Hello all pilots and aviation enthusiasts!
This is my first post on the forum, but I’ve been reading a lot in the past few days. I have to say, I am very great full for all the time and effort that was put in to creating a perfect platform for all aviation enthusiasts to come together and express their concerns and aspirations. I have to thank the mentors: Chris, Tory, Adam, and Hannah for all the resourceful information regarding pilot training (ATP in particular), and the aviation industry as a whole.
Before I get to my question, a little bit about myself:
I am currently 22 years old (going to be 23 in June), and reside in Michigan with my parents and two sisters. I recently graduated community college in May of 2020. I am also a barista at Target, trying to save as much as possible for flight school. This brings me to my situation. I applied for a loan with Sallie Mae, and would have gotten approved if I have a cosigner, which is to be expected. The problem is everyone I ask will not cosign for me. It’s not the end of the world, I just have to save my money and wait a bit. Now onto my question: What would you recommend I should do in the meantime. Should I start reading the FAA handbooks, or relax and don’t worry about it? What would you do in this situation? Any advice is greatly appreciated and will be taken into account.
I think you should do whatever you want to do. If aviation is really something you’re interested in then sure go through the FAA library. Alot of it is kind of dry but not all. There are tons of videos of a plethora of subjects. Knowledge is never a bad thing so sure if you want to read, watch, and learn then go ahead. If not I wouldn’t worry about it. You’ve got time so either is fine.
Thanks. It’s good to hear that I have time. I do enjoy learning as much as I can regarding aviation. At the end of the day I think going through the handbooks early on will give me a slight advantage, seeing that I’ll already be familiar with the source material when starting the program. Also doing something is always better than doing nothing😉
To begin with, thank you or your kind words, it is nice to know that people appreciate what we do here.
I think that the best thing you could do is not aviation related, but simply working and saving money. If you double down and save the money needed to start flight training, that will help you out a lot more than time spent reading and studying manuals. I know it is not as fun, but it will benefit you more in the long run.
Than you for the insight. I will definitely take that into consideration. Soon I will be applying for full time work to help build my flight training fund😃
Steven,
I am currently taking lessons for my private pilot license and a great resource I found for an online free ground school prep is Maui Flight Academy. Sign up with an email and you can access their ground school for private pilot license, IFR, and drone. The video content is COMPLETELY FREE however I believe they charge you if you want to take tests other than the pop quiz at the end of each section… There is a lot of good info that could save you some cash over going to a company like KING (Nothing against King, great company with stellar results) to help you with ground school. You can also apply for a $15000 flight scholarship; odds are similar to winning the lottery but hey, you still have a chance:)