Nate Graf

Hi,

The past couple years I have been looking at flight schools and the Air National Guard. After visiting my local ANG unit in Burlington, Vermont I became aware of a new path into aviation, contract training. I am not sure if I am coining the term correctly but from what I understand some companies, such as Cathay Pacific, will train and hire people that meet the necessary requirements.

I was wondering if anyone had some insight into this type of route? Do you receive a good education and what companies offer said cadet program? I have always wanted to be a pilot as my father and grandfather and now having graduated college I am looking to make my first step into the industry. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

-Nate

Rotor2prop

Nate,

I do not think there are any US companies that offer cadet program. That's more of a European/Middle East business practice. Now if a true pilot shortage ever hit the US you would see it start here.

I would assume that the reason you ask about this is because how much it costs for flight training. If thats the case I'll give you some advice that others here will echo. DO NOT take out a huge loan to pay for flight training!! I know its tempting but just do not do it. Yes, you may have to borrow a little bit after you get into your training but pay out of pocket for your Private and Instrument Rating. Find a small mom and pop type school to do your training. Do not pay a large sum up front!! Put $1000 down and pay as you go. Good luck!!

rickair7777

Not in the US, and it's safe to assume you would need right-to-work or maybe citizenship to qualify overseas.

Cathay Pacific is about as close as a US citizen might come to a cadet program. Due to their location and history, they freely hire America, Australian, British, and other ex-pat pilots. They have a program which hires second officers (In-flight Relief Officers) with very low time. But the standards are high and very competitive. You also have to live in Hong Kong for at least three years. The good thing about Cathay is they have US bases on the cargo side, so you can eventually transition to cargo and come home. Might be worth looking into.

Nate Graf

I am currently working on my MBA at Champlain College but have visited Embry-Riddel on several occasions. I have considered transferring there, doing my MBA online and flight program, but the cost associated with that is around 120k. As you have mentioned I should avoid paying more than I have too. I have no outstanding debt and have just opened a federal loan but do not want to dig myself into a hole when I would be scrapping by for hours as it is.

Another school I have looked at but was a little disappointed with was Aerosim, formally Delta Connections or Comair at Sanford International Airport, which has a fairly new fleet. An older School I also looked at was Flight Safety in Vero Beach. A few of my fathers but stay current there but the fleet and equipment look extremely out dated, considering they have been around for 45 years now.

If I could get a free ride through Cathay Pacific or ANG I would definitely be on board. I'm approaching the whole deal tentatively and want to avoid any unnecessary cost. I will definitely be looking into Cathay Pacific and any other airline with similar programs. Thank you for your advice.

rickair7777

Cathay is not a free ride, you will need an FAA (or JAA) commercial, but they will then train you for a JAA Frozen ATPL, which converts to a regular ATPL when you have enough flight time. It's definitely a shortcut to the majors, but hard to get into.

Military will be the only route for a US citizen where you don't pay out of pocket for training.

At this point I'd go checkout small local flight schools and FBO's, and work on a PPL if you don't already have one. By the time you finish a PPL you will be much better informed as to how to select a school.

The big schools mostly excel at separating uninformed people from their money, I generally don't recommend them. If cots is no object, I would recommend Flight Safety.

Also new airplanes are not necessarily what you should be looking for. The cost of new light airplanes is far out of proportion to their historical cost, and you the student will pay for that.

At this point I would still say train on an older "steam gauge" airplane with a traditional six-pack flight instruments. It's easy for any young person to learn glass later when the time comes, because of your computer/smart phone experience. Many entry-level airliners (older turboprops) still have steam gauges and if you did all your training on a glass cessna, you'll probably fail out of new-hire training on a steam gauge airliner. I even sat jumpseat on a SWA 737-300 a few months ago and it still had all steam gauges.