Asgeir

Hello,
Im 26 yrs old and have about 250+TT. I have my private pilot and Instrument rating and Multi commercial. I was going to RAA (regional airline academy) in Fl when they went bankrupt and took all my money. That was five years ago. I have kept my private pilot rating good, but my instrument and commercial are out of date. Its been almost 7 months since I have flown. I'm stuck in a dead end job at a Chevy dealership, ran out of money for school, cant fly(due to no money). I'm thinking about join the military to get back to flying, I know the benefits are great. But is there some way other then joining that I can take to get flying. I have been flying since I was 16, and i really want to get back in.

flynlion

I feel yer pain Bro'. Try to research what jobs might be available for low-time pilots in your area, and always keep your ears open for the next opportunity. If your still in Florida, maybe banner towing is an option? It won't pay much but it's a start.

Good luck.

Cbusbased

Do some research on banner towing, aerial surveying, and flying skydivers.

TallFlyer

Do a search for Pictometry over on JetCareers. Lots of good information.

JohnBurke

How can you be "current" on your private pilot certificate, but not your commercial? You only have one pilot certificate.

Do you mean that you are current in single engine airplanes, but not multi engine airplanes?

Maintaining multi engine currency at this point is, well, pointless. Nobody is going to hire you into a multi engine airplane, unless you're going for a second in command position at somewhere like Great Lakes. If that's your target, then you would want to do some research, find a way to get current, and apply.

Otherwise, get involved at every level that you can. Stay current not just in the pilot seat, but on current events, regulation, etc. Study. Go do Civil Air Patrol. Look into getting your CFI in a glider or powered aircraft, even if it means a loan; do it somewhere that will hire you when you complete the training, and pick a place that has a high volume of activity.

chrisreedrules

He could mean that he only has a 3rd class medical? So he couldn't exercise commercial privileges on his pilot certificate... But anyway, just to echo what some others have said, if you can't scrape together the money for your CFI, with your low total time you are at least going to need a single-engine commercial in order to build time. Don't worry about instrument currency at this point, I'd worry about getting that single-engine commercial. It can be done pretty cheap. I'm not sure what area your in, but most bigger cities still utilize a local operator to provide Traffic Watch services. See about hopping in the airplane with them to build some recent experience. Beg, borrow, and steal every hour you can get. If you want it bad enough, you will find a way.

Tpinks

No, he might have one physical certificate but he has two licenses. Read his post... He said he had a private SEL and a Commercial MEL. If he is not Multi engine current, then his commercial license is not current, yet as long as he has kept up on flying SEL aircraft, his private would be.

I had the opposite for a short period of time. I had both my Private SEL and MEL before I took a Commercial checkride. So when I took my CASEL checkride, it superseded my PASEL license, but I still had a PAMEL license until I took my CAMEL two weeks after my CASEL.


To the OP, unless you have a bachelors degree, you will not be flying (initially at least until you get a bachelors degree to be able to get into OCS) in the military.

Flyhayes

Hey Asgeir,
Fellow RAA alumn here.
I'd definitely get your ASEL Commercial and the CFI or CFII. With just your Commercial Multi, your options are going to be limited.
If you're still in the area, I can help get you on track with your training.

JohnBurke

There is only one pilot certificate.

One may have different privileges, but there is still only one pilot certificate. One may be, for example, private pilot, airplane single engine land, and commercial airplane multi engine land, but it's still one pilot certificate; a commercial pilot certificate in which the holder has only private privileges for single engine land airplanes.

A Bachelor degree isn't necessary for army aviation. It's more competitive, but not necessary.

The FAA does not issue licenses. The FAA issues certificates, and you cannot hold two different FAA pilot certificates at the same time.

El Pilot

Hey I'm 27, and a similar position but I stay current as much as possible. I would get the CSEL and if you don't want to CFI, banner towing, skydiving, and Pictometry. PM me if you want to build time in the NYC/NJ area.