31 years old. 110k cash. No stable career.
Posted by qaboos246@reddit | aviation | View on Reddit | 24 comments
I am 31 years old. I have 110k saved up. No wife or kids. No debt. I have a biology degree. Wanted to go into dentistry but didn’t like medicine after I graduated.
Been doing Gig work to save all this money the past 4 years as a safety net and to figure what I want to do with my life.
Willing to move anywhere in the U.S.
I want to find the cheapest part 61 in the U.S.
Take a year off working and just Eat, Sleep, Fly.
Goal is to be an airline pilot within 3 years. I am aware of the industry being unpredictable. But realistically is it possible?
Few questions.
1) Is 31 years old late?
2) is 110k enough? 0-CFI, CFII, maybe MEI?
3) Is 3 years timeline to Regionals realistic if all I do is Eat, Sleep, Fly, and manage to get 1500hrs?
4) What is the cheapest Part 61 school in the U.S.
I am very open to all advice and suggestions.
I value your aviation experience.
I would appreciate anyones genuine guidance.
Thank you !
anonymous4071@reddit
These question have been asked and answered a million times over at r/flying. Go search the sub, you’ll have better luck there.
anonymous4071@reddit
For the sake of answering though.
No. Even if you took 5-10 years to get to the airlines, you’re still looking at a 29-24 year career.
Maybe. Maybe not. You need to consider training costs, moving expenses, cost of living, etc…. $110k might be enough in one area but not enough in another or at a different school. It’s a respectable chunk of money though. Just be wise in how you use it.
Probably not. No one’s getting hired at 1500 hours anymore anyways. Go take a look in r/flying at all the CFIs trying to get into regionals.
Aviation isn’t something you want to cheap out on. Look for value, not the lowest cost. And as i mentioned above, make sure you consider all the other costs you’ll need to take on.
qaboos246@reddit (OP)
Here’s another question for you. I read a lot about moving up from regional to major to legacy.
With my current age and progression will I ever be able to make it to a legacy or major if I have less then 30 years till retirement by the time I get into regionals?
anonymous4071@reddit
Unfortunately my crystal ball isn’t working today.
This industry is all about timing, and there’s no way to predict it right now.
In theory though, 10 years training, 10 years at a regional, you’d still have 10 years at a legacy. And thats all worst case scenario.
qaboos246@reddit (OP)
That makes sense. Let me ask more on theories.
If they say it takes 3-4 years to upgrade to captain at a regional.
How long is it to upgrade to captain at major/legacy. I know it’s all about seniority but what’s the general wait time?
anonymous4071@reddit
Would you be surprised if i told you it depends?
My first upgrade at my legacy will be at least 8 years on property. If i had been hired 2-3 years earlier, it would’ve been a 2-3 year upgrade.
And it will vary by airline and hiring trends and company needs.
qaboos246@reddit (OP)
When you say upgrade do you know what kind of upgrade? Do you submit a request to be moved up from narrow to wide body. Or is the upgrade a choice between captain in a narrow body or FO in a wide body if you’re a FO in Narrow body let’s say. Do they come to you and tell you we have an upgrade for you or is there like an online portal where you check when an upgrade is available for you specifically based on seniority?
How does that work. Can you explain that part to me?
anonymous4071@reddit
There’s a lot to unpack here.
Traditionally, upgrade means becoming a Captain and that’s how I meant it above. But you can move from your current position to wherever you want given some stipulations.
The airline will release open positions to all pilots across the company at intervals set by the contract or as needed. Pilots may maintain a standing bid of their preferred positions if they desire to move between fleets and/or seats. Or they may leave their bid empty if they desire to stay where they are.
As positions are opened and other pilots move around, if the pilot can hold their desired fleet/seat based on their seniority, they will be awarded it.
You can guess when you may be awarded to a new fleet/seat based on your seniority and the seniority and grown within the spot you want to move to. Some airlines, some pilot unions, and some third parties take all the relevant information and put it into a portal where you can see where you’d fall in another category or forecast when you may be able to hold it.
FWIW, wide body isn’t necessarily an “upgrade”. Pay is typically higher compared to a narrowbody, but a narrowbody CA is going to have a higher pay rate compared to a wide body FO. seniority progression is often slower in wide bodies, meaning less desirable schedules at a given seniority compared to a narrowbody. Plus widebody international flying is entirely different than narrowbody domestic and international. That schedule, flying, and QOL may not be desirable to everyone.
Appropriate-Mall8517@reddit
Cool
XenoRyet@reddit
A little googling tells me that at least one flight school rents aircraft for $155 per hour.
A little basic math shows that your $110k is less than half what you need just to rent the plane, and you still need to pay for instruction and keeping yourself alive.
So no, you can't just eat, sleep, and fly and get your required hours on that amount of money.
qaboos246@reddit (OP)
There is a flight school out in Colorado called Rocky Mountain Flight School that’s at $88 for C152 and $55 for an instructor. $143 X 300hrs to get to CFII it’s about 43k. Is my math right if that’s what they are charging?
XenoRyet@reddit
It's fine math for 300 hours, but you were asking about 1500.
qaboos246@reddit (OP)
Wouldn’t the rest of the hours come from me being a CFI so no money out of pocket for training anymore? Aside from housing and such
sensual_monger_1969@reddit
Not too old. Buy a cheap.airplane and fly it alot. Something under $30k. Build your hours and then sell it. Live frugally and enjoy the flying lifestyle.
blizzue@reddit
You are in a better position than most kids that choose this career. Consider purchasing your own airplane for time building and training. At the end of your training you can potentially sell the airplane for most of what you purchased it for.
Get a first class medical, take a discovery flight, and have fun. I don’t have good advice on timeline or time building but I think with your level of funding and motivation it should be possible. I flight instructed for 3 years at a part 141 and logged 1850 dual given. That was a while ago.
Disastrous-Wall-6943@reddit
Do you like flying?
qaboos246@reddit (OP)
I haven’t taken my discovery flight yet. But I enjoy flight simulators and I do enjoy aviation in general. I also like the hands on dynamic aspect of flying. Planning, avoiding weather, etc. but no real world experience yet.
Disastrous-Wall-6943@reddit
Sweet.
Go do your discovery flight, and head on over to r/askflying, you'll get better advice there.
shrunkenhead041@reddit
Before diving in, take at least one discovery flight.
anonymous4071@reddit
And get a First Class medical.
BurtHurtmanHurtz@reddit
Ask Gemini these questions too
i_own_5_cats@reddit
31 isn’t late at all, tons of folks start later and make it. 110k might cover 0 to cfi if you avoid shiny toys and train somewhere cheaper midwest / south, but leave a buffer. biggest factor is discipline and good instruction, not magic cheap school.
airport-codes@reddit
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Theaspiringaviator@reddit
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