How do I become a commercial airline pilot?

Question

How do I become a commercial airline pilot?

Answer 1

DO NOT GET A DEGREE IN AVIATION. Jack A is wrong - if you do get a degree in aviation, and 9/11 occurs, then you'll get laid off and no airlnies will be hiring - nobody else is gonna wanna hire you if all u know how to do is fly. Get a degree in something other than aviation, as a back-up plan, so if something does happen, you can get another job that you would be interested in. I've heard this from airline pilots themselves, the last thing u wanna do is get a degree in aviation.

How old are you? 15-16 is a pretty good age to start. First you need to find youself a suitable flight school. You can check these sites: http://www.learntofly.com and http://www.beapilot.com just type in your zip code and it will display a list of the nearist flight schools in your area. Visit all of them - check out their fleet, meet the staff, and see what invironment you'll be training in. You might even want to take a introductory flight. Feel free to ask questions because they will be answered. There are two types of schools: Part 61 and Part 141. Now, 141 are generally higher-quality than 61, but I can tell you from my own experience, that the staff at 61 schools tend to be "friendlier" than 141. In the end, pick the school you feel most comfortable with, regardless of what type.

About 6 months to a couple years after you start, you should make your first solo. You must be 16 and pass a third-class medical exam. When you're 17, you can get your private pilot certificate. Then you need to earn your instrument and multi-engine ratings. At age 18 you can get your commercial pilot certificate. You must pass a second-class medical exam and have 250 hours in fixed-wing aircraft. You should go to college and get a four-year degree in something OTHER THAN AVIATION because if 9/11 happens again you'll get laid off, and nobody will be hiring pilots. If all you know is flying, nobody will want you. So have a back-up plan, get a degree in another of your interests. You then need 500 hours in fixed-wing to fly for a regional, and some good ways of building up that time is charter-flying or become a CFI (certified flight instructor). Best that you get more than 500 to make yourself look more appealing than others to the airlines to improve your chances. When you have your hours, look for hiring regional airlines. If you get hired, you'll start out as a F/O. You may or may not be a reserve pilot at first, it depends on how many pilots they need. When you have enough experience as a F/O they will promote you to Captain. After you have enough experience as a Captin for a regional, begin looking for Majors that are hiring. Some require that you have your ATP (requires you to have 1500 hours in fixed-wing, 23 yrs of age, and pass a first-class medical exam). Some only require it for you to become Captain however. Again, you may or may not be on reserve, depends. And you work your way up to captain again, and boom. You're at the highest level! Good luck and happy flying!

Answer 2

Join the airforce.....most commercial airline pilots are retired from the armed forces.

Answer 3

1) become a pilot

2) charge for your time

Answer 4

Thtas a pretty open ended question. Depending on your age there are a ton of different ways to go about it.

If your in high school or not yet in college, there are alot of colleges that offer flight degrees which the purpose of the degree is to learn to fly. Colleges like Embrey-Riddle, Purdue and North Dakota are pretty big ones but there are a lot more like Ohio State, Kent State, Oklahoma and the list goes on.

If your older then you can go to flight academys where you live for about 6 months getting all of you ratings. Delta Connection academy is a pretty famous one and there are a few others.

There is also just learning to fly on your own time and getting you ratings that way. That can take up to a few years depending on how hard you work to get it done quickely. It is also the most expensive.

The military is always an option but no service branch guarentees that you will be fliying airplanes even the air force.

It all depends on how much you want to spend and how long you have to become a commmercial pilot.

Or you could listen to the 14 year old below me. A lot of us are not made of money so we have to kill two birds with one stone. And if flying is what you really want to do in life, layoffs wont matter because you will just wind up back in the air again.