This page is aimed specifically at people who wish to make flying a career. I would probably average 5-6 emails a week from young men and women worldwide who seek help and advice on starting such a career.

The intial part below is aimed at people wishing to learn to fly and finally about some advice for attending airline interviews for thise seeeking to become an airline pilot.

First, I mention elsewhere on my website, go and do an aviation medical. It will probably cost in the order of $50 USD to $100 USD depending on where you live.
This will show if the “talents” that you were born with are sufficient to meet airline requirements. None of us get to choose what we are born with. It is a bit like playing cards..you can only play with what you have. If you have some medical condition that precludes you from flying I am truly sorry for you. However please realise that there is nothing you can do; choose another career, get on with life. It does not have to be the end of the world for you.

Telephone a flying school nearby and ask for a nearby aviation medical examiner.

OK so you have been for your medical..and if you need to wear glasses that will not necessarily preclude you from flying; you just need to carry a spare pair.

The most common question pilot “wannabees” ask is “Is flying difficult?”
Everything is difficult until you know how. Knowledge is power. If planes were too hard to fly the manufacturers would not be able to sell them.

An airline pilot position might take a number of years for you to achieve, because airlines have boom and bust periods, and during these times they either have too many or not enough pilots. There are three avenues into airlines.

1. An airline Cadet Pilot Training Scheme. These are not always available and are generally highly selective, so school marks and your personality will be very important. I was very lucky as a student to be chosen to join my airline’s cadet course, a long time ago… The cost of these courses vary, but generally they offer the easiest entry into an airline.

2. You can obtain a private pilot licence in less than a year and will probably cost in the order of $25,000USD, again this will depend on where you live. You then wait and hope your national /regional airline will start a Cadet course as in number 1 above.
This is risky as you could end up waiting all your life. A better option is to pay up to $50,000 USD+ and obtain a Commercial Pilot licence and an instrument rating. This licence will enable you to fly commercially. Probably initially as a co-pilot in a small commuter airline. Then you watch for different flying jobs and move around, keeping a close eye on the airlines.

3. Military. This option would probably mean you having to sign up for in the order of 8 years in the military. You would probably have the opportunity to fly some very sophisticated aircraft, under demanding conditions. Like the pilot in option 2 above, the military pilot would need to keep an eye on airline jobs as the period of tenure comes to an end.

So what are airlines looking for in a new pilot?
It makes no difference if you are male or female. My airline has lady Captains on B747-400s, B747 classics, B767s, B737s.

Do you have to have top marks in Maths and Physics? No, but you need to have passes, because it is only after the schooling years that you will put into practice the concepts you learned while at school. Physics becomes important when you take the inertia of a plane into account as an example. Maths is required for flight planning etc. So if you are at school, it is up to you to knuckle down and study hard. Don’t be put off if you are not the smartest kid in the class. You will see a bit later this is not necessarily a prime requirement. Good marks will never do you any harm.
To the school student, remember to balance your life. You need to work hard at schooling, but you also have to work hard at play. What does that mean? It means use your time wisely. You will have more fun and relax better playing tennis or some other team activity than watching tv show after tv show. Some kids might knock you for be conscientious..let them, it is your life, they will not give you the flying career, only you can do it for you.

I mention above team sports. It has become more apparent over the last 10-20 years that pilots who are good team members are definitely the pilots airlines want. So, make sure you join whatever team you can, basketball, football etc..join in. If you are unable to compete in such sports join a theatre group or a chess club. You will learn as a team member just how important it is for the players to work together for the team to function.

Personality. Somewhere above I mentioned personality. I think personal discipline might be a better word, still the two inter-react.
Personal discipline is probably the single most important asset a pilot must possess.
You will be taught how your plane flies and the limitations on that plane. Discipline insists that you fly within those limits. No one will fly with a pilot who ignores rules and limitations. No airline will employ such a pilot.
The three absolute rules from a personal discipline view on flying are:
1. Knowing what rules apply to your plane and where you are going to fly
2. Avoiding areas where you might need an emergency deviation to recover. If in doubt DON’T!!
3. You must master the temptation to deviate from rules. It doesn’t matter how good you think you are or how excellent a pilot you are..the rules are there for everyone.

