AboutDottie Norkus Expertise I can address questions concerning: airline pilot employment & entry level airline careers in the Unites States, women pilots, flight training, pilot certification, flight scholarships (mostly for women), aviation & airline safety topics, aviation accident investigation, air carrier accidents and airline operations.
***Please note, I cannot address flight training or career queries from outside the United States. If you are not in the USA, please direct your question to the message boards at www.PPRUNE.org as you can surely find an answer there. For those in India try http://www.indianpilots.com
Also, I cannot address questions about aero engineering degree programs/careers or aviation management careers.
Experience U.S. Regional Airline Pilot. I have also had 15 years previous experience in airline ground operations, as well as a part 91 commercial skydive pilot and ferry pilot.
Organizations I belong to I am a charter member of Women In Aviation International as well as the International Organization of Women Pilots: the Ninety Nines. I keep a database of flight scholarships for women (mostly SW USA) and mentor student pilots.
Education/Credentials Embry Riddle Aeronautical University certificate in Aviation Safety/Accident investigation.
Question A little on my background. I have done my bachelor's in science. I am from India - Mumbai. I have a passion for travelling and would like to be a commercial pilot. Can you please tell me what are the requirements, the cost of the course, Institute or Aviation club which is among the best, How many hours are required and if I get a CPL what kind of airplanes and jobs I can get? What other licenses am I eligible to get other than PPL? Are there any scholarships?
Answer Kiran
As my profile states, I can only address flight training and pilot careers within the United States. These anwsers are from that perspective.
1.Can you please tell me what are the requirements, the cost of the course, Institute or Aviation club which is among the best?
An aspiring civilian pilot can do their flight training and earn their licenses & ratings via these routes:
A university aviation program
An aviation academy program
A local flight school or flying club
One does not need a degree in aviation to become a pilot in the United States. However some chose to go to an aviation university as the curriculum interests them and they can get college credit for their training. There are many 'big name' schools such as Embry Riddle Aeronautical University & University of North Dakota that offer programs that run upwards of $80K for a 4 year degree. Students earn their Private Pilot license, Instrument & Muti-engine ratings, Commercial pilot license and often the Flight Instructor certificates too while doing their degree. However, many smaller schools offer aviation degrees as well for much less money. To research aviation universities go to the University Aviation Association website at http://uaa.auburn.edu/msie.htm. They can also provide information about scholarships for member schools. Upon graduation you should have about 250-300 hours going this route, unless you became an instructor as part of their program and built up additional expericence.
There are also several aviation academy programs that tout their affiliations with certain regional carriers and their 'fast track' to the airlines. Mesa Pilot Development, Pan Am Acedmy, and the Delta Connection Academy are the big names. These are the schools that advertise in Plane & Pilot or Flying magazine each month claiming "We'll make you an airline pilot!". You get the same licenses & ratings at an academy as you would at an aviation university, but not the degree. Successful graduates of such academy programs are offered an interview with the academy partner airline at substantially lower flight experience than they usually require. This is not a job guarantee, but an interview only. They typically cost $60K-80K and graduates typically have 300-500 hours flight time. If a graduate is not hired by the affiliate regional, they do not meet qualifications to get hired elsewhere and need to build their flight experience via other avenues to be marketable as a commercial pilot. To read about other schools, check out the www.Jetcarers.com Message Boards as there are folders for each school by name with hundreds of posts.
A local flight school or flying club is often the most affordable way to get all the necessary licenses & ratings via this route. Some areas do not have flying clubs, but it's worth investigationg as clubs are often not-for-profit, and for their members. They have no overhead or staff to pay so they are often less costly than flight schools on the same airport. One can typically expect to spent $30-40K on their Private & Commercial licenses and Instrument & Multi-engine ratings if done via the school/club route.
There are literally thousands of schools in the US where you can do pilot training and the cost varies wildly. Expect a minimum of $40,000 USD for a small airport program to $100,000 USD if you attend a big name university such as Embry Riddle.
2. How many hours are required and if I get a CPL what kind of airplanes and jobs I can get?
The minimum amount of flight time one must have to take the FAA Commercial Pilot flight test is 250 hours, unless you do your training via "FAA approved Part 141" school program, then it's 190 hours. A pilot must have a Commercial license to get a job flying any size aircraft, for any type of business for compensation. The US major airlines minimum requirements, aka "minimums", are around 2,500 hours and the regional carriers mins are about 1,000 hours (with at least 100 of that being flown in multi-engine aircraft). "Competaive minimums", or what the average flight times of their new hires are, may be significantly above the minimums required to apply. This is especially the case in 2005, as there are a high number of extremely qualified pilots with several thousand hour of flight time in the job market.
Obviously a pilot with a brand new commercial license does not meet the airlines hiring minimums. How do they get the flight time required? New commercial pilots can fly several kinds of jobs that will enable them to build up their flight experience to the airline minimums. The typical civilian career path is a timebuilding job to get to a regional carrier, then after several years there they apply with a major carrier. Flying cargo is an option too, however most small cargo operators like Fed Ex feeder or Ameriflight minimums are slightly higher than the regional airlines. Legally, pilots must have 1500 hours to fly freight for small 'FAA Part 135 operators'.
Once you have a commercial license you can fly a small airplane (like a Cessna 172 or Piper Cherokee) doing jobs like:
Banner towing
Traffic watch
Skydive pilot
Pipeline patrol
Fish spotting
Flight Instruction (with the additional CFI license)
3.What other licenses am I eligible to get other than PPL?
In the USA, the Private Pilot, Commercial Pilot, Airline Transoprt Pilot, Multi-Engine rating & Instrument rating.
Read all about the requirements for US pilots at http://www.flightinfo.com
Are there any scholarships?
Aviation university students can often get scholarships through their school for flight training. See the University Aviation Association link I provided above for more information. I personally do not keep information on those kinf of awards. As mentioned in my profile, I keep a list of one time small awards (and most are for FEMALES ONLY) at www.geocities.com/av8trxx99/page2.html
I often get requests from men, but I can't help as I only keep a database for females.
Search for scholarships at www.google.com or www.yahoo.com by entering the phrase "flight scholarship" or "aviation scholarship" and see what you can find.
