The Struggles Of Being A Pilot Are Worth It | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Student Life

The Struggles Of Being A Pilot Are Worth It

An account from a pilot-in-training about hardships met along the way.

2229
The Struggles Of Being A Pilot Are Worth It
Gregory McMahon

If you want to make it to the "Big Leagues" (the airlines), be prepared to keep yourself busy with everything flight related. According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), anyone who wishes to become an airline pilot MUST have at least 1500 flight hours, or 1000 if you graduate from an accredited college/university that offers an aviation program.

Fortunately for me and many others at my school, we are eligible for the 1000 hour option. To some, 1000 hours doesn't seem like much; many professions out there have hour requirements that may seem more time-consuming. If you are not from the United States, your hour requirements will almost always be less; around 250-300 hours to be hired.

Here in the United States, we have these handy "little" items called FARs. FARs are kind or like the "rules of the road" for aviation, except the violation of one of these regulations can lead to your license being revoked, or worst case imprisonment.

In order to avoid violating these rules, or even to begin working on your license, you need to find a place to soak up all this information and put it to use. If you have chosen the university route, you are most likely enrolled in a Part 141 school that has gained a certificate from the FAA to be able to give you all of the resources needed in order to obtain licenses and ratings. If you are learning down the road at a local airport, you most likely are enrolled in a Part 61 school, and the 1500 hour rule would apply to you.

So let's talk about the Training!

1. Training is a huge time commitment, and there is a lot to learn

On August 29, 2015, I began my endeavor to obtain my Private Pilot Certificate. When I enrolled at my school, I was given the option to choose my "flight block" which was a 3-hour period in which I would be one-on-one with an instructor. I was fortunate enough to choose the 6:00AM-9:00AM block, and I had that for the rest of the semester. I was out there every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday either sitting in a room learning new information, in a simulator getting a feel for what I learned, or in the plane putting it to use. Just like learning to drive, you need to keep your skills proficient. This is part of the reason I decided to spend some of my winter break at school, to keep my skills honed and progress further in my training. It wasn't until winter break that I realized how much time was spent on my flight training versus my academics. The semester was done and I was able to spend almost every single day doing 2-3 flight activities, eventually reaching the stage where I was able to solo and fly the plane without my instructor present. Skip ahead a few months to May 11, 2016, and I have reached the pinnacle of my training, the Private Pilot Certificate. Some people are fortunate to receive their license with less than 90 hours, whereas I graduated the program with 109.3.

2. Lots of money

To all of my pilot friends out there, you know the struggle. The price tag on flight training can seem astronomical at times! Yes, it does depend on where you receive your training, but look to spend around $15,000 for your Private Pilot training alone. At my school, you pay for the hours the engine is running (the Hobbs time), a surcharge, and time for the instructor. That means you want to expect $300-350 per 1 hour of flying time. Yikes!

3. must be willing to be away from home for extended periods of time

Over my lifetime I have been able to make some great connections with pilots from almost every airline out there. They all told me the same thing, "In the beginning when you are low on the totem pole, you're going to working the graveyard shifts and you're going to be away from home a lot." Well, what does "a lot" amount to? Some people are lucky and they are able to fly multiple routes in one day, and then end up back at home after their shift. Some are going to be out doing routes and spending their nights in hotels and only making it home for the weekends. But when you make your way up in seniority, you may only be flying 3-4 days out of the week and have (usually at most) a week off.

4. Patience is key

As I mentioned above, flight training takes a lot of time and dedication, and when you don't have the time to give, you'll struggle grasping the concepts. Just remember, it's not going to come to you after doing it once. You have to keep practicing just as with anything else. If you don't do a maneuver correctly, grease the landing, mess up a radio call, miss a checklist, or get stressed with time management, do not worry about it! It takes a lot of time to learn the concepts and eventually do it without even thinking. I know one thing I struggled with was learning my radio calls and making them short and to-the-point. In order to become a pro, I would practice with other people or listen to the other pilots speak on the radio.

5. Failure does not make you a bad pilot

I've had a few of my friends get disgruntled over the failure of a FAA Written Test, which is needed to ultimately get your license or a further rating. I've even come across some people who were up for their check rides and their examiner didn't like one small thing they did, and they failed the entire check ride. Whether it's a failure during your training or failure of a check ride, don't worry, it happens. There is no need to stress over it. Your career isn't over, maybe it's just a sign that more practice is needed and better yet, you get more flying experience overall.

These are some of the most prominent struggles I have seen/experienced during my time here at school. Despite everything I have noticed, If you endure all of the challenges, the reward is vast. The reward, having the best office view from 37,000 feet.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Gilmore Girls
Hypable

In honor of Mother’s Day, I have been thinking of all the things my mom does for my family and me. Although I couldn’t write nearly all of them, here are a few things that moms do for us.

They find that shirt that’s right in front of you, but just you can’t seem to find.

Keep Reading...Show less
Relationships

10 Reasons To Thank Your Best Friend

Take the time to thank that one friend in your life you will never let go of.

5583
Thank You on wooden blocks

1. Thank you for being the one I can always count on to be honest.

A true friend will tell you if the shirt is ugly, or at least ask to borrow it and "accidentally" burn it.

2. Thank you for accepting me for who I am.

A best friend will love you regardless of the stale french fries you left on the floor of your car, or when you had lice in 8th grade and no one wanted to talk to you.

Keep Reading...Show less
sick student
StableDiffusion

Everybody gets sick once in a while, but getting sick while in college is the absolute worst. You're away from home and your mom who can take care of you and all you really want to do is just be in your own bed. You feel like you will have never-ending classwork to catch up on if you miss class, so you end up going sick and then it just takes longer to get better. Being sick in college is really tough and definitely not a fun experience. Here are the 15 stages that everyone ends up going through when they are sick at college.

Keep Reading...Show less
kid
Janko Ferlic
Do as I say, not as I do.

Your eyes widen in horror as you stare at your phone. Beads of sweat begin to saturate your palm as your fingers tremble in fear. The illuminated screen reads, "Missed Call: Mom."

Growing up with strict parents, you learn that a few things go unsaid. Manners are everything. Never talk back. Do as you're told without question. Most importantly, you develop a system and catch on to these quirks that strict parents have so that you can play their game and do what you want.

Keep Reading...Show less
friends
tv.com

"Friends" maybe didn’t have everything right or realistic all the time, but they did have enough episodes to create countless reaction GIFs and enough awesomeness to create, well, the legacy they did. Something else that is timeless, a little rough, but memorable? Living away from the comforts of home. Whether you have an apartment, a dorm, your first house, or some sort of residence that is not the house you grew up in, I’m sure you can relate to most of these!

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments