My name is David Kirby and i’m currently serving on Active Duty as an Recruiter for the Army. My contract ends in less than 24 months and I would love to become a pilot. While serving on Active Duty there is no way for me to attend any full time flight schools, but I do have time to go through a private instructor on the weekends and on my days off. I have no flight experience and the only knowledge I have about the process is from the internet and the two instructors I have spoken with. Can someone give me some clear guidance on what are the correct steps I should be taking at this time to be set up to have a job as a pilot when my military contract ends.
I’m currently 34 and have a Master’s Degree, but do not know if that will help me in this new career field or not.
First we need to define what you mean by “job as a pilot”? If you’re talking about flying for an airline I can tell you that’s impossible. Simply doing the math, 24mos x 8 weekend days each month x 2hrs of flying each of those days = 384hrs. To fly for an airline in the US you need a minimum of 1500hrs. With your 384hrs you could get a job as a flight instructor which is the most common method most low-time pilots use to build time. You should also know completing all the required training just on weekends and occasional days off can be very challenging. Pilot skills are built one upon another. If you miss one weekend (work, weather, whatever) and go 2 weeks without flying you WILL regress and the next lesson will simply be a repeat of the last. This is a very common theme and often ends up costing the individual a considerable amount of extra time and money. That’s the reason the military and the airlines (and yes ATP) trains their pilots daily vs weekly. Good and productive flight training relies on continuity.
Your Master’s will definitely help you in the future as Major airlines desire a minimum of a 4yr degree.
I can definitely complete some during the week also. I will also have time during the week also, but not enough time to attend school full time. Yes I would like to become a commercial airline pilot for a major airline one day. I know the first step is to get my Cert which is a minimum of 40 hours, but sometimes 60. Additionally I will need the physical and keep it updated annually. After that I’m not sure how to go about getting the required flight hours and other certs that would be required.
The 40hrs (min) is simply for your Private license. To fly as a professional there’s much more training beyond that. Take a look here at our FAQ section, it should help with some of your questions. https://airlinepilot.life/t/how-do-i-become-an-airline-pilot/10891
Take a look at the FAQ section as there is a detailed “how to” post there.
A master’s degree is certainly a nice thing to have, but it won’t bump you ahead of pilots that only have undergraduate degrees. The regionals are not concerned with degrees and the majors are looking for an undergraduate degree and a boat load of flight experience.
How does everyone get so much flying time? I see some people are talking about getting time in as an instructor, but that can’t be how everyone gets 1,500 or even to 1,000. Does it only count if your time is spent with certain equipment or pilots?
The vast majority of pilots get their 1,500 hours by flight instructing. It generally takes about 1.5-2 years of instructing to build that amount of flight time.
As I said the vast majority of people build their time instructing and yes it takes some time so you can build some EXPERIENCE. The airlines are not going to put you upfront with 50+ passengers with a couple of hundred hours. That’s why I said you will not be leaving the military and going right to an airline 2yrs from now.