Best pilot school?

D Bergendorf

Well-Known Member
My grandson (HS junior) is interested in aviation. If he doesn't want to go in the military, what is the best (or at least a very good, full flight-training school)? A college degree would be nice, but not necessary.
 
The University of North Dakota, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and Purdue University are all well-known for their aviation programs.


Your grandson may want to consider joining this website and posting for himself. This community is an invaluable resource from which he'll benefit in the coming years.


As JTrain mentioned, a state school with flight training where it's available is also a very good option.
 
I would just add that if he doesn't want to go into the military (which I highly recommend), get his college degree so that he can have something to fall back on (a degree that can be marketable - non aviation related). This is what I'm instilling in my son who wants to be a pilot as well.

As Old Dominion Flyer stated above, this website and the community is a great resource in finding out what might be the best route as well as getting any help necessary to reach his goal.
 
I went to Western Michigan and felt like they had a good program. With that said though, I have always wished that I had gotten a non-aviation degree so that if I lost my medical or something, I'd at least be marketable in some other way. Taking "advanced systems" or "advanced aerodynamics" might be a bit of overkill, I'm not sure that those classes were necessary, or even decently helpful in getting me where I am today. As a matter of fact, it wasn't my aviation degree, but rather that I wrote for the college newspaper that got me my first job with an airline.
The impression that I have is that airlines don't care about aviation degrees, but rather just that you actually have a degree; that part is important. My personal opinion, having gotten an aviation degree, would be to get a degree in something else, and do your ratings on the side. If I recall correctly, Western would even let non-aviation students get their ratings through the university.
BUT, if getting an aviation degree is important to him, Riddle/UND/Western/Middle Tennessee/all the other ones I haven't heard of, are all pretty good and equal in my mind. Go for locale and $$$...kind of like picking a regional :)
 
Yeah, I definitely recommend getting in-state tuition somewhere close. I am pursuing a degree in aviation, but I am also pursuing aviation management as a backup plan. It would also be a good idea to just go visit some colleges that offer aviation, just to see how he likes it
 
My grandson (HS junior) is interested in aviation. If he doesn't want to go in the military, what is the best (or at least a very good, full flight-training school)? A college degree would be nice, but not necessary.

@jtrain609 mentioned this, but let me say it again.

In the future, a pilot without a degree WILL NOT be able to be hired by many, many airlines. If your grandson's goal is (or he thinks there may even be a small possibility that his goal might be) flying for a 121 carrier, the degree should be just as important as the ratings. What the degree is in doesn't matter so much beyond the current reality that everybody faces where an English degree is hardly as useful in being employed as a STEM degree.

Also, as was said, have him join the site and ask questions directly Plenty of High Schoolers (and guys that act like High schoolers) on here.
 
No DUI's, non-aviation college degree, flight school selection in that order.

Sorry... I've got to laugh a bit at this, not because you are wrong, but because how screwed up our society is about drinking. The very fact that people would have to list DUIs as a disqualifying factor is disgusting. How about no murder charges? How about, don't rape anybody? How about not get convicted for tax evasion?

Eh. Nevermind. Off soapbox.

EDIT: And I'm not calling you out on saying that at all because it is very true. I'm just sad that it is true.
 
Agree with a non-aviation degree and getting pilot training at the FBO wherever the university is. Get a job at the FBO working the line/dispatch to add to the experience while making a little money. Last FBO I instructed at, our staff all received aircraft rental at cost after 6mos employment.
 
Sorry... I've got to laugh a bit at this, not because you are wrong, but because how screwed up our society is about drinking. The very fact that people would have to list DUIs as a disqualifying factor is disgusting. How about no murder charges? How about, don't rape anybody? How about not get convicted for tax evasion?

Eh. Nevermind. Off soapbox.

EDIT: And I'm not calling you out on saying that at all because it is very true. I'm just sad that it is true.

Yeah, I say no DUI's first mainly because the kid is young and off to college. Obviously, most adults realize the severity of a DUI, but I think a lot of young people don't get how big of a deal it really is, especially in our field. If you're fortunate to not kill someone you've killed your career before it has even started.
 
Tell him to double major in Aircraft Maintenance (most schools that offer a flight science degree, offer it as well). If he ever loses his medical, he has a fall back career and it makes you more marketable for pilot jobs.
 
I know a C-5 Aircraft Commander applying at regionals to get more flight time.

Definitely true the military guys don't get to fly as much, especially in today's environment. I know several who are going to regionals who had no intention of doing it.

However, in my last post I was saying you'd know if you were going to get a pilot slot(minus rotc/service academy) before you signed on the dotted line.
 
I went to ATP flight school. Did my degree online while working at a regional. Of course this was before they changed the pilot rules but I was YEARS ahead of my peers in flight hours and experience.
 
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