LAXbound

What would an experienced pilot suggest a younger pilot to do now that the 1500 hr law has been passed. This seems to be a major hurdle for someone who does not have money growing on trees. I am confused on the language of the bill and what it means to younger student pilots paying thousands of dollars to get ratings in order too become a commercial pilot. Should i re-think my career track (i.e. maybe go corporate/military/freight) any thoughts would be great as i am the first pilot in my family.


Thanks a bunch!

iPilot

Things are pretty much not going to change much for you. Go to school, get your ratings and then plan on instructing, fly cargo, or pretty much anything besides flying the airlines. This is the time honored tradition to building time in this business, not going to an academy and then 6 months later flying 50+ people around.

It will make you a better pilot and with any luck by preventing the airlines from just whipping up replacement workers like cupcakes every time hiring picks up you'll have a chance at actually making a career out of it.

Elvis90

If you go civilian, fly cargo or do instruction as a CFI. If you go military, there will be a 10-year commitment after pilot training (at least in the Air Force) but you will get the required time. Corporate might be an option if you know some folks in the corporate world. As of August 1, 2013, if you do not have an ATP, you will not fly Part 121 (scheduled) operations.

aseweepay

There was a time in this career when you couldn't get a job, other than flight instructing, without at least 1500 hours....I don't know how the student starts are, but try flight instructing, move onto part 135 and go from there....
This career is all about timing, and while it has been terrible for a lot of people the last 10+ years, if you are only 18, then if you work hard at it you will be positioned well in the next few years as retirements kick in (due to age 65).... But....always have a back-up plan...I would not major in aviation in college, major in something else that you can use if/when furloughed....
Good luck.......

lolwut

Only you can decide what career track is right for you. If you decide flying airliners is where you want to be, the two things I would do are...

1) Obtain a college degree

2) In the meantime, work hard at flying and take every opportunity that arises (as long as it is safe and respectable)

It will be a long and tough road ahead, there is no sugar coating that. But with enough hard work and dedication, by the time you are done with college you should be able to have a good number of ratings in your pocket and have your logbook well on its way to 1500 hours. Don't forget to have fun and enjoy life either.

LAXbound

thankyou all for your suggestions and thoughts its a big help. I am beginning to think more and more that maybe military is the only thing thats garunteed at this point. The only problem with military is that they dont accept any joe shmo to the academy.

Gajre539

I started flying when I was 17, got my Multi-comm and CFIs at 18. I instructed for a 3 years and then couldn't fly due to employment authorization issues followed by a downturn of the industry after 9/11. After a 4 year break in flying (wife + child, followed by divorce after 3 years), I had got back to flight instructing, got my ATP and now I'm 30 years old with 1900+ TT, 300+ ME and a Masters Degree. I've waited 10+ years for a regional job and I'm still waiting....

There are plenty of pilots currently at majors that worked 4-5 years as flight instructors and another few years at a 135 operation. When I got my pilot certificates in 1998, the trend was 1500 TT and 500 ME to get hired at a regional. Then a few years later pilots started getting picked up with 250 hours and now everyone in flight training expects to get hired with 700-1000 hours. The "new" law is nothing new, things are just going back to the way they were 10+ years ago.

My suggestion to you is that you take your time to get the flight time and experience you need. The FAA doesn't allow you to get your ATP until you are 23, so if you really want to be a pilot, get your CFIs and start instructing while going to college to work on a degree. At your young age, there are plenty of options for you. Three of my students got their Bachelor's degree and went to the Air Force... it's another avenue for you to consider.

rickair7777

While there are a variety of factors to consider carefully before entering aviation, the 1500 rule is not one of them.

Historically, 1500-2500+ hours was the competitive norm for entry-level airline pilots. Most of us older folks had that much before we got hired, and there are several ways to do it. With a few rare exceptions, nobody goes directly from pilot training to airline pilot in the US.

Flight Instruction: This is the normal path for new pilots, those who do not have 1000+ hours as a CFI are the exception not the rule. The challenge here is that you will probably need several hundred hours of multi-engine, and not many schools do much or any ME training). This means you will either have to seek out a school which does ME training so you can eventually work as an MEI, or find another job flying light twins.

135 freight: Another traditional career stepping-stone. You normally take this step after you have 1200 hours as a flight instructor. The schedules are bad (usually fly at night) with most of your days spent hanging around remote airports for low pay and poor benefits. But you can usually move up to a twin-engine airplane pretty quickly, and may also get turbine experience.

There are other jobs, but they are not as easy to come by or do not involve the type of flying which airlines prefer. Traffic watch, pipeline patrol, environmental monitoring, skydive pilot, etc.

As far as other options...

Military: Do it if you can...compensation, benefits, training, and future career prospects are a lot better than in civilian aviation. Of course there are other things to consider before deciding on the military.

Freight: I mentioned 135 freight...most folks don't want to do that for a career. The good freight jobs are actually better than passenger airline jobs, but of course they are far more competitive too. Follow the passenger airline career track, and after you are a regional CA you can consider freight as an option.

Corporate: This is a whole different animal, but the path starts out the same. Try to get 1500 hours and an ATP. Even more so than airlines this industyry is ALL about who you know, so you will definitely want to take every opportunity to meet people and network. Once you start flight training you will learn about who's who at the airport.

Oh, yeah...get a college degree in a non-aviation field which will serve as a backup career. Trust Me.

Gajre539

... or have some other skills in addition to having an aviation degree that will allow you to get a job if you get furloughed or can no longer fly due to medical issues.

I work as a Data Analyst at a stage agency with a B.S. in Professional Aeronautics and no formal training in computers.

LAXbound

Oh, yeah...get a college degree in a non-aviation field which will serve as a backup career. Trust Me.[/quote]


So if everyone recomends a non-aviation degree should I not be at a university with a flight program? Such as Jacksonville University