Would you recommend going to Spartan or embry riddle? Spartan is 3 hours from where I live now and embry riddle is at least a 10 hour drive
Hey Nick,
Personally I’ve never been a fan of aviation degrees because I don’t believe in putting all my eggs in one basket. Both Spartan and Embry Riddle are aviation universities/colleges offering degrees in aviation so that really wouldn’t be the route I’d take, but that’s only my opinion. I don’t know anyone who’s attended Spartan but they have been around for a while. Embry Riddle on the other hand is one of the best know and well respected schools in the world. I also don’t know how they compare money wise but I do know Riddle is expensive. All things being equal (and if money’s not a factor) Riddle is the obvious choice. They have state of the art equipment and their training program is second to none. More importantly they have a number of bridge programs that will get you hired with an airline.
Either way I do think it would be impractical for you to consider a daily commute of 6hrs plus. You’re going to need to get housing closer in either case so that really shouldn’t be a factor.
Adam
So would you recommend me going to a four year university that is close by and getting a degree while working on my pilots license. Can I get a commercial pilot license nearby or is that only at an aviation college?
Could I also get my private pilots license first and then build off of that to get my commercial pilots license?
Nicholas,
I attended a four year college that was near to my house and received a business degree from there. While I was at the school I trained for my private license at a local flight school. After I graduated from college I went to ATP to get the rest of my pilot certificates.
No matter what direction you go you will have to get a private license first, that is always the first step. From there you will get your instrument license and when you meet the necessary requirements your commercial license. There are a few requirements to be met, but generally you can get your commercial license from any flight school.
I am not the biggest fan of ad-hoc training. A lot of times small flight schools are not the best at taking students all the way to CFI as they just don’t do it very often. You might find that a school that specializes in taking people all the way through is more efficient at it, thus saving you money.
Chris
Hi I’m 22 and I’ve been looking into schools to go to. I want to become an international pilot but my problem is I don’t know where to start. I’m a military child so I have a gi bill to pay for college but I would love to go to a fast tract type of school like ATP but I’m nervous because I don’t know anyone who attended.
Hi Kamelle,
Keep in mind you can’t go to ATP without either a degree or your Private license and if you truly want to fly International (not just Mexico and Canada International) you’re going to want that degree.
As for ATP, as military brat do you or your parents know any airline pilots? If they do ask them about ATP. I guarantee at the least they’ve heard of them if not know people that have attended. When I was an Instructor for ATP in Trenton, 80% of my students were retiring Air Force pilots from McGuire AFB transitioning to the airlines. One of my dearest friend’s was an Army One pilot for Nixon and Ford and then went on to be Chief Pilot for IBM. When his daughter (a graduate from GA Tech with an Engineering degree) decided she wanted to fly he sent her to ATP.
You may not know anyone who’s attended yet but if you ask around I’m certain you will.
Adam