Expert: D. Norkus - 11/29/2007

Question
I am a sophomore in high school and I want to be an airline pilot. I am considering CAP but one of my friends dropped out because he said it wasn't helping him, I was wondering what your opinion is. Also, I know it's harder for women to become pilots, even though it is getting less segregated,so in your opnion, what I can do to help prepare myslef? I don't have enough money to take flight lessons right now, so that isn't an option. What's your opinion? Thanks!

Answer
Maddie

I have no experience with the CAP so I can't comment on their program. You can only know if you will have the same experience as your friend if you join and try it out. While in high school, I joined the Aviation Explorer Scouts. They offered a ground school course and reduced rate flight instruction. The problem I had was that the flight training was too intermittent in my troop to finish my Private. (So I ended up joining a flying club and getting my PPL.) However, if there is a troop in your area, it may be of benefit:

Aviation Exploring is a youth development program centered around aviation careers. Member benefits:
* Take orientation flights in military transports, helicopters, gliders, or single-engine general aviation aircraft
* Visit Air Force bases, aviation museums, air shows, or FAA facilities
* Learn to preflight an aircraft
* Take pilot training ground school classes
They also offer scholarships for those on the aviation career track. http://www.aviationexploring.org

Additionally, the Experimental Aviation Association may be a way to get into aviation as a teen with little or no funding:  http://www.youngeagles.org/programs

Also, as an aspiring student pilot, you should get a subscription to Flight Training magazine. It is like a flight instructor in your mailbox every month and will be very educational for you. You can get your free 6 month trial here- http://flighttraining.aopa.org/

As far as what you can do to prepare...

1) SAVE, SAVE, SAVE. As  much as you can to help fund your training. After graduation, you can chose to go to an aviation university or community college (and maybe get some financial aid for flying), OR attend a flight school or do your training via a flying club while getting your degree outside aviation. Try to get some scholarships, as that would help too. http://www.avscholars.com
Talk to your parents. They may agree to help fund your training. These organizations for women pilots may be of assistance too:
The Int'l Organization of Women Pilots (The "Ninety-Nines")-
http://www.ninety-nines.org

and Women In Aviation International
http://www.wai.org

WAI is very career driven (that is the main focus of their annual conference) but the Ninety-Nines also has a network just for Pro Pilot members. Both also give flight training scholarships. The Ninety-Nines offers more for those who are up and coming (even a PPL award) while many at WAI are for the advanced pilot. Both are a great resource for flight training funds.

Don't worry too much if you can't afford to fly at your age. Starting too early with limited funding for training is a big mistake for the career minded in my opinion. Too often excited teens (14-16 yr olds) try to take 1-2 lessons per month well before they are 17 (legal age to get the Private Pilot), which will easily double if not triple their cost over doing it in a very condensed amount of time. That is a financial blunder as all the extra cash they spend on repeating lessons stretched out over years would have been better spent on flying something more valuable: multi & high performance flight time to make them more competitive for a job. Read more on the topic here- http://www.flightlevel350.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=11588&st=0&p=121646&#ent...

2) Educate yourself about what to expect in the career and how to go about getting qualified to get hired, so you can make the best educational and flight training choices for yourself. I suggest starting with my page- http://www.pilotcareer.info

and these awesome sites as well:

http://www.jetcareers.com
http://www.airlinepilotcentral.com
http://www.flightinfo.com

In 2007, I do not think it is 'harder' for a woman to land a pilot job. I now see more ladies in the pilot lounge and in the cockpit than ever. In fact, the current 'pilot shortage' makes any qualified pilot who applies is definitely in the running to be hired. The regional airlines are having a hard time hiring pilots and are cutting back on flying due to lack of staffing. Their minimum requirements to be hired are at currently at an all time low. (See- http://airlinepilotcentral.com/resources/job_search_resources/regional_hiring_mi... ) If you get qualified (Commercial certificate, instrument & multi-engine ratings with 250-500 flight hours) and have at least your associates degree, you WILL get called for an interview. It will be a lot of hard work and a financial commitment, but you could find yourself hired at age 21.

Here are some more links on training programs that get their graduates airline interviews:

http://www.atpflightschool.com/
http://www.flightcareers.com/

Hope this gets you started. If you have more concerns let me know.

Dottie