[Guest]

Hey everyone. Does anyone here have a pilot licence or better yet trained on helicopters? The schools are pretty expensive! Depending on private or commercial licence though. I think that would be an incredible career, not sure how the market is for available positions and what exactly they pay, I imagine quite a bit though.

 

[BlueSS454]

I'd like to have one just to avoid all the damn traffic around here!

 

[Guest]

=) Ah yes. ...

 

[surfingreg]

I don't have the license, but I work on one...I am a flight nurse and work on an EMS helicopter in the Bay Area...typically, you can't make much money in our line of work (EMS) but some of our part time pilots are making great money working full time for corporate folks flying the big wigs around....The more time you have, the more responsibility and more money you can make...all things like IFR, ATP, dual ratings, etc, all add up....one of the guys who I fly alot with here was civilian trained and he said he spent about $60,000 to get to where he had enough time to fly EMS...most programs want at least 3000 hours of flight time, more if you are flying nights and/or IFR....anyway, let me know if you have any other questions...otherwise, good luck...if yer young enough, the military is the way to go for flight school....although right now, the outlook is off to Iraq with ya...not a great choice....as far as jobs go, there is a dire need for helicopter pilots nationwide....

 

[Guest]

I figured so much, I kept hearing about the Airforce but thats not something id be interested in. One of the local community colleges here has some ground training classes, but obviously nothing with air time/ training which is where the big bucks come in. $60k would take quite a few years. Why is everything im interested in so expensive =)

 

[dittoz]

Phil,

I got mine when I got out of high school back in '80.
I went to the local Community College and did my ground school there and did the flight training at the local little Airport. (San Carlos)

It took about a year between the ground school and the flight training and at the time ran about $2300 as I recall. Of course, back then a little Cessna 150 ran about $25/hr wet (with fuel).

My intent at the time was to go through the entire thing, Air Force included, and then fly commerical airliners. Physical ailments and lack of maturity took it's toll and I wound up with a license and a lot of popularity amongst my friends who thought it was a hoot to go flying instead of cruising...

It was a lot of fun, I even flew to the US Festival back in '83 and '84 but being young and single I could afford things like tha back then.
Now-a-days, with a wife and three kidlets, there's too many expenditures and a bit too much risk from my dependents' perspective, so the wings are hung up...

If you've got the time and the money the valley is a good place to fly, but from a career perspective, I think you'd be hard-pressed unless you're already "in" or you're a current military pilot which requires a college degree and officer status as I recall...
(and a haircut! )

 

[TechNova]

I have ground school in, my wife has her private license, my brother flies commercial, my father in law was a corporate pilot, my brother in law flies commercial and is an instructor, other brother in law just got his private, heading to corporate career.
Commercial would be great for a single guy, a little harder for a family man with being gone for 4-5 days straight. You miss alot of ball games and school plays. My brother gets a good amount of time off to help make up for being away. Pay is plummeting for commercials right now.
A corporate pilot spends alot of time sitting around in small airports, even some unmanned airports. You fly in the big wigs, then wait around til they return who knows when to fly back home. You have to really love flying and not mind sitting around most of the day. You leave in the dark and return in the dark, long days. Most are going to require alot of flight time, IFR, Multi, and maybe even jet ratings to get hired.
Not sure about helicopters, I think they are cool but don't care much for the
glide ratio!

 

[vrooom3440]

I got my private SEL (Single Engine Land) back in 2000.

You can do ground school for almost nothing. They offer it at Sierra JC almost every semester as an evening class. The good folks at Atkin Air provide used to provide an FAA certificated instructor to teach the class back when I took it, and they probably still do since it is a very good way to recruit student pilots.

Once you progress to flight instruction things get more expensive since a basic Cessna 150 runs around $50 hour plus instructor. I was spending roughly $1000 a month for 5 months when I did this to fly 1-2 times per week. Fly as frequently as you can to shorten the learning time and thus overall cost.

Some of the costs have likely gone up higher, especially with rising fuel costs.

