Need Advice from the PROS...CAREER CHANGE!!

[aka03271]

Hello everyone,

Ok, as you can all see, I am a newbie here and seeking advice from all of the professional members!

Let me make a long story short, I am 28 years old from Egypt, married and have a 1 year baby girl, a business administration bachelor degree holder with over 6 years of Corporate Banking experience.

After a recent incident that took place at my ex-employer made me decide not to continue with my banking career any further. This has been a final decision and there is noway for me to get back to the banking career. So let's just call it I retired too early .

Have been unemployed now for almost a year, not because I can't find a banking job but as I mentioned earlier because I don't want to get back to banking.

I do not know anything else or can't do anything else in this world other than commercial lending, analyzing financial statements, prepare proposals, loans syndications..etc
I was even chosen to be a part of the team that syndicated the Emirates Airlines largest aircrat order placed in the market, was making around $50,000 (Tax Free).

Anyway, now because I have been unemployed for almost a year now and spending from my hard working savings money, I decided that this is enough and I have to either start a new career or start my own business where in fact this would be easy for me as I do have a solid experience in business planning ....etc.

The thing is I can only invest no more than $30,000 in any of these two options. So to start a business with only $30k is not enough and to start a new career.....maybe?

So I have decided to start an aviation career and become a pilot. I have "zero" experience in aviation but enjoyed playing FSX and have had a couple of discovery flights that made me want to do it.

To find a pilot job here in Egypt would not be a problem for me as our national airlines hire you with as low as 200 hours where you should be holding an ICAO CPL/IR or equivalent but with a maximum age of 28 years old if you hold a Bachelors degree and if you have a good connection it could be 29 years.
So I guess I meet those requirements except for the 200 hours of flying time and licenses

So the advice I need from you Pilots is the following;

1- Is there any flight school in the United States or Canada that would accept me if I am 28 years old?

2- Is there any flight school that offers an accelerated training program that would make me earn the 200 hours flight time (licenses equivalent to ICAO CPL/IR) in a maximum period of 5 months? (Winter is about to start and I guess weather would be an issue for a student pilot...i.e. cancelled flights....etc).

I checked a school named www.flaviationacademy.com where they guarantee you complete the pilot program in 12 weeks. Is this true? I called them up yesterday and a lady working there said that most of students do if you devote your time and work hard. She even said there are other students who complete the program in less than 12 weeks. Really? I mean what would you learn in 12 weeks?:cwm27:

I also contacted Sky mates because their cost is reasonable but it took the a week to get back to me which reflected an unprofessional image! Also their time building from PPl to Commercial is I guess based on double logging. Is this ok? Do the hours count toward your time?

Contacted "The professional Flight Center in Vancouver, Canada" seem to have a very good reputation but I am not sure about the course duration because of the cold Canadian weather.

3- Budget is tight. Only $30,000 USD plus another $5,000 for living expenses during my stay. Can't spend more because I still do not want to risk all of my savings.

4- Don't you guys think that 28 years is considered a little old to start a whole new career?

5- Starting at my National airlines as a FO gets paid $35,000. Here is their offer; http://www.pilotjobsnetwork.com/factfile.php?id=xu7924ghkhnasf8zkqn4r2t3c1nh2rhn8hmz5r6eygebkc1vran

Is $35,000 a good start compared to an industry average?

I can attend school in any US state or Canadian Province. Would not be an issue for me except for my budget and the fact that I am an international student their program must be a FAR 141!

That's all I have to say and based on your replies and pieces of advice, I might ask more questions.

Thank you so much for reading my post!

 

[killbilly]

1- Is there any flight school in the United States or Canada that would accept me if I am 28 years old?

Age is not an issue. Most flight schools are businesses - it's not that you have to 'apply for acceptance.' If you have money, someone will take it and try to teach you to fly.

2- Is there any flight school that offers an accelerated training program that would make me earn the 200 hours flight time (licenses equivalent to ICAO CPL/IR) in a maximum period of 5 months? (Winter is about to start and I guess weather would be an issue for a student pilot...i.e. cancelled flights....etc).

There are many. Do your research. There are many opinions as to the quality of flight education you will receive at various institutions. Many of those schools are in the southern US where the weather is good to fly year-round.

I also contacted Sky mates because their cost is reasonable but it took the a week to get back to me which reflected an unprofessional image! Also their time building from PPl to Commercial is I guess based on double logging. Is this ok? Do the hours count toward your time?

