Professional or Personal?

 When someone says to me, "I want to be a pilot," the first question I always ask is "what is your end goal?" The world of aviation is vast, including pilots.  There are all kinds of pilots out there and depending on what your goal is, each journey is different.  I hope to cover a few of these.

I just want to fly my friends and family...

The largest group of pilots are "Private Pilots."  What non-aviation people think when they hear that term is that you are flying a jet for a rich person; that couldn't be further from the truth. Per the FAA, a private pilot "may not act as a pilot in command of an aircraft that is carrying passengers or property for compensation or hire, nor may you be paid to act as a pilot in command." In simple terms, you cannot fly a plane and be paid to do such.

A private pilot is the certificate you need in order to fly friends and family for fun.  Now, you do not have to pay for the entire flight yourself, your passengers can pay a Pro Rata Share.  PRS means that everyone pays and equal amount, with yourself paying equal to or more than everyone else.  For example, if the cost to rent the plane and fuel the plane for the flight is $400 dollars, and you bring three people with you- take $400 and divide it equally four ways.

To accomplish your private, you can expect to spend anywhere from $7,500-$15,000 dollars depending on your dedication and effort.  The average rental cost anywhere from $150-$300/hour (some include the cost of fuel and some do not).

Now, I tell every pilot starting out, get your instrument rating.  One of the leading causes of death in general aviation of the private pilot is getting into an instrument condition and not having the training to safely conduct the flight.  Instrument training makes a pilot 100x safer.  In many countries, the instrument rating is required if you are a private pilot or you are barred from flying at night without one.  I do not understand why the US hasn't followed that path.

The instrument rating allows you to fly in reduced visibility, safely navigating by instruments as well as keeping your plane flying in a safe desired state using reference instruments.  If you just want to fly for fun with friends and family, get both your private and your instrument.  Instrument training is roughly the same cost as your private pilot training, however, those that put forth time and effort often spend less on this rating.

I don't want to be an airline pilot, and I don't want to fly jets for rich people... but I do want to get paid!

Not everyone wants to be away from home for days or even weeks at a time.  They don't fancy the idea of 10-20 hotel rooms a month or dealing with airport terminals.  For those pilots that still want to make a profession of the industry, you have no need to go past commercial pilot.  

There are three "levels" of pilots (yes, there are some below private pilot but they limit your ability to fly greatly).   Those are private, commercial, and airline transport. If you want to be paid, you must have at least your commercial pilot certificate.  I recommend getting both your single-engine and multi-engine.  Once you have passed your commercial single-engine, it often only takes 10-12 hours in the multi-engine training to be ready to pass the test for multi-add-on.

Jobs as a commercial pilot are endless.  From banner towing and skydiver driver, to Ag and survey pilot, there are ton's of career fields that can make good money with just your commercial certificate.

Airlines! I want the travel!

Whether you want to be a pilot at the airlines or flying rich people on their fancy jets, you will need to test for your airline transport pilot.  To do this, it takes a lot of time.

You must gain your private, instrument, commercial (single and multi recommended), then build a ton of flight experience before meeting the requirements to take your ATP exam.  Now, I say "recommended" in the previous sentence because you don't want to limit yourself.  To test for ATP, you have to have the single or multi qualification in which you are trying to be.  For example, if you want to fly at the airlines, you will need ATP Multi-Engine.  Therefore, your previous certificate (commercial) must have multi-engine permissions.  If you only do single-engine, you cannot test for your multi-engine at ATP.

I love to teach, but I want to fly!

The only certificate I have not talked about is the flight instructor.  In order to become a flight instructor, you must be a commercial pilot.  If you only want to teach in single-engine, then you only need a commercial single-engine.  If you want to be able to test in both, you need a commercial pilot certificate with both single and multi-engine permissions.  The reason you need a commercial certificate is because you get paid to teach; and remember from above, you cannot be paid unless you have at least a commercial!  There are some pilots who are career CFI's.  They go on to become chief and assistant chief flight instructors at large flight schools, or open their own contractor business and get paid $100-150/hour to provide high quality instruction.

If you still have questions on what is right for you, feel free to comment or send me a message!