Should I waste my time even trying?
 

When I was 19 & had dreams of aviation mechanic and possibly flying one day in the air force I got into some trouble. While I was attending the michigan institute of aeronautics I got charged with willful & malicious destruction of property, and was on probation then while I was on probation I quit school.. then got arrested for shoplifting.. got on probation in another city.. violated the 1.. then under another time.. I was snooping in someones car and I know I was charged with resisting arrest..

This was all 7 years ago.. was struggling with who I was and what I wanted. At that time I did use drugs. Anyways- all of those charged are done.. I seen the judge and she dropped both probation's even though I never really seen either of them. I maybe visited their office 2 or 3 times.

Anyways! That's not why I'm here.. because that's the past. Maybe it was 2003 I also got charged with under the influence.. but; that's my record. I really, have no desire to drink or any of it anymore.. Now, I'm a sober, honest, law biding citizen. No drugs, don't party.. don't drink.. I like to stay at home and have a good bbq with friends and play ps3. Really, I sit in front of the computer all day.. I do internet marketing, and I'm a web programmer. I own my own successful business. I found something that I like and it works for me. I'm a married man & a father.

However, I still do have the desire to work in aviation. Well, maybe some day work in the field but I really want to fly. I saved up about $13,000 and while I was doing some research the other day I realized that to get your private pilots license.. the only thing they check for is medical? do they even really check that or just ask you?

the 2nd question ( now that you know my legal history ) do I even have a chance to work in this field or did I screw that up young? Well.. I guess with my legal history has something to do with both questions.. can I get my private pilots license and/or if I wanted to work in a airline like united, delta, or southwest?

With your private pilots license can you fly in Mexico or Canada? Thanks for your time and I hope if you have an answer to at least one of my questions then maybe you can take a little more time and answer one for me?

Thanks in advanced.;)

Going to make some popcorn for this one...this is going to get good

First off, congratulations on cleaning up your life, that takes guts to do, as well as asking the questions you are asking.

I'm not familiar with the Maintenance side of the business, but I can tell you that those charges will haunt you on the flying side.

When you go to get your medical, you will have to disclose the DUI, and I believe any felony items on the form. You will take a Urine Test, but I honestly don't know what they check for with that. The main thing here is DON'T LIE on the form. It's called falsification of records, and if you get caught doing that, you literally have no chance, plus Federal charges can/will be brought against you. You have to be 100% accurate and honest on those forms. It will probably bring on additional forms etc... but that is better than the alternative.

As far as your chances with a career flying, I would say are 50/50. It's going to take a lot of work to jump the hurdles you've placed in the way, but honestly the way I feel is if someone can overcome what you have already, I personally would give you a chance, but I don't speak on behalf of anyone.

Now the Private Pilot License, you can fly into Canada and Mexico, but I've heard of guys having issues with Canada with prior offenses, they will detain that person etc.., so you might research that before doing anything there. But you will need more than a private to get into any airline gig. You will need to add a Commercial and Instrument ratings, and 99.999% chance you will need a Multi-Engine rating, and while you're at it a CFI(Certified Flight Instructor rating) so you can build time to get your first job. There are many many threads on these topics and I encourage you to go back through the history of many of these forums to educate yourself on that.

Also, are you located in the Detroit Metro area still? I used to work out of a small airport called New Hudson, but know of folks at that airport and also Canton-Mettetall.

Good luck to you.

"When you go to get your medical, you will have to disclose the DUI, and I believe any felony items on the form. You will take a Urine Test, but I honestly don't know what they check for with that."

EWFFlyer: the test that is performed on the urine sample is for protein spillover. Meaning sugar.

Before spending money on flight training, I'd go to the FISDO and talk to an air carrier inspector - ask him these same questions. Find out from the source if there is anything the FAA knows of in your background that would be disqualifying to hold a pilots license.

My guess is that you could probably hold a certificate.

For the second part of the question: are you employable as a pilot at a 121 carrier? Based on the hiring practices I've seen, you would have to have a stellar (beyond stellar) interview and then would need tons of luck on top of that.

You could probably work in charter or corporate aviation. A significant problem for airlines and many charter/corporate jobs is that Canada will not allow you to enter with your record. Normally folks can get waivers for canadian entry 5-7 years after the event, but for pilots the issue is almost always a DUI. I'm not sure if they would waive your extensive record.

I doubt the airlines would hire you at all with your record. You would probably have to take whatever charter/corporate job you could find...and the pickings might be slim. Employers who have loose standards for pilots backgrounds are usually bad places to work.

I would probably say that you would be better off doing something else. But if are really committed and willing to work any aviation job there is a possibility that after 10-15+ years (with a clean record) that you could get into some of the better flying jobs. I'm not even certain that things would be forgiven after that long though.

The FAA medical form asks you to list any non traffic felony or misdemeanor convictions along with a separate block for DWIs. To work at a major airport, TSA requires a background check that goes back 10 years and includes felony drug convictions. You can get a Sport Pilot certificate without a medical but it just lets you fly two seat aircraft during the day. As someone said, open the phone book, US gov, Dept. of Transportation, FAA, Flight Standards District Office. There's one in most large cities. They're the ones who are going to give you the certificate, ask to talk with an Safety Inspector.

You're a funny guy.

I want to thank you for the time you put into my thread & you gave me a lot of hope and encouragement. To answer your question: I am no longer in Michigan anymore. I just had to get away from my peers which is really what brought me down.

That's good to know. Thank you.

Honestly- I don't have anything in my system.. but; why are they checking for protein spillover? What does that mean?

I'm going to do just that..

I'm not sure I would even want to fly to Canada. The only city I even enjoyed was Montreal..

I am going to do just that though. I also read somewhere that it only cost about 700 bucks to get my record expunged in each county. Everything that was bad was in Wayne County. Once in Rino.. which I totally forgot about.. I dont even remember the outcome.. just I was there for about a month. I mean, I have a savings and 700 bucks really isnt a lot.

I will let you guys know what these guys say.. thank you for your input and taking the time to write this to me. You guys are good people.

I can't help much, but the protein spillover is to test for diabetes.