I am fairly confident that after my senior year I’ll go to ATP for my licensing of course with a goal of being an airline pilot. The only part I’m hesitant over is the fact that you cannot receive a written RATP until you are 21 qualifying you to fly for a regional airline as a first officer. Seeing as I will start training well I am still 18 and the program takes around 2 years to complete well you fly as a CFI to make it to your 1500 hour mark I will not be 21 when I could qualify for a RATP license. That being said will I still be able to sign a conditional offer with a regional airline such as Envoy or Endeavor and be able to transition automatically to the equipment selected for me after I received my RATP when I’m 21? And in the mean time I still have 4 to 5 months where my broke but qualified pilot self needs to make payments for all the fancy plastic I’ve acquired. Would it be best to be hired as a CFI somewhere such as ATP or fly for an airline like Mountain Air Cargo or whatever options or ideas anyone else can throw out there. I’m just worried about making payments well I have to wait to turn 21 to fly for a regional. I just need something stable until then. Any ideas?
Jack,
To be considered for admission in to ATP, you will need to meet one of the following:
- Associate’s Degree, or
- 60+ college credit hours, or
- equivalent work experience, or
- military experience, or
- contact ATP to be considered for an exception
Will you be able to meet those right out of high school?
Jack,
Assuming you can meet the mins Chris stated, I’d still relax.
While the whole process does take “about” 2yrs in most cases it takes more. The training is 7mos but then you’ll need to build the approx 1250hrs of flight time which on the average takes about a 1.5yrs, but it can and often does take longer. Further there may be a month or so break before you actually start training and my understanding is the Regionals will actually take you in a month or 2 early with the target of the ATP checkride just after your 21st birthday.
Btw, you’re 17 and aspire to be a professional. You may think you sound “cool” (you don’t), but if notice the grown-ups on this forum don’t use anything even bordering on foul language. Now would be a good time to start practicing for adulthood.
Adam
Adam, thank you for your response! I think not worrying about it so much is great advice. I have the grades and the work ethic to make my dream of being a career pilot a reality. I’ll continue to do more research as I still have six months or so before I’m comfortable enough to make a decision.
Adam I’ve never met you and though I am appreciative of your response I think it’s rather unfitting and uncalled for for you to presume anything less of me or my maturity based off of my jokingly casual diction. Language is no measure of maturity or adulthood in this case. I’ve met plenty of “adults” who should be worrying about much more than their word choice. I apologize if you feel as if it’s disrespectful to you or the other pilots who sacrifice their time to answer questions on this forum. But it’s rather rude to belittle an individual based off of their age. You don’t know my story or anything about me, I was forced to grow up a lot sooner than other kids and unable to enjoy some of the privileges others have had growing up. I’ve worked full time well balancing my education and self interests since I was 15 in order to provide a decent life for myself. Keep your insensitivity and entitlement to yourself.
And you don’t know me or mine. Like it or not people are judged by how they present themselves. I’ll be blunt, I have the job you aspire to have and I’m telling you you’d be better served if you start conducting yourself as a professional rather than a kid with a chip on his shoulder.
Adam
Jack,
Keep in mind that the airlines do not know your story or anything about you, nor do they care. They are looking to hire a professional that does not just fly well, but also is a good representative of their company. Using foul language, in text or in speech, is a really good way to show the airlines that you will not represent them in a professional manner.
Before you dismiss this as just a forum, keep in mind that several of the mentors here have been and are still involved in hiring boards at their respective airlines. In addition to the mentors, there are forum visitors who have been or are chief pilots, check airmen, etc, the list goes on. Adam was not being insensitive or entitled, he was trying to keep you from making a mistake on a public forum that could come back to haunt you. You would be well served to take his advice and not argue back.
Chris
Jack,
First things first, you need to meet the eligibility requirements. Even if you do, there is a reason we don’t recommend you pursuing flight training right out of high school.
A degree is still “highly encouraged”. It’s no longer a requirement per se, but out of 100 apps you can bet that the 90 apps with a degree will be pulled well before the 10 apps without one.
Also the time you spend in college will better prepare you personally and professionally to handle the rigors of an airline career pilot program.
Confidence is good but it’s a fine line in to arrogance. You have never flown an airplane before. There is so much information you have to learn, skills you need to master, experiences to be had before you’ve made it. Just because you’ve been successful in life so far, doesn’t mean much compared to the new challenge that awaits.
Hannah