55-60K to spend......

brent p h

brent p h

Well-Known Member
On flight training. If a particular individual that wanted to fly commercial and is starting out with low time,what would be the most efficient manner too achieve the objective? How much time would it take?
 
brent p h said:
On flight training. If a particular individual that wanted to fly commercial and is starting out with low time,what would be the most efficient manner too achieve the objective? How much time would it take?
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The advice you're gonna get here will be very varied and personal. The key is knowing what specific questions to ask - that's where people could be helpful, instead of just getting advice on what specifically worked for them.

For example:

What do you mean by efficiency? Are you looking for the absolute quickest route from start to finish, or are you looking for a place that combines ratings? Are you looking to do most of your training in a multi? Are you looking to utilize simulators?

What kind of PIC time is good? A little or a lot? What IS a little or a lot? With a safety pilot or without?

Are you looking for one on one instruction with a seasoned pilot, or a newer pilot? What's the benefit between a structured environment vs. a less structured one?

Should you spend the money on glass, or fly older planes?

Do you want to be a CFI? Do you want an RJ course?

I would recommend you come up with some personal criteria and rank order them and weight them. Then I'd compile a list of schools and create a spreadsheet to rank order them based on the criteria you created.

And I realize this doesn't answer your question, but hopefully it gives you a starting point of how to look.
 
I sense bait.

This thread will quickly turn into the usual "How do I do it" threads.

RJ course, CFI, etc. Have fun.
 
surreal1221 said:
I sense bait.

This thread will quickly turn into the usual "How do I do it" threads.

RJ course, CFI, etc. Have fun.
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I dunno - look at his post history. Doesn't appear to be that type - just seems like an aviation enthusiast.

And maybe, just maybe, we can give this guy some good fact-based info without it turning into an argument.

You've been through flight training pretty recently - maybe you can offer him something?
 
I sure have, but not everyone is willing to enlist in the military for the GI Bill.

But. . .I digress.

Enlist, serve 4 years. Use GI bill benefits to pay for 60% of your flight training. Only take out a loan for 20k, use GI Bill monthly payments to supplement your continued flight training.

The end.
 
surreal1221 said:
I sure have, but not everyone is willing to enlist in the military for the GI Bill.

But. . .I digress.

Enlist, serve 4 years. Use GI bill benefits to pay for 60% of your flight training. Only take out a loan for 20k, use GI Bill monthly payments to supplement your continued flight training.

The end.
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I'm not sure what to make of your two posts in this thread.

Are you mad at something? Or am I just reading you wrong?
 
If the money is cash in hand and not a loan I say go buy a plane and get a freelance CFI to get your ratings. Fly the hell out of the plane and have fun building hours. Then you can sell the plane and make some money back or keep it.
 
brent p h said:
On flight training. If a particular individual that wanted to fly commercial and is starting out with low time,what would be the most efficient manner too achieve the objective? How much time would it take?
Click to expand...

It depends on what your objective is. (Probably an airline job, no?)

I suppose you could go from private pilot to right seat of a jet in less than six months now, especially if you're willing and ready to drop $60K right away. But, to paraphrase a quote from Jurassic Park, don't get "so preoccupied with whether or not you could, that you don't stop to think if you should."

What specifically are your long-term goals? What have you done so far to explore a career in aviation? Knowing a little about yourself will empower the multitude of expertise on this site to answer your questions more effectively.
 
Here is my advice.

You should do your training at a local FBO instead of one of those pilot factories. The nice parts about training at a local FBO are:

1. MUCH cheaper. A typical cost for private through MEI ratings is about $35,000 at an FBO versus about $65,000 at a pilot factory.

2. You can train on your own schedule. At a pilot factory, you will train when the plane and instructor are available (and that might mean 7 days a week, early morning, really late at night, and on weekends). At an FBO, you can train as fast or as slow as you'd like. You could finish your licenses as fast as you could at any pilot factory (or faster if you'd like). The nice part is that YOU are in control of YOUR schedule. You can fly when you want to fly, sleep when you want to sleep, study when you want to study, and party when you want to party. YOU dictate your schedule. YOU are the boss of YOUR schedule at a local FBO.

3. Stay local. If you decide to go to a pilot factory, you will have to move somewhere like Phoenix, AZ, or Vero Beach, FL to wherever the pilot factory is located for a year or more. If you stay at home, you can stay close to your friends and family, and you can save money by not having to pay rent somewhere far away.


Here is best way to find a local FBO that works for you:
1. Find the three closes airports (or within 20 miles) of your home.

2. Go to www.airnav.com and type in the airport identifier (or city name) of those local airports. Scroll down to Aviation Businesses, and either check out the websites of the flight schools, give them a call, or better yet show up for a visit of their facilities.

3. Choose the best one that suits your needs (close to home, cheaper, better facilities, etc...)

If you need any help choosing a local flight school, just let us on Jetcareers know. I personally would be willing to do a few minutes of research and make you a quick, ballpark budget for your flight training, and even give you a recommendation of a school to choose. I do this because I believe training at a local FBO is in any new pilots best interest.


