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So, wait, let's not do it because it's hard and you might not get picked? I'll take a 10% chance of getting picked for something that catapults me to where I want over taking on insane amounts of debt for a "sure thing". And I would apply for every single guard unit that would have me all over the country. 90% non-select rate is pretty high, but you apply to 10 units and 90%^10 is only 35% chance of failure. Your chances are 0% if you just sit around and do nothing. And yes, a PPL is pretty much an unwritten requirement, but a PPL isn't that hard to get on your own, come on.
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Jan 5, 2015 11:41
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If you are replying to me, you are taking extreme license in how you interpreted my post.
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Jan 5, 2015 11:59
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Rekinom posted:So, wait, let's not do it because it's hard and you might not get picked? Calm down. You made a good suggestion. I'm sure the guy who's looking into this sorta thing and asking for help in this thread will consider it. And, even if he doesn't decide to go your way, or gets rejected after trying, it doesn't reflect poorly on your personally.
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Jan 5, 2015 12:12
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drat, you guys are overly sensitive.
Rekinom fucked around with this message at 00:06 on Jan 16, 2015 |
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Jan 5, 2015 12:43
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I am more interested in finding out the process of becoming a WO, there doesn't seem to be enough information out there on how to go about doing it, what they want, and if being a pilot already will help or hurt. I will probably get in touch with a recruiter but you know how full of poo poo they can be. It needs to happen soon though cause I turn 33 in June.
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Jan 5, 2015 14:16
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Animal posted:I am more interested in finding out the process of becoming a WO, there doesn't seem to be enough information out there on how to go about doing it, what they want, and if being a pilot already will help or hurt. I will probably get in touch with a recruiter but you know how full of poo poo they can be. It needs to happen soon though cause I turn 33 in June. Same here. I couldn't find much in the way of real details.
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Jan 5, 2015 14:35
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I'm too old for that as well.
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Jan 5, 2015 15:18
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So do you guys think having a fresh PPL will help somebody get into WO? Can't hurt, I guess.
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Jan 5, 2015 20:05
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ethanol posted:So do you guys think having a fresh PPL will help somebody get into WO? Can't hurt, I guess. Supposedly it does. I have no facts to back this up though. Building a package for the WO program is actually how I got started in flying. That plan kind of fell through while I was still on active duty though.
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Jan 5, 2015 20:21
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e.pilot posted:Supposedly it does. I have no facts to back this up though. Sorry, what branch were you in? Can you apply for that program from any branch?
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Jan 5, 2015 20:30
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ethanol posted:Sorry, what branch were you in? Can you apply for that program from any branch? I was enlisted in the Air Force, any branch is eligible. A few more hoops to jump through if you're not coming from the Army, but it's nothing impossible. This is more or less it, but contacting a WO recruiter will get you all the info you need. http://www.usarec.army.mil/hq/warrant/ Hardest part coming from the AF is finding a WO to get a letter of recommendation from, since the AF doesn't have those. It's been over 2 years since I was going through the process, so I'm not 100% up on the latest info, but I can't imagine it's changed all that much. e.pilot fucked around with this message at 20:45 on Jan 5, 2015 |
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Jan 5, 2015 20:43
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ethanol posted:I'd like to go to a part 141 school, I'm currently seeking the funding to do such a thing. There don't seem to be many schools that will work with federal student loans. I've found three flight schools so far that provided FAFSA school codes. I've got to keep in mind I already went to college and got an unrelated bachelor's degree, and I've paid all but $17k of those federal loans down, but I'm also considering a 2 year degree from a state or community college if it makes getting federal funding easier. If you're still considering the civilian route, keep in mind that your education will make a difference in how much time you have to build before you can be hired by a regional thanks to an ugly tramp called The 1,500 Hour Rule. Instrument and Commercial BOTH must be done at an approved 141 school combined with an aviation degree from the school providing training for the following credits: -Any degree and/or Instrument OR Commercial not done at an approved Part 141 school- 1,500 -Associate's in Aviation, Instrument AND Commercial completed at an approved 141- 1,250 -Bachelor's in Aviation, Instrument AND Commercial completed at an approved 141- 1,000 An Associate's from a community college may not hurt if you can swing it, because it'll give you a break on the time to be built and a bit of a background into aviation. As for pilot mills, do some research if it's a satellite location of a larger school. Mine was a well-oiled machine which then went to poo poo in its last year before the company said "We're out.", inviting students to uproot to Florida to finish their training. Captain Apollo posted:Embry-Riddle is for fakers who don't actually do any schoolwork besides airplane. I argue that those individuals aren't well rounded enough to survive outside scrutiny of degrees for anybody that actually "cares" as an employer. I wasn't on campus at DB or Prescott, but I've got 10+ page term papers and consternation over stats assignments which beg to differ. e- That said, my hardest class was at my Community College. Aerodynamics. Gimme dat C! CBJSprague24 fucked around with this message at 04:17 on Jan 6, 2015 |
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Jan 6, 2015 03:19
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That's great info, thanks. Brings a question to mind... how many flight hours per year can I expect to gain as a cfi?
