Expert: David A. NewMyer - 12/16/2004

Question
I am intersted in becoming a pilot.  i would like to know what i need to do to become a pilot and what kinds of careers there are for pilots besides commercial.  what kind of colleges are there for piloting and what would i need to do to go to a school for piloting

thanks alot
don

Answer
Hi, Don:

It is nice to hear from you.  I will try to assist!

To become a pilot who has good opportunities for advancement, you will need three things:

1.  Education...a B.S. or B. A. degree (a four year degree); preferably in an aviation subject so that you learn as much as possible about the industry in which you want to work;

2.  Training....Federal Aviation Administration Private Pilot and Commercial Pilot Certificates (the Commercial with Instrument and Multi Engine Ratings) as a minimum with the additional FAA Certified Flight Instructor (Airplane) to allow you to build flight time while teaching others to fly.

3.  Flight time/experience.  For a flight instructing job, you will need your certificates, as noted above, which will gain you from 250 to 300 or so flight hours.  To obtain most commercial/fly-for-hire jobs, you will need to have 500 flight hours (pilot in command or PIC flight hours).  For a regional airline flying job, you will need anywhere from 500 PIC flight hours including 100 multi engine hours up to 1500 PIC flight hours and 300 multi engine hours.  For a major airline (or any airline flying large jet equipment) or a Corporate Flight Department, you will need anywhere from 2500 to 4000 PIC hours including 500 to 1000 PIC flight hours in a turbine or jet powered aircraft with a crew of two.

As far as types of flying jobs, they include the following:

Flight instructing:  Teaching others to fly

Charter pilot:  Flying others for hire on a non-scheduled basis

Pipeline inspection/powerline inspection flying

Flying for a parachute jump company

Flying for a company that hauls bank checks or other financial documents

Corporate pilot/flying as a pilot for a corporation on a corporate-owned aircraft

Cargo, Express or air freight pilot (jobs at UPS, FEDEX and DHL are generally sought after job due to the stability compared to many passenger airlines)

Passenger airline pilot

As far as colleges that offer flight training, there are quite a number of them and there is a listing you can order called the Collegiate Aviation Guide.  Order it from the University Aviation Association, which can be contacted at uaa@auburn.edu or by calling 334-844-2434.  Cost is around $25.

As far as what you need to gain entry into a college that offers flight training, the better schools will likely require something like a 3.2 grade point average on all high school work, a class ranking of around 60th percentile and an ACT score of around 24.  That is, in fact the AVERAGE that our entering classes have had in each area for the last two or three years in the Aviation Flight program at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, which is where I work.  That means some students were below and some were above these numbers.

I hope that these answers are of help.  Let me know if I can be of further assistance.

Sincerely,

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