This is a good area for training because you do have a lot of airfield options ranging from basic non-towered to full tower controlled. I took my training at LHM (Lincoln) but would bet that McLellan would be very good as well if anybody offers training there. For basic training you want a long/wide runway and minimal traffic. LHM is around 6000' long and 150' wide so it is very tolerant of "learning". It is also possible to do 2 landing/take offs per circuit if you and the instructor are good. For thrills you can get in 3 landing/take offs per circuit over on the 8000' runways at SMF if they are not busy with the big guys.

Expect a significant investment to be able to do this for $$$ and it will be quite awhile before the $$$ is anywhere close to justifying the investment. You really go into this because you want to fly, not for the $$$.

I personally have not flown since I passed my checkride since my wife has allergies to the idea of my flying :-(

Steve

 

[Daren71]

Phil, I've been in aviation for 22 years now, the biggest thing to remember is pay is totally based on seniority, or amount of hours you have flown. It can be a very rewarding career, see lots of places, and meet lots of people, and make decent money, but it takes a long time to get there. If flying is in your blood, do it. Just don't expect to be flying for a big airline in 5 years. Also, the younger you are to start out, the better. I started flying when I was 17, and found out then I didn't have the stomach to do all the requirements for a private pilot license, so, I went to college to learn how to fix them instead. If you can find a community college to pay part of your way to get a commercial pilots license, then you've done the first big step. After that its all upgrading your license to twins, turbines, Instrument flight rules, helicopter ratings, etc. One last note, if the economy goes in the dumper, better find another career, layoffs are huge at this point. Let us know what you decide, good luck. Daren

 

[zeke67]

I've got a friend that is a commercial pilot (he's the guy with the 67 LeMans I mention every now and again). We talk about his job and the industry quite a bit because it has been tumultuous, especially lately.

He flew two years as a corporate pilot, but his real goal was the airlines. He felt at that time, and still feels today that corporate pilots don't have good job security because in a economic downturn, the corporate toys are one of the first things to go. The your out looking for a job when jobs are least available. But, he need to get the flight hours to get considered for the airlines.

Anyway, he started flying for a regional carrier -- flying back and forth from small towns to the hub airports for one of the 6 major carriers. He worked his way up from week end schedules, copilot jobs and turbo props to piloting jets. As someone else commented, this is all based on seniority. So, as you get better routes, schedules and planes, you tend to trade off pay. He did enjoy this work, but really wanted to get to a major carrier for better security, bigger planes and better pay.

He did make the jump to the major, but it was back to week end schedules and second chair jobs. Again, all seniority based and he had to work back to better routes and jobs. All in all, he still enjoyed it.

When 9/11 happened and the industry tanked, he was furloughed. He eventually got his job back, but now the round of bankruptcies has gotten him laid off again. He figures that we will be let go rather than called back and he has 12 or 13 years of experience with either the carrier or their affiliate.

At this point, I think he's tired of the insecurity and the low pay. It will probably take another ten years before he gets into the big jets and the pay that goes with it, if he can survive that long.

 

[BarefootDave]

Hey everyone. Does anyone here have a pilot licence or better yet trained on helicopters? The schools are pretty expensive! Depending on private or commercial licence though. I think that would be an incredible career, not sure how the market is for available positions and what exactly they pay, I imagine quite a bit though.

I've been in aviation for over 25 years and 11,000 hours as a flight instructor, charter pilot, A&P mechanic and now a corporate pilot and I can't think of a better career choice!

The hardest part I currently see about a pilot career is the issue with gaining quality flight time and experience without going bankrupt! When I got my license at 16 yrs old in 1980 I think it cost me about $2500 and single engine airplanes rented for about $25/hr wet (includes fuel). The last time I really looked the same airplane is renting for over $100/hr! That would mean that it could cost close to $10,000 just to get a Private pilots license! Once you get your license you have just gotten a "license to learn" and are now on your own until you have paid for and accumulated 250 flight hours. Thats where the FAA says you are eligible to get a "Commercial" license and then get paid to fly....the issue now is trying to find someone who will hire you and can get insurance on their prized plane that might cost $100,000 or $50 million depending on what it is. Kinda a Catch 22. A lot of it is "who ya know" and how deep your pockets are.

I'd be happy to talk to you and point you in the right direction or share more info if you have any other questions. As far as pay...if ya find the right job you can do pretty well.