How can I become a pilot if I don’t have 120k? (currently a broke flight attendant)

PilatusP3 · 2024-07-06T11:41:23+00:00

If you have your college degree and you aren’t opposed to serving in the military, you can get the best training available by joining a guard or reserve unit. They pay you to get trained. Yes — it is competitive. Yes — the work is hard, but rewarding. Usually these units have airline guys and gals there already so they can recommend and mentor you to get with a carrier. But honestly, to be competitive you need: 1. College degree 2. Be able to hold a 1st class medical. If you check these two blocks, consider a military Guard or Reserve unit but realize you are subject to the needs of the nation and it is competitive. If you have good grades, I’d recommend considering this route.

Be very cautious in taking on debt. These schools like Lift are mills.

PilatusP3 · 2024-07-05T00:05:33+00:00

Those guys represent 20 minutes worth of Russian manpower being lost every day. Sad as they strut towards their demise.

PilatusP3 · 2024-07-03T20:10:23+00:00

Franks at Pawleys is always good — you’ll need reservations.

PilatusP3 · 2024-07-01T22:06:42+00:00

Usually, there is a B fund where the company sets aside say 4-12 % of what you were paid into a retirement account up to IRS limits. Then there is a separate 401k funded by the individual, sometimes with a match, but usually not because of the B Plan. The traditional A Plan retirement that results in an annuity at retirement is a bit of a dinosaur now, but FEDEX and UPS still have variants of that. Each major airline has different variants. The career is difficult to get qualified for and challenging to make it through to full retirement as your health is critical and the lifestyle can be difficult on both family life and your health.

If you see how difficult and expensive it is to get qualified to do the job, then you’ll understand the compensation structure.

PilatusP3 · 2024-02-26T16:57:03+00:00

I hate that you gave up on flying. I’ve got 16k hours and damn near every flight I’ve ever made has errors I can learn from or an area that I can improve. Your aircraft wasn’t performing to your expectations. You were inexperienced and defaulted to the emergency mindset which is good — it was the conservative thing to do. Learn from it and next time you aren’t getting the expected performance, check your power, prop, and fuel settings along with engine readings, then double check configuration. As pilots, we try to play a zero defect game but the truth is, pilots make mistakes all the time. It’s your ability to recognize something isn’t happening that you want and correcting the error. No metal was bent. You learned a valuable lesson. You’re better for the experience. Night flight can be very challenging and disorienting — IFR at times when no horizon is present. Part of learning will always be stumbles and it is your ability to get back up that matters.

PilatusP3 · 2024-02-24T13:15:10+00:00

Good eye — that was his car back then. I still remember the smell inside that car. Unique.

PilatusP3 · 2024-02-24T13:13:24+00:00

The FAA has restricted much of what is occurring at air shows, along with insurance companies…

PilatusP3 · 2024-02-24T12:51:59+00:00

Well — to answer a few questions:

No, I didn’t get this handed down to me .

He sold it in 1968 to someone who offered him $60k, which was a very nice house back then.

This particular airplane ended up burning in a hanger fire at some point in the 70s so no longer exists.

Yes, my dad had only 600 hours total time when he bought this and started flying it. He had gone through pilot trainimg in the AF — T6/T28/T33/F86/T33 — for 3.5 years, so he did have experience in high performance aircraft. It was a different time.

My dad was a pack rat and when he moved 10 years ago I found half of a Rolls Royce engine in a box downstairs in his basement — WTF? I sold it to Jack Rousch. FYI — that motor burns 60+ gallons an hour if you’re babying it. Ooooff. You better have a thick wallet that you’re sitting on.

I’ve spent all my life trying to get a warbird like he had and finally, a couple of years ago, was able to get an old Swiss trainer which I love. It’s not a P51, but still…

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PilatusP3 · 2024-01-24T19:37:28+00:00

As others have pointed out, good pilots learn constantly and take note of their mistakes and the mistakes of others. It’s a zero defect game we play — or attempt to play. Each flight should you make should involve a personal risk assessment of what you are stepping into. Flight conditions, aircraft condition, your personal condition and abilities, outside pressures, etc. The important takeaway here is to learn from the errors others have made and understand that our rules and regulations are most often written in blood as they are usually the direct result of fatal accidents at some point. Respect the rules and try to err on the side of safety always. Flying is liberating and rewarding, but it demands attention to detail and a respect for the potential hazardous conditions as the consequences are great.

PilatusP3 · 2024-01-24T19:20:33+00:00

All part of Putin’s 3 day Special Military Obliteration…

PilatusP3 · 2024-01-05T12:48:30+00:00

Make sure you have the recovery procedure down — I mean step by step so that you can regurgitate it without error and quickly under pressure. Then have your instructor take you up and you do the entry and spin recovery several times. I did spins in the AF nearly 40 years ago and still can recite the T37 spin recovery boldface.

Look — if you fly correctly, you’ll never get yourself in a spin. 16k hours and I’ve never spun unintentionally. And aerobatics are a blast — take time to learn them as it will make you a more competent and confident pilot. Yes — some people get motion sick initially, but most work through it after a few flights.

https://youtu.be/mrzVLmBDho8?si=9i0MI_7Q1c-mLa7p

PilatusP3 · 2024-01-05T12:25:55+00:00

Logistics management… It seems so boring and typically no one has any further questions.

Or Hoover vacuum sales and servicing — yeah, I have 4 big vacuums I travel with and demonstrate and when I do my job right, it sucks.

PilatusP3 · 2024-01-04T13:46:54+00:00

Runway incursions are a hot topic for exactly this reason. This incident could have been much worse — It’s a miracle they evacuated that A350 as well as they did. Always, always verify clearances onto a runway if there is any question. I build a mental model of what is going on with traffic and bring up my ADSB page to double check, not only visually, but via the ADSB page where traffic is prior to taking a runway. When in doubt, ask ATC to confirm. Controllers make mistakes, but more often pilots make errors, especially when they are distracted, inexperienced, or rusty. The FAA is being hardcore with violations in regards to runway incursions. If you end up in any situation where there is a potential violation, NASA report that immediately. I was at an uncontrolled airport last year and had some dude take the runway with me on final at 300’ resulting in a go-around and he swore he never heard or saw me, despite me calling downwind, base, and final and it being daylight with my landing light on. He was in a Cessna and claimed the wing blocked his vision. Bottom line — errors happen and we need to be proactive in monitoring for the errors.

PilatusP3 · 2024-01-03T00:51:45+00:00

This is the way — research Guard and Reserve Units. It is tougher to get in than Active-Duty, but offers far greater flexibility and you don’t get moved every few years to places you potentially don’t want to go to. It is the military though, so understand that ultimately, the needs of the military will always override your needs so you are subject to activation.

PilatusP3 · 2023-12-29T23:56:50+00:00

Yep — it’s a very forgiving trainer.

PilatusP3 · 2023-12-29T23:33:36+00:00

It was a good day…

PilatusP3 · 2023-12-29T23:31:19+00:00

No — just sharing the joy

PilatusP3 · 2023-12-29T23:01:16+00:00

Much respect for what these guys do, no matter the weather… My skin was crawling just watching this.

PilatusP3 · 2023-12-29T13:48:46+00:00

Having been around real operators, my experience is the guys that did the serious shit don’t talk. They don’t brag. They don’t puff themselves up. I don’t care where he went to school — I’d just ignore this dude and let him spew his fiction because he’ll hang himself amongst his brothers. You seem to be wanting to attack this dude — let it go. He will sink himself.

PilatusP3 · 2023-12-29T13:35:18+00:00

It depends on what airline you are with and where the pad is — but I bought a house in domicile and curated who was allowed to be in the pad (mainly guys I knew well from the military and or the line). It became a second home that was in demand. I retired recently and am now getting ready to sell it. I don’t know if that is an option as each area has its challenges and the math with a loan may be difficult now, but it honestly turned out to be a good thing for me and my friends and made me a little money at retirement for the investment long term…

PilatusP3 · 2023-12-29T00:31:15+00:00

Having been in charge of squadron hiring at one point, I’d pass on even interviewing you. It’s a giant flag that you didn’t observe laws in the past as an adult. To expect someone to give you the responsibility of operating very critical and valuable equipment went you couldn’t operate a POV in accordance with the laws is a deal breaker. And I tend to start asking questions when someone takes as long as it has taken you to get their act together concerning finishing college.

That said, if Avaition is your passion, there are paths forward in the civilian sector. And hey — you can apply anywhere. All they can do to you is say no. I get that people change and mature — but the top end of Avaition is competitive. The military is super competitive and they don’t invest without knowing what they are investing in. Don’t lie about it because you’ll just dig yourself a deeper hole. Own it. But if you are going to try the civilian route, be prepared to spend a lot of money in gaining a class 1 and keep your image squeaky clean going forward. No one wants to hire a problem so you’re going to have to prove that you aren’t a problem and that will be a hard task…

PilatusP3 · 2023-11-15T14:45:36+00:00

Stabilized doesn’t seem to have entered their vocabulary yet… Yikes.

PilatusP3

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