"...too old/young?"
"...which flight school?"
"Should I upgrade to first officer on the regional jet or upgrade to captain on the turboprop?"
"...blocks of time in a Boeing 727 in Miami?"
"What is the cheapest way..."
"...flight instructing or banner towing?"
"... college degrees. I do not have one."
"... I don't really want to move my family 5 times to find a job"
"... LASIK surgery to correct my vision."
"I just can't afford to fly for years upon years to build up my hours..."
"I wear glasses..."
"I am partially colorblind..."
"Here is my resume..."
"I want to fly jets but am looking to try to keep my family life stable..."

"Is (insert age here) too old/young to pursue an airline career?"

I get this question frequently in email so I thought I would address it here.  I don't think it's ever too late to pursue a career in aviation.  If you're in the mid-30's/early-40's, it's still possible.  But   I would definitely suggest accelerated training and considering a regional airline with a "flow though" agreement with a major airline.  Targeting a regional airline with low flight time requirements (usually "pay for training") you can potentially shave -years- off of your pursuit of a job with a major airline. 

On the other hand, those of you that write asking about if it's too early to start a career in aviation, there's really no such thing as "too early" I think.  I wanted to be a pilot since the days that they flew DC-8's into Visalia, California (early 70's) so I spent most of my life with that as a goal.   I read books, researched training, history, aircraft, whatever  I could do to get more knowledge about aviation and the airlines until I was old enough to start flying at 15.  You aviation career starts the day you thirst to absorb the world of aviation. 

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"Can you suggest a flight school?"

Not really, however if there is a flight school that you're looking at, I'd be more than happy to take a look at the program if you email me the details.  Since I chose aviation while I was still in high school, I made the choice of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.  I could major in Aeronautical Science and do flight training as part of my curriculum.  I thought it was a great school with lots of good resources and excellent instruction.

If I were looking at an aviation career now and I was at a state college or private university, I'd finish up the degree program that I'm working on to attain at least a bachelor's degree.  Then I'd find a flight school either in my local area or an area where I knew that the weather would permit me to do as much training as possible.  Some people say that places like California, Arizona and Florida are good, which I agree.  Other folks may say that those areas don't offer the complexities of flying in bad weather and such. 

But when I was a flight instructor, I took my students up in instrument conditions, but I thought it was more important to have some VFR conditions because that gave me more flexibility to give my students a wider array of instruction possibilities.  Choose a school where you know you can get your ratings in a timely fashion with minimal weather-related cancellations. I am very much in favor if accelerated training. Accelerated in terms of flying as often as practicable in order to attain your ratings in the shortest period of time.

Choose a flight school that has a good structured program.  I'd suggest a school that offers part-141 training but I'd lean against flight schools that offer you a single "guaranteed price" for all of your ratings.  They should be able to give you an idea of what the average amount of money that their other students spent on training.

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"Should I upgrade to first officer on the regional jet or upgrade to captain on the turboprop?"

I, along with the other regional pilots in my ground school got jobs without any (or minimal) jet experience.  The most important thing that you can have in your logbook is pilot-in-command time from a scheduled part-121/135 airline along with an Airline Transport Pilot certificate (ATP).    Airlines hire future captains and if you're already succeeding as captain at a regional airline, you'll most likely succeed when you upgrade at a major.  Of course, people that chose to upgrade to FO on the regional jet are going to say that, "majors don't fly turboprops, they fly jets so jet time is more important than PIC turbine".   But your answer should be "airlines hire future captains, not FO's".

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"What about the companies that sell blocks of time in a Boeing 727 in Miami?"

I would even risk saying that 500 hours of pilot-in-command time in a Embraer Brasilia is much more lucrative than 500 hours of second-in-command time that you bought in a Boeing 727 from Miami Air.  Airlines know that any bozo with $25,000 can buy 500 hours from some outfits so save your money.

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"What is the cheapest way to become an airline pilot?"

The cheapest way of becoming an airline pilot is spending 8 to 10 years in the military and then applying afterwards.  You can qualify for an ROTC scholarship, apply for OCS (Officer Candidate School), attend one of the academies or enlist in the air national guard or a reserve unit.  I'm in the process of trying to find a fellow pilot that went the military route to write a short statement about what it was like.  Of course, if you -are- a military pilot now, I would really appreciate any insight you could offer. For more information regarding military flying, please see my military section.

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"I will graduate in May with a B.S. in Aviation. Would you suggest flight instructing or banner towing?"

I would suggest flight instructing. The time you spend as a flight instructor is actually your first captain's position. When you are a CFI, you have sole control of the aircraft, including all final decisions, and have to develop and maintain a good working relationship with your student. Much the same as you do when you are captain on an airliner. I really feel if you never have any "command" experience prior to getting your first captain upgrade in a regional or jet airliner, it's a little late to do "on the job training". Generally, some of the finest captain's I've flown with have experience instructing others.

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"The first question I looked at on your sight was the question on having a college degree. I do not have one. The school I plan on attending is joined with a Community College, so after fight school I would have a 2 year assoc. degree. Would that coupled with a couple of thousand hours in a Falcon 20 as pilot-in-command be good enough to be attractive to the 'Heavies'?"