But back to your original question...What to do with $55-60k to spend:
  • Spend 35k on flight training at your local FBO. Get all your licenses and ratings (private, instrument, commercial, multi, and CFI, CFII, and MEI).
Take the other 20-25k you have left over (since you decided to NOT go to a super expensive pilot factory), and I would do the following:
  • Take a 2 week trip to Europe. Visit Italy, France, the Greek Isles, and any other place you ever wanted to see.
  • Buy a brand new iPhone
  • Buy a new top of the line laptop
  • Buy yourself a brand new 60" flat screen TV
  • Throw a party. Invite all your friends. Spend hundreds of dollars on alcohol, decorations, and hire a DJ.
  • Buy yourself some type of mans toy (like an ATV, or a waverunner, or small motorcycle)
  • Put $5,000 into a mutual fund, don't touch it for 20 years. Then use all the money you earned, and do all of the above AGAIN!
The choice is yours. My advice is to spend about $35k getting flight training at a local FBO. Then take the rest of the money and PARTY! You won't have all that money left over if you go to an expensive pilot factory.

Let us know if you need any more help. And let us know what you decide. We are happy to help.
Good luck.
 
Ian J said:
I'm not sure what to make of your two posts in this thread.

Are you mad at something? Or am I just reading you wrong?
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You're reading me wrong.

There are ample perspective write ups, ample threads already detailing how NOT to spend 55-60k on flight training - all in an ethical manner to protect the profession.

I trained at an FBO like establishment, that allowed me to train on my schedule, AND not spend 55-60k.

When complete, I had a CMEL, CSEL, IA, MEI, CFI, CFII, AGI - 225tt/68me. All under the price tag of 40k (33k to be exact.) Loan from the monster (SLM) for 20k, and VA reimbursements of just shy of 15k - as not all of my training was Part 141 (Instructor ratings were completed part 61).

I may be wrong, but I have a feeling the OP is seeking an answer along the lines of:

Goto ATP, do their RJ course, apply to airline, get hired.

Or

Goto JET U, do their Bridge course, apply to PNCL, get hired.

He didn't say what his objective was, but if someone is going to spend 55-60k on just flight training, I can only imagine that it is on flight training that will get the individual to an airline the fastest.
 
Or that's just his budget. Some guys have spent less, and some guys have spent A LOT more, so based on some of his research he might not realize that he can do it for half that price.
 
surreal1221 said:
You're reading me wrong.

There are ample perspective write ups, ample threads already detailing how NOT to spend 55-60k on flight training - all in an ethical manner to protect the profession.

I trained at an FBO like establishment, that allowed me to train on my schedule, AND not spend 55-60k.

When complete, I had a CMEL, CSEL, IA, MEI, CFI, CFII, AGI - 225tt/68me. All under the price tag of 40k (33k to be exact.) Loan from the monster (SLM) for 20k, and VA reimbursements of just shy of 15k - as not all of my training was Part 141 (Instructor ratings were completed part 61).

I may be wrong, but I have a feeling the OP is seeking an answer along the lines of:

Goto ATP, do their RJ course, apply to airline, get hired.

Or

Goto JET U, do their Bridge course, apply to PNCL, get hired.

He didn't say what his objective was, but if someone is going to spend 55-60k on just flight training, I can only imagine that it is on flight training that will get the individual to an airline the fastest.
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The RJ course hmmmm can anyone give me more insight on that one?
 
aerospacepilot said:
Here is my advice.

You should do your training at a local FBO instead of one of those pilot factories. The nice parts about training at a local FBO are:

1. MUCH cheaper. A typical cost for private through MEI ratings is about $35,000 at an FBO versus about $65,000 at a pilot factory.

2. You can train on your own schedule. At a pilot factory, you will train when the plane and instructor are available (and that might mean 7 days a week, early morning, really late at night, and on weekends). At an FBO, you can train as fast or as slow as you'd like. You could finish your licenses as fast as you could at any pilot factory (or faster if you'd like). The nice part is that YOU are in control of YOUR schedule. You can fly when you want to fly, sleep when you want to sleep, study when you want to study, and party when you want to party. YOU dictate your schedule. YOU are the boss of YOUR schedule at a local FBO.

3. Stay local. If you decide to go to a pilot factory, you will have to move somewhere like Phoenix, AZ, or Vero Beach, FL to wherever the pilot factory is located for a year or more. If you stay at home, you can stay close to your friends and family, and you can save money by not having to pay rent somewhere far away.


Here is best way to find a local FBO that works for you:
1. Find the three closes airports (or within 20 miles) of your home.

2. Go to www.airnav.com and type in the airport identifier (or city name) of those local airports. Scroll down to Aviation Businesses, and either check out the websites of the flight schools, give them a call, or better yet show up for a visit of their facilities.

