Any pilots in the house?
 

Any pilots out there? I tried to see if such thread existed but no luck. Just wondering who else shares the aviation bug. Hoping to one day find a career as a commercial pilot.

Yes. I can't speak to Canada, but in the US it isn't a cheap dream to pursue. That's probably why a lot of commercial pilots are former military. Ironically, one of the biggest reasons I didn't pursue flying as career post-military was the type of flying most commercial pilots do. Point A to B straight and level at altitude. Or in my case, at low altitude.

If this is your passion, then I say follow your dreams. Just be realistic in your expectations. :cheers:

Grew up flying. On track for my PPL as we speak. It has always been a dream of mine to fly for a living. It has been said that there will be a large demand for commercial pilots within the next 5-7 years as the average age of most pilots are nearing retirement. We will see what happens.

They've been saying that since I started flying (1997). A great way to keep people in flight schools and more importantly to keep the money flowing. ;)

With that being said, follow your passion. Just be smart about it and be realistic in expectations. One only has to spend an hour or two perusing different aviation foums to see many examples of people who've gotten themselves into large amounts of debt, working crazy hours/schedules only to find it much harder to get that dream job than they realized. (there's some great advice on those forums, not sure how much research you have done but well worth the time if this is something you really want to do)

I also highly recommend networking. Aviation is a small community and reputation can make or break you. If I ever go back to flying, it will be for recreation/fun. Unless of course, someone was to come along and offer me a job I couldn't refuse. :)

Do former hang glider pilots count?

I considered becoming a pilot, but the costs and how long it can take to become a commercial pilot for a decent airline is what swayed me away from it. Off to engineering i guess

Yup I'm a pilot. Working in NW Ontario for a subcontractor of Ornge

Flying PC-12's or are you a whirly bird pilot?

PC-12/45. Whirly birds scare the **** out of me lol

Yes, long time ago. Fixed and float ratings. Made my solo cross country in a 65 hp J-3 on floats. But also lots of time in a super cub, and Cessna 180 on floats, and a Grumman Widgeon. But that was many moons ago. Back in the 70s.

Private pilot (SEL) with some time in helicopters (my real love, but can't afford), gliders, gyrocopters, and hang gliders.

Also have a kit plane in my basement I should get around to finishing some day.

Out of biannual right now because kids in college, but am getting ready to start back up. Seriously considering getting my CFI as a semi-retirement job. If nothing else its an excuse to go fly.

Reminds me of a story.

I worked for Delta Air Lines for 10 years in IT. I was talking to the Chief Pilot one day and he asked me how I enjoyed my job. I told him it was great, but I would much rather have his job.

He said, "well, you must have made an error on your job application. When I applied in the 'what job are you applying for' I typed PILOT. What did you put?"

I got a good chuckle out of that. It probably didn't hurt that right afterwards he took me into the 777 simulator with him and let me do a couple of landings!
@austin_kw as said above, as long as you go into it with clear expectations that it's a long haul to get there, I say go for it, just don't go deep in debt to do it. There are going to be some lean years but you can't beat the view out of your office.

I have been told by many that it's a long and tough road to get to where I want to be, but I know in the end that it's well worth it. It's always been a dream of mine that I will indeed pursue.

Another thing to keep in mind. I don't know what the laws are in Canada, but in the U.S. educational loans are NOT forgivable under current bankruptcy laws. So going back to what I was originally alluding too, a lot of people get themselves into crazy debt trying to get certifications and building hours only to find themselves making peanuts while working crazy hours/schedules. So when you start perusing the aviation forums out there, pay attention to this. You'll see a lot of sad cases where people had to leave the flying behind but are stuck with gigantic debt. My best advice to aspiring pilots (if they are still young) is to try and get into the military in a flight slot. It's a long road, but they pay you to do it and when you depart you won't have any debt (at least not from flying)!

If it's your dream, then do it! It's a long road and some days are tough, but I love my job.

If you want to try to get into the Canadian military as a pilot go out and get an Engineering degree or some other applicable education before even trying or else they will laugh you out of the recruiting office.
Contrary to the advertising the available positions are extremely limited and the waiting list very, very, very long!

This still makes me chuckle and fortunately an idea the U.S. Marines do not support. My degree? Political Science. Meanwhile, I watched people much "smarter" than me with all sorts of different engineering degrees either wash out of the program or Drop on Request (DOR). Desire, discipline, working hard and a willingness to learn is WAY more important than a degree. Heck, General Chuck Yeager was just a "good ol' country boy".

