructor, doesn't mean you have to. Just because everyone else comes out of flight training $100,000 in debt, doesn't mean you have to etc, etc, etc. The list goes on and on in aviation, most of it is crap. Part 141 vs. 61 - another total rip off in aviation. I did all mine 61 and have flown for years part 135 and just got hired at a regional, no one has ever even asked about my training. It could be a deal breaker at a place like Fed Ex though someday, but that's not where I am going so it doesn't matter to me. So always look for the options that work best for you and your goals, think outside the box a little bit, don't always just pay your bills in training, think about what you are paying for and why, can I do this cheaper with the same outcome, quality of learning, etc???
5) One option if you are thick skinned and looking for adventure and don't want to be a CFI. Get your 250 hours and go sit right seat in Alaska. I know Ryan Air Ryan Air ? Home Page hires very low time guys to sit right seat and fly a CASA 212. More than likely you will work out of Bethel, AK, a total crap hole, but you will get twin turbine time, make $35,000 a year, only work 2 weeks a month, and have jump seating. I worked there when I first started and some of the guys in my ground school were 22 years old, fresh out of school, and only had 250 or so hours. Beware, this isn't for the faint of heart, do your research, but is an option to not be a CFI. In one year you would almost fly 1000 hours.
6) Make your own path, blaze your own trail, be positive and happy. If you don't like something in aviation, change it for yourself or go somewhere else. Don't get stuck on all the negativity that is in this forum. Quality of life, happiness, and other people are more or less the most important things you will ever deal with, never sacrifice those for money, promotions, or some crappy airline job, you may never get them back.
2) In your check rides there are usually a handful of things that are absolute pass/fail and a whole bunch of other crap that doesn't matter at all. For example, in your instrument oral, if you don't know the pitot static system by memory and in theory, good chance you fail the oral. On the flip side, DPE guy, will probably care less that you didn't know what color the taxi way lights are. (This is one from my experience :-) ) or On your commercial spend the most time on the engine out procedure. If you don't make it on the runway, boom you fail. On the converse, if you don't do your lazy eights perfectly, more than likely DPE guy won't care. (I had an instructor that was so worried about lazy eights, but we only did like four emergency procedures) turns out I passed that one anyway, but wondered why we spent so much time on some other things. So ask your instructor what the "absolutes" are and focus some study or flight practice there.
3) In training, YOU ARE THE BOSS, YOU PAY THE BILL!!!! More than likely your instructor knows what is best for your learning, but in the end, YOU ARE IN CHARGE! If you want to do take offs and landings for 100 days straight, YOU ARE THE BOSS, if they won't practice what you want, go find a new instructor. If you want to go sightseeing everyday, go sightseeing, YOU ARE PAYING THE BILL. (Of course, sightseeing wont get you a rating very quickly, but if that's what YOU want, GO FOR IT!!!)
4) Best advice I could give anyone ever in most of life is : Seek out the other options in life! Just because everyone else is a flight instructor, doesn't mean you have to. Just because everyone else comes out of flight training $100,000 in debt, doesn't mean you have to etc, etc, etc. The list goes on and on in aviation, most of it is crap. Part 141 vs. 61 - another total rip off in aviation. I did all mine 61 and have flown for years part 135 and just got hired at a regional, no one has ever even asked about my training. It could be a deal breaker at a place like Fed Ex though someday, but that's not where I am going so it doesn't matter to me. So always look for the options that work best for you and your goals, think outside the box a little bit, don't always just pay your bills in training, think about what you are paying for and why, can I do this cheaper with the same outcome, quality of learning, etc???
5) One option if you are thick skinned and looking for adventure and don't want to be a CFI. Get your 250 hours and go sit right seat in Alaska. I know Ryan Air Ryan Air ? Home Page hires very low time guys to sit right seat and fly a CASA 212. More than likely you will work out of Bethel, AK, a total crap hole, but you will get twin turbine time, make $35,000 a year, only work 2 weeks a month, and have jump seating. I worked there when I first started and some of the guys in my ground school were 22 years old, fresh out of school, and only had 250 or so hours. Beware, this isn't for the faint of heart, do your research, but is an option to not be a CFI. In one year you would almost fly 1000 hours.
6) Make your own path, blaze your own trail, be positive and happy. If you don't like something in aviation, change it for yourself or go somewhere else. Don't get stuck on all the negativity that is in this forum. Quality of life, happiness, and other people are more or less the most important things you will ever deal with, never sacrifice those for money, promotions, or some crappy airline job, you may never get them back.
'Squatch
Who wonders where the Eiffel Tower is on the Paris on the Kuskokwim
01-06-2016, 09:19 PM
#10
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Jun 2005
Position: Retired
Posts: 2,934
Go to school. Not flight school, college. Have fun growing up. Airplanes will be there when you graduate.
Instruct while you're working on a degree in something that interests you (doesn't have to be aviation, in fact I'd suggest against it). Pay for as much of your degree and ratings out of pocket to avoid having a ton of debt. By the time you graduate you don't have to worry about ATP mins for an airline job, you hopefully have experience flying in conditions you won't see going through your ratings as fast as possible at ATP, and you'll have something to fall back on when (not if) the industry tanks.
I don't fly for a living any more, but I work in aviation. I spent almost 2 years working different jobs and traveling between graduation and getting my CFI and it was some of the best experiences in my life. It was also really good when the industry tanked in 08, I found myself on the street and I needed to pay the bills with something other than flying an airplane.
Instruct while you're working on a degree in something that interests you (doesn't have to be aviation, in fact I'd suggest against it). Pay for as much of your degree and ratings out of pocket to avoid having a ton of debt. By the time you graduate you don't have to worry about ATP mins for an airline job, you hopefully have experience flying in conditions you won't see going through your ratings as fast as possible at ATP, and you'll have something to fall back on when (not if) the industry tanks.
I don't fly for a living any more, but I work in aviation. I spent almost 2 years working different jobs and traveling between graduation and getting my CFI and it was some of the best experiences in my life. It was also really good when the industry tanked in 08, I found myself on the street and I needed to pay the bills with something other than flying an airplane.
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