Pete,
I wouldn’t put too much stock in either of the two above posts. The notion that it is too late in life for you to become a professional pilot is absolutely absurd! Do not get any of that nonsense in your head. If you got on the ball and lived in aviation tunnel vision you could get 15+ years of airlines or more if you opt private.
That being said… you aren’t twenty years old so we should get ya moving! If you’ve done you’re homework, you should have already researched what you can expect to spend both financially and time wise to get minimally qualified. Also you should know initial pay rates, and should try to familiarize yourself with the VERY direct relationship to cyclical need for pilots and the extreme hardship of finding a job should the need for pilots be relatively little. The good news is that the need for pilots now and for the foreseeable future (5 years+?) looks unprecedently positive.
So the job should be there when you get done training, which is a great thing to think about ahead of time. Next, you better have or be able to borrow a pile of money. I’ve been out of the training loop for better than six or more years so I’m not too sure what its going to take today. I’m guessing its going to take you all of 40-50,000 of pure training costs. Like I said, I could be wrong. Be careful when getting quotes from flight schools, they almost always give a lighter number than it really takes. Personally I went to FlightSafety Academy and the numbers were just about spot on. However keep in mind that’s training costs and not cost of living included. Do yourself a favor and find a way to do it all in one foul swoop, don’t try to work while you train, it will inevitably cost more money and certainly take longer. So that’s the money side of the deal. Time line wise, I’d say if you have zero experience now, once you start you could effectively be a multi engine, instrument rated commercial pilot in 10 months to one year. It may be possible to do it in the 4 month or similar programs but trust me; you are only short changing yourself. After the entire goal is to learn the art of flying an airplane, to become an aviator and that takes some time. Don’t forget to enjoy yourself while your going through, I look back and find that training in a great training environment was a very special time in my life and I look back with the fondest of memories and experiences.
Ok we’ve covered money, and time. Next, what does that money and time get you in the real world. Well, that is hard to say. Years ago those certificates and ratings wouldn’t get you a discount on a sandwich. They would however get you a good hardy laugh from any jet operator. Today is a much different story. By the time you get out of school if you went to an academy style school you’ll have between 200-250 hours, if you went to a general airport rental/school you’ll have at least 250 hours. In today’s market a pilot with 250-400 hours are either getting a commuter jobs or are damn near it. I think the highest hour requirement by ‘the best’ regional airline has got to be in the 800 hour range. Do the math, honestly if a guy’s got the mental/financial/drive wherewithal to achieve the certifications a paying airline job is really just around the corner. I’m jealous, let’s just say it wasn’t that way when I was looking at the regional level. When I was looking, a guy had to have 3000 hours just for an interview at the regional level! Like I said, cyclical.
Ok, that’s money/time/job. Questions?
On a side note, depending on your financial situation you may want to consider buying your own airplane. You could get into your own airplane for ball park of 80-100,000. for something decent that you’d actually want to fly in. The upside is that you’d get to really know the airplane, and if you were able to buy it right you could sell it for the same or profit after you’ve done your training and saved a TON of cash. Only paying for the fuel, instructors time, minor upkeep and insurance, a good friend did it and actually after all expenses was able to turn a 2000 profit after costs for his own licenses. That would be the single engine and instrument, along with time building. You’d still need to rent out that pricy multi engine, some things just suck.
Hope this has been a help, I wanted to try and give you some solid advice instead of you going away thinking this was out of the question for any age related reasons. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions, you will.
B
