BECOMING A PILOT
If you’re not sure
whether or not you would like to pursue
a career as an aviator, our advice to
you is go to a nearby Flight School and
take a 'Discovery Flight'. A Discovery
Flight or Familiarization Flight is
known by various different names
depending upon the Flight School, but
generally involves a 30 minute First
Flight at a reduced rate to introduce
you to the world of flying. Here you
will get to see the world around you
from the best view window you’ve ever
dreamed of. You will also get to hear
the sounds of aviation on the headset,
as well as from the roaring engine
immediately in front of you. If you
wanted to become a pilot before this
first flight, you’ll most likely NEED to
become a pilot afterward! There is truly
no life like it! No question the best
offices are in the sky!
The views from your first training
flight until your last airliner flight
are amazing. The variety is
unparalleled; the pristine modern
flightdeck, the remote places an
airplane can take you, the
professionalism and team work of an
airline cockpit crew, the natural beauty
seen daily by Alaskan bush pilots,
teaching a student from day one right up
and until the successful conclusion of
their Multi-Engine Instrument Rating,
the beautiful designs of the modern
business jets, the personal reward in
flying a critically ill patient to the
safety of an advanced medical facility,
flying food and mail as a ‘lifeline’ to
remote communities in northern Alaska
aboard a Piper Cub, flying all over the
USA as a Southwest Airlines Pilot,
flying the new Boeing 777 aircraft
across the Atlantic Ocean as a Delta,
United, or American Airlines Pilot,
watching 5 skydivers fall out of your
plane to meet up seconds later for their
favorite Sky-Dive Assembly, flying
between beautiful mountain sides in
Colorado, defending your country as an
Air Force F-18 Pilot, are just a few of
the hundreds of unique opportunities you
will come across as a Pilot in the USA.
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A PILOT'S LIFE /
PILOT CAREER RESEARCH
Have a look through
our popular A Pilot’s Life
section to learn first hand from actual
pilots in our industry about their lives
and careers. Find out what the job is
really like, what the living conditions
are, where these people often fly, what
the equipment is like, what their flying
schedule entails, what it is like to fly
overseas, and much more. Simply click on
the yellow link above for further
information, but remember to return to
the Training Section to find out how you
can become a Pilot yourself!
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THE TRAINING
PROCESS
Pilot Training in
the USA is not unlike Pilot Training in
the rest of the world. There are a
series of steps one must accomplish
before you are employable as an FAA
Certified Pilot. You can accomplish
these steps on your own, at your own
pace, at a
Flight School
or through a Full Time program within a
Flight College or University.
Do note though that most, if not all,
Flight Colleges & Universities in the
USA require that you have your Private
Pilot Certificate completed before you
commence their program.
The first step is to take a Discovery
Flight – a quick 30 minute flight which
will either make you really want to
become a pilot (most likely) or may make
you realize you are not meant to be a
pilot. This flight is not a test of
anything, merely an introduction to
aviation itself! We, the pilots at the
PilotCareerCentre all absolutely loved
our first flight and knew right at that
moment, that this was the best career
for us!
The next step is to get an FAA Pilot
Medical done - just to ensure that
nothing medical is holding you back from
becoming a pilot. Once you receive a
valid medical, you can start your
Private Pilot Certificate Training. At
the end of this training, usually you
will have logged between 45 and 80
flight hours (45 hrs is the minimum),
you will be recommended by your Flight
Instructor to do the Private Pilot
Certificate Written Exam and Flight
Exam. Passing the FAA Multiple Choice
Exam, and successfully flying the
required maneuvers will result in you
receiving your first certificate – the
Private Pilot’s Certificate. This allows
you to fly Single Engine Piston
Airplanes without an Instructor onboard,
but not for remuneration.
Next up is the Instrument Rating where
you will learn to fly by the instruments
in the cockpit alone; without reference
to the horizon. An Instument Rating and
the Private Pilot Certificate are
required before you make the next step.
The next step in the Pilot Career Path
in the USA is the Commercial Pilot
Certificate. A common misnomer is to
think that this is the Training you need
to fly for the ‘Commercial Airlines’,
when in actual fact it is simply the
licensing required for you to be able to
be paid to fly airplanes. This
certificate involves more advanced
training and maneuvers, and also more
advanced theory. At the end of this
training, and once you have successfully
logged the required flight time totals;
usually between 200 - 250 hours (Minimum
200 hrs), you will again be recommended
to do the FAA Written Exam as well as
the Flight Exam. Once both are
successfully completed, the FAA will
grant you a Commercial Pilot
Certificate.
From here you have a variety of options.
You can work and be paid as a Single
Engine Charter Pilot - although there
are not a lot of companies employee
pilots solely in this capacity. You can
elect to train to become a Flight
Instructor. Another option is to
continue training to get your
Multi-Engine Rating. After this rating,
most continue on to learn how to fly in
clouds under Instrument Flight
Conditions or 'IFR' with no reference to
the earth other than your instruments,
while flying a Multi-Engine Aircraft.
This is called the Multi-Engine
Instrument Rating, and is the most
popular option as it enables you to be
the most employable when you commence
your Job Search - Why? Because the
majority of Fixed Wing Aviation
Companies in the US have Multi-Engine
Aircraft, and also need you to have your
IFR Instrument Rating to be able to
employ you. Like the rest of your
initial training, there is an FAA
Written Exam and a Multi-Engine IFR
Flight Test. Once these are successfully
completed, you will receive a new
license in the mail with the
Multi-Engine Instrument Rating endorsed
near the top of the page.
