Great forum - I’ve looked and haven’t found a discussion that quite addresses my situation. Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to read and provide some candid feedback.
Growing up, I was very interested in aviation and took a basic ground school class at a community college while in high school. That was the beginning and end of it, as I didn’t have the money to continue even to a PPL. Fast forward 35 years, I’m a CPA and an executive at a large company. I’ve been very fortunate to have had a successful career in business and to be financially secure. Two years ago, I joined a local flying club and logged about 25 hours towards my PPL (didn’t solo), and my work schedule got in the way; flying once a month just didn’t cut it - the flying club was a really great bunch of old guys, but incredibly slow pace of progress due to availability of aircraft, instructors, etc., combined with my work schedule conflicts.
I’m going to turn 50 in February 2019 and plan to retire from corporate life to pursue something different while I still have time to build a real second career out of it. Kids are away at college and I’m prepared to do something completely different. I’m very intrigued by the prospect of taking the ATP fast track through training and experience-building. I would devote myself to it full time and am accustomed to being very busy. If I were successful at ATP (which I realize is not a foregone conclusion), seems like I’d have a decent shot to get on at a Regional, without a burning ambition (financial or otherwise) to move up further.
I’ve read a lot of posts on this forum and others, and am sympathetic to the financial and lifestyle challenges many people face trying to enter this profession. Please know that I recognize how fortunate I am to not have similar constraints. That said, my situation is what it is and I’d be grateful for guidance any of you could offer. I have some specific questions, but open to any feedback.
While I could restart and finish my PPL somewhere else, my instinct is to just start at ATP at zero and go through the whole program there; am I missing something?
From what I’ve read on this forum, looks like most people build flying time (after completing the ATP program) instructing, often trying to tread water financially and balance other lifestyle constraints. I’d be fine following the same path but am curious whether there are others I should consider in my circumstances. To be clear, I’m not an internet billionaire who’s going to run out and buy a fancy plane just to log hours. At the same time, if I were willing to work for free (or even less than free), are there other viable options? Motivation could be to build flying time faster, get better or more diverse experience, or something else I haven’t thought of.
Am I far off base in my assumption that I’d have a decent shot at a job at a Regional if I were successful in my training and experience-building, given that I’d be about 52 years old?
Welcome to the forums, Brian! I’d let the mentors give you the full blown responses on your questions. I just wanted to add a couple of tidbits that I’ve picked up while I was making my decision to join ATP. In your case, your prior career and life experiences can be both a detractor and a positive factor. On the detractor side, there’s certainly a lifestyle that you’ve grown accustomed to that will take a hit for some time when you make it to a regional. I don’t mean the financial impact, but the impact on schedule and life in general. In speaking to one of the senior captains at Mesa he pointed out that they are seeing an influx of folks in their 2nd careers, and for a lot of these former professionals, adjusting to seniority rules and not being able to dictate their own schedule is the biggest adjustment. That being said as a positive, having worked in the financial field you should have what most younger people will not have: a few established connections with folks that may own larger or high performance airplanes. As a commercial pilot, after you build hours and if money is not really a factor, you can always seek out opportunities to fly someone who has money but no time to become a pilot or likes a high performance aircraft but can’t fly one. And you can do that well past 65. I was hangar flying at a small GA airport in May and met a guy in a similar situation. Retired successful entrepreneur, who was a higher time pilot flying a PC-12 for someone he met prior to retiring on a semi-permanent basis.
I’m not sure why you think your situation is unique and if you really had read/searched the forum you would have found the answers to all your questions. I’m not scolding you but know if you do decide to train with ATP there’s a tremendous amount of self-study required and should you show up saying “I read everything and the answer wasn’t there” you won’t be successful.
As has been stated many times, ATP has been successfully training and preparing pilots for the airlines and has a proven method modeled after actual airline training. Starting off on the right foot following ATPs methods is always better than starting later. Also keep in mind even if you get your PPL elsewhere ATP requires a min 80hrs of flight time so you’d not only need to finish your PPL but build that time as well.
There are of course other options which are you to explore. The reason instructing is the most common is because of the number of available positions AND it’s a great way to hone your skills. While there may be more “fun” or varied flying opportunities out there, it’s not just about numbers and checking a box. Hopefully you want to be a good pilot with strong skills. Trust me, sitting next to some new guy who’s trying to kill you will make you sharp.
The Regionals are desperate for bodies. Earn your licenses, ratings and build the required time and as long as there are no major blemishes you will get hired.
Thanks a ton, Adam. You are correct that my first and third questions have already been discussed at length elsewhere here. My bad.
The point of my second question was not at all about “fun-seeking” or looking to check a box, but rather asking whether most people get to 1,500 hours by instructing because that’s effectively the best training there is, or whether most people instruct because that gives them the right balance of experience and income. To your point that there are other options, any pointers about how to explore those beyond scrubbing boards like this one? Thanks again, really appreciate it.
Sergey, thanks also for your comments. Very good point about the adjustment to seniority rules and not being able to dictate my schedule. I suspect I’m significantly underestimating this factor. Great idea about contacts with high performance airplanes - I don’t have any, but I’d like to find some!
There are forums, aviation job websites, visit airports and make friends. It’s a matter of networking and creativity. And this has been discussed as well
If your plan is to go to ATP for the rest of your ratings, I would get your private there as well. It is simply easier to do so, will take less time, likely cost less money and your training will be consistent.
Stick with flight instructing, it is the tried and true path to the airlines. It is one of the fastest ways to build flight time and more importantly, you will learn a ton while you are teaching others.
You absolutely have a shot at the regionals, but I would not delay for long as time is slipping by (for all of us).
