Almost a Commercial Pilot. What to do now?

flyboywbl

3rd regional in 1 year
Hey guys i almost have my commercial pilot's certificate ( i take my multi-engine commercial checkride in two weeks). I'm planing on getting my MEI, CFI, and CFII as well. The school i'm learning from wants to hire me on as a full time CFI in the fall because we have 35 new students this semester and only 6 CFIs. I am planning on teaching but i really want to fly jets. I guess my question is, what is the best way to get there? I know you have to rub shoulders with people but i guess i have not met any one or have got the opportunity to fly something bigger than a light twin. Bill Gate's Global Express flew in today and i was like, man i wish i could be a personal pilot. Any way just wondering about any one's experience with becoming some one's personal Part 91 Pilot. I talked with a cousin of mine who is a captain with South West and he told me to go the recruiter school route (i.e. Jet U. or Gulfstream Academy). I'm not to sure i want to do that or if i really want to fly for an airline. Yes there is good money to be made but it's a long road. I just don't know where to go from a CFI. Tanks for the info!
-Matt
 
I think the CFI route is a good one to take, you'll build flight time rapidly if you have enough students, which it sounds like you will. Networking is what you need more than flight time to be someone's 91 pilot, well to a degree anyways, you'll still need the flight time to meet insurance requirements. You never know, you may meet a student that you teach that goes on to buy a jet and need a pilot.

What I did was CFI for a year, then I did freight for about 9 months, then I got on with a charter company after that. I personally do not want to get involved with the airlines. The nice thing about flying boxes is they don't bitch, and there is always a need to ship stuff. You'll definatly get some good IFR skills, the down side is you may be flying a real POS of a plane and you'll probably be working the backside of the clock.
 
flyboywbl said:
I am planning on teaching but i really want to fly jets.

Yeah, everything changes when you fly jets. The days and nights on the road no longer seem to matter so much because you're flying a JET. It's good that you've set your sights on your Career Goal. Carrying golf clubs for overpaid fatasses is a noble calling, at least as long as you get to fly a JET. I'll bet if you take out some loans, you can get in that JET even faster. At that point I'll be forced to envy you, and you'll have Won Life. Then what?
 
Yeah, everything changes when you fly jets. The days and nights on the road no longer seem to matter so much because you're flying a JET. It's good that you've set your sights on your Career Goal. Carrying golf clubs for overpaid fatasses is a noble calling, at least as long as you get to fly a JET. I'll bet if you take out some loans, you can get in that JET even faster. At that point I'll be forced to envy you, and you'll have Won Life. Then what?

Failplane.jpg


and boris can i just "yeah that" all your posts?
 
Yeah, everything changes when you fly jets. The days and nights on the road no longer seem to matter so much because you're flying a JET. It's good that you've set your sights on your Career Goal. Carrying golf clubs for overpaid fatasses is a noble calling, at least as long as you get to fly a JET. I'll bet if you take out some loans, you can get in that JET even faster. At that point I'll be forced to envy you, and you'll have Won Life. Then what?

buzzkill.:rolleyes:
 
Yeah, everything changes when you fly jets. The days and nights on the road no longer seem to matter so much because you're flying a JET. It's good that you've set your sights on your Career Goal. Carrying golf clubs for overpaid fatasses is a noble calling, at least as long as you get to fly a JET. I'll bet if you take out some loans, you can get in that JET even faster. At that point I'll be forced to envy you, and you'll have Won Life. Then what?
While I think anyone can understand what you're saying and why you're saying it, I think you misidentified your target. The OP is young, new, and asking questions. He doesn't know that it's not cool to like jets yet as he hasn't been on JC long enough for his soul to drain down to the bottom of the lav.

A little sugar for the new guy goes a long way to further Doug's mission here. In fact, a few JC freight dawgs led Ian J to freight that way.
 
Hey guys i almost have my commercial pilot's certificate ( i take my multi-engine commercial checkride in two weeks). I'm planing on getting my MEI, CFI, and CFII as well. The school i'm learning from wants to hire me on as a full time CFI in the fall because we have 35 new students this semester and only 6 CFIs. I am planning on teaching but i really want to fly jets. I guess my question is, what is the best way to get there? I know you have to rub shoulders with people but i guess i have not met any one or have got the opportunity to fly something bigger than a light twin. Bill Gate's Global Express flew in today and i was like, man i wish i could be a personal pilot. Any way just wondering about any one's experience with becoming some one's personal Part 91 Pilot. I talked with a cousin of mine who is a captain with South West and he told me to go the recruiter school route (i.e. Jet U. or Gulfstream Academy). I'm not to sure i want to do that or if i really want to fly for an airline. Yes there is good money to be made but it's a long road. I just don't know where to go from a CFI. Tanks for the info!
-Matt


If you're being offered a full-time job with decent pay as a CFI, grab it and run with it. It's the best offer you're going to get right now. Going to Jet U or Gulfstream would be such a waste of time and money.

Fly, have fun, and don't worry about HOURS. Opportunities will come along if you don't chase them.

My $.02.
 
How will you get into a jet? By having a wet multi commercial? Maybe, but it'll take you 10 years to get into the left seat which is what all of our goals are, correct? So why spend 10 years getting newspapers, coffee and loading luggage (which is what you'll be doing by the way) when you can instruct for a year or two, probably make descent money doing it and be marketable enough to go where you want.
Oh by the way, what Boris said x2.
 
Don't jump on the guy just because he wants to fly jets and just mentions Jet U or Gulfstream... He just asked a question... give him a straight answer in good tact instead of ripping him a new one... geez...

I agree with the ones that say take the CFI job. You'll learn A LOT! Then, keep up the networking and eventually you'll get the opportunity to do what you want!

