Single Mom focused on Piloting

The first thing you need is money. Getting the ratings aren’t cheap. Then when you have all your licenses mobility is a huge factor. If you are able to move, you can find a job to get the hours you need for a regional airline. I have 2 friends that worked as a CFI for maybe 2 months. They found jobs that required them to move. Within 18 months they had thier jobs at regionals airlines. And being 40 is not locking you out of anything at this point. There are many jobs out there that you can easily put in a solid 25 years. And a licensed therapist, you will really have fun meeting pilots.
 
I like the Rod Machado books. They are even better if they come with a work book.
 
Flying_Nun said:
Might I suggest a couple of other resources:

Women in Aviation: https://www.wai.org/

Barefoot Flying Mom (Marissa Guilford): https://www.instagram.com/barefoot_flying_mom/
GIFT Academy: https://www.girlsinflight.org
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I enjoyed the little bit of the female ATP that I watched. She seems really nice and really into aviation. It shows in the little things like she just had to add that "or you could get a seaplane with a hull" after mentioning that seaplanes had floats :) @2:45 below

 
A lot of good advice already given. I'll just add that don't let age bother you. I started flying for money at 38.

Another thing I'll bring up again is mobility. Might have to move where the jobs are. Unless you can CFI for a side job and not worry about that money. Flying has taken me from Texas to Florida, Oklahoma, North Carolina, West Virginia, Alaska several times and New Mexico. But I was single most of that time and no children.
 
I appriciate all of the comments here. Good or bad, they all help. I hope in months or even years I can give an update and be helping someone on their way to achieving their dreams of flying too.
 
Angelica Bliss said:
I appriciate all of the comments here. Good or bad, they all help. I hope in months or even years I can give an update and be helping someone on their way to achieving their dreams of flying too.
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i would also suggest you contact the Women in Aviation organization. They are very good about mentoring new pilots. https://www.wai.org/ They also can guide you to some scholarship opportunities. You may want to look up the Aviation Careers podcast. They have a lot of good information and scholarships. It is a long journey but doable. Time will pass anyway, try and enjoy the journey. Good luck to you.
 
MuseChaser said:
As a professional musician, amateur pilot, and amateur sailor, I can safely say, with complete and total certainty, that none of those three things are anything at all like I, or the vast majority of people, picture(d) them to be. Don't get me wrong.. I love all three things, but the reality of each is so far removed from public perception or over-romanticized media representation as to make them unrecognizable.
Forgive me for saying this, because I certainly don't want to rain on anyone's dreams, but reading your consideration of trying to find an $80K loan to become a pilot before having some real-world experience in a cockpit struck me about as logical as someone liking Kenny G's records and deciding to go into jazz for the money. Along the way, you'll learn the aviation equivalents of the following...

1. Kenny G is an absolutely terrible example of what true creative, sincere, quality jazz playing really is. Look up "Pat Methany Kenny G rant" sometime for a good read.
2. 99.9% of jazz musicians either do something else for income, or play lots of gigs other than jazz to subsidize their "Jazz habit."
3. "This is going to take a LOT longer to get employable than I thought..."
4. Sailing is a lot of fun. More than half of sailing is working on the boat, fixing stuff, maintenance, and sitting around waiting for better weather. Very little of it is actually sailing on a beautiful day holding a rum drink. Virtually none if it, except for a select few, is sailing to Tahiti where soft breezes flow.

Enough.. you get the picture. I love to fly. I've been flying off and on for about 15 years. I now own my own very inexpensive (as planes go) plane, and am spending a lot of time and money making it a better plane. Working on my IR, and would like to explore commercial and CFI eventually. However, I'm partly retired (still actively performing) and don't need the income. If you have a good job/stable income now and a happy life, just start taking some flying lessons from a local instructor and see if you like it. Give it time. Get your PPSEL, or at least a very good way towards it. If you're STILL gung ho about being a commercial, professional full-time pilot and can't see doing anything else at THAT time, then go for it. Until then, well... it'd be sort of like marrying someone you've never met, but looked good and told you he/she enjoyed the same things you do. Who knows what the truth really is.
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Saw Pat in Westbury Long Island a few weeks ago. One of a dozen or more of his concerts I've attended over the years, in the tri-state area. Met him and got his autograph in 2000 at J&R Music World in Manhattan (he lives in Manhattan as well).

What an incredible Jazz guitarist/genius! One of my favorite jazz artist (up there with Wes Montgomery, Miles Davis, Lee Ritenour, Jean Luc Ponty and several others).
Nooo, you didn't go there with the Kenny G rant! hahaha :D.

