This is my first time here and first time posting.
I’ve read a few posts where others have had somewhat similar questions - but I figured I’d rather ask and be sure than guess and be wrong.
I currently live in Midland, TX with my wife. We bought a house nearly a year ago now, and due to the circumstances of the contract - we can’t move or change our primary/residential address from our current home for at least another 3 years.
That said, the closest ATP Flight School is 5 hours away on a good day in San Antonio.
I was hoping some of you might have ideas on how to plan this all out, or have any advice on solutions.
You won’t be able to swing a 10hr commute more than once per week IMO given the time required to be available for flight and time needed to study.
You have a few options.
Look for a reputable flight school closer to you.
Live in an apartment for 6-9 months of training and occasionally visit home during training (more expensive due to mortgage + apartment payments).
Rent your house out and both move to an apartment near ATP for 6 months or as long as you’d like (Off sets costs, but not sure if the “contract” you mentioned would allow this. was it some form of FHA loan).
Sell the house and move closer (I assume this is an option you do not want to do but put it out there. Something to consider since you don’t live near an airline base, so currently you’d commute to an airline for your career unless you find a corporate job near Midland).
I don’t know how strict your contract is or how well it is enforceable, but none of the options above require you to move your primary residence right away.
A 10hr commute is out of the question and you obviously can’t break your home contract (nor would you want to just to do flight training). Basically you either have to bite the bullet and live away from home for 7mos (I actually did that when I did my training. It sucked and I also had 3 young kids but to me it was worth the sacrifice, my family might disagree) or try and find a school closer to your home. You could of course wait but things are so good right now and seniority is so critical I wouldn’t.
Totally your call but if you can do the 7mos you should.
Btw, you don’t mention any flight experience? If you’ve never flown in a small training aircraft I STRONGLY recommend you take an intro flight or lesson (or 3) before you do anything else. While many people believe they want to fly, until you do you really won’t know.
Thank you both for your input and I will definitely take both of your considerations to heart.
I agree that a 10 hour commute would be detrimental to a multitude of things.
There is a local flight school that I am waiting to hear back from during the business week, so I will also take their advice into consideration.
Also, aside from being a passenger - I have no flight experience. But I genuinely love flying, which stems from having taken an aviation boot camp course in my elementary school years (B-29 “Fifi” Squadron).
All in all, I hope I get to join your ranks one day! Thank you
I cannot stress this enough, I LOVE football but I’m never going to play for the 49ers and sitting in the stadium watching a game isn’t the same as getting hit by a 300lb linebacker.
Until you go up you won’t know for certain and while many do love the experience, many do not. I would not make a single plan or consider changing your life in any way until you go up.
I second that, you must take a discovery flight or a few to make sure you really know what you’re getting yourself into before making any major decisions!
Once you fly a bit, tour local schools and maybe go visit the closest ATP location you will have a more realistic picture of your choices. Also, see if the ATP location offers housing, if not, you may need to find the closest that does. Could change the financial picture depending on the cost of living in that state.
As the others have said, start with a discovery flight and make sure that this is something you could see yourself doing. After you get a few discovery flights under your belt, I would tour a few local schools along with an ATP location if you can. You mentioned how the nearest one is 5 hours away, I traveled 3 and half hours for my tour and admission flight before I took the leap.
If you’re not interested in moving, maybe there is a local flight school that could provide you with your training? I don’t know anywhere in Texas or what Midland, Texas has to provide for flight schools.