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Jan 6, 2015 03:43
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ethanol posted:That's great info, thanks. Brings a question to mind... how many flight hours per year can I expect to gain as a cfi? Glad I can help. I've been there, albeit I stopped flying after Instrument. Community Colleges sometimes have 141 schools and can save you money, so don't write them off if you decide to go the civilian way. My old school is about to open a second flight training location (albeit in the same awkwardly-configured metro area). I'd imagine it depends on where you live. You're not getting much flying done between November and March if you're in Ohio like me, for example. More often than not, it's some combination of IFR, Windy, Rainy, Snowy, Cloudy, Icy. One other thing to think about : if you're in a Swing State in 2016, you ain't doin' jack on quite a few days when candidates are in town. I had a couple flying days ruined by TFRs because Obama/Biden/Romney/Ryan were in Columbus/Dayton. I even think a TFR for the Cincinnati area screwed me one day. e- Another thing to consider if you're really wanting a Bachelor's is a Community College with a transfer module to a four-year. My CC had an agreement with ERAU Worldwide to transfer most everything in. When I got to ERAU, I had most of my Aviation classes done, really only having to take a couple years' worth of business/marketing courses (though there were some like Accident Investigation and Human Factors which the CC didn't offer). CBJSprague24 fucked around with this message at 04:31 on Jan 6, 2015 |
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Jan 6, 2015 04:21
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Update on my aeronautical Official class date is the 26th with SKW for the CRJ...of course ZW is also expecting me to show up for class on the 19th, so I'm writing the thanks-but-no-thanks letter in another window. In the meantime I'm struggling with getting the last ~30 cross country hours to meet the full ATP mins, I'm probably going into full  mode the next couple weeks. As if that's not enough, my boss just booked me a flight with a client looking for an IFR safety pilot. In his M20R. En route to Canada (Regina I think). Tomorrow.I guess when it rains it pours?  ethanol posted:That's great info, thanks. Brings a question to mind... how many flight hours per year can I expect to gain as a cfi? Sprague covered this pretty well, but think about what type of students you want as well. From my personal experience, I was averaging less than 300 hours/year instructing at the 141 college I graduated from, with typical college kids (the good, bad, and downright drunk partyers). If you decide to work at a pilot mill you can build hours wicked fast...I logged almost 800 hours in a year when I switched schools and started teaching foreign students (cough *  cough cough). Interesting experience to say in the least working with those guys...
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Jan 6, 2015 05:13
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Butt Reactor posted:As if that's not enough, my boss just booked me a flight with a client looking for an IFR safety pilot. In his M20R. En route to Canada (Regina I think). Tomorrow. Good stuff. Dress warm because it goes without saying that Regina is colder than an Eskimo's pussy...definitely arctic boots and winter survival kit weather right now.
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Jan 6, 2015 05:54
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Am I going to need to worry about eAPIS at all? I just need a passport and possibly the FCC radio license right?
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Jan 6, 2015 06:01
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Butt Reactor posted:Am I going to need to worry about eAPIS at all? I just need a passport and possibly the FCC radio license right? You need the FCC restricted radiotelephone operator license, the airplane itself needs an FCC station license, the airplane needs a valid 2015 customs decal, and you need to file with eapis for the US side and can-pass for the Canadian side. edit: and your passport, FAA pilot cert, and medical.
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Jan 6, 2015 06:11
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Oh good. I sincerely hope this guy I'm flying with tomorrow has some of this in order since I have no clue how to handle eAPIS...isn't that what dispatchers are for? 
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Jan 6, 2015 06:17
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Butt Reactor posted:Oh good. I sincerely hope this guy I'm flying with tomorrow has some of this in order since I have no clue how to handle eAPIS...isn't that what dispatchers are for? eAPIS really sucks. Also remember you have to land at an international airport on the way back. And you have to tell them your arrival time in a 15 minute (iirc) window. He will need your passport info to file. Can-Pass is easier to deal with but still one more thing to worry about. Just make sure he files everything and verify that he has a 2015 customs decal. They look like this:  But it should be a 5 for 2015 They definitely checked mine out when I arrived back in the country. They also checked my plane for radioactive substances and looked at our donuts (but didn't want any).
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Jan 6, 2015 06:22
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Butt Reactor posted:Update on my aeronautical Congrats again! If you don't mind, what made you choose SKW over ZW?
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Jan 6, 2015 12:01
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Made it the great white wasteland known as lower Sasketchewan, only to have my flight home to SLC canceled in Denver due to weather  At least I got to fly a GA plane I've really wanted to finally, and managed to survive -30 C temperatures to boot!Rickety Cricket posted:Congrats again! If you don't mind, what made you choose SKW over ZW? Serious answer: more options in domicile choices, and slightly better future. SkyWest operates a diverse fleet for diverse majors, so they're not dead in the water if a legacy's contract changes or 50-seater flying becomes uneconomical. Plus most of my friends and excoworkers are at SKW  Comedy answer: Compared to the navy/silver trim ZW has for their outfits, I liked the black/gold uniforms for SKW better 
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Jan 7, 2015 06:24
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I've been gone for a bit but see I have to defend myself.ethanol posted:I mean yeah it's hard to have a good attitude towards getting a pilot slot when your GPA is trash and you've spent the last three years since graduation doing nothing of importance and have basically no recommendations. There are so many reasons in this post alone why you shouldn't go into professional aviation but I said what I'm going to say on the matter. Maybe you're truly well educated on just what is to come, but I ran into so many ATP grads that had the most unrealistic expectations imaginable. And I know where many of them ended up, and it hasn't been too great. I think if you can afford to get into professional aviation, or get somebody else to pay for it (like the military), and you've educated yourself on the drawbacks than it is something to consider. It's a unique job and I think flying certainly gives you a good office, unique benefits, and can end up as a pretty decent career with a bit of luck professionally. But it doesn't always work out that way, and I just don't think it's worth taking on a massive debt load because you're not realistically going to be able to pay it back and it takes a bad financial situation to a soul crushingly worse financial situation. If I couldn't have done this mostly debt free, I wouldn't have done it and I'm really fortunate that I was able to. I'm certainly not going to encourage anybody to get into aviation by taking on a massive amount of debt, and as you mentioned you only had a few hours, it sounds like you need a little dream crushing back to reality. Somebody's gotta be the bad guy and if it's me, that's fine. gently caress, ask awseft who started this thread how his career has turned out and if it's what he expected. Animal posted:Its not all doom and gloom though, and if you are already so digruntled then I am afraid you are gonna be one of those guys no one wants to fly with, who just bitch and moan about the industry and their commute. I am happy being a regional pilot for the past three years. The trick is that I love love love to travel. I did the math for last year and I got about $70,000 out of plane tickets flying around the world on my free time. Mostly business class. South Korea twice, Morocco, Belgium twice, Holland, France, Panama, Dominican Republic, Spain twice, Puerto Rico like 7 times, New York City around 5 times, and other stuff I can't remember. Thats all within 12 months, on my days off. This would have been impossible with a normal desk job. So I am living the dream even though I made $48,000 in gross pay. But the way I see it, I made over $100,000. I don't commute, I don't have a family, and I don't give a poo poo about buying crap like cars or flat screen TV's. My expenses go to eating out, medical stuff, travel expenses, and camera gear. So if I had an office job that paid $100,000 I would have blown most of it travelling anyways, except I would have had much less time to do it. Dude, I'm not disgruntled, no family, I am pretty lucky and I like my job most of the time, it has it's ups and downs (bad pun). And I don't like trips with negative people, cause they really bring you down. But overall, I do enjoy my job, it can be pretty fun, it can be pretty boring but at least it's rarely the same. I personally love travelling as well and I know what you mean as I asked a FA the other day if she had been anywhere cool with her benefits and she said she never uses them. What a loving waste. And I'm glad you're happy within those parameters because that's basically where I'm at too, I like cool planes but I am more into the travel aspect/seeing the world/different places and cultures, and my expenses are mostly eating out and travel. At this point my car's paid off and I'm just fine with my TV, I prefer 'experiences' to possessions. It would be nice to be able to afford my own apartment, but I'm never home anyway. I could honestly give a poo poo if I fly a Q400 or a CR2 or an E175, although I would like to fly a 787 someday cuz I think it's just a beautiful fuckin airplane but yea. But people entering the industry, especially those wanting to get into massive debt with only a few hours flight time, have to be realistic. Loan