Want to pursue commercial

[funky]

Hello,

I am 28, and currently an instrument single-engine land pilot with a total of 110 hrs. I have a M.S. in Electrical & Computer Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University, and I have recently decided that I would like to fly for a living. Of all the things I have done in my life, flying has been the most fun I've had. I have pursued money, in other careers, and it has led to lots of depression. I am finally realizing that you just have to do something that makes you happy (duh, right?). My wife makes enough for our living expenses, so now is the time for me to do this.

My first commercial goal is to become a CFI/II. I probably need about 100 hrs. to start my commercial training and that is going to cost about 8-9k @$79/hr in C-172. The commercial will be about $2.5k-3k, CFI $2.5k, CFII $2k. I have saved up $26k, so I know I can do this. However, if I could cut the cost of that 100 hrs. at all, I would like to.

Some questions:

1. How can I cut the cost of that initial 100 hrs.???
2. Should I even bother?
3. Should I just fly as much as possible to get the 100 hrs quickly, or make it more fun by taking friends on trips, etc... and space things out...

I am located near KSRQ (Sarasota/Bradenton, FL) and will probably take my flight instruction there. I have talked with a few flight instructors there and they said that it is kind of an unwritten rule that if you get your CFI there, you can instruct there.

Anyways, I appreciate any feedback, opinions, pointers, etc.

Thanks!

 

[minitour]

Some questions:

1. How can I cut the cost of that initial 100 hrs.???
2. Should I even bother?
3. Should I just fly as much as possible to get the 100 hrs quickly, or make it more fun by taking friends on trips, etc... and space things out...

1. Fly with someone else. You under the hood flying IFR VFR with them as safety pilot. Go 50nm+ out and switch, come back the 50nm as safety pilot and log it as xc time too...that'll help.
Another way may be to work with your school. Do they do ground schools? If so, try to knock out the FOI/AGI/IGI now. See if they'll hire you on to instruct the ground schools. That might help to lower cost of your flight time. Most schools I know of offer discounts to their employees so that could help you a ton. If you can do that AND share the time...you could save a bundle. Plus I think you'd pick up some good experience teaching ground schools (say private or instrument) to prepare you for your CFI ride.

2. Definitely. If its something you want to do, why are you even asking?

3. If it were me, I'd do it right away now. I'm the kind of person that wants to have my training accellerated and finish it up quick. I think you could knock out 100 hours (working full time) in about a month. You'd have to fly about 3 hours a day, so assume you do one 50nm cross country each night after work/before work, you'd have to knock out 8 hours or so on Saturday and Sunday. Make those trips a little longer. Visit places you've read about or wanted to visit. I think 210 hours to start your CSE/CFI/II training is probably about right.

A few more things.

Are you going to add on the CME? get the MEI? I'd recommend doing both if you have the oportunity to instruct in twins at your school. If they aren't going to let you, then skip the MEI and spend the money on twin time.

The only thing that I would recommend is to do a couple of hours of training in a simple single on the commercial maneuvers now. Learn how to do them right, then when you're coming back from one of your cross countries, you can do some maneuvers along the way to practice. Transitioning into a complex airplan isn't really a big deal (for me it wasn't). The biggest thing I can say is make sure your instructor knows what he/she is doing in it and teaches you right the first time. You don't wanna doink a checkride for something stupid like leaving the gear down too long after takeoff.

Best of luck to ya. If you need any other help/advice, drop me a PM and I'll help where I can.

-mini

 

[Goose Egg]

Hey funky,

The biggest thing I can say is make sure your instructor knows what he/she is doing in it and teaches you right the first time.

That's probably some of the best advice I've ever heard. The quality of your instruction depends largely on the skill of your instructor. Choose wisely.

I am 28, and currently an instrument single-engine land pilot with a total of 110 hrs. I have a M.S. in Electrical & Computer Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University

Sweet, a masters! I'll be starting mine this month (but not in engineering. I'm not nearly that smart.)

and I have recently decided that I would like to fly for a living. Of all the things I have done in my life, flying has been the most fun I've had. I have pursued money, in other careers, and it has led to lots of depression...

Just so's we're on the same page here, you do know that the money in flying doesn't come for a while, right? And when it does, it's not going to be as much as you think. Would you be willing to fly for $60-$100k max? (And it takes quite a while to work up to that income level.) If you aren't cool with that, this industry will only add to your depression--there are plenty of guys out there that are shining examples of that. Just make sure that you are getting in for the right reasons.

I am finally realizing that you just have to do something that makes you happy.

That's a good reason.

1. How can I cut the cost of that initial 100 hrs.???

Try splitting time with a safety pilot. Half the cost, twice the time, and it almost all counts as PIC. Plus it's a good way to keep your instrument skills sharp. You can't practice that stuff enough, as far as I'm concerned. Plus it's a blast to get in the IFR system, fly with someone cool, and go check out some place that you've never been to. When I was trying to build up that time for my commercial, I split time in a Cherokee 140 that rented for $55/hour. I split a lot of time in that airplane, so the cost per hour for me was $27.50 per hour. Sweet deal eh?

Also, you can log a certain amount of simulator time to count towards your commercial under part 61 (I can't remember exactly how much and my regs are at work, also can't remember about part 141) Since simulator time is generally cheaper than airplane time, this could work out for you too.

Anyway, I'm sure there are other ideas, but those are just a couple that I could think of.

2. Should I even bother?

Only you can answer this question for yourself, but I think that you should definitely bother. I love my CFI job and I'm grateful every day that I decided to do this, low pay and long hours notwithstanding. Actually, the long hours don't bother me much because this is what I want to be doing anyway. And I make enough to stay fed and pay my bills, so I really don't have much to complain about.

3. Should I just fly as much as possible to get the 100 hrs quickly, or make it more fun by taking friends on trips, etc... and space things out...

If it were me, I'd hit it. At 28, you are still pretty young, but time's a wastin'.

I am located near KSRQ (Sarasota/Bradenton, FL) and will probably take my flight instruction there.

Good. The weather should be good there, so you'll be able to get a lot done quickly.

Best of luck and PM me with any other questions if you need to.

-Goose

 

[funky]

Thanks for the tips guys...much appreciated! I am amazed at alot of these discussion threads on here -- alot of what seems to be negative. I don't know if alot of these pilots are upset at the recent industry downturn and had bigger expectations or what, but it sure is hard reading some of these threads and keeping a positive attitude about all of this!

My wife and I are closing on our first home in a few months and I think I will begin shortly after that. I am reading the FAR/AIM over and over, and about everything else I can get my hands on. I will probably go down to KSQL soon just to start meeting some people and secure a safety pilot for when the time comes.