Intro

[KevinM-MA-1209]

Hi Kevin my name is Also Kevin.I have a lot of questions.Like how does it feel like to fly is it hard?But most important i am 15 years old and i am interested in becoming a pilot.i have checked schools but it's too much money for classes.Airlines like American Eagle require 500 hours that's a lot to pay.so i would like to know what do you recommend me to do.

[American Eagle Kevin]

Hello Kevin,

Welcome tot he forums and thanks for participating. I hope I can help you along your way.

You're still pretty young but it's great to see that you have an interest in flying for a living one day. Do you have aspirations to go to college after high school or would you like to go straight into flying?

I would do as much research on flight schools that you can right now to get an idea of how much it will cost you. Doing research on this forum is also a big help to get you started as well.

There's no way of getting around the fact that you will have to pay for flight school. I think that any money spent in continuing education is money well spent. Don't let the money factor keep you from pursuing your dreams.

When you eventually get all your licenses, you can build your time by working as an instructor in order to build the required time that the airlines require. You will get paid to instruct instead of paying out of pocket for your flight time which is a much more worthwhile idea.

Let me know what I can do to help you out. Ask as many questions as you like and I will do my best to answer them. Thanks!

Regards,
Kevin

[KevinM-MA-1209]

Well kevin I actually found a school.which i will go visit over the weekend and discuss Financing.So what you told me earlier ''you can build your time by working as an instructor in order to build the required time that the airlines require''.So that's how that would works I can be an Instructor and build my hours at the same time?i have other questions like can you please tell me the difference between a Commercial Pilot and a Airline pilot?What are you?

[KevinM-MA-1209]

Wow Kevin I was so excited i did not notice the question you asked me!Well i was thinking about going straight into Flying because the school i plan on attending the owner told me in 3 years i can get the hours i need for my Private License.Also for the Commercial License and in that time build my time for Airlines.But due to seeing that most Airlines require a Bachelor's degree i don't want to take the risk of not being able to get a job.But do you think i could get a job in an Airline with no degree just with my licenses and hours?

[KevinM-MA-1209]

I will do anything i have to do to Accomplish my dream.Hopefully i can get the Financing.I feel like money would be a very cheap excuse to not follow my dream.

[KevinM-MA-1209]

now i know im replying to you a lot but i also know you must be very busy everyday.So another question of many.Do you think a 2 year degree could be enough to get a job in an airline?

[American Eagle Kevin]

Hey Kevin,

What school were you looking at? The owner said it will take you 3 years to earn the hours to get your private pilot's license??? That's ridiculous. If you went through ATP you could get that in 60 days and then earn the rest of your ratings in 90 more. Altogether it would take you 150 days to earn all of your ratings. Check the link for theAirline Career Pilot Program. There's some good information there that can be very useful and helpful.

The most popular method for building flight time in order to be elgible for the airlines is to flight instruct. That's what I did and most of the other pilots on this forum did as well. We all went through the Airline Career Pilot Program and then instructed for ATP in order to build the required time that the airlines want. Instructing was a great experience and it taught me how to be a very proficient pilot. I recommend that route but it's not for everyone. Some people don't enjoy teaching which is understandable. There are other ways you can build flight time such as night cargo, towing banners, pipeline patrol, charter companies, etc. Those jobs are a little bit more difficult to come by, but you could build just as much time doing them as you would if you were instructing.

To answer your next question, in order to get paid to fly airlplanes you must have a 'Commercial License'. Once you earn your Commercial License and get a job, you can call yourself a 'Commercial Pilot', because technically you get paid to fly. The most popular form of Commercial Aviation is obviously, Airline Service. So I think over the years the term Commercial Pilot and Airline Pilot go together.

Now technically speaking, in order to become a Captain for an airline you must have an 'Airline Transport Pilot Certificate' or ATP license. This is another license that is a step above the 'Commercial Pilot's license'. In order to get hired by the regional airlines as a First Officer (co-pilot), all you need is a Commercial Pilot's license plus the required amount of hours.

When I was hired with American Eagle I only had my Commercial License. Recently I went and got my ATP license just to get it out of the way but it was not requirement in order to be a First Officer (co-pilot) with the regional airlines. So while I only had a Commercial License when I was hired, I still called myself an Airline Pilot because I was working for the airlines. You have to impress the woman some how right??

It's a little confusing, I know. As long as you can separate the difference between the public and societal use of the term 'Commercial Pilot' and 'Airline Pilot' which are the same, and the technical licensed use of the terms, you should be ok. I hope that makes sense.

Don't let money stand in the way of your dreams. Check out ATP's Financing page to learn some information on how to get a loan for flight school. Any money spent towards furthering education is money well spent.

I think a 2 year degree would be able to get you a job with a regional airline like American Eagle, Express Jet, Sky West or ASA. If you want to get hired with a major airline later on in life such as American, United, Delta, or USAirways you would need to have a 4 year degree. Keep in mind that the airlines don't care what your degree is in, just as long as you have one. The joke has always been that you can go get a degree in 'Basket Weaving' which is easy and simple and still meet the degree requirements for a major airline.

Let me know what you think of all this. Definitely let me know what flight school you are looking at. Also do some research on ALLATPS and get some good information about the school. Are you reconsidering college now too as well?

Take Care,

Kevin

[KevinM-MA-1209]

Hi Kevin Well he did not say i can get my private License in 3 years he said i can get all my ratings in three years.the school is called East Coast Aero Club.They have Airplanes but it's expensive and no financial Aid.he suggested i go to college for Aviation and get all my ratings done there.


I did some research on two Colleges here in Massachusetts.they seem pretty good.

What would you recommend me go to college?Will it Work out Fine?

But anyways i am going to check out ATP maybe that can be my solution.

[KevinM-MA-1209]

So i checked out ATP it looks really good they have housing over 26 locations.One problem I am 15 still in High School.For em to get all my ratings it will probably take longer.I'm sure i won't be able to go for 3 months over the summer then leave and come back in a year and keep on doing it until i am done with High School.That would be 4 Summers of 3 months each 12 months which will probably be enough.So when will you recommend me to start at ATP?
Approximately what age?

[American Eagle Kevin]

Hey Kevin,

My gut and common sense are telling me you should probably finish High School before starting flight school. You can definitely go and get your Private Pilot's license while you're in High School and get a few hours under your belt. That won't hurt, but to commit to a training regimen like the Airline Career Pilot Program takes 3-5 continuous months, depending on the program. Also, you want to leave yourself open once you complete the program so that you can automatically start working as an instructor in order to build more time.

Your college question is a personal choice for you. Like I said, the airlines don't care what your college degree is in, just as long as you have one. The regional airlines don't require a 4 year degree but it helps in order to stay competitive when getting hired and the Major Airlines require a 4 year degree. The airlines mainly care about your experience and your ratings but they would like you to have a college degree.

Let me know what you think about this. What is your gut telling you to do? Do you want to go to college? If so, are you thinking about an aviation college or maybe majoring in something else? If you major in something else you can go through ATP after college or even during one of your summer vacations. This way you could instruct part time while going through college. Just a thought.

There's no right or wrong answer here. You have all the time in the world to accomplish your goals. What you want to do is line yourself up in order to be in the best position for when those opportunites come.

Regards,

Kevin