It’s harder to get started as a pilot these days

Question: Can you tell me how you got started in aviation and how getting started now may be different? — Bryan, New Jersey Answer: I learned to fly when I was 16 and received my private pilot license at 17. As a child, I was fascinated by airplanes, making my career choice an easy one. After working at the local airport fueling airplanes to pay for flight training and flying at every opportunity, I amassed a few hundred hours in the air. Once I had enough hours logged, a local company hired me to fly for them as a co-pilot, beginning my life as a professional pilot.

Today is a bit more challenging, with consolidation in the airline industry, low salaries for beginning pilots and the high cost of flight training. But I believe that getting good flight training and being persistent can result in a very rewarding career.

For those who work hard and are tenacious, the career is one of the best.

Q: Do you still fly even though you’re a retired pilot? — Ricky, Tampa

A: Yes, I still fly as often as I can. I enjoy flying for the challenge and the beauty.

Q: What do you miss about flying ? Are there experiences, thrills, camaraderie or challenges that kept you flying ? — William Markey, Chicago A: I miss the camaraderie of many of my fellow pilots; the challenge of precisely maneuvering an airplane, particularly a jet, from place to place in inclement weather safely; the beauty of sights that only pilots get to see (such as St. Elmo’s fire, lines of thunderstorms at night with lightning illuminating them, and sunrises over mountains and oceans from cruise altitude).

Q: When you fly on a new aircraft (such as the A350), have you ever requested to see the cockpit and go into it? — Ted, New Jersey

A: Yes, I have asked to see the flight deck of a new model. Pilots are usually very happy to show their new airplane to a passenger before a flight begins (FAA rules restrict access during flight). When I was flying, it was not uncommon to have a passenger ask to see the flight deck. We always welcomed them.

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