Have you heard the expression “There are no old bold pilots”? Pilots who fly to their late 50’s , 60’s etc do so because they didn’t break rules. They all knew how to break a rule, but they were all smart enough to know once you break one rule, it then become easy to break another. A pattern sets up where eventually you’ll come to an untimely end. This is where personal discipline comes in. You will be better respected as a pilot sticking to rules than someone who takes “short cuts”. Don’t do it! Not even once, don’t do it.
Personality comes in here, because it will be your personality that will allow you to control your discipline.

The young pilot, say 19 year old who has his brand new private licence and can at last take a couple of mates on a joy flight. The mates will all be keen to loop-the-loop etc., or to overfly a friend’s house or party at the beach. While not trained no qualified for aerobatics or low-flying…this will be an accident waiting to happen.

The pilot has to set the discipline scene. He must start off by briefing the mates on what he is going to do, by all means ask the mates where they would like to fly and accommodate them if he can. The pilot is in control, he will impress his mates more by demonstrating his discipline than he will be trying to scare them. Any fool pilot can scare people..that is not clever, and also that form of flying kills people far too often. The pilot then must fly his plane within the rules and limitations that has has been taught. The mates are more likely to want to fly again with a disciplined pilot than some “sky larking” pilot.

Be prepared to distinguish yourself by having good personal disciplines and refuse to deviate to try and please someone or impress someone.
Stand for something positive!!!

Have I convinced you about personal discipline? No, ok, did you hear about the tragic accident involving John F Kennedy Junior with his wife and her sister on board? Here was a most respected young man, son of an ex President of the USA, who chose to break the rules and they all unfortunately suffered. He was not an instrument rated pilot that permitted flying at night. He was caught trying to please too many people and justified flying at night because he had flown the same trip, New York to Martha’s Vineyard, with his flying instructor.
They were all flying up to Martha’s Vineyard to attend some family function. They were due to leave mid afternoon for an approximately one hour flight, that would have had them landing well before dark. His sister-in-law couldn’t make it to the airport until much later, in fact it was dusk apparently when they departed.
The rest is history. A pilot broke the rules of flying and a dreadful waste of human life resulted.

So I say again, personal discipline is the prime requirement for a pilot, any pilot.

Important Reading
I have recently read an absolutely excellent book on personal discipline and its application to flying. It is called “Flight Discipline” and it is written by Tony Kern. He is a career aviator who has studied and put into a very easy to read book the importance of discipline in flying. If you are considering aviation as a career I highly recommend his book, it is published by McGraw-Hill.

Attending the dreaded airline interview. "The Complete Airline Pilot Interview Course" from www.flightdeckconsulting.com is available on DVD from in the USA: http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Airline-Pilot-Interview-Course/dp/B004CFB5G2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1295056710&sr=8-1 and in the UK from: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Complete-Interactive-Airline-Interview-Course/dp/B004CFB5G2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1295056072&sr=8-1

I have nothing to do with these courses other than list them as I see they may benefit people trying to get established in the airline industry.

Life as a pilot.
If you wish to enter military or commercial aviation you will need to get used to being continually checked, watched. In my airline I am checked in the simulator (affectionately known as the “lurching bat cave”) 4 times annually; generally 3 months apart, each 4 hour simulator session. Once a year I am checked over a normal sector.
This system has been proven as a great system to monitor pilots and to keep pilots up to date with changes in aviation trends.

Lifestyle as a pilot.
Pilots generally live by some type of roster system. Mine has an 8 week length, ie 56 days. Over the 30+ years I have been flying I have averaged being away from home for a little under 50% of the time. That includes the day I leave and the day I return, so in fact I have not seen my family for about 40% of the 30+years. A long time yes? Consider though that when I have been home, I have been home 24 hours a day, so I estimate that I have seen more of my family by not having a standard Monday-to-Friday job over my career.
Do I have regrets? Yes, I would have missed far too many important occasions in my family’s life. I do regret that. On the other side I have been able to spend far more quality time with my family than many other occupations would allow.

Would I do it again? Definitely yes. Flying is a very demanding occupation that comes with many rewards. The rewards outweigh the negatives. It is a most interesting career choice.