Who knows, maybe you'll meet one of Bill Gates' flight crew and end up being his kid's CFI and when an opening comes up he'll say..."You know I know this great pilot who taught my daughter to fly... let me give him a call and see if he's interested..."
 
Well thanks for the input. I understand the road the the left seat of a Jet is a long and grueling one but it's what i want to do. You may say i don't know what i'm getting my self into and maybe you are right. At this point in time i do think Jet U or Gulfstream Academy are not the way to go. I'm gonna take the CFI job and stay in Bozeman for a while and try to rub shoulders with Bill Gates :D. Or there is always the Philip Morris crew who fly the twin red G4's. That would be a sweet gig. They used to tip the line guys at the FBO with cartons of cigarettes back in the day. that was b4 all the cancer stuff. I found out that a cousin of mine owns a Lear Jet and has 4 pilots on call. I'm gonna talk to him about a job down the road. I also found out that my fight school might be getting a D-Jet when Diamond ever decides to release it. It's not a big jet but it's a jet none the less. Some of you guys may say that filying jets is not a big deal or that it is boaring thats fine. I've always wanted to fly one since i can ever remember. Maybe it will be boring but i want to find that out for my self.
thanks for the info
-Matt
 
Oh i was talking to some one at the FBO and they said the last time Bill Gates flew into Bozeman to go skiing he forgot his Ski boots so he sent his Global Express all the way back to WA to get them. You can buy a new top of the line pare of boots for 1000 bucks. I can only imagine what it costs to run that jet an hour. Ah it would be nice to be a billionaire.
 
I found out that a cousin of mine owns a Lear Jet and has 4 pilots on call.

Man, if I had a cousin that had his own lear I'd be all over that job! Congratulations, you need to buy a lottery ticket tomorrow with the luck you have my friend! LOL
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Man, if I had a cousin that had his own lear I'd be all over that job! Congratulations, you need to buy a lottery ticket tomorrow with the luck you have my friend! LOL
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dingdingding!!! why wait for "a job down the road"??? id be hitting him/her up to shotgun the right seat RIGHT NOW!!
 
So are you training at Bozeman in the Diamond's? My friend just started his training there a couple weeks ago.
If they already said they'd hire you full time take them up on the offer. You'll also get cheaper rates when you want to fly the plane yourself. As you're instructing, try to talk your cousin into hiring you for the learjet.
 
Another thing that will get one that much closer to a jet (I prefer props myself) is proper spelling and punctuation!
 
Yah i know i can't spell worth 2 cents but i really don't care. As long as i can read my own wrighting and people can understand me on the radio who cares? Maybe a prospective eymployer might think i'm retarted or something :panic: but oh well. Thanks for all the info and input guys!
-Matt
 
Yah i know i can't spell worth 2 cents but i really don't care. As long as i can read my own wrighting and people can understand me on the radio who cares? Maybe a prospective eymployer might think i'm retarted or something :panic: but oh well. Thanks for all the info and input guys!
-Matt


If i was hiring someone to fly something costing a few million dollars and they cannot spell basic words??? yeah, i might think they were retarded. learn to read and write.

too careless to spell properly? probably too careless to follow instructions carefully....careless to follow set procedures.....etc
 
and we trust the junkie at the carnival with our kids on those sketchy fair rides as well. they probably can't spell very well either but you still trust them to do there job. Now i understand if you are looking at two applicants and they are dead even in qualifications, except one can spell better than the other, it's a no brainier who they will take. Guess what there are many other factors to take into account. I think i'll take my chances though. My crappy spelling has allowed me to retire and chase my dream of being a pilot. I could pay for my own type rating but i don't want to. I want to grind it out like every one else. The life of a pilot is very appealing to me. Maybe I'm naive but i want to find out it sucks for my self. it sounds like you guys want me to rephrase my original question to, what is the fastest way to figure out flying jets for a living isn't what its cracked up to be? My bad spelling got me through school, made me a nest egg and got me a CFI job offer. I've got a good feeling some one will hire me and if they don't i really don't care too much. so again thanks for the advice guys i'm gonna take the CFI job and what ever else comes my way.

Thanks again
-Matt

on another note this site should be named grumpypilots.com
 
and we trust the junkie at the carnival with our kids on those sketchy fair rides as well. they probably can't spell very well either but you still trust them to do there job. Now i understand if you are looking at two applicants and they are dead even in qualifications, except one can spell better than the other, it's a no brainier who they will take. Guess what there are many other factors to take into account. I think i'll take my chances though. My crappy spelling has allowed me to retire and chase my dream of being a pilot. I could pay for my own type rating but i don't want to. I want to grind it out like every one else. The life of a pilot is very appealing to me. Maybe I'm naive but i want to find out it sucks for my self. it sounds like you guys want me to rephrase my original question to, what is the fastest way to figure out flying jets for a living isn't what its cracked up to be? My bad spelling got me through school, made me a nest egg and got me a CFI job offer. I've got a good feeling some one will hire me and if they don't i really don't care too much. so again thanks for the advice guys i'm gonna take the CFI job and what ever else comes my way.

Thanks again
-Matt

on another note this site should be named grumpypilots.com
I do believe it is the fact that a lot of the pilots on here are getting sick of people with SjS.
 
My crappy spelling has allowed me to retire and chase my dream of being a pilot. I could pay for my own type rating but i don't want to.

Could you elaborate on this please? Your previous posts mentioned a community college and maybe transitioning to a 4 year degree. Not trying to ruffle any feathers, but your writing style is similar to a HS type writing, so hopefully you'll see my confusion.

Are you trying to say you're of retirement age and flying is a second career?
 
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