Expert: D. Norkus - 9/30/2006

Question
hi thanks u said rip offs what are some rip off companys like delta connection academy and flight safety academy?if not what are some.?and is it hard to get hired by a regional airline ? and does it matter how you get your licences like im getting mine threw a flight school.Do the airlines perfer like an academy or something? thank you
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Followup To

Question -
hello i want to become an airline pilot and they reqiure turbine time how do you get that because you cant just rent jet ? and how do you get type ratings ? thank you

Answer -
Well, if you had the money, you could rent/buy jet or turbine time but that is not how 99.9% of pilots get their experience. Most get 1,000 hours in piston aircraft then apply with a regional airline where they are hired to fly turbine (either turbo prop or turbo jet) aircraft. They then build turbine experience as a paid airline pilot. Once they have a few thousand hours built up that way, they then apply with a major carrier. Other route are to do it via a flying job at a smaller cargo company or via a charter operator.

Type ratings:
One could buy a type rating on their own or they could have their company/employer pay for it. Most pilots get their type ratings via their company or airline as it is part of their training. Presently, in the USA the only real occasion airline pilots buy their own type rating is when they are trying to get hired with Southwest. They are the only airline that requires pilots to have a type rating on a specific aircraft before they will send them to new hire class. Unless you are in such a position, you will have no need to buy a type rating. Do not pay a flight school for a "regional jet" type rating as seen in some ads! Those schools are rip offs.

If you aspire to an airline career, I suggest you read my website as it will explain a few tings you ought to know. Additionally, there are many great links for further information at the bottom-

http://www.geocities.com/av8trxx99/FAQ.html

Hope this helps
Dottie

Answer
No, airlines do not care where you get your certificates and ratings. You can go through a flying club, school or academy- it does not matter. As long as you have the required flight time (that is what matters), you meet the standards.

The thing with most academies (and a few flight schools) is that they have "affiliations" with some regionals to grant interviews to their graduates. This is not a job guarantee, but a guaranteed interview only. You may or may not get the job after spending $60-80,000 but if you do it can be a shortcut to getting hired.

I personally do not have any experience with academy style programs. I cannot advise on their programs as I went through a flying club. However, if you read the page link I sent (my site) it has a few links of interest about them- one DCA specifically. The only one I know about is ATP, as I work with two of their grads who were very happy with their program, and paid only $39,000 each.

If you want input on academy programs or flight school, do a search on these two message boards (or ask questions there)-

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

For info on ATP, visit their page and sign up to visit their message boards-
http://www.atpflightschool.com