About the only place in aviation (as a pilot) where an engineering degree makes sense to be a requirement is that of a test pilot. This, of course, is only my opinion and probably doesn't count for much.

It is not a "requirement" here and any degree will help but for decades now, to get any position in the Canadian Forces, you stand a better chance with a degree. When I say any position I truly mean any! Right down to your basic infantry grunt a minimum of some community college will help bump you up the list (not necessarily get you in right away but just move you up the waiting list). The higher the position the more applicable the degree should be. I doubt that a Political Science degree would help much here if trying for any form of "technical" trade up too and including pilots and aircrew. It is important to keep in mind that you could have more pilots, aircrew and techs in one carrier task force then we have in our entire military. I can not stress enough how radically different our two countries are in their approach to military staffing.
Now, I could be way off base as I haven't sat in the Recruiting Officer position for about 15 years but it has been that way since the early 80s and I doubt it has changed much.

I think you missed the point I was making. It wasn't the degree, it was the degree type I was referencing. In other words, this silly idea that in order to be a pilot you need to have an engineering degree. That's pure BS and is intellectual laziness on the part of any organization that uses such nonsense to fill its pilot ranks. It also breeds "elitism" within the field. As I mentioned, the only time it makes sense for a pilot to need an engineering degree is when one becomes a test pilot. The reason for that is not that you are any smarter or more qualified but because test pilots deal with engineers on a daily basis as part of their job and need to be able to "talk the talk". In layman's terms, they need to be able to socially interact with the engineers while having a complete understanding of the subjects they are dealing with. It also helps the pilot understand the purpose of the various tests that he/she will be putting the aircraft through.

To be a great line pilot though, you don't need an engineering degree. Many of the "best" fighter pilots the world has ever seen were not engineers ala Chuck Yeager. Read his autobiography, he talks about this in some detail.

I had a Marine Officer Selection Officer (OSO) try to pull this crap with me. Fortunately, I was knowledgeable on the Marines policy in regards to flight applicants. There was no requirement for pilot applicants to possess any type of engineering degree. The requirements were 1) have a bachelor's degree from an accredited college/university, 2) pass the flight physical, 3) pass the aviation test, 4) pass the psych test (part of the aviation test) and 5) have a clean background check. As you can guess, I found a different OSO in a different district.

Sadly, other branches in the U.S. Armed Forces (I'm looking at you Air Force) feel that this is a necessity for all pilots. It's also why one of my best friends graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy and did an inter-service transfer to the Marines (because they wouldn't give him a pilot slot since he wasn't an engineer).

I got your point and totally agree with all of your statements.

I'm going to weigh in here just to validate some info. To enter into the DEO program (direct entry officer) yes you will need a degree from a university or college for the Canadian forces however they "generally" don't care what that is. Granted your chances of getting through training with a degree in basket weaving will be lower. There are two other options for entering as a pilot where you don't need a degree:

ROTP: regular officer training program, where you go to a military college (4years) and complete your trade training (3 more years).

CEOTP: pretty much the same thing but a specialized program to accelerate the process to 4 years total (degree and trade training).

I've worked in the recruiting centre for a short time and the degree will check off a box to say you've got it and your interview with the counsellor will decide if it's applicable to your trade choice. So for us Canadians at least there a few options if you want to fly in the forces, and previous flying can be anything from zero to full commercial, they'll take everything into consideration as you go through the process.

More to the OPs point, I did a ground school course simply because I wanted to have more background info before joining my program in the Forces (no flight experience). Even that though made me realize just how much (a ludicrous amount) I'd have to pay to get my licenses privately. Keep that in mind when you decide how you want to be able to fly. It's very expensive if not covered by programs, scholarships, etc. If the passion is real enough, just make sure you budget well enough so you don't get screwed halfway through.


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Were you a Pilot? And if so where and when? We may have met.

Private pilot here! I used to fly gliders as a teen and now I am flying with a Cirrus SR20 (video) most of the time.

Not fully trained yet. Going onto my Primary Flight Training next week. Just worked at the recruiting centre for a bit when I first joined so figured I'd share what info I knew. :P

Good work! It is a very difficult program to get into. I worked the center for a while when I was Navy Reserve back in the 90s and it sounds like things have not changed much.
I spent several years as an Army driver fueling aircraft back in the 70s so met a bunch of pilots and aircrew from all around the world.

That's pretty awesome! Glad to see such a diverse community around here :P

I've been doing it for a living the last 14years and absolutely love it. It is a tough road that doesn't always pay well, but sure is worth it. As with 53Driver, I fly the type that takes as bit more skill to keep in the air ;).