What should I do?
 

Hi everyone,

I am a sophomore in high school and my dream has been to fly for a living someday for a long, long time. I am in need of some help, though, to really "plan" things out so that I know I'm doing what I should. Obviously, like everyone else here, I'd like to get to flying for a regional airline as soon as possible.

So, my question is, how do I do it? I'm thinking about waiting until I'm enrolled in college (yes, after reading here for a while I know to major in something else and steer clear of an aviation degree) and then beginning to take lessons. I'd really like to work for Comair, they seem like a decent company. They require a CL, a multi and instrument rating, ATP written, radiotelephone operator permit, 600 total and 100 multi hours. I think after reading here I'll will take lessons from the local flying school. Also, any idea how much all of this will/should cost if completed in a timely manner? How quick should I be able to do this? (Obviously I don't want to rush anything if I have to compromise my skills or my safety.)

I know that some here will be quick to say "Just enjoy it while you're young and don't worry about it," but I really do need to plan this out so I can make sure I'm ready when the time comes.

Thanks for all of your help in advance.

Hey Josh, the first thing I would do is take an inro flight a local flight school. You will spend about 30 minutes in the air and get a chance to fly. Some instuctors may even let you attempt the takeoff. This is a good first step in seeing if aviaiton is really for you. I am not trying to say you may not make an excellent pilot. I am just saying from an instuctors stand point I have seen many people who were very intersted in flying that after the intro flight never flew again. I am not saying this will be your case but it will either motivate you to pursue aviation or it might make you rethink it as a career choice. Even if the first flight doesn't go well, and my no means does it have to, you should attempt a few more lessons and see how comfortable you feel. An intro flight may only run you about 50 dollars or so. After that it does get a little more expensive. Anyhow, I hope this helps. If you want. pm me when you are able on this system or send me your email and I can help further.

Good Luck,
Jason

Seeing as you have nearly 50 years til retirement, the " enjoy the ride instead of rushing to fly at a regional" advice is good. You can learn alot by going out and flying by yourself and figuring things out on your own instead of flying with another crewmember.
The local school should be able to give an idea how much it will cost. When you start flying get to know people around the airport. Friendships can make a difference in getting a job. Its good to have an idea what you want to do, but there are a lot of different paths in aviation. Flying for a regional as a stepping stone is not the only way. I never did and never missed it.

The best plan, and most here will probably agree, is to go to college for something other than aviation. Get a degree in business as that can be used for just about anything. Fly at the local FBO (like you mentioned) and pay as you go for as long as you can.

This year, start saving money and working weekends. If you work all summer (two jobs if you have to) you should be able to save close to $15K by the time you graduate. Also, help your money make money. AmTrust bank has a savings account that will earn you 4% interest. It is not a lot, but it is a safe and FREE way to earn a little extra money.

Your senior year, by books geared toward your private, instrument and commercial certificates. Check with the local FBO to see what they use. ASA has some good books. Study them and know them before you start training. You'll be 90% of the way to your goal.

The summer before you go to college, knock out the private, instrument, commercial and instructor certificates. If you can. Three months goes by quick, but if you fly 4 hours a day and study 4 hours a day you can have 250 hours in 63 flyable days. Set up your checkrides before you start training for each certificate and you'll have the time pressure to keep you on track.

Go to a community college near home. Don't move out if you don't have to. Living on your own will eat up $1000 a month. Flight Instruct on the side (weekends are busiest anyway so you won't miss much flying while you are in class).

Use the money you earn as a flight instructor to get your multi and MEI. My MEI got me to 100 hours ME while I got paid. Can't beat that.

You'll probably be over 600 hours before you graduate. However, I would strongly urge you not to go to a regional airline. Speaking as someone that made that mistake, regionals are bad jobs and should be accepted only as a last resort. OR....use the regional to get enough multi time to pick up a good job with a charter company that will be willing to upgrade you.

Some huge don'ts:

Do not, under any circumstance, look at a regional as the ultimate goal. The same holds true for the Majors. As weird as it may sound, you are better off at a NetJets or FlexJet over United, American or Delta. I should preface that by saying all jobs in aviation are volatile and unpredictable, so take my observation for what it is worth; a snapshot of this moment in aviation.


Don't pay to work. People do it all the time and I'm convinced it is more of a burden to their career than it helps. People know when you say I was an FO for Gulfstream, what you really mean is I bought time to work radios on a 1900.

Don't pass up a good job because you are "building time" for the great job. The great job recruiters are looking for trainable, like-able people. They are not looking for the pilot that will only work at Airline X. That person isn't like-able.

Finally, don't give up when times get tough. I started my career at the worst possible time, 4 years before 9/11. I was laid off or furloughed 3 times in one year. I was even fired once on top of that. Today, I have a great job flying a corporate aircraft with good pay and very little work to do. The dream is attainable, but you have to work for it.

I hope this helps.

Thanks. That was a wealth of valuable information.

By all means, my ultimate goal is NOT to fly for a regional, rather just something I thought would be a starting point. My ultimate goal is to fly for UPS or FedEx.

I noticed that you mentioned not going to a regional. Once I have my ME and MEI time, ATPW (you didn't mention that one, I'm not sure if that was intentional or not), CL and CFII, what would you recommend I do next? Look for a charter company? Like I said the ultimate goal is to work for UPS or FedEx in a 747 (or the like) capacity.

Thanks for all your help!

The best thing you could do is to start flying as young as possible. I started at 17. The more ratings you can get before you graduate from college, the better. I had my CFI before I graduated.

How did you start out? (Once you weren't instructing anymore) Regional? Feeder cargo? Charter?

Wow! Nice! Do you like working for UPS? Do they pay well? (not asking for your salary, just wondering if you think they pay well for your experience, etc.)

So would you suggest going to a regional after doing CFI or trying something different?

It's a good gig. A regional is fine. I think 135 freight makes you understand the lifestyle better and leads to faster turbine PIC. Anyhow, that's how I did it. In any case, it's a long hard road with no guarantees. If you say you want to work for UPS, you'll probably end up at United. I wanted to work for United or Alaska, and ended up at UPS. It's a strange business.

I know it's hard when you're a sophmore in HS. But the more you try to plan, the more specific your plan is, the less likely it's gonna go that way. The best thing you can do is focus on the baby steps that lead to success down the road. Where you end up working isn't really important at your stage of the game.