Good luck Angelica:).
Although not a professional pilot (Industrial Electrician/Systems Controller by trade), I was 32 when I got my PPL twenty years ago. My CFI was a young kid, 10 years my junior, lol.
He's now a Corporate pilot.

Oh yeah, the advice to stay away from the simulators (initially) is probably best for you.
For me, they were my hobby for 16 years prior to my first flight lesson (still are). They taught me a tremendous amount of aviation knowledge, concepts, terms, instrumentation, etc. So, by the time I attended ground school and then got into that Cessna Skyhawk a week or so later, I was way ahead of the game and the other students! However, I did have some bad habits that my CFI had to beat out of me (trim, what's that?), lol.

Also, I had no idea how bumpy it is in a light aircraft, so it took awhile for me to overcome the fear that it would fall apart in light turbulence. MSFS never prepared me for seat-of-the-pants. I thought it was mostly smooth up there.
 
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Regardless of the specific path you end up taking -- good luck! Hoping you have a great experience in aviation no matter where it takes you.
 
alfadog said:
I enjoyed the little bit of the female ATP that I watched. She seems really nice and really into aviation. It shows in the little things like she just had to add that "or you could get a seaplane with a hull" after mentioning that seaplanes had floats :) @2:45 below

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She did my BFR after a couple year layoff. I can attest that she is a great person.

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Angelica Bliss said:
Hello everyone,
I have been trying to find information on how to study and practice on my own to become a pilot. I've researched schools and definitely want to attend to become a commercial pilot but of course costs of $50-100K and my credit is what is currently holding me back from getting a loan. So, while I work and get my credit up I want to earn my private pilots license, then if possible become a CFI so that I can work in piloting while I attend the professional courses. I have 2019 books on order but what I am confused about is the online flight simulator and where or what to buy.
Please HELP
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Cancel the order for the books. FAA training materials are available for free down load.
 
MuseChaser said:
Look up "Pat Methany Kenny G rant" sometime for a good read.
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Hah - too funny; I loved this when I first read it ages ago. It will never die. Nor should it; he really is bad.
(Amateur musician only, but former recording studio engineer.)
 
Now is the best time to start an aviation career.

Truth.... if you have about $100k and two years of your time, you can be a first officer in the right seat of a 90 seat regional airliner.

Left seat in a mainline airline is several years longer.

But it IS possible if you have the money and time.
Truth again.... it will take many years to recoup your training dollars.

I will explain pay structure further if you would like. You will not make much money in the short term. After 10 years in the airlines you will start to see a pay back.
 
Mike Smith said:
You also might see if there is a chapter of the 99’s near you.
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Angelica, welcome to POA. I'm a member of the LA chapter of the 99s and wanted to recommend the 99s for you but upon checking, it seems that there are no chapters near your location. But if you are ever in LA, you can attend any of our 99s meetings (held first Tuesdays of each month) and if you want, I'll gladly give you a sightseeing tour of the Hollywood sign :D

Best of luck to you!
 
Hippike said:
Angelica, welcome to POA. I'm a member of the LA chapter of the 99s and wanted to recommend the 99s for you but upon checking, it seems that there are no chapters near your location. But if you are ever in LA, you can attend any of our 99s meetings (held first Tuesdays of each month) and if you want, I'll gladly give you a sightseeing tour of the Hollywood sign :D

Best of luck to you!
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That will be awesome. I go quite often to visit my Grandpa. I did meet a few women in the 99s club here at school last week but, youre right, when I went online to find them there was no chapter here. Confusing :(
I do plan on becoming a member of a flying club. The idea of helping others and having a support group is what I love about it.
 
If you want to get a jump start on ground school, I passed my PPL written with less than 3 hours of time logged by using fly8ma.com and reading the Airplane Flying Handbook (free at https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/airplane_handbook/)

You will still need an endorsement from a CFI, but most CFI's are willing to endorse you if you can show that you are ready (mine had me take some online practice tests and endorsed me when I passed 3 with 80% or better)

Generally, I don't recommend taking the PPL Written with as little flight time as I had because some things will not make sense while studying but will click in the air. Having said that, if you can't fly and are looking for a way to maintain momentum, you can pass the test with free resources.

Also, look for flying clubs in your area in addition to flight schools. They will not advertise, but they often have cheaper planes although they may not have as much instructor availability. I found my club by trying to find and attend every EAA meeting within an hour drive.