3. Choose the best one that suits your needs (close to home, cheaper, better facilities, etc...)

If you need any help choosing a local flight school, just let us on Jetcareers know. I personally would be willing to do a few minutes of research and make you a quick, ballpark budget for your flight training, and even give you a recommendation of a school to choose. I do this because I believe training at a local FBO is in any new pilots best interest.


But back to your original question...What to do with $55-60k to spend:
  • Spend 35k on flight training at your local FBO. Get all your licenses and ratings (private, instrument, commercial, multi, and CFI, CFII, and MEI).
Take the other 20-25k you have left over (since you decided to NOT go to a super expensive pilot factory), and I would do the following:
  • Take a 2 week trip to Europe. Visit Italy, France, the Greek Isles, and any other place you ever wanted to see.
  • Buy a brand new iPhone
  • Buy a new top of the line laptop
  • Buy yourself a brand new 60" flat screen TV
  • Throw a party. Invite all your friends. Spend hundreds of dollars on alcohol, decorations, and hire a DJ.
  • Buy yourself some type of mans toy (like an ATV, or a waverunner, or small motorcycle)
  • Put $5,000 into a mutual fund, don't touch it for 20 years. Then use all the money you earned, and do all of the above AGAIN!
The choice is yours. My advice is to spend about $35k getting flight training at a local FBO. Then take the rest of the money and PARTY! You won't have all that money left over if you go to an expensive pilot factory.

Let us know if you need any more help. And let us know what you decide. We are happy to help.
Good luck.
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Well it was either a nice new LS-460 or flight training! (I have decided on the latter). I presume the "RJ" course is accelerated. Am I right or wrong?
 
brent p h said:
On flight training. If a particular individual that wanted to fly commercial and is starting out with low time,what would be the most efficient manner too achieve the objective? How much time would it take?
Click to expand...

ATP. Certainly not the cheapest but maybe the most efficient and certainly the fastest. If you're sharp and pick things up fairly quickly and got alot money this is the way to go. 4 to 5 months and you'll be ready to go. Like I said, its not cheap, but on this planet everyone pays a premium for speed. It ain't cheap to Fedex overnight to China:)

FBO, the most economical route. In most cases not nearly as fast but ya save alot of money and get to do more aviator type stuff, like $100 hamburgers.

Aviation University or University/FBO on side. The best route IMO. 4 yrs you get your degree, all your licenses, and if you do some CFIing while in school, some experience to boost your resume upon graduation.
 
aerospacepilot said:
Take the other 20-25k you have left over (since you decided to NOT go to a super expensive pilot factory), and I would do the following:
  • Take a 2 week trip to Europe. Visit Italy, France, the Greek Isles, and any other place you ever wanted to see.
  • Buy a brand new iPhone
  • Buy a new top of the line laptop
  • Buy yourself a brand new 60" flat screen TV
  • Throw a party. Invite all your friends. Spend hundreds of dollars on alcohol, decorations, and hire a DJ.
  • Buy yourself some type of mans toy (like an ATV, or a waverunner, or small motorcycle)
  • Put $5,000 into a mutual fund, don't touch it for 20 years. Then use all the money you earned, and do all of the above AGAIN!
The choice is yours. My advice is to spend about $35k getting flight training at a local FBO. Then take the rest of the money and PARTY! You won't have all that money left over if you go to an expensive pilot factory.

Let us know if you need any more help. And let us know what you decide. We are happy to help.
Good luck.
Click to expand...

The First and last bullet i agree with. The rest, well, If you're gonna do that with your money, you might as well just go to a pilot factory and get to the airlines a lil bit faster.
 
brent p h said:
Well it was either a nice new LS-460 or flight training! (I have decided on the latter). I presume the "RJ" course is accelerated. Am I right or wrong?
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Talk about a good investment, that car would of depreciated as soon as you sign the paper. Your pilot licenses might earn you millions in future earnings
 
777forever said:
ATP. Certainly not the cheapest but maybe the most efficient and certainly the fastest. If you're sharp and pick things up fairly quickly and got alot money this is the way to go. 4 to 5 months and you'll be ready to go. Like I said, its not cheap, but on this planet everyone pays a premium for speed. It ain't cheap to Fedex overnight to China:)

FBO, the most economical route. In most cases not nearly as fast but ya save alot of money and get to do more aviator type stuff, like $100 hamburgers.

Aviation University or University/FBO on side. The best route IMO. 4 yrs you get your degree, all your licenses, and if you do some CFIing while in school, some experience to boost your resume upon graduation.
Click to expand...

I presume that ATP is in Florida. Does the course use simulators? Do they provide job placement? and lastly does anyone have any experience with them?
 
ATP is all over the country in all sorts of locations.

You can train FULL TIME at an FBO and be done quicker than what ATP advertises. Mqaaord, got her private license at a FBO in less than a month. You could do all the single engine stuff in a 152 for under 25k to your comercial. Grab a Multi add-on for 2k or so, you have completed all the ratings that are required to fly in the right seat on an RJ. You could get your CFI, CFII and MEI for another 5k. All said and done 30 thousand.
 
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