Im going into grade 10 at school...what do i have to do to be an airline pilot?

Question

ok, been thinking about it. My dream job is an Airline Pilot (same to many other people)

but I just love planes and that so i wouldnt mind becoming a pilot; that is my ultimate goal.

but, what would I have to do at school to get into the tertery studies that i would need to be a pilot.

as im in australia, i want to fly the best, so that would be qantas and I would prefer to fly the Airbus, maybe even the A380...so to fly a aircraft so big and sophisticated, what do I need to do at school, and is there anything extra that I could do out of school??

would a computer flight simulator (like microsoft FSX) help at all?

Answer 1

study hard and retain a good eyesight and be fit

Answer 2

you have to pass college with science to qualify

eyesight and fitness is important

and hey!!! beggars cannot be choosers

you have to pick any airline you get a job with

and a jet engine hahaha you start with a propeller aircraft to some distant and unknown route as a co-pilot!

the games are not accurate but will improve judgement and give basic knowledge

if you want a proper simulator go to www.chproducts.com

and most pilots are equally good its luck that will give you a 380 maybe after 15000 flying hours!!

anyway best of luck!

and don't exhaust all other options, take opportunities

qantas is not waiting with open arms for you

http://www.aviationearth.com

Answer 3

Zach gives a good answer. Personally I think FSX helps develop good eye-hand coordination (scan the instruments) some will say different.

A few web sites that will help answer some of your questions. Dig deep into these sites and you'll find out a lot of information.

These are mostly for the US but the general idea will be the same

http://www.projectpilot.org

http://www.eaa.org  Click the young eagles tab at the top

http://www.flighttraining.aopa.org

And this is specific to Australia a local chapter of AOPA

http://www.aopa.com.au

Take an introduction flight at your local airport to see if you even enjoy flying. Get good grades in all of your studies. Stay healthy. Ask a lot of questions, and above all if it is what you want to do don't let others tell you that you can't and never give up on your dream.

Answer 4

Fly at a young age.  Get your certificates and ratings as young as you can.  Stay accident-free.  Go to college.  Fly during the summers.  Hire on with commuter, regional, and major air carriers.

Answer 5

10th grade is the perfect time to start. I'm in the 8th grade and I'm starting my private pilot's course this summer. That's great that you want to fly for Qantas flying the A380, but I'm afraid you can't just go and pick the airline you want. A smart pilot takes what is available to him, so if they are not hiring when you are searching, you may have to go with a different airline. Even if you do fly for Qantas, they choose the aircraft type you will fly and you are only certified to fly that particular aircraft, meaning you may not fly the A380. Okay, that's the bad news, now let's talk about achieving your goal!

Since you live in Australia, I'm not sure about schools. You can try going to http://www.beapilot.com or go to http://www.learntofly.com to search for schools in your area. Basically, you attend as often as you want, whether it's 5 days a week or once every other week, it's up to you (however going less than once a week is not a good ting to do, since you may forget some of your training and end up re-taking the lesson costing you more money). If you don't hve the money, you can ask the manager to wash planes in exchange for lessons. My manager won't let me, but I have a friend who does this. Also try looknig into student loans. There are two types of schools; part 141 and part 61. Part 141 are FAA-aproved and have the highest quality training and usually better maintained equipment. They must use a syllabus when teaching. Part 61 schools are pretty good too, it really doesn't matter which type you go to. But part 61 don't always use a syllabus, may have lower-quality equipment but are from my experience "nicer" than part 141. Either way, makes sure you are comfortable with your school, check out the fleet, see what knid of aircraft you'll be flying in and meet the people who work there.  

It can take you anywhere from 6 months to a couple of years to get your student pilot's certificate, it really depends on how often you fly. When you turn 16, and pass a third-class physical, your instructor will let you do your first solo flight. If he/she is pleased with your flying then you will be rewarded with your student pilot which allows you to fly solo without passengers. You keep on flying and at age 17 you get your private pilot's certificate. Now you can fly solo with passengers. Now you can get your instrument and muli-engine ratings (allowing you to fly through poor-seeing conditions and operate multi-engine aircraft, pretty self-explanitory). You need at least 50 flight log hours, a second-class physical, and need to be 18 to get your commercial pilot's certificate. Now, you can choose to become a CFI or certified flight instructor which is a great way to build up flight time and make money. At age 18 you also need to go to college, get a four-year degree. A great college would be Embry-Riddle, it's an aviation university in Florida and Arizona (if you're willing to come to the United States). Most regional airlines hire pilots at age 21. The amount of flight hours required to get hired differs from airline to airline, it can be as low as 500 hours + 50 hours multi-engine or as high as 1000 hours + multi engine. Try to stand out/make yourself more appealing than others (because there is a lot of competetion, hundreds of other pilots want your position) by building up more flight hours than required because they want people with the most experience. Also, you want to look really nice when you go to your interview and they expect you to know about the airline's history so do lots of research. Basically, the law states you only need a second-class physical to get hired as F/O, but airlines want to make sure you can pass the first-class which you need to become captain so I recommend getting your first-class physical before getting hired, even though you don't need it until you work your way up to captain. If you do get hired, you start out as F/O or first officer, also known as co-pilot. You may or may not be a reserve F/O, but it really depends on if there is a shortage of pilots (like there is now, and like there is going to be in the future because more planes are being built and more pilots are retiring). When you have enough experience as a F/O the airline will promote you to captain, again you may be on reserve or blockholder, depends. You need your ATP (airline transport pilot's certificate) to become captain, and must be 23. In addition to this, you need to pass a first-class physical (which you may already have taken care of). After you have enough seniority start looking for major airlines (like Qantas) that may be hiring. Again, don't try waiting for it, just go with what you have, there are plenty of well-paying airlines out there. Again, lots of people want your job, so take some time to make yourself "better" than all the others. If you get a job, you repeat the entire process of working your way up to the top.

Okay, you mentioned FSX. I have FSX and it is the bomb! It's very realistic. I even got a set of rudder pedals, a throttle quadrant, and a flight yoke (flight wheel). I suggest you get all of these because it is just like sitting in a real aircraft. Hey, if you get FSX we could play online - that would be cool!!! Since you want to fly Airbus aircraft, try using a joystick since that's what they use in their cockpits. Boeing aircraft use yokes. Again, you never know which aircraft you will end up flying.

Good luck with becoming a pilot! I hope you get to fly the A380 for Qantas! If you have any questions about achieving your goal, feel free to email me!

-Captain Zach

Mark also has a very good point - try to stay accident free, and stay out of drugs, etc. The airlines won't hire people with bad records.