Roadmap to being an Airline Pilot
Moderators: sky's the limit, sepia, Sulako, Right Seat Captain, lilfssister, North Shore
Roadmap to being an Airline Pilot
Can anyone plzzzzz.....explain the roadmap to be a Pilot of a commercial passenger or cargo plane for a newbie like me........ Plz explain the path......i mean....first you get a PPL then CPL then Multi-IFR.....then build hours then apply for jobs and interviews with airlines then hopefully get selected THEN WHAT???????............ any further training????? or is there anything that i missed in between ...maybe something after CPL or Multi-IFR...... plz plz guys......experienced pilots please explain what its like to be to fulfill a dream of flying HIGH......Thanks in Advance
Re: Roadmap to being an Airline Pilot
Try this one as well:
http://www.clearedtodream.org/
It's American, but still mostly applies. In terms of hours, multiply all regional numbers by 3, majors are about the same.
(i.e. 500hour RJ FO in the US = 1500 hour FO in Canada).
Good luck!!
4Stroke
http://www.clearedtodream.org/
It's American, but still mostly applies. In terms of hours, multiply all regional numbers by 3, majors are about the same.
(i.e. 500hour RJ FO in the US = 1500 hour FO in Canada).
Good luck!!
4Stroke
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quicksilver
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Re: Roadmap to being an Airline Pilot
Don't forget to find a women you hate and buy her a house. That step is crucial and often overlooked.
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Alex YCV
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Re: Roadmap to being an Airline Pilot
The info is SLIGHTLY out of date...The low Canadian Dollar – Training in Canada is very cost effective - it is estimated to be 30-35% less than other countries in the west, including the USA. This reduced cost in building hours and training can be a real advantage to Pilots from European countries especially. The Canadian Dollar is worth only about 65 cents on the US Dollar and the Euro, or about 40p on the British Pound. This alone can save students thousands of dollars in your Pilot Training. Many pilots in Europe come to the USA to do their pilot training to save costs, not realizing they could cut their costs by another 35% by undergoing this same training in Canada.
This is a my sig... I hope you like it.
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sky's the limit
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Re: Roadmap to being an Airline Pilot
It's really quite simple.
Go to a coffee shop, sit for 10 hrs, eat without getting up, read news papers and occasionally talk to someone over your shoulder who you can't see - that should have you set up nicely...
stl
Go to a coffee shop, sit for 10 hrs, eat without getting up, read news papers and occasionally talk to someone over your shoulder who you can't see - that should have you set up nicely...
stl
Re: Roadmap to being an Airline Pilot
funniest thing i've read all year. thanksDon't forget to find a women you hate and buy her a house. That step is crucial and often overlooked.
The mouth is the anus of the mind.
Re: Roadmap to being an Airline Pilot
Being an airline pilot is in other words not the child hood dream of looking nice in uniforms and flying planessky's the limit wrote:It's really quite simple.
Go to a coffee shop, sit for 10 hrs, eat without getting up, read news papers and occasionally talk to someone over your shoulder who you can't see - that should have you set up nicely...
stl
It actually comes with responsibilities and a rather dull life style apparently Seriously though,
A few basic guidelines:
- Stay Healthy (Medical = Your Career)
- Don't pick up on bad habits (Renewed SIM Eval = Warnings = Your Job / Licenses)
- Establish a strong foundation of networks. Become friends with everybody - a connection will serve you well for only so long, friends stay longer and actually strive much harder than just handing in your resume one day
- Don't say Airline right now ! Enjoy every step of the way and slowly start seeing that the airline industry is starting to approach your league.
- Don't make your flight a routine, try to learn something new everyday and remain enthusiastic
Try to do all the above with a starting wage of below what the hobo's make
lol nahh jk. But do look forward to some low wage times; unless, you are willing to relocate.Good Luck
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Chuck Ellsworth
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Re: Roadmap to being an Airline Pilot
This can best appreciated by getting some practice before you get to that stage of your career.Don't make your flight a routine, try to learn something new everyday and remain enthusiastic
Buy yourself a Captains seat out of one of the hundreds of airliners in the bone yards.
Mount the seat firmly into the floor in front of your computer.
Buy the flight sim with your dream machine in it....like say the 777.
Around three or four in the afternoon configure your mount to fly from Vancouver to Heathrow.
In ten or so hours get back to us and tell us about all the new things you thought about to make yourself a better pilot.
The most difficult thing about flying is knowing when to say no.
After over a half a century of flying I can not remember even one trip that I refused to do that resulted in someone getting killed because of my decision not to fly.
After over a half a century of flying I can not remember even one trip that I refused to do that resulted in someone getting killed because of my decision not to fly.
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SQ
Re: Roadmap to being an Airline Pilot
.,
you're so cruel
after those hours of training you can apply to a virtual airline as well..................
you're so cruel
after those hours of training you can apply to a virtual airline as well..................
Re: Roadmap to being an Airline Pilot
The previous posters have given lots of good advice.