Calculator Loan Balance: $80,000.00 Adjusted Loan Balance: $80,000.00 Loan Interest Rate: 6.80% Loan Fees: 0.00% Loan Term: 10 years Minimum Payment: $50.00 Enrollment Status: Still in School Degree Program: Bachelor's Degree Total Years in College: 4 years Average Debt per Year: $20,000.00 Monthly Loan Payment: $920.64 Number of Payments: 120 Cumulative Payments: $110,477.25 Total Interest Paid: $30,477.25 Note: The monthly loan payment was calculated at 119 payments of $920.64 plus a final payment of $921.09. It is estimated that you will need an annual salary of at least $110,476.80 to be able to afford to repay this loan. This estimate assumes that 10% of your gross monthly income will be devoted to repaying your student loans. This corresponds to a debt-to-income ratio of 0.7. If you use 15% of your gross monthly income to repay the loan, you will need an annual salary of only $73,651.20, but you may experience some financial difficulty.This corresponds to a debt-to-income ratio of 1.1. The following table lists the minimum income necessary to repay the debt without encountering a partial economic hardship. Partial economic hardship is defined as having annual education loan payments in excess of 15 percent of discretionary income, where discretionary income is the amount by which Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) exceeds 150 percent of the poverty line. This figure is shown in the Minimum AGI (IBR) column. The Minimum AGI (ICR) column uses an alternate definition of economic hardship, based on 20 percent of discretionary income which is defined as the excess of AGI over 100 percent of the poverty line. Source: http://www.finaid.org/calculators/scripts/loanpayments.cgi I don't know about you but personally on my $27,000 a year salary at Transpac my take home pay was like $875 a check after the huge lovely health care premium and taxes and worker's comp. The Slaughter fucked around with this message at 23:33 on Jan 9, 2015 |
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Jan 9, 2015 23:30
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i jumped the gun by saying 'massive debt' is my only school option because I really don't know yet what my financial aid offers will be. I'm hoping to see some grants. Trust me, I am very much aware on how loans work with interest and repayment. Very much aware. My questions to goons were simply attempts to exhaust my knowledge of options and opinions on programs and how to pay for certs with the big intention of going commercial and definitely not asking about whether I should or shouldn't take on debt or not and reallly not whether I should go into the field or not. I mean, that's not even the question I was trying to solve, the question is what kinds of professional aviation routes are there for somebody who already has a degree so I can figure out how to fund it. Sorry if this has morphed a bit, I have learned quite a bit about this in the last two weeks. My questions for goons have largely been answered. The financial aid will take a month to process so I'm just focusing on my PPL right now. if there isn't enough financial aid, I'm going to consider the military route (I was thinking about doing some sort of military stint anyways), and if I chicken out on that, then I will be paying for each certs as I can afford it. Will I make it all the way? Well if you want to go by the empirical data and what happened to the OP and thousands of other people, probably not? Well you can ask that for any career path, it's not a useful question at all. In about a month, once I see a real estimation of the loans, then I can make a decision about what happens after my ppl. I've learned a lot about this since posting my first question and i can say right now the chances of loans working out are slim even if they are offered, because I simply don't want to take on that much debt. i was thinking more like 30-40K in debt when I posted, definitely not 80k at any interest rate. Anyways, yeah, massive debt is not a good thing, and I can tell you right now I would have immense trepidation even taking an 80k loan for a complete 4 year BS program that included flight training. In such a case I'll be putting training on the backburner (again) and either do military or work full time and see how much I can save in the next year. Keeping in mind If I'm not trying to so hard to establish a different career, I would have much less reservation about working full time on an assembly line or something to pay for flight training. To summarize my unwieldy post.. I am following your advice and getting my ppl first... not jumping into anything. That's pretty much impossible in my situation anyways. ethanol fucked around with this message at 01:05 on Jan 10, 2015 |
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Jan 10, 2015 00:36
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The Slaughter posted:gently caress, ask awseft who started this thread how his career has turned out and if it's what he expected. Currently: Look at year 8 FO pay at Republic (hint, it is the same as year 4) and you'll see where me and my coworkers are financially. I have a "small" loan, comparatively, of $47k, a wife, two kids, two dogs, and a house. If my wife didn't work I don't know what I would do. I have travel benefits but can't use them since I'm at 11 days off and ~$35k/y. Often there is more month left at the end of the paycheck. Upgrade has always been close but now it is slowly moving further away. Company has broken promise after promise and it shows in our moral. Expectations: When I was hired it was a "2 year upgrade MAX" (even for those coming in with 500 hours) and 5-7 years to a major. Of ALL my fellow flight instructor friends ONE has made it to upgrade on a jet. A couple that went to Colgan made captain on the Saab but are super junior jet FOs now. Future: I guess it is time to announce that I'm leaving the airlines. I found a corporate job in Florida flying a PC12. AWSEFT fucked around with this message at 04:09 on Jan 12, 2015 |
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Jan 12, 2015 04:07
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AWSEFT posted:Currently: Good to hear you're getting out! The few friends I have left there have nothing positive to say at all, even the ones in non-flying positions.