I would highly suggest pursuing a four-year degree. A four-year degree isn't a strict requirement for all of the airlines, however in order to be seriously considered you'd be in a lot better shape with one. Hiring is extremely competitive and will remain so for years to come. The percentage of pilots hired at major airliners with 4-year (or more) degrees is in the high 90% and a lot of airlines use the accomplishment of a four-year degree as a filter. For example, any large airline may hire 1000 pilots in a good year whereas they may have 14,000 applications on file to consider for interview so the people with a stronger education background will always get first consideration. If you are time-limited, I'd suggest a "independent study" or correspondence school. Even some community colleges will offer credits for "life experience" and others will give credits for having an ATP certificate.

So the short answer is that if you'd be happy flying with a smaller airline or regional, you can probably make it without a degree. But if you want to keep your career possibilities open to large airlines like United and Delta, I would suggest you pursue a four-year degree.

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"Are there enough jobs out there to stay in a region I want or do you take what you can get to get your foot in the door. I don't really want to move my family 5 times to find a job, but maybe I'll have to?"

Well I'm a Californian and when I was looking for a regional job, knowing that I'd never reach the cockpit without time in a regional airliner, I decided that I'd move anywhere in order to gain that experience. So why would a Californian move to Wisconsin during the winter? Because it was a sacrifice that I was willing to make to progress in my career. In 1995, Skywest, West Air and American Eagle, all airlines with a strong west coast presence, were only considering applicants with 3,000 hours above because the entire industry was experiencing a downturn. I could have waited for another two years until I had 3,000 hours or wait until the requirements came down.

Two years or so waiting for the requirements to fly for a specific regional is a lot of time in an aviation career. Here's an example, I was hired in January 1998. Pilots that were hired only six months earlier than me are now becoming 737 captains earning nearly twice my salary. I would strongly suggest that you take the route that is going to get you to a major airline as expeditiously as possible because once you make it to where you want to be, both you and your family benefit.

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"Now, for my question. I wear contacts and have been contemplating LASIK surgery to correct my vision. Do you know if Delta or any other major airline will accept it? "

I'm not too sure about LASIK surgery. The technology is so new and doctors are always more than eager to suggest elective surguries like this. I'd really suggest using good old fashioned glasses because you can always adjust your prescription. On the other hand, if your vision begins to deteriorate after LASIK, that generally may mean corrective surgery again.

I've never really heard an official statement by any airline, or even the FAA about this procedure. I'd suggest that you do independant research (even though your LASIK surgeon is going to say it's fine) to determine if the risk is worth it.

There was, however a recent case of an airline pilot who has LASIK surgery performed and he lost his night vision, and thus ended his career early.

Wearing glasses is OK and probably the safest way of correcting your vision.

For a little more information regarding the dangers of LASIK and pilots, click here for an article

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In my case i feel like it is to late to start with just general flight school and work my way up. I can't afford to take that long. I know that XXXXXX is expensive, but I look at it like an investment, like medical school. Do you think that it is a good idea. I just can't afford to fly for years upon years to build up my hours and they are owned by an airline.

Yes, flight training is expensive, as well is medical school. Keep in mind that there are no shortcuts, especially in this job market. I'm afraid that if you can't afford to "fly for years and years" to build flight time, this career is going to quite literally eat you alive.

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"I wear glasses, can I be an airline pilot?

Yes, as long as you can see 20/20 with or without glasses or contacts. If your vision isn't quite 20/20 even with glasses, please consult your doctor aministering your flight physical to discuss your options. Some conditions may allow you to recieve a "waiver" or "Statement of Demonstrated Ability"

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"I am partially colorblind..."

In general, that shouldn't be a problem, however each airlines policy may vary depending on the extent of your condition.

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Here is my resume. Please review and call or email me for an interview if I fit your requirements.

Umm, unless you're open to eating from a automatic cat feeder and are handy with the litterbox, I really don't need any extra help around the house!

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I want to fly jets but am looking to try to keep my family life stable. If I flew for a regional is it possible after a few years with seniority to be home almost every night if I lived by the domicile? I heard about "Out and Backs and thought maybe I would have a shot. If not what would you suggest I do. Is there a way besides being an instructor to be home often and still fly?

Shortest and safest answer would be no.

On the "short" note, most passenger airlines do multiple overnight trips where you'll depart your base city on day one, have an overnight in anywhere from one to three cities and then return to your domicile (aka 'home base') a few days later. Some airlines have a few lines with 'out and backs' as you described, but they come and go. An airline that I once worked for had mostly 'days trips' which didn't involve laying over, but they went away virtually overnight. Life on the road, in most cases, is a virtual certainty and if a person can't tolerate the open road, he's going to be a miserable trucker! :)

On the '"safe" note, as mentioned before, todays airline that schedules one day trips, is tomorrow's four-day "death march" trip.

There are some "flying" jobs at an airline that don't involve travel like becoming an airline flight simulator instructor. However these jobs are normally reserved for pilots with operational experience in the aircraft.

I'm not sure how smaller freight carriers like Ameriflight or Mountain Air Cargo schedule, but I'd suggest dropping by the forum and asking.

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