I want to become a pilot, and am currently in grade 11 and was wondering what steps I should take now?

Question

I was thinking flight lessons, but I don't know if there are any other options or if this even is an option for a high school student!

Answer 1

In addition to the answers above I would recommend that you take a discovery flight at the local airport to see if you even enjoy flying. Cost can be from $50-$100 depending on where you go. The beapilot site will help you find an airport near you.

Read all that you can if you can't afford lessons now, it will make sense later on, plus you can drool over the pictures of the airplanes in a magazine like Flying.

Take a look at these sites to give yourself a head start:

http://flighttraining.aopa.org/

http://www.eaa.org/

http://www.clearedtodream.org/

http://www.beapilot.com/

http://travel.howstuffworks.com/pilot.ht...

http://www.geocities.com/av8trxx99/FAQ.h...

http://airlinepilotcentral.com/

http://www.willflyforfood.cc/airlinepilo...

http://dir.salon.com/topics/ask_the_pilo...

I included some of the later web sites in case you have other questions like pay etc. These sites shoulds keep you busy for a while if you are serious. Good luck.

Answer 2

You can get a student pilot certificate at 16, which allows you to take lessons from an instructor, and even solo after you reach a proficient level.  You can get your Private certificate at 17.  If you can't start lessons yet, I'd recommend starting to study some basic material.  A good place to start is Rod Machado's Private Pilot Handbook.  It's similar to the various FAA publications, but very easy to read and understand.  Without an instructor's assistance, I guarantee you that you won't make it through a single FAA publication (or if you do, you won't understand anything).

Answer 3

Yes. You can go to your local airport and buy some textbooks or DVDs and some training material to study. Then when you have time during weekends or the summer, you can go rent an airplane and instructor to teach you to fly. But this costs roughly $120-$180 per hour to rent, depending on the actual costs of the airplane, instructor, and fuel.

What I did is get the DVDs, which is much less boring than reading a textbook, take some notes, then go flying. That way, I don't waste money trying to LEARN something but PRACTICING something.

Answer 4

I began studying to become a commercial pilot after high school.  I quickly found that becoming hired by a company comes down to how many hours you have under your belt.  I also found that getting training and being in the air is VERY (and I do mean VERY) expensive as you are paying by the hour.  I asked around and found that most people get these hours in by being in the Air Force.  In addition, I found that commercial airlines actually take preference to those with Air Force training.

Military wasn't for me, but it is something to consider.

I think you are in an excellent junction in your life to start making these decisions.  A lot of people still don't know what they want to do after high school or even college.  You might try something and decide it isn't for you, and that's ok too.  I am in my early 30's (believe me, it comes up a lot quicker than you think it will) and I have found that finances, obsticles, and even age don't matter.  If you want to do something, you can do it and you will do it if you apply yourself.

I was in high school with someone who started flying (training) in 10th grade.  He worked a lot at a local airport and met a lot of people and learned a lot of things.  He is now a pilot for American Airlines.

Best of luck!