Expert: David A. NewMyer - 1/22/2004

Question
David,
Hello, my name is Shawn Bailey.  I would like to ask your advice on a career in aviation.  I'm 25 years old, live in Indiana, and have a BS in Business from Indiana University.  I'm the type who has always thought about being a pilot, but just hasn't done it yet.  I'm interested in seriously (full time training)getting started in aviation.  

I have been trying to do my homework and researching as much as possible, although I am still in the early stages.  I'm really glad I came across this site and found you, as I find "real pilot" advice invaluable and hard to come by when my aviation realtionships are limited.  Ideally I would like to start training by fall (time to get out of the Indiana cold).  So I have a few questions for you.

Goals:
I realize that the "big" money is probably captain of the 747/777 etc.  My problem is the time line to get there and the schedule of airline pilots.  I don't really want to be away from home 4-5 days at a time when I have a family etc.  So I am looking for a position that would allow me to fly and be home more regularly.  I was thinking corporate, or some kind of charter, or even regional that could have me end the day at home (if they exist).   Eventually, I would probably entertain the idea of owning my own charter business.

What options do I have that would allow me to fly jets or props and still be home at night (at least most of the time)?


Training:
I have been looking at Gulfstream Academy(.com) out of Ft. lauderdale for traing.  They have a program that gives you "airline" training and puts you straight in the plane flying the line as a FO on a Beech 1900D.  I guess I call it an accelerated program and gaurantees you 250 turbo prop hours as a paid (though poorly)officer for the affiliated Gulfstream airlines.  It just seems to skip the flight instructing days most pilots use to build hours.  They also have a direct hire program with Continental into their CRJ's.  Or you could stay as a permanent hire with Gulfstream with rapid advancement to Captain.  I've heard PIC time is most valuable so I was thinking that staying a short while would be worth it.
Gulfstream no longer offers training for private, instrument, multi, commercial rating so I would look into getting those prior at another local school, hopefully at that airport.  I figure total it would cost $45,000 - $50,000 in training.

What are your thoughts on that regimine?  Do you have any schools you would recommend, preferably with an accelerated program?

Any advice is greatly appreciated.  Thanks for your time.

Sincerely,
Shawn Bailey

Answer
Hi, Shawn:

Thanks for your questions.  I will try to assist!

With regard to your goals:

1.  Airlines like Comair, based in Cinncinati as a Delta Connection carrier, do generally have their pilots home at night on most of their duty rigs.  Not always, but, most of the time.  Not sure about Continental Express.....  But, consider this:  As far as major airlines are concerned, once you achieve seniority, you might be gone on two 4 or 5 day trips a month but YOU ARE HOME THE REST OF THE MONTH.  So, as you are able to bid your best schedules, these duty rigs allow you to schedule a lot of time at home.  Time that many other occupations do not allow.  As far as charter or corporate, it really depends on the company.  Some corporate flight departments are scheduled like airlines and others are even tighter than that.  So, time off varies and is at the mercy of your bosses and the aircraft scheduler.  As far as charter companies go, YOU fly when the CUSTOMER wants to fly.  Day or night, holiday or not.  So, that is a drawback of that kind of flying....and, of early airline careers as well (when you do not have the seniority mentioned above).  Owning your own charter business is a worthy goal, but, make sure that you check into some of the costs that many do not think about such as aviation insurance:  This cost has skyrocketed for charter operators since 9-11, forcing smaller charter companies (particularly those flying smaller piston aircraft) out of business.

2.  Training.

In general, I do not make recommendations of any training school via AllExperts in order to be fair.  I can tell you, however,that some of the schools/academies with good reputations out there for their work are:

A. Flight Safety Academy

B. Delta Academy (formerly Comair Academy)

C. Pan Am International Flight Academy

D. Southeastern Flight Academy

E. The one you mentioned:  Gulfstream

And, there are others.  Just check the pages of FLYING magazine, which is on any local newstand (in larger cities).

I would recommend a visit to at least three such academies so that you can collect comparative data on each academy.  And, in order to collect similar data, go into each visit with a common set of questions that you need to get answered such as:

1.  Costs (total, by rating/certificate/overtime costs/and any hidden costs such as for charts, books, etc)

2.  Placement of their graduates into the aviation industry, especially since the 9-11 attacks.

3.  On-site dorms/housing/residences and any food service that might be provided and related costs

4.  Fleet that they use and the approximate age and downtime for maintenance (will it be easy for you to obtain an aircraft when you need it?).

5.  Other questions that you can think of that you want to ask ALL academies that you visit.

As you complete each visit, assemble the data collected into some sort of a spread sheet (via software or just pencil and paper) while it is fresh in your mind.  Once all of the visits are complete, compare the data and see what you think of your choices.  Visit other academies as needed.

As far as Gulfstream's accelerated program, just make sure you ask all of the key questions:  How long are you committed to work there, what is the average time IN 2003-2004 for upgrade to captain?  Where are they basing pilots?  (you need to know where you might be living...high cost or not, etc).  Yes, I concur that PIC turbine is a key thing to obtain, but, the fact that you will obtain PIC turbine at Gulfstream will mean that you will transition to other airlines or corporate flight departments via an intermediary company or two.  That is, the direct transfer to the job of your dreams from Gulfstream is probably not going to happen.  I am not saying that they are promising that, but, just consider that there are a lot of pilots who have been building PIC turbine and PIC flight time in general and have not moved much in the aviation industry since 9-11.  So, the competition will be stiff out there for ANYONE, high PIC turbine time, or not.

Overall, your plan for training deserves more of your time in terms of up-front investigation since you will invest so much money.  On the other hand, you seem to be on the right track in terms of the items that you are considering.

Best wishes to you and feel free to follow up with another question, if you feel you need to.

Sincerely,

David A. NewMyer, Ph.D., Professor and Chair
Aviation Management and Flight
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
http://www.aviation.siu.edu