Any commercial airline pilots on the .org?

Busaman5000

Busaman5000

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Im looking into getting a pilots license but I don't know a whole lot about it.

What would be a good place to start? My ultimate goal would to be a pilot for Delta or something similar. How long would it take to get there and what all does it entail?

There is a flight school here in Greenville, SC that I am going to go talk to on Friday. Professional Pilot Program Its pricey but if it leads to a good paying career it would be worth it imo.

Basically looking for any and all info that could be of any use.

:beerchug:
 
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X2. Always loved the thought of flying amd though of it as something to do when I get a lil older and away from pipeline.
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I'm sure F=MA will have the answers but from my understanding most pilots don't make a lot of money. Most pilots will make less than 40k a year. Usually need airforce training and until you get 15+ years of on the job training you won't really make the big bucks. Most pilots do the job because it's more of a calling than a job.

This was what I was told by my Grandpa who was a WWII Pilot then an AA pilot and by a cousin who at the time I believed work for United. This information is probably 10+ years old now though.
 
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I am most definitely someone you want to visit with before you get too far into this...but there are limitations on how much I'm willing to discuss in the forum.

Let me ask you a few questions...

How old are you?

Do you have a family?

Do you enjoy spending time with your family? (that's a serious question...some people don't)

Do you enjoy spending holidays with your family and/or friends?

How would you feel about being employed in a position where no matter how "good" you are, or how productive you are, it will have no impact on your career progression?

Are you aware that the compensation and quality of life has been in decline for airline pilots for almost thirty years now?

Are you aware that once you become an airline pilot and survive the abysmal first year pay if the management of your airline is not successful and you find yourself unemployed you'll be looking at starting over again at first year pay...even if you have twenty years' experience?

Let me post this, then continue.
 
40k ten years ago was some decent money. I couldnt justify still being away from home though and taking a major paycut. Home every weekend maybe but doubtful.
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1953 lessons were 8$ per hr

L16_Aeronca.jpg
 
very interesting thread. I wlways wanted to be a helicopter pilot, but with as much trouble as i have keeping a car license, i cant imagine the world would give me a third axis to play with.
 
Fastfrog007 said:
very interesting thread. I wlways wanted to be a helicopter pilot, but with as much trouble as i have keeping a car license, i cant imagine the world would give me a third axis to play with.
Click to expand...

But I don't think you can get a speeding ticket in the air... can you???? I mean... no school zones at least. :whistle:
 
F=MA speaks the truth in more ways then one. Please read between the lines. I watched a close friend go from being successful to dissembling his life/family/home one piece at a time as the job took him piece by piece. Choose wisely and follow what your PASSION is! If flying is what you want to do...go for it...otherwise...
 
I'm 24. 25 in feb.

Married wife 1 kid.

I work away from home now and althoguh I like my family, job, and etc my line of work can't keep going forever. I can make a. Living doing several things but I want something more proffesional I guess would be the word. Not so working man. Not that there's anything wrong with it but I wanna try other things.

Pay, is my biggest thing. What is first year pay, and how do pilots get paid. Hourly, per flight, also do you stay overnight on the road or fly home and stay.
Do you get per diem?
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I am, or was, an airline pilot. I'm not certain exactly how to define my current participation in that segment of the aviation industry. Let me try to explain that statement...

I've been flying for about fifteen years...professionally for ten years, and as an airline pilot for almost eight...up until September of this year.

The airline I flew for has been in decline for the last five years. We pilots voluntarily agreed to take a cut in pay and quality of life items in order to allow the company to be "more competitive", in exchange for guarantees of growth which did not happen.

The company then decided we were still "too expensive", and elected to pursue a sham bankruptcy in order to force additional pay cuts upon us so they could "be competitive". Management of the company told the bankruptcy judge under oath that the company was projecting a $50 million profit for the year...guess that wasn't enough for them.

Pay concessions were forced upon us again during the bankruptcy process so we would "be competitive".

Since reaching our new bankruptcy mandated "competitive" pay rates, the airline has not grown, or even maintained the pre-bankruptcy fleet size of roughly 165 airframes. In fact, the company today operates barely 100 airframes.

The company has shrunk from 1800 pilots to just over 900 pilots. I am roughly number 700.

The company this summer decided to move 70% of the workforce to New York...where property values are much higher and quality of life much lower than in our former domicile.

So, in September I elected to volunteer to be furloughed...or laid off subject to recall. For a number of years now I've been preparing for the eventual demise of my employer by saving, investing, and pursuing other business interests. As a result, I am in a position where my future participation in their circus is irrelevant to my financial well being.
 
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How old are you?
28

Do you have a family?
No wife, no kids, parents live in another state

Do you enjoy spending time with your family? (that's a serious question...some people don't)
Yes, but I only see them about once a month if that.

Do you enjoy spending holidays with your family and/or friends?
Yes

How would you feel about being employed in a position where no matter how "good" you are, or how productive you are, it will have no impact on your career progression?
I feel like im in that position now. But flying is something I have always wanted to do but just never pursued it.

Are you aware that the compensation and quality of life has been in decline for airline pilots for almost thirty years now?
No, I was not aware.

Are you aware that once you become an airline pilot and survive the abysmal first year pay if the management of your airline is not successful and you find yourself unemployed you'll be looking at starting over again at first year pay...even if you have twenty years' experience?
Did not know this either. Why is that?
 
I'll get to your answers Busaman & Mattstang...
Here is the common path for someone who is not a military pilot...this is the path I chose...
 
I took my first flight lesson...which was actually the first time I'd ever been in an airplane, when I was 24. I did it at my local airport.

After about five months and $4000 I got my Private Pilot Certificate (license). Today that will cost you about $8000-$10,000.

Be aware that flight schools will quote you the minimum required time to get a license...yet fewer than 5% will be able to get a license within those minimums.
 
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