20 y/o needs help choosing

[PressP]

20 y/o aspiring pilot in Charleston, SC. I am looking into starting flight training after the first of the year. I am confused. All the schools in the country sound great! Which one is best? I am willing to relocate. Also, any Charleston pilots who can offer one on one advice would be great too!

 

[wxman]

Flight Schools

I can't offer any advise about flight schools in Charleston, but I'll tell you what I can.

The first question is ... What are your intentions? Do you want to make a career of flying? If so, I would recommend that you look into a good FAA certified flight school. Otherwise, you can get very good training at most public airport FBOs.

I work at Southern Illinois University's Aviation Flight and Management Department. Needless to say, I would highly recommend our school. However, there are many good flight schools out there that are University associated. Lewis University, Purdue, Western Michigan, Embry-Riddle just to name a few.

Check out SIU's Aviation website... www.aviation.siu.edu to learn about our program.

Good Luck in your quest for training.

 

[AlphEcho]

Have you ever heard of Mankato?

I'd like to put in a little plug for my current university and soon to be alma mater, Minnesota State University, Mankato. MSU is a school of about 18,000 students an hour and a half south of the Twin Cities. Currently there are about 300 students enrolled in the aviation program. You can get a degree in Aviation with an emphasis on Management or Professional Flight. The flight program emphasizes multi-engine training from the very beginning, suggesting you get your private pilot single engine, then multi-private, multi-instrument, multi-commercial, and then multi-engine instructor. This multi-engine time is extremely important in getting any kind of flying job. Rental prices are about $50 an hour cheaper for a Piper Seminole than Embry Riddle, U of North Dakota, or most other expensive schools. There are other opportunities that MSU can set you up with that are also invaluable to your career. This past summer I completed an internship at Northwest Airlines. Without getting too specific in the open forum, let me just say that I learned an amazing amount in a short period of time, jumpseating dozens of times in all of NWA's aircraft. Many MSU students have recently been accepted to the bridge program with Atlantic Coast Airlines, which after a successful internship guarantees them an interview with a smaller number of flight hours than would usually be required. Many have been successful with this and are now flying with ACA. I worked this summer at NWA with many other interns from Embry Riddle (from both Prescott and Daytona), Purdue, Univ. of North Dakota, Western Michigan, and St. Cloud State and I can honestly say that after talking to them I am SOO thankful I went to MSU instead of to ANY of those other schools. I payed in some cases only 1/3 as much for my training and tuition and I was in the exact same place they were! Anyway, try private messaging me if you want more details, and best of luck with your search!

 

[AV1ATRX]

North American Institute of Aviation is right up the road in Myrtle Beach, SC. (Well, really Conway, SC, but MB sounds better.) They'll get you in and out in six month with less money than most of those other places you can go. There's nothing snazzy about it, but it does the job. If you aren't looking for a college program, then at least just drive up there and check them out.

 

[darien]

msu

msu sounds like a great place to check out If i were that age and at the point I'd seriously look into in The twin time is golden I did my training in a twin and everywhere I go guys are like you have how much twin vs total time Rember most guys do training in singles so it automatically gives you one leg up If you continue with the twin program

 

[bobbysamd]

Choosing a flight school

I have worked at ERAU-Prescott, FlightSafety in Vero Beach, and Mesa Airlines Pilot Development in Farmington, New Mexico. All have the same main objective - to train you to be a professional pilot - but each has its nuances.

Perhaps the bottom line for choosing a school is how it will facilitate your objective. ERAU and other colleges will train you and you will earn a four-year degree. Colleges with strong flight programs tend to offer internships, in which you can make important contacts - after you build experience. Schools such as FSI will train you and offer you the chance to instruct and build experience which you can use to move up the ladder. Schools such as Mesa and Comair Academy are tied to the airlines that own them. The airlines in question hire graduates from the schools. The individual requirements for each school and airline differ. Your opportunity may depend on if the airline is hiring at that time.

You have to consider the flight time you accumulate while training. Some schools offer lots of multiengine time. I like earning Commercial and Instrument ratings in multis because that's the essence of professional piloting. But, that doesn't mean that you can't be trained for those ratings competently in singles and earn your multi later. Cost may be less as well.

Also, consider time spent training. Some schools can train you for all your ratings in less than six months. That's a lot of book learning and new skills to learn in a very short time, and if you don't keep using them (at a job, preferably), you're likely to lose most of it as fast as you learned it. An accelerated program might get you going faster when hiring is good and you are somewhat assured of preserving your new skills. In times like now, with less hiring and less of a rush to finish, you might be better off taking it slower.

Bottom line: try to find people who've achieved the goals you're after. Ask them if their flight programs facilitated their objectives. Then, go on from there.

Hope that helps. Best of luck with your choice.

 

[AlphEcho]

I've had some requests for a website address for Minnesota State and it is mnsu.edu. Unfortunately you'll be hard-pressed to find much about the aviation program on that site. There are not enough full-time staff and professors in the program to take care of everything. Again, pm me if you have any other questions.

 

[AOPAPILOT]

If you have the goal of flying as a pilot in the airlines, a four year college degree is a requirement for most majors and some of the regionals. Working towards a 4 year degree is something that you can do while you are working for a regional. You did not post that you have any college credits. If you do have college credits already, you will not lose them.

Previous posters have listed various college and university programs that have aviation majors. This is the key to going to flight school and also working for that 4 year degree. If you check the various college/university aviation programs, they give credits for flight time and the certificates and ratings that the student holds. You will still have to do the english, math and bs type subjects on the way to that four year degree. You are still young and have plenty of time. I would suggest that you attend a credited Jr. college at home and take private flight lessons at a local FBO during the same time. You can also work on getting the instrument rating if you have the time and money. This way, you will find out if flying is the career that you really want to work in. When you finish Jr. college consider one of the flight schools that specifically train you for the airlines. I will not get into the discussion on the merits of schools that require getting the flight instructor certificate to build up the flight hours vs. the ones that have direct track flight training programs. One thing I will say is having 1,200 hours in a C-172, and 100 multi-engine hours is not equivilent to having less total hours, but professional training in crew resource management, jet systems training, EFIS/FMS, and RJ simulator training.

After finishing the flight training and getting hired at the regionals, you will find out that using the distant learning programs available from the college/university of choice is easy. Distant learning is using a computer and books to complete a degree without setting foot on a college campus. Look for the schools that give credits for the flight times and certificates/ratings that you hold. You will have to have personal discipline to keep up with the college studies while flying at the regional airline that you fly for. If you do not have the drive to do both, then I suggest that you attend a four year college of choice and do the flight training after the degree is obtained. If you intend on staying in the aviation field, the aviation college four degree is ok. If you decide to leave the aviation community, I tend to believe a normal business, liberal arts, science etc. college degree will open more job opportunities than a aviation degree.

Just my .02 cents worth.

 

[Slick]

I'm a student at Airline Training Academy in Orlando. They offer an "ab-initio" bridge program, which usually leads to a right seat in a regional aircraft upon completion of training. If you care to send me a p.m. including your e-mail address, I'll try to answer any questions, (straight story from non-management student). And if you haven't checked out their web site, go to: www.flyhere.com.

And one bit of advice, off the cuff: when you visit the various flight schools check out how many students are smiling. This simple observation would seem to give good clues as to the mindset and satisfaction of the students at that flight school.