If I had to do it over again, I would of put 100% of my effort to find a Air National Guard unit to pay for your flight training. Becoming an airline pilot takes many sacrifice especially these days. Dont drink the cool aid from many of these fantasy flight schools. To do so with a family & kids you must take extreme caution!! I seen many broken marriages because of it. I am currently flying an MD80 but it took me 15 yrs to get there. Oh, yeah I'm still under paid. Good luck!

 

None taken, but true.....

 

I have no idea how G.I bill works but it sounds like flight costs are not an issue for you. I wouldn't go through DCA. Try ATP or Ari-Ben Aviator down in Florida, they offer all multi-engine training and pretty much guaranteed job as a flight instructor. After that you will take your pick at the regionals and after a few years you can expect to apply to the majors, cargo, or fractionals.

Don't concentrate on being a pilot for the majors because you might find that you don't like passenger flying, you might find corporate or cargo flying appealing. Good luck and thanks for your service.

 

The path to the majors (which includes the big cargo operators) and to any desireable corporate job is the same:

1. Get trained, including instructor licenses, for as little time and money as possible.

2.Work as a CFI.

2b. Fly night cargo is small recip airplanes (if hiring is good and you have a degree you can skip this and go directly from CFI to regional)

3. Get a Regional/commuter job, upgrade to captain, get 1000+ hours PIC in a jet or turboprop.

4. Once you have done that, you can pursue Major pax or cargo airlines or high-end corporate jobs. Trying to get into corporate from CFI can be done, but you will likely spend a LONG time in the right seat trying to build enough hours to be a captain. Usually quicker to get that time at a regional.

Like the other guy, if you can do the Guard in parallel with your civilian career, you will be set.

 

I have some college under my belt but I still need about 60 credits for my BS in Management. I haven't flown at the Quantico aero club because I have heard a lot of bad things about the instructors. I know that it is going to be rough, I just want to do something that I truly love doing. Even though I am not a pilot I have over 1000 hrs as aircrew on helicopters. I would much rather be piloting verses shooting any day!

It seems as though everyone on these forums has a nack for complaining. I'm sure there are pilots out there who are infatuated with being a pilot. I know it will be tough, I am just looking for advise to help better prepare myself and my wife.

 

That is good! Keep plugging. The degree is mandatory.

Jee-sus! I wonder where I would have ended up in life if I had said: “ I don’t guess I will go to Pensacola . . because I have heard those Navy/Marine flight instructors can be real mean and nasty SOBs” (some of ‘em were . . but in retrospect, it was a real gas)

I question your ‘drive’ and desire, sir. You got an Aero Club RIGHT THERE at Quantico -and you pussied out?! You have wasted VALUABLE (and irreplacable) time and assets. SUCK IT UP, get over there this weekend and get STARTED!

 

NJ Spurgeon,

I see you mentioned Quantico. Im guessing you are stationed there. If you are interested in the flight school of flying club route what you might want to do is look at Manassas airport. I used to CFI out of there myself. There are several clubs you can join or several schools to choose from as well as an ATP branch. If you wish to post an email address I will be happy to email you and try to answer some questions. Also you can try to PM me I have never used the PM on this site before so Im not sure how or if it works.... But I'm still local to HEF myself and would be happy to help in anyway I can....

Space Monkey

 

Priority number one: FINISH COLLEGE. Your chances at getting an airline job will be literally nil without it. And it's one of the biggest favors you'll ever do yourself and your family.

I'm one of those infatuated pilots. Still. I made my decision to be a pilot standing on the side of a mountain in Vietnam guiding a Huey in for an extraction. I figured what that guy was doing (Flying!) was a hell of a lot better than what I was doing (humping a ruck sack and getting shot at). I decided that I wanted to be an army helicopter pilot. Needless to say, one thing led to another and I am where I am today. How I got here is easy to explain. I wouldn't quit. Better put, we wouldn't put. My wife, and later my son's, were with me pretty much the whole way. As I clawed my way along the career track we made the sacrifices and adjustments that we needed to make. We've lived in the same house for the past 22 years. It's NOT a captain's house, i.e., 5,000 square feet with an $800K mortgage. It's comfortable and in a good neighborhood. We don't drive fancy, expensive cars. Our vacations are usually in a 15 year old motorhome. My yacht is a 14' aluminum boat. See a pattern here? If you're willing to control yourself, your spending and you're willing to make the sacrifices and put out the effort THERE IS HOPE!. I will tell you this before SkyLow jumps all over me. This isn't the same business that it was 2, 5 or 10 years ago and it's probably only going to get worse. But it still beats working for a living.

Talk to your wife. Make sure that you're on the same page and that she understands what has to be done. Remember, she's the best retirement that you'll ever hang on to. Look yourself in the mirror and decide if you can do what it takes to get to where you want to be. Then get it done. Even if you don't make it you'll never have to wonder in 25 years if you should have at least tried. You're a Marine. You understand what work and effort are.

 

Ranger with you around to paint such a Rosy picture who needs a SkyHigh?
Throw your life away for a slim chance at getting to live like a postman. Sounds great..

SkyHigh

 

Skyhigh, I think that I've finally realized your problem. To you life isn't about the experiences and the joys of sharing time with family and friends. Instead it seems that you are more concerned with the size of the house, the quality of the car, and the social standing you have in the community. Material wealth and greed seem to be the center of your posts.

Ranger (as it would seem) and I, both live comfortable lifestyles. We both own homes. We both have families. It would seem that both of us (gasp!) love what we do for a living, but also have a good balance of family vs work.

We might not be the "kings" of our block, but I certainly am respected in the community for what I do. I live in a nice historic home that has plenty of room for my family and my needs (without being too cramped or too audacious). My neighbors are folks from all walks. Some work as postmen, others as lawyers and doctors, and business owners. There's nothing wrong with any of those career choices.

Personally, I think you need to get over it. Move on! I appreciate the fact that you provide some balance, but is there this incessant need to always be bashing those people that, in your eyes, don't garner the "social standing" that you do? Being a postal carrier is a respectable career, and one that requires a lot more effort and skill than you think. There's nothing wrong with careers in retail, or postal work, or mopping floors. When you realize that, perhaps you can come off your high horse. My neighbor lives in a nice home than me and drives a brand new SUV... he is a garbageman.