Any pilots here?

[Jmh05]

dont you have to have a certain amount of fixed wing time before you can fly rotary?

No, you can start out in helicopters.

[Slick8]

First off, go take some basic training and see if you have the aptitude for it and if it's something that you'd really like.

If you decide on this as a career path, once you get your private, commercial and instructor ratings you can then get paid to accumulate hours....You won't be getting paid very much but it beats renting.

You will have options from flight training to survaliance to cargo and charter work...none of which pay very much.

Once you get enough time and may even have to pay for your type rating you can then fly for a regional airline where you won't make much money.

BTW-once your on your way to a good job in corporate or airline work be prepared to be gone from home a lot. It's like being a Dr. IMO, lots of hard years making low wages but when you make it to a major airline or land a corporate job with a large company and large flight department it's an awesome job with lots of money to be made.

Dang I make flying sound sexy don't I.....

[deer farmer]

My son and I got I lic about 10 yrs ago. I bought a single high performance complex plane, got a lic for that. and I love flying. Neither of us fly any longer.
My son got his commercial lic and flew human organs for transplant to rack up his hrs. He got to fly a lot of different type planes. We went island hopping in the Bahamas hopping 7 islands for 15 days, best vac I ever had.
Sold my plane after 10 yrs to an idiot who ran out of gas when night flying cross country. IDIOT !! Totaled the plane and walked away with a broken elbow.
What I learned
1 - Cost of buying a plane is very expensive.
2 - Cost to maintain a plane is expensive and required to be inspected for Air worthy every yr. $1,000 to 10,000 per yr.
3 - Took my instructor 15 yrs of flying before he got into the right seat of commercial airlines. He was always broke. He had thousands of hr's flying all types of planes. He did like flying. While instructing students. he came close to bad crashes several times and once on his own when mountain flying.
4 - After having a college degree ( which u have) then get your commercial lic and talk to the Air Force Reserve. A Major in the AFR once told me my son would go straight into Jets if he signed up because of his ed and commercial lic and his hrs.
Hope this helps and good luck with what ever you decide

[mdmorrow]

Probably the best advice is to try it out and take a few lessons before you invest a ton of money. Even once you do reach a major airline or cargo operator the pay isn't great until you become a captain. It will take many, many years to get to this point. It's also ridiculously competitive. The military guys usually get preference from the top places to work too.

I loved my time flying but I wouldn't go back to it for anything. I keep my instructors license current but I mainly just fly for fun and to get to where I'm going nowadays. Also, if you do buy your own plane make sure and research all the costs associated first. The purchase of the plane is just one part of it. You've got fuel, regular and unscheduled maintenance, hanger rent, insurance, etc. You also have to add in overhaul costs into your hourly figure. Most trainers will run you at least a hundred bucks an hour to operate. The ones that are decent for traveling are quite a bit more. Our turbo B36 bonanza runs about 300 an hour based on the hundred hours or so we use it a year. Your hourly cost goes down the more your use it because your fixed cost (hanger, insurance, recurrent training costs, etc.) is spread over more hours.

Here's a good website to research airlines and pay and whatnot:

http://www.airlinepilotcentral.com/

No joke, you'll make less than 25k your first year at a regional. The low pay and time away from home is pretty rough on anybody. The other part is you're most likely never going to be your own boss (unless you start a charter outfit or something).

[mdmorrow]

How old are you? I believe the military won't take you into flight school after 27.

[TexasFlyer03]

I can attest to much of what has been said in here. I graduated from Vance AFB on Dec 12. I am slotted to head to Holloman AFB in late June to start training for F-16's. A little bit about the road to this point is I was recruited by the Air Force Academy to play baseball. Long story short graduated high school in 08 and graduated the Academy in 13 and like I mentioned earlier just finished pilot training so it has been a couple years to finally get into the cockpit. Just wanted to give an idea of one kind of time line for a military route. I did a quick read of this thread but the O.P. mentioned military was not really an option, however for those who may be interested, there were a few guys in my pilot training class that were hired by National Guard or reserve units around the U.S. even with very few hours. I also had a guy in my pilot training class that started out small, was eventually an instructor, then a cargo pilot, now will split time between U.S. Airways and the guard unit in Selfridge MI. But like a lot of people on here have already said you are going to spend a good amount of time and money getting hours and experience. However, best dang job in the world!

[MikeG]

First of all, all the above ideas will work. Only problem with any of them is that one little item called "money". If you do it on your own (and yes it can be done that way) it will be expensive and time consuming.
I'd suggest the military. All 4 services have aviation. All military pilots are officers with the exception of the Army's Warrant Officer program. Since you have a degree, that's one of the requirements to be an officer. I think all the services have a Officer Candidate Schools which is the way you can become an officer.
I recommend you go to a recruitment office for each service. Tell the recruiter you want to go to their flight program. Listen carefully to what they tell you. REMEMBER, recruiters work on an allotment system. They have to enlist so many people per quarter. If a recruiter says you have to enlist before you can go to OCS be VERY skeptical. Go to a different recruiter for the same service and see if they tell you the same story. Checking the individual service websites is a good idea so you have an idea of their requirements before you talk to the recruiter.
Talk to all service recruiters BEFORE you make your decision. Depending on the needs of any particular service they may have some good deals. Not long ago the Navy and AF were offering some big bonuses to stay in for another tour.
If you're looking for a job with the airlines, airlines look very favorably at military pilot applications.
Hope this helps------

[Ryan C]

I am a full time ag pilot/business owner. Best advice,as stated above, try it for a while first. There are lots of options besides the airlines after you have a commercial license. Personally, I don't think I could stand to fly corporate or airline. Lots of sitting around waiting on people.

Make sure you enjoy flying first the. Go from there.

[doppelganger]

Navy is also another route, and seems s bit easier than the Air Force. Could slot for p3 or p8 and never have to leave land.

[doppelganger]

Got a question also, what is your vision like? Color deficient? I was doing my military physical and found out I was color deficient, there went all my options at that point. I could pass the light gun test for FAA

[JMalin]

20:20 vision

Not color blind. Fairly sharp (1250 math + verbal SAT score). I have earned my bachelor's. 25 years old and am very much open to going through the military to get my flight training.

[Smell the Glove]

Back when I started flying lessons in the mid 70's I had to pay $12 wet for a 152 and $18 wet for a 172. Had to fork over $24 one day when it was real windy because a 180 was required. I decided that was too much and I quit.

I guess things are a bit different now.

Drooling at those prices. Must have been fun.

[DaveS903]

If you are considering going the military route, you had better be 100%, absolutely no doubt, run over your own mother to reach your goals committed. If you are not, the military will force you to the realization that maybe you don't want to be there. The down side is that to get a flight training slot, you usually have to commit to a military contract and you will still owe uncle sugar those years as something other than a pilot.

[dustoffer]

You have to be a officer to fly an any branch. The army would be your shortest and most direct route in becoming a pilot. You have a bachelors degree just need to sign up but you also have pass written exams before even being considered into the pilot program. I suggest you talk to every branch before deciding.

I'm a retired army pilot--go talk with a recruiter about their warrant officer flight school program--first basic training, then about 10 months at ft Rucker in S. Alabama to get your rotary wing rating. May transition into other advanced aircraft--multi-engine, multi-rotor, or after a few assignments, a fixed wing transition. With a degree you may also be able to get a direct commission but with today's drawdown of the military as a whole, fewer officer slots are available.

[BTGuard]

Just my 2 cents... If military is the way to go army is going to give you better flight chances