Edit: fly8ma.com offers a free online ground school, just to clarify
 
MuseChaser said:
1. Kenny G is an absolutely terrible example of what true creative, sincere, quality jazz playing really is. Look up "Pat Methany Kenny G rant" sometime for a good read.
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I laughed out loud and drew stares in a crowded airport gate at this line.


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Angelica,
I wish you the best on this path you’re starting down. There’s a Buddhist blessing that I think goes well here: “May you be well, may you be safe, may you be happy, and [my fav part] may things come easy for you.”


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JeremyW said:
I laughed out loud and drew stares in a crowded airport gate at this line.
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I grew up listening to the late, great Wes Montgomery nearly every day. My dad had dozens of reel-to-reel tapes and 95% of them were Wes. So when someone tries to imitate him, I pick up on it almost instantly!

Never cared much for Kenny G's music (different strokes for different folks), but what really annoyed me and why I agree with Pat, is how he totally disrespected the late-great Louie Armstrong, by using his song... "What a wonderful world" as the backdrop for his (Gorelick's) own playing, in order to garner large numbers of sales/money. Lame is an understatement. https://rateyourmusic.com/release/single/kenny-g/what-a-wonderful-world/

This is why I admire and respect Pat Metheny so much, in addition to just really loving his music (especially live in concert).
http://hepcat1950.com/patonwes.html
"PAT METHENY: When I was 13 years old and just starting, Wes was my first guitar-playing hero. A friend said I ought to check him out, so I got five or six of his records. The first one was The Wes Montgomery Trio [Riverside] with Melvin Rhyne and Paul Parker, which I listened to over and over again. The first thing I did was throw away my picks. I did everything I could to sound like Wes Montgomery. But when I started using my Wes stuff around Kansas City, I caught a major draft from the older guys for copying him. It forced me to realize that trying to imitate him wasn't musically good for me and it was even disrespectful."
https://www.bing.com/search?q=wes+montgomery+wiki&FORM=QSRE3

You can admire and learn from others and even copy some of their techniques, without being an outright thief!
Not to prolong the thread drift, but that was an excellent point that was made a few post back (@MuseChaser), in reference to Kenny G. So I wanted to clarify a bit for those who may not know what it was all about.:)

MuseChaser said:
Kenny G is an absolutely terrible example of what true creative, sincere, quality jazz playing really is. Look up "Pat Methany Kenny G rant" sometime for a good read.
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+1 for Pat Metheny. So many great guitarists in different genres. But no one gets me into the headspace that Pat does.

For the OP: I agree with others who recommended flying more often. I started training at GJT in 2008 and usually flew once a week. Progress was slow, but I made it to first solo. A lot of time spent just getting comfortable with the experience each flight. (Taking off and landing in a small aircraft is not a “normal” part of the human experience, to say nothing of stalls.) Then I moved to Dallas and eventually found a good instructor at Dallas Executive. But I had to get familiar with a new AC (Grumman Cheetahs, which are pretty neat, actually.) And I probably flew two or three hours a month, because of the usual two limiting factors—time and $$. At that rate, I really didn’t progress much at all. Then, due to unplanned expenses, I had to give it up completely.

Learning to fly is not easy and it’s expensive. There’s nothing wrong with taking it slow, but since this is a career goal for you, I’d say you’re probably better off saving up as much money as you can for maybe a year so that when you start, you can fly three or four times a week.
 
Looking for advice on books. Is the Rod Machado books better than the PHAK/AFH from FAA? I have the PHAK/AFH. Just wondering if the content presentation is different and if it makes sense to read both versions. I like paper. Thanks
 
AJS said:
Looking for advice on books. Is the Rod Machado books better than the PHAK/AFH from FAA? I have the PHAK/AFH. Just wondering if the content presentation is different and if it makes sense to read both versions. I like paper. Thanks
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Rod’s presentation style is definitely unique and appeals to many. The basic information is the same as the PHAK/AFH, but he uses humorous stories and bad dad jokes to try and make it more fun.

For me, the need to have a joke, pun, or stale humor every 6-8 sentences got a bit old. But the book was well organized and helped me understand the key concepts.

Another textbook I would suggest for primary students is “The Complete Pilot” series by Bob Gardner who is a member of PoA here. You can get copies of his books at www.asa2fly.com
 
Kritchlow said:
Now is the best time to start an aviation career.

Truth.... if you have about $100k and two years of your time, you can be a first officer in the right seat of a 90 seat regional airliner.

Left seat in a mainline airline is several years longer.

But it IS possible if you have the money and time.
Truth again.... it will take many years to recoup your training dollars.

I will explain pay structure further if you would like. You will not make much money in the short term. After 10 years in the airlines you will start