When it comes to actual training after getting your initial Commercial Multi-IFR there are a few more things you have to do. The Link to Pilot Career Centre has lots of good info but is slightly out of date. They also refer to the IATRA as the Intermediate Airline Transport Rating. I have always thought it stood for Individual Aircraft Type Rating (Aeroplane) as per CARS Standard 421.40(3)(i)(A). Anybody know the story? I can't find any mention of Intermediate Airline Transport Rating.
The employment route to get to an airline usually involves findnig a first job. The most common options are either instructing, or working on the ramp or dock up north and then flying. From there you'll get more experience, possibly move from F/O to Captain, or move onto a larger plane. For the airlines, getting Multi engine turbine PIC time is considered an asset - especially on aircraft that are over 12,500lbs. But there have been some people hired at airlines without it.
For Training, after getting your Commercial Multi-IFR, there are a few more types of training you will have to do. First, is the choice of doing an instructor rating if you want to be an instructor or a float rating if you want to fly floats. With the float rating, the minimum requirement to get your rating is 7 hours, but most float operators will want significantly more time than that. Some places offer 50 hour floats courses. I do not have my flaot rating so I couldn't tell you if they are worth it. Most float places will want you to spend a bit of time working the dock and flying the odd cargo load before you actually get to fly full time as a pilot.
In order to get a job flying as an F/O on a larger aircraft that requries two crew (before you have your ATPL) - you'll have to write the IATRA. This is a streamlined version of the ATPL written exams. It lasts for two years.
When you have a certain number of hours (outlined in the Pilot Career Centre website) you need to get your Airline Transport Rating (ATPL) - that will allow you to fly as a Captain on larger, multi-crew aircraft. That invovles two written tests - the SAMRA and SARON.
Most of the larger airlines require you to have your ATPL although it is possible to be a First Officer of an airliner with just your Commercial, Multi-IFR with your IATRA written.
For flight tests, The instructor's rating requires an inflight test.
Getting an Aircraft Type rating requires a flight test on the aircraft. Pilot Proficiency Checks (PPC), which are required to fly PIC on most passenger carrying IFR aircraft also require a flight test. Both of these tests will automatically renew your instrument rating. As well, if you have written the SAMRA and SARON within 2 years (I think) they will count as your 'ATPL Flight Test'
On top of all this, flying for an airline, you will have regular renewal flight checks and training.
Good Luck!
James Ball
Author of "So, You Want to be a Pilot, Eh?"
When it comes to actual training after getting your initial Commercial Multi-IFR there are a few more things you have to do. The Link to Pilot Career Centre has lots of good info but is slightly out of date. They also refer to the IATRA as the Intermediate Airline Transport Rating. I have always thought it stood for Individual Aircraft Type Rating (Aeroplane) as per CARS Standard 421.40(3)(i)(A). Anybody know the story? I can't find any mention of Intermediate Airline Transport Rating.
The employment route to get to an airline usually involves findnig a first job. The most common options are either instructing, or working on the ramp or dock up north and then flying. From there you'll get more experience, possibly move from F/O to Captain, or move onto a larger plane. For the airlines, getting Multi engine turbine PIC time is considered an asset - especially on aircraft that are over 12,500lbs. But there have been some people hired at airlines without it.
For Training, after getting your Commercial Multi-IFR, there are a few more types of training you will have to do. First, is the choice of doing an instructor rating if you want to be an instructor or a float rating if you want to fly floats. With the float rating, the minimum requirement to get your rating is 7 hours, but most float operators will want significantly more time than that. Some places offer 50 hour floats courses. I do not have my flaot rating so I couldn't tell you if they are worth it. Most float places will want you to spend a bit of time working the dock and flying the odd cargo load before you actually get to fly full time as a pilot.
In order to get a job flying as an F/O on a larger aircraft that requries two crew (before you have your ATPL) - you'll have to write the IATRA. This is a streamlined version of the ATPL written exams. It lasts for two years.
When you have a certain number of hours (outlined in the Pilot Career Centre website) you need to get your Airline Transport Rating (ATPL) - that will allow you to fly as a Captain on larger, multi-crew aircraft. That invovles two written tests - the SAMRA and SARON.
Most of the larger airlines require you to have your ATPL although it is possible to be a First Officer of an airliner with just your Commercial, Multi-IFR with your IATRA written.
For flight tests, The instructor's rating requires an inflight test.
Getting an Aircraft Type rating requires a flight test on the aircraft. Pilot Proficiency Checks (PPC), which are required to fly PIC on most passenger carrying IFR aircraft also require a flight test. Both of these tests will automatically renew your instrument rating. As well, if you have written the SAMRA and SARON within 2 years (I think) they will count as your 'ATPL Flight Test'
On top of all this, flying for an airline, you will have regular renewal flight checks and training.
Good Luck!
James Ball
Author of "So, You Want to be a Pilot, Eh?"
