Is 51 too old/Any reviews on Alamo Community Colleges Pilot Training

my questions are simple
i had always wanted to fly - had to take care of a family
heard a presentation from Alamo Community Colleges and the Fire came back

is 51 too old to start
any reviews from ACC

I can’t lie - I am excited - but better to dash my dream early than to get my hopes up

Rafael,

It takes a minimum of two years to be airline eligible, sometimes longer. So let’s say you start today, that makes you 53 at the very earliest. Airline pilots must retire by their 65th birthday, so you do have some time left. In today’s environment, it is realistic to assume that you could get hired at a regional airline, assuming you are attractive to them. You do not have enough time to make it to a major airline.

Now there is absolutely nothing wrong with working at a regional airline, you can make good money there and have a good quality of life.

Just to be sure though, I would recommend that you contact the recruiting departments of several regional airlines and ask them about your age.

Chris

Rafael,

51 is definitely pushing it but as Chris said you could potentially have approx. a 12yr career at a Regional and that’s not bad. What I will say is while I no nothing about ACC I do know it won’t help your cause. Spending 2yrs in college will simply take 2 yrs off your career and nothing more. The Regionals don’t require a degree and after you earn the degree you’ll still need a good 2yrs to build the required time. While I seldom tell people what they HAVE to do, in this case time is of the essence and that means you need to get flying ASAP and that means ATP.

Adam

I stopped in at Sun n Fun to talk with some regional recruiters. I was told by one well known regional airline that they recently hired a 63 year old, hoping for two years of work and/or another extension by the FAA. I suspect mid 50s would be no problem for the airline but might never be worth giving up what seniority you might have at current career. Might be good job for a second career post-retiring.