ATP - the "ATP" stands for Airline
Transport Pilot and this license is
highly respected in the USA and
worldwide by ICAO. This is also the
license you need to fly for the airlines
in the US. The requirements are
experience (Minimum 1500 Flight Hours,
incl. 250 PIC, 100 PIC Cross Country,
100 Night, and 25 Night Cross Country
PIC, and 75 Hours Instrument) and
successful completion of a 2 Part
Written Exam. There is also an extensive
Ground Briefing and Flight Exam required
for the issue of an ATP in the US. Some
pilots on larger aircraft complete this
training in a simulator with an FAA
Inspector onboard, wile others use
conventional Twin Engine training
aircraft like the Beech Baron to
complete this exam and Qualification.
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CHOOSING THE RIGHT
FLIGHT SCHOOL or COLLEGE
Timeline vs Post
Secondary Education vs Total Cost vs
Reputation of School vs Success of
School's Past Students, etc. It seems
every future-pilot has a different
predicament so we will address some of
them below:
Many people who choose aviation as a
second career do not feel they have the
time to go through a 2 Year Aviation
College Diploma or 4 Year University
Program. Often already equipped with
Post Secondary Education and life
experience, these types of wanna-be
pilots usually want to get all of their
flying licences in hand in the least
possible time. Please note that if this
is you, and if you have money set aside
for your complete Flight Training, it is
a good idea to go into a Flight School
and try to get a cheaper 'block rate'
for your aircraft rental by guaranteeing
many 'block' hours or perhaps through
pre-paying for a large block of hours.
This can save you a lot of money over
your training period.
Younger people graduating from high
school with the flying bug often want to
'kill two birds with one stone' by
enrolling in a 2 Year Aviation College
Program or a 4 year University Degree
Aviation Program. Here you can get all
of your flying licences up to the
Multi-Engine Instrument Rating, and CFI
Flight Instructor Rating, in addition to
a 2 Year Post Secondary College Diploma,
or a 4 year University Degree. These
programs by nature can be more expensive
as you receive Flight Training and
College/University Studies
simultaneously. But at the same time
they often provide you with excellent
training and professionalism before
heading out into the real world. For
those interested, there are financing
programs from the banks in place. Many
of the major airlines in the USA require
their pilot applicants to have 4 year
university degrees - but at the same
time are not anticipating hiring pilots
in the medium term, while the Regional
Jet Operators who do not require a
degree are constantly looking for new
pilots as they take new deliveries of
regional jets every month.
Some students want to research the
success rate of the previous students at
that particular flight school. If it is
a highly respected Training School, it
may have a very good record in regard to
it's students finding jobs. Some schools
may have a record of hiring their own
students into Flight Instructor
positions - which is a great way to get
your first job.
Other students can be extremely cost
conscious and look to train at the least
expensive school. The only caution we
have here is to make sure you are
receiving adequate training at such a
school.
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FOREIGN STUDENTS
The USA is an
excellent place to take your Pilot
Training and learn how to fly!
The United States has by far the largest
aviation industry in the world. When you
think about the number of successful
global corporations based in the US
(Corporate Jet Departments), the largest
military and air force in the world -
the USAF & US Navy, the largest economy
in the world - including 5 of the 7
largest airlines in the world, and the
recent Regional Jet explosion in the
states, you can get an idea for how
truly huge this market is.
Why
Train in the USA?
Training Schools – The US has excellent
Training Schools and Facilities. Also
many UK Based Pilot Training Schools
have set up schools in the USA for
Europeans to be able to acquire the JAA
Pilot Licences while training in the
USA. Click on the following to research
the Flight Schools:
Training Schools
in the US
FAA Pilot Licences - respected and
validated around the world as ICAO Pilot
Licences. Most US Pilots stay within
their own massive US Pilot Market, but
their Training and Licenses are so
highly respected throughout the world,
that many US Pilots have ventured away
to fly abroad for companies including
pilots flying for airlines such as
Korean Airlines, Cathay Pacific,
Emirates, Japan Airlines, All Nippon
Airlines Cargo, and more. As mentioned
above - there are many schools now in
the US that provide JAA Flight Training
and JAA European Pilot Licences.
Optimum Weather in the USA – In many
parts of the US the weather is perfect
for Flight Training - with many sunny
days for weeks on end. In some of the
northern states, pilots in training can
take advantage of the cooler seasons to
get practicial experience flying in
cloud in IMC conditions, sometimes even
within Snow showers and icing
conditions.
Training Costs in the USA – Training in
the US is extremely cost effective when
compared with training in Europe and
Asia - in fact it is estimated to be
between 30-35% less. This reduced cost
in building flight hours and training
can be a real advantage to Pilots from
European & Asian countries. When
estimating costs for Training in the US,
remember that 1 Euro is about equal to 1
US$. For this reason many schools in the
US have set up Foreign Licence Training
Programs and pilots from Europe come to
the USA to do their pilot training to
save costs. Also many Asian airlines
have set up Ab-Initio Training Programs
for their new cadet pilots to train them
from day 1 of flying right through to
their first Airliner Simulator Training
Flight - this saves these airlines
millions of dollars each year due to the
relatively low cost of training in the
USA.
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