They are very, very busy over there, but they have an excellent reputation. There are quite a few pilots here on the forum who trained there. Be patient, keep calling them.

Contacted "The professional Flight Center in Vancouver, Canada" seem to have a very good reputation but I am not sure about the course duration because of the cold Canadian weather.

Vancouver doesn't get as cold as, say, Saskatchewan. It's more like Seattle.

3- Budget is tight. Only $30,000 USD plus another $5,000 for living expenses during my stay. Can't spend more because I still do not want to risk all of my savings.

It depends on where and how you do your training and how well you apply yourself. It's possible to get all of your ratings for $30K, but it's getting harder. If you need to time build beyond a training program, you need to factor those costs in, too, especially if you need more multiengine time.
$40K is a better number to plan with, and if you have some left over, good for you. That is my opinion - there are many.

4- Don't you guys think that 28 years is considered a little old to start a whole new career?

There are several guys here who started in their mid to late 30's and early 40s. No. It's not old at all.

I can attend school in any US state or Canadian Province. Would not be an issue for me except for my budget and the fact that I am an international student their program must be a FAR 141!

Skymates works with many international students, and Arlington, Texas is quite affordable compared to other cities. More importantly, I've never heard a single negative comment about SM. All other schools I've heard of had mixed experiences. But SM seems to shine very brightly.

Good luck to you.

 

[aka03271]

KillBilliy,

Thank you so much for your reply. You have actually given me hope again!

I appreciate it and will take your advice for granted. Will keep contacting sky mates and hopefully things could work out.

But regarding the double hours logging at sky mates. Is it ok and does it count toward my flying hours?
Also do I have to wait or to find another student who would fly with me?

Thank you

 

[killbilly]

But regarding the double hours logging at sky mates. Is it ok and does it count toward my flying hours?

It's called "safety pilot" time. One pilots flies 'under the hood' with a vision-limiting device, using instruments to fly. The second pilot watches for traffic. It is legal for both pilots to log the time as pilot-in-command. (PIC.) Some people think it's okay, some people think it's merely a loophole and isn't "real" time in the scope of learning experience. I do not have an opinion on this either way as I've never logged that kind of time.

There are more qualified people than I to get into detail on this particular topic.

Also do I have to wait or to find another student who would fly with me?

Thank you

I do not know for sure, but I suspect this wouldn't be a problem. SM is pretty darn busy, and finding a safety pilot should be relatively easy. At places like ATP, you're partnered up with another student during your training anyway so you always have a safety pilot when doing your cross-country flying.

I'm going to step back from this thread at this point - I suspect you will need more detailed information that I'm not really qualified to deliver - however, I can tell you that Skymates' Chief Instructor is a regular at these forums and I'm sure he'll see your post and offer you some better advice.

 

[SoCalAprch]

Just like with any thing in life there are cheap schools 25-30k and there are expensive schools. If you want to get it done really fast you will probably have to pay more, if you want a big pretty flight school with all brand new planes you will definatly pay more. Its just finding one that fits your needs and your budget. I know of several at KSEE Gillespie. Thats in San Diego. Scandanavian Acadamy, California Flight Training, and Anglo American Aviation. They all take students with Visas and all are pretty fast paced. I know that the one I instruct for takes you from 0 hours to multi commercial for right around $30K. Now with any flight school they will quote you the bare minimums when reality some people take longer than the minimums. There is a big boom in India and China going on right now so most flight schools that take Visas are going to be busy. I know Anglo has turned down over 200 indians a month to come train here just so they can accept students from other countries. Do you know what part of the country you would like to train in?

 

[aka03271]

Just like with any thing in life there are cheap schools 25-30k and there are expensive schools. If you want to get it done really fast you will probably have to pay more, if you want a big pretty flight school with all brand new planes you will definatly pay more. Its just finding one that fits your needs and your budget. I know of several at KSEE Gillespie. Thats in San Diego. Scandanavian Acadamy, California Flight Training, and Anglo American Aviation. They all take students with Visas and all are pretty fast paced. I know that the one I instruct for takes you from 0 hours to multi commercial for right around $30K. Now with any flight school they will quote you the bare minimums when reality some people take longer than the minimums. There is a big boom in India and China going on right now so most flight schools that take Visas are going to be busy. I know Anglo has turned down over 200 indians a month to come train here just so they can accept students from other countries. Do you know what part of the country you would like to train in?

Thank you for your response. I did visit the schools websites but I think they are still a little too high for me and is above my budget.
What school do you instruct at? Is it one of the schools you mentioned above?