Hey guys just wondering, is it possible to be a pilot with out going to flight school and get degrees and what not ??
Thanks
I donāt be beleive itās possible without flight school as you kind of have to know the rules and how to fly an airplaneš You donāt need a university degree to accomplish getting your civillian pilots licence, itāll just take a lot of money.
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If by flight school you mean going to a college/university then yes itās possible, but you need to sit through your PPL and get required licences to be able to fly a plane legally, a lot of people do it privately without going down the education route, just requires a substantial investment though.
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You cant be a pilot without flight schoolā¦
The guy at my flight training said that airlines are looking for people that can fly with a Commercial Pilots License, not people with university/college degrees
Yes. There is what is called a Part 61 flight school which is strictly just flight training. Then there are Part 141 schools which are commonly found at Colleges/Universities. If you are looking to fly for the airlines, the airlines tend to look and see if you have a 4 year degree these days. Do some research on Part 61 and Part 141 schools to find out what will work best for you and your needs. š
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So the Part 61 is more expensive than the Part 141 because Flight School is more expensive than college?
Other way around. 141 is generally more expensive because youāre paying for fees for other courses that donāt necessarily pertain to the flying aspect but the courses are towards to the degree. 61 is just flying, and the associated ground school for the syllabus your working on.
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How would you know what to do?
I found that if you read the requirements that the airlines look for when hiring employees, and do your own research on the web, you can find the answers you need. For me I took the 141 route. Its generally a safer and more secure route to go in my opinion.
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Airlines usually look for college graduates though because most people who graduate college have a lot more licenses and ratings then someone who tries to get all the ratings on their own and the more license and ratings that you have, the more likely an airline will be to hire you! :)
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But wouldnāt you need some degree to become a commercial pilot?
Also, if you live in the US, what would be the best college/University to go to?
Commercial no. ATP no. Thereās a major difference between the two. All Iām saying is that most airlines prefer that one has a degree in something, when applying for a position. Its not required at all airlines, but if the airline compares you and another individual, and you both have the same amount of flight time, they will most likely choose the one that has a degree because it shows that they took the time and effort to expand their learning.
Answering your other post, check out this PDF. This list of colleges/universites have approval from the FAA to allow people to be hired into airlines with whatās called R-ATP. (Restricted Airline Transport Pilot) The required 1500 hours is knocked down to 1000 hours depending on the degree you work towards. Thatās how I got into the airlines at low hour. I met the 1000 hours.
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Did you go through the military, or just straight into the commercial business? We have a lot of family friends who are pilots, and all of them came from or still are military.
Edit: Your post above I think answered my question. Going off that, how long did it take you to get where you are now?
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Straight commercial. Flew parachute jumpers, banners just to name a few. Pay isnāt that great but the time is what counts.
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Thank you very much! Iām just determining if I should start flight school now or just wait until I graduate from high school. My school offers a program where I can get some college knowledge in aviation for a small fee as a junior, but Iām still a freshman. I would rather start thinking now than laterā¦
From the time that I soloed at 17. I flew off and on and didnāt really accumulate much time. But after I began flight training and flew regularly it took me about 10 months. When I graduated, I had about 250 hours all from flight training. I had to make another 750 hours up from somewhere. I flew about 70-80 hours per month between the jobs.
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I had a handful of friends that had their PPL before they graduated high school. I donāt think that theres anything wrong with that. Just goes to show youāre passionate and eager to get off the ground. Keep in mind, most universities will do what is called āstandardizationā. Everything that you learned from your flight school, will be put to the test from the university. They will have higher expectations until you complete their courses to their level of satisfaction. I donāt say that to scare you but, to give you something to consider.
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Did it take you 10 months to get to Envoy after training, or 10 months just into a commercial gig? Also, when did you start first start? Did you have other jobs before Envoy? For me, I think that military is the cheapest and safest route into getting a job, but also the most indirect.