My son, who is currently in Grade 11, has decided that he wants to be a Commercial Pilot. There seems to be a wide variety of opinion on how best to accomplish this. We would appreciate any input or experience from people who are Commercial Pilots or who at least gone through the program in Canada.
So far this is what we have done or been advised of:
Son completed an intro flight at the Calgary Flying Club and loved it.
Will have a Class 1 Medical done this summer
Has the financial resources to get through a Commercial Pilot program
Has good grades and is completing all 30-1 courses in High School
Talked to as many Pilots as we can when we fly and common theme is get flying as soon and as much as possible.
Attended the Mount Royal Aviation Expo
Some of the questions we still have:
Do you need a degree to get a job with the majors in Canada or abroad?
Any opinion on aviation programs? Looking at Mount Royal, Okanagan College and Seneca
Better to just go to a flight school rather than the degree route?
My brother is a pilot and went through Mount Royal. Took several years in the middle of nowhere working hours on the ramp, and more time flying. Be sure he is up for that. He is with Westjet now, but had to move to Toronto area to become a Captain as they don't need any out west.
One thing he may not have thought of, and I hate to be a downer, but the way technology is progressing pilots are becoming less and less involved. In his career lifetime pilots as we know them may be unnecessary.
May be a little late as he is already in grade 11 but I was in air cadets many years ago. One of the big draws was that you could get your private pilots licence paid for by air cadets. If I remember right you did have to be in for a few years first before they would consider doing this. I never went this route to get my licence.
Guys that didn't qualify for the scholarship went to Mount Royal. Sounded like a good program at MRC many years ago. Have not heard anything negative recently either.
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My son, who is currently in Grade 11, has decided that he wants to be a Commercial Pilot. There seems to be a wide variety of opinion on how best to accomplish this. We would appreciate any input or experience from people who are Commercial Pilots or who at least gone through the program in Canada.
So far this is what we have done or been advised of:
Son completed an intro flight at the Calgary Flying Club and loved it.
Will have a Class 1 Medical done this summer
Has the financial resources to get through a Commercial Pilot program
Has good grades and is completing all 30-1 courses in High School
Talked to as many Pilots as we can when we fly and common theme is get flying as soon and as much as possible.
Attended the Mount Royal Aviation Expo
Some of the questions we still have:
Do you need a degree to get a job with the majors in Canada or abroad?
Any opinion on aviation programs? Looking at Mount Royal, Okanagan College and Seneca
Better to just go to a flight school rather than the degree route?
My first choice was to be a pilot but at the time, having less than 20/20 eyesight was considered career-limiting. I do not think that's the case anymore.
When I had been looking into it, I came to the conclusion the air force would have been the best way to get training-- any maybe even fly a fighter jet.
I have met some of those who succeeded getting that far and the perks are pretty cool -- you can actually take a fighter jet to go visit people! That being said, some of those guys are pretty wild, there is very much a fraternity like mentality with them, or at least, there was 10 years ago.
Cool story -- drop pilot off at Edmonton International who is returning to Cold Lake. He landed on the tarmac in Cold Lake before we hit Edmonton.
I think the key is to expect 10 yrs of crappy work on the ground and in crappy planes for small regionals who don't pay you anything in the middle of nowhere. Before getting on with a WestJet or AirCanada.
Its a pretty big investment from the Time vs Money vs time until you get to your career. My brother did it for a while before quitting. Its a long road until you have a stable job.
He has investigated the Military route and while a possibility the pilots we have talked to cautioned against it (why, I don't know).
I get it, with the budget cuts and uncertainty of jet replacements, if he even gets into the fighter program which is incredibly tough and the fail out is huge he's looking at more limited flight hours in what are becoming rickity planes past their retirement age.
Its also a tougher road then just going to flight schools and getting flight times commercially because of the military life style which isn't for everyone.
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My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
I think the key is to expect 10 yrs of crappy work on the ground and in crappy planes for small regionals who don't pay you anything in the middle of nowhere. Before getting on with a WestJet or AirCanada.
Its a pretty big investment from the Time vs Money vs time until you get to your career. My brother did it for a while before quitting. Its a long road until you have a stable job.
This is exactly the thing that ended up discouraging me from doing it...after I had decided (in high school) that I wanted to be a pilot. Huge money and time investment up front, and being well into your 30's or 40's by the time you're able to fly any heavy metal for a major carrier. At the time, I decided to make do with Flight Simulator, and pursue my PPL to fly for fun when I could afford it. (Still have not done so, lol)
That being said, there is a small part of me that regrets that decision every time I get on a plane and walk past the flight deck.
My cousin is under 30 and just got hired to fly for Westjet. I know he didn't do his training in the service, not sure where he trained, but he has spent the last 5 or so years working for small regional airlines before he got to the big leagues.
My cousin is under 30 and just got hired to fly for Westjet. I know he didn't do his training in the service, not sure where he trained, but he has spent the last 5 or so years working for small regional airlines before he got to the big leagues.
When you say WestJet, do you mean the 737's, or is he going to fly the Q400's for WestJet Encore?
By the way, don't we have a WestJet pilot on CP? Paging Ryan Coke...
I think the key is to expect 10 yrs of crappy work on the ground and in crappy planes for small regionals who don't pay you anything in the middle of nowhere. Before getting on with a WestJet or AirCanada.
Its a pretty big investment from the Time vs Money vs time until you get to your career. My brother did it for a while before quitting. Its a long road until you have a stable job.
Not aviation related, but a response to this.
I think anybody who is considering a rewarding career should be prepared to work for peanuts and not in ideal locations before they 'hit it big'. The same can be said for most careers, including doctors, dentists, fully certified tradespeople, and even retail. Very few people 'hit it big' in less time, at least from my observations.
10 years of schooling deterred me from wanting to pursue medicine or dentistry. The career I ended up in took 5 years of schooling, 3.5 years of articling, and then a further 2 years til I made partner, and that was right place right time. During that time I was a starving student, worked for peanuts, and worked in the middle of nowhere. I love my job, but sometimes I wonder what life would have been like had I had that foresight that it would have taken just as long in pursuing healthcare.
Questions on becoming a Commercial Pilot