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Chuck Ellsworth
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Re: Roadmap to being an Airline Pilot
James the worth or lack thereof of these 50 hour float courses is in direct relationship to who is doing the teaching..Some places offer 50 hour floats courses. I do not have my flaot rating so I couldn't tell you if they are worth it.
I hope you believe that training to fly a new airplane type such as from a Navajo to a B738 is beneficial to a pilot, however there can be a vast difference between receiving said training from someone who has never flown them operationally and a high time 737 pilot who is working for flight safety.
I would suggest that float training can be put in the same context.
The most difficult thing about flying is knowing when to say no.
After over a half a century of flying I can not remember even one trip that I refused to do that resulted in someone getting killed because of my decision not to fly.
After over a half a century of flying I can not remember even one trip that I refused to do that resulted in someone getting killed because of my decision not to fly.
Re: Roadmap to being an Airline Pilot
Hey .,
Definitely agree with you. 50 hours (or any set amount of training) from a highly skilled pilot on floats who has been around the patch (or is it pond) a few times could literally mean the difference between life and death. Quality should be more important than quantity or price. Although we both know that with the way the industry is today, that isn't always the case.
What I meant with not knowing the value of the 50 hour float courses is two things. The first is that I'm not familiar with the quality of the individual courses out there so wouldn't be able to comment or recommend a particular course. The next issue is with regards to being hired by a float operator. A few years ago float operators wouldn't even look at someone for a job on the dock unless they had one of those courses. With the way things have been moving, I'm not sure if this is still the case.
I unfortunately have never flown floats. Hopefully in the future when I have some extra money I'll be able to get my float rating as it looks like a blast. I would definitely want some advanced training beyond the basic 7 hours though.
Definitely agree with you. 50 hours (or any set amount of training) from a highly skilled pilot on floats who has been around the patch (or is it pond) a few times could literally mean the difference between life and death. Quality should be more important than quantity or price. Although we both know that with the way the industry is today, that isn't always the case.
What I meant with not knowing the value of the 50 hour float courses is two things. The first is that I'm not familiar with the quality of the individual courses out there so wouldn't be able to comment or recommend a particular course. The next issue is with regards to being hired by a float operator. A few years ago float operators wouldn't even look at someone for a job on the dock unless they had one of those courses. With the way things have been moving, I'm not sure if this is still the case.
I unfortunately have never flown floats. Hopefully in the future when I have some extra money I'll be able to get my float rating as it looks like a blast. I would definitely want some advanced training beyond the basic 7 hours though.
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Chuck Ellsworth
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Re: Roadmap to being an Airline Pilot
JBI, no problem I am well aware that you understand the issues.
I was only pointing out that the industry is in need of more high quality training facilities for that arena of aviation.
There really are three worlds in aviation.
Helicopters
Commercial aviation under 12500 pound aircraft.
Airlines.
Each have their own unique skills to learn how to safely operate them.
By the way the bush flying end of aviation is becoming a very well paid sector of the industry and quickly running out of competent pilots.
I only wish I could have been able to own and run such a training facility.
I was only pointing out that the industry is in need of more high quality training facilities for that arena of aviation.
There really are three worlds in aviation.
Helicopters
Commercial aviation under 12500 pound aircraft.
Airlines.
Each have their own unique skills to learn how to safely operate them.
By the way the bush flying end of aviation is becoming a very well paid sector of the industry and quickly running out of competent pilots.
I only wish I could have been able to own and run such a training facility.
The most difficult thing about flying is knowing when to say no.
After over a half a century of flying I can not remember even one trip that I refused to do that resulted in someone getting killed because of my decision not to fly.
After over a half a century of flying I can not remember even one trip that I refused to do that resulted in someone getting killed because of my decision not to fly.
Re: Roadmap to being an Airline Pilot
And... enjoy the ride along the way.
Airlines aren't the be all end all...
Airlines aren't the be all end all...
Re: Roadmap to being an Airline Pilot
Yes. . wrote:This can best appreciated by getting some practice before you get to that stage of your career.Don't make your flight a routine, try to learn something new everyday and remain enthusiastic
Buy yourself a Captains seat out of one of the hundreds of airliners in the bone yards.
Mount the seat firmly into the floor in front of your computer.
Buy the flight sim with your dream machine in it....like say the 777.
Around three or four in the afternoon configure your mount to fly from Vancouver to Heathrow.
In ten or so hours get back to us and tell us about all the new things you thought about to make yourself a better pilot.
that's what I was referring to. Obviously when you get into airline op's (not that I am in one) but according to my knowledge, you guys will operate based on a set of parameters as released by your airlines in the COM and SOP right?I don't think passengers in the back would appreciate you trying to learn something new while they're sleeping
"F.O.: What do you say we do a spin captain?
CPT: I've never done one on a 777, let's do it"
Good Post You Guys !
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brokenwing
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Re: Roadmap to being an Airline Pilot
might as well buy a bulk supply of KY, it'll make the transition more comfortable. also, learn how to "spice" up KD.
"I had a pilot's breakfast ... A coffee and a piss followed by a donut and a dump." -D. Elegant
