I was reading an aviation magazine the other day, and it seemed like every other page had some kind of elaborate ad for a flight school promising to "make our dream of being a pilot come true". Then I got to thinking, i have never met a commercial pilot who trained at one of these big schools (delta connection, flight safety academy, ect...). Just wondering from all of you, what kind of education are they offering? Are pilots trained at these big schools actually successful?

 

I've flown with a few guys from ATP (one of those big pilot mills) and they are great pilots. In addition to that, they were able to complete all of their certificates and ratings in a very short amount of time.

But quality of pilot isn't really the problem with big schools, it's the cost of attending.

If you go to Delta Connection Academy or ATP or any school like that, expect to pay 50k+ for all your ratings. Some can get as ridiculous as 80k for your private all the way up to your CFI. If you're economical at an FBO you can get all of your certs and ratings for 30k-40k, depending on where you live. I've even met guys who managed to do it for less than 25k by sharing rides for time building.

Airlines and everyone else don't care where you learned how to fly. We all have the same papers from the FAA. Do it for as cheap as you can, in my opinion.

 

Those schools use the big full-page ads because they suck in the uninformed. Those with little or no knowledge of commercial aviation automatically assume that pilots "have go to a school" to learn to fly. They assume that large and loud equals prestigious.

Unfortunately, pilot licenses do not get you a job...flight experience gets you a job. Nobody cares where you got your licenses, because you have no experience and are not yet employable outside of flight instruction in small airplanes or very few other niche jobs.

The exception is military flight training, that will get you first crack at the best airline jobs (if you fly fixed-wing aircraft). But of course those who complete military training must fly in the military for 8-10 years so they also have plenty of experience when they apply to airlines.

For civilians, do a lot of research and find a small local school or FBO with a decent reputation. Keep your day job until you complete all your ratings (except ATP) then start flight instructing to build time. Aviation is a VERY personal business...you have to get out and talk to people face-to-face. Those who think they can start their career by browsing Flying magazine and picking out a school are delusional...and there are plenty of scam artists in aviation who will take their money.

Do your research and you will save a bunch of money and avoid near-six-figure loans which cannot easily be serviced on entry-level pilot pay.