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Jan 12, 2015 04:40
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AWSEFT posted:
Glad to see that you managed to jump ship to something better, but aren't you going to miss the random sermons about how difficult it is to raise godly children in a mansion on a seven figure income? I know a few people that flew for various airlines run by Reverend Bedford, and I don't think I've heard any of them say nice things about how he runs airlines.
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Jan 12, 2015 05:28
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Bedford is republic, he was not at republic.
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Jan 12, 2015 17:14
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One of the most incredibly awesome things about flying in the UK is you can't fly* until you actually have your license. I passed my PPL skills test in mid-December, and am still waiting for my license to arrive. They finally took payment today, so maybe soon I will be allowed to fly planes. * You can still fly solo with an instructor sign-off, or dual as a student, but no passengers.
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Jan 12, 2015 18:35
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No temporaries??? What if the bureaucracy loses your payment or paperwork?
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Jan 13, 2015 02:40
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Captain Apollo posted:No temporaries??? quote:What if the bureaucracy loses your payment or paperwork?
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Jan 13, 2015 09:07
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Just getting around to printing out my flight logs for 2014 and I flew 441 hours total, the least of my career since graduating college. After my 787 course I sat at home for a period of around 70 days, and another stretch of 31 days. I strongly recommend bidding onto a new type as it enters service at the company if you love sitting at home.
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Jan 13, 2015 13:19
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Yay, tomorrow is NEW MEDICAL day! I love this new online registration that lets you think of every time you've ever been to a hospital and list it in detail. Luckily I haven't had a complicated history, but man I could see this being hell for anyone who was a stupid kid.
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Jan 15, 2015 03:05
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Rolo posted:Yay, tomorrow is NEW MEDICAL day! I love this new online registration that lets you think of every time you've ever been to a hospital and list it in detail. PRNC
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Jan 15, 2015 03:19
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Rolo posted:Yay, tomorrow is NEW MEDICAL day! I love this new online registration that lets you think of every time you've ever been to a hospital and list it in detail. *raises hand* For you other regional guys, how hard is asking for vacation time/ time off? Please don't laugh, I have a wedding coming up at the end of June I'm supposed to be part of. And knowing this industry, I could easily see myself being denied the time off 
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Jan 15, 2015 05:54
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Butt Reactor posted:*raises hand* It'll depend on how your airline has their vacation system set up, but since summer is typically the busy season for airlines and summer vacation slots/bids tend to go pretty senior because of that, I wouldn't get your hopes up of getting vacation awarded during the summer that soon after you started working there. Depending on how their bidding system works and where your seniority is at that point, you might be able to get those days scheduled off. azflyboy fucked around with this message at 10:39 on Jan 15, 2015 |
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Jan 15, 2015 06:33
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Also talk to your chief pilot and explain things in advance. If he/she is cool, they can block that time off for you. (As always, policies vary by airline)
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Jan 15, 2015 14:11
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Republic cold called me today and I was really tempted to tell the recruiter "I can't afford to work for you". Instead I stayed diplomatic cause you never know but yea.
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Jan 15, 2015 19:15
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http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/Gun-Toting-FAA-Inspector-Nabbed-At-LaGuardia223415-1.html
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Jan 19, 2015 01:43
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It is possible that the FAA will open up the doors for off the street hiring for ATC in March: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3608176&pagenumber=18#post440421391
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Jan 19, 2015 05:14
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