New to the Industry
 

All current pilots,

I have a couple of questions:

I will retire from the U.S. Army soon and planning on attending AirBen Aviator or flight safety (haven't decided yet) for my flight instruction.

1. Once completion of training and get my certificates, which is the best regional to work for since I have a wife and young son? I don't want to have to commute to work, rather just live by my base with my family. Is this possible?
2. I hear on threads that GoJet and Piedmont are not companies to work for. Is this true or does it depend on how each individual fits in to the work environment and working hours?
3. I see that GoJet regional only has the CRJ700 airplanes. Do regionals start training you on THEIR airplanes after you get hired? How does that work? Do they pay for your training once you are hired?

Thank you for your honesty in my future 2nd career decision to be a pilot.

I would stay away from scAIRy Ben. Ask BlueMoon. He lurks these boards and he'll tell you all you want to know about them. I don't think he had a very good experience there. I think you can find better (and maybe cheaper) time building options elsewhere.

I'm not sure I can advise you to enter this industry right now and still be able to sleep tonight. I think we are headed for trouble with oil on the rise, and it would not be a good time for a rather low time pilot to get in with the possibility of hundreds or thousands of pilots flooding the market if a few carriers go belly up and/or if a few mergers take place. If you want to come into aviation, do so as a hobby. Trust me, it's more fun that way. I've only been in it professionally for 3 years now and the fun is already gone. Only 35 more years to go!

PS -- Thanks fo your service, dedication and sacrifice to this country.

What RJtrash said. Except for Ari Ben. I don't know much about them. I visited their facilities 3 years ago and decided to go somewhere else for flight training.

Be very cautious about getting into this industry, especially with a family to support. It's already tough the first few years and the future looks even tougher.

I would recommend Ari Ben. I did my multi, inst, and com there and it was good training and at the time the cheapest in the U.S. Only one time did I put two airplanes down for m/x during preflights, but that is part of the fun right??

Ari-Ben seemed ok... they are a pilot mill, especially with folks from overseas. I did 50 hours of multi time building there and the planes were fine. I didnt run into any problems other than scheduling not being as flexible as I would have liked it to. But what do you expect for 50ME hours in a week and a half... Just be careful, when I was down there last year, two clowns put one of the nicer duchess' in the ground trying to do xwind landings from the right seat... totaled the a/c.

That's a question that could be discussed at length for DAYS on here. Each airline has their own set of advantages and disadvantages, good and bad points, and reputation. If you haven't even started flight training yet, the one thing you can definitely count on is the fact that everything in the industry will change an untold number of times before you're in a position to apply. The airline that's very attractive today may not even exist by the time you're ready, and the worst airline in the country right now might be the most attractive later on. Also, the answer to your question all depends on where you want to live, what your goals are for your career, your priorities, blah blah blah. When I first started training I was dying to work for Air Wisconsin. No offense to the wisky guys, but I'm kind of glad I did some more research and ended up where I did. While I envy AWAC's pay scale, Mesaba is a better fit for me and where I want to be.

Piedmont isn't terrible in comparison to many others out there, like Mesa. Most of the negative comments you've heard about Piedmont are probably in regard to their training department though. It needs a serious reorganization. Just, please, stay away from GoJet. If you get people started on this forum about that company, your thread will get hijacked in a matter of minutes, filling up with all kinds of nasty stuff. If you're curious, do a search. Otherwise, don't even go there.


You don't need to be qualified in the CRJ, ERJ, DHC-8, (whatever) in order to apply to a regional. When you're hired they will pay for your training. The way things are now, most of the new hires flying those jets/t-props had never flown anything bigger than a Seminole before they were hired. In the past, you really needed some experience flying something bigger than a trainer (cargo, air taxi, charter, etc.), or a lot of instructing experience to be competitive in a regional airline interview. But, the industry as a whole needs pilots so badly now, that's just not the case anymore. I just hope for your sake that the bubble doesn't burst before you're in a position to take advantage of it. Everything is cyclical here. We've definitely had our upswing. The million dollar question is, how long will it last, or has it already hit its peak and begun back down? That's up for debate.

Hope that helps.

Flight Safety is well known for training all sorts of pilots on advanced aircraft, which is naturally expensive. Their entry-level training is also very expensive, but probably good. Unless you have a trust-fund, I'd look elsewhere. Ari-ben is controversial, you hear a lot of bad and some good about them. I know a good school in SOCAL, and several folks here can recommend schools in various states.


1. Since it sounds like you're willing to move, you have more options in a regional. Select a larger regional with a large junior base in a city you won't mind living in for a while. By choosing a junior base your QOL will improve rapidly as an FO, and you will upgrade to CA more quickly, without having to move your family or commute. If you have a prefered geographic region or cities in mind, we could help narrow things down. Note: The regional industry may be seeing some significant changes soon. Start researching regionals on the internet and via word-of-mouth. Get a feel for what's going on, and watch for major events...it could effect your employment options in the near future.

2. I would recommend (strongly) that you avoid Gojet and Mesa. Someone else can speak better for Piedmont, but it's probably a regional where you build some time to move on to a better regional.

3. Almost all airlines will provide training on their airplanes. You will usually get paid (at a reduced rate) and have a hotel room provided while in training at a regional.

Flight Safety No Longer Flight Safety
 

If you are going to go to Flight Safety because of the name, choose another school. They are being bought out and you will no longer have the great Flight Safety on you gtraduation Certificates unless you finish everything by the end of the Month. They have been bougth out by a no-name company that is going to be associated with Indian River CC. in order to offer a degree type program. Dont waste the money if your looking for the name to be on your resume one day.

I live in Vero Beach, my dad is the head of ARFF there and know this info first hand.

My dad's fire truck is bigger than your dads.

I will go to AriBen Aviator so I can use my VA/GI Bill from the Army retirement I will get to help pay my training.
Does anyone know if another regional besides Eagle uses DFW as a base? I think I will like living there with my family if I can get it and on with a descent regional.
Anyone know the time it takes to get to the left seat at Eagle?
I will start my flight training in 2 years when I retire and start my second carrer.