hello all, i think i am posting this in the right place.

if i sound ignorant or anything i apologize ahead of time.  But i have done a fair amount of searching on paths to becoming an airline pilot and the more i learn the more it seems i confuse myself.  

anyways, here is my current situation, i am 22 years old and a senior in college. I will graduate with a BA in december of 06 (10months from now). I am currently in the air national guard as a jet engine mechanic and a part time job working at UPS. I also have a son and a fiancee so i would like to get working on my pilot career sooner rather than later.

as of right now i have 0 flight experience and want to go from 0 flight experience to regional airline interviews

It seems there are a couple of different routes to take to becomng a regional airline pilot. I am doing research on various flight academies, the CAPT program at ERAU, florida regional airline academy, delta connection academy etc..

there is also a local community college that offers a 2 year AS in aviation. this program would cover my flight experience to my CFI rating and i believe about 220hrs. (most of the academic classes would already be satisfied through transcript transfer from my 4 year degree)

i was considering doing all of my training at a structured academy, but am also considering doing the flight program at the local community college and then going to a school like florida regional airline academy for their airline transistion program

i thank you in advance for any advice you have because i would be interested to hear it espically from people in the business who have been down this road before! thanks for the help!

Adam

Adam,

I'm rowing in that boat with you - although single and without family, I just graduated this past December (2005) with a B.A. in English and am currently working for a mortgage company (HORRIBLY boring).  This Fall I'll be finished with my Private but have done some research as well.

From what I hear, Flight Safety Academy in Vero Beach, Florida is *extremely* organized and gets you from "zero to hero" in less than a year.  Now, I've seen some numbers and it's not cheap.  But I have called several times and have spoken with several STUDENTS in the marketing department.  They can't say enough about this place, and I'm good at sniffing-out B.S.

If you're dead-set on airline ratings, I think this is the place to go.  That was my previous plan, but I'm feeling called more to Flight Instructor or Small Transport myself (they can get you that too.)

Here's the down-and-dirty:  Expect to pay between $60,000 to $70,000 - start to finish - for zero hours to conditional employment offers from their partner airlines (ASA, ExpressJet, etc.).  Plus there's room, board, gas, uniforms, etc... it gets pricey, and I surely don't have that laying around.

Have you considered getting your private and instrument, perhaps commercial, then checking out schools for a *drastically* reduced rate?  Also, if you're a full time employee with some of these places, and do your training around the job instead of the other way around, you can get up to 40% on average.

Good luck!  I'm at 3.5 hours of my private right now, lol... baby steps...

www.flightsafetyacademy.com

Jeff

hey guys, thanks a lot for the help and information i really appreciate it!

where is falcon located? do they have a website?

and i checked into the flight safety academy website and they have a program that seems very appealing thanks pilot jeff!  have you visited that campus or anything?

thanks for the help everyone

Deuce, looks like we're living similar circumstances in different locales  I have not yet visited FSA but I plan on traveling down to Vero before September.  (They put you up for two nights free and give you breakfast and lunch also, so that takes away the worry of having to line-up hotels.)  FSA is part of the larger company of Flight Safety International and has some pretty slick training ratings such as "upset recovery training" and "spatial disorientation training" as well.  I have a pal that flies a multi-engine for the Army and she did both of the aforementioned trainings at FSA and loved it!  I think the aircraft used are Czech. Zlins... rumor has it that an ex-mig instructor teaches that portion so you KNOW it's fun  Plus the quote I mentioned above includes the advanced airline training, etc.  Request a marketing packet if you're still interested and they'll send you everything you want/need.  They were very helpful when I said: "Listen, I'm going to have to finance this so tell me real-world numbers.  No b.s., you're a student, I might be a student there...  can you send me material with numbers?"  The marketing staff is comprised of students so they're invaluable for information.  One question I ask them is "What would you do differently?  Any regrets?"

But I know a guy that got went in with zero hours and a year later was sitting right seat and making $36k out of the gate.  That's pretty good if you're interested in strictly the airline route.  Naturally, this negates the benefits of becoming a CFI and getting all sorts of experience and hours and PIC time... but, different strokes for different folks.  I could be flying bush in Alaska for all I know in a year, or instructing in Vero... who knows?  All I know is that I'm sure as hell not going to be flying a #&*$(@ desk at a mortgage company!  :p  You can only plan so far...

The satellite base in Athens up and running.  While the planes are still being based out of Peachtree City, Ga. we currently are offering the full spectrum of flight training at this location.  More information is available upon request.

Also, we are now approved for International Flight Training for students that obtain an M-1 VISA.  The process is a little involved however this is a great opportunity for everyone that plays a role in this process.  If you are (or know of someone) that would fall into this category, please refer them to us.
More information is available upon request.

We have also just recently added a Cessna Cardinal to the fleet of Diamonds.  We are expecting a Sept 06 delivery on a Diamond Twin Star however this is subject to change.

Falcon Aviation is working hard for you and are striving continue to producing the quality pilots that we have been for years while maintaining the quality of the fleet and services we offer.

Please contact me with any questions about our programs, facilty, fleet or otherwise and I will gladly respond.

Spencer
ffcpilot@yahoo.com

I have been reading all these posts verycarefully and would like to thank everyone for their info that they have given. But what is FSA? it soulnds like it might be a good school for someone like me with no flight time. And they put you up for a night while you tour the camus? Like the delta connections acad? This is huge thing for me considering I live in reno NV so it would cost me a lot of money to fly out there and see the campus.