Any advice?

C

Camryn.Ganz

Filing Flight Plan
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Jan 26, 2024
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Camryn.Ganz
Hi, my name is Camryn Ganz. I'm 19 living in Colorado looking to start a career in aviation. I haven't started officially but have been doing extensive research on where to start and came across this chat room. If anyone can help guide me in the right direction or help me out with some advice they wish they knew starting out it'd be much appreciated. As of now my interests include cargo piloting and chartering. I look forward to hearing what you guys have to say! Thank you all!
 
First things first - make sure you can pass a 1st Class medical. Do not just schedule an appointment and wing it. Read the MedExpress form carefully, and if you have any health issues, any current history with ADHD/depression/anxiety/alcohol-related issues, or have had them in the past, do not pass Go and do not collect $200 without talking to an experienced AME in a *consultation*. Once the AME opens your medical file, it has to close with either an approval or denial. You need to get your ducks in a row before the AME opens the file if you don't have a completely clean medical history.

This will change depending on who you talk to, but I would highly recommend staying away from big schools and large loans. If anything happens, you will be left with a massive loan and no way to pay it off. It will take a little longer to work and fund your training, but in the long run, it will be a lot less risky.

Don't forget to have fun!
 
Seek out a “discovery flight” at the local small airport. Then try to kick the addiction to flying, or hand over your wallet.

Good luck and welcome to POA!

Oh yeah, don’t pay in advance for flight training, and if one instructor doesn’t click with you, find another.
 
While it's not particularly safe to pay in advance, there IS a lot to be said for saving money for a while before you start training and having a fund to draw from. The less interruption you have in your training the less expensive it is, and running out of funds is a common reason that people have to pause, some permanently.
 
Do some research on scholarships - there are a lot of them, and many are specifically for someone your age. If you haven't already, look at AOPA.org and EAA.org and click on their "learn to fly button" for lots of practical advice.

Think about how you learn best. A Part 141 school would be classes with other students, highly structured, and may have waiting lists and relatively expensive tuition. A Part 61 flight training facility will be one-on-one training at your own pace. Do not pay anything in advance; it isn't necessary or wise. Make sure the facility uses a syllabus and gives you a choice of instructors.

A third option is an independent instructor. This may be OK but choose wisely. In Part 61, whether a training facility or an independent, remember the instructor works for you, and you have the right to change if it's a bad fit.

Keep your eye on the Flight Training section here - there will be a lot of things you may not have thought about.
 
Think about killing two birds with one stone & attending a university with a flying program, U of North Dakota…there are several. Scholarships are available. if you get a bachelor's you are keeping your options open for military flying. and if you run out of money to get all the ratings, you’ll have demonstrated an aptitude & drive By obtaining some certificates. Besides, there is nothing like people paying you to learn to fly.

and pay heed to what people are saying about the 1st class medical. Don’t get way down the line & find out you don’t qualify.

Also, always consider that you can often make way more money in another field and then fly on the side. On the ride up you will get to have lots of jobs being a cargo dog or jump pilot, but after awhile they wear.
 
Try the introduction flight is a good idea. You never know if you like small planes or if you find you are deathly afraid of it because it's small, got only one failable engine etc.
 
Any advice?

Lesson # 1 is ... this is POA! Of course we have advice, on everything, right, wrong, or otherwise ...

Yep .. go take a discovery flight to see how you like flying in a small plane.
 
SkyChaser said:
First things first - make sure you can pass a 1st Class medical. Do not just schedule an appointment and wing it. Read the MedExpress form carefully, and if you have any health issues, any current history with ADHD/depression/anxiety/alcohol-related issues, or have had them in the past, do not pass Go and do not collect $200 without talking to an experienced AME in a *consultation*. Once the AME opens your medical file, it has to close with either an approval or denial. You need to get your ducks in a row before the AME opens the file if you don't have a completely clean medical history.

This will change depending on who you talk to, but I would highly recommend staying away from big schools and large loans. If anything happens, you will be left with a massive loan and no way to pay it off. It will take a little longer to work and fund your training, but in the long run, it will be a lot less risky.

Don't forget to have fun!
Click to expand...
Thank you! I'll research the MedExpress form!
 
Camryn.Ganz said:
Thank you! I'll research the MedExpress form!
Click to expand...
Look at a pdf version of FAA form 8500-8,which is the medical application. Although the paper version is no longer used (you have to use the online version now), the questions are the same. In particular, look at section 18... if ANY of the questions there can be answered yes get further advice before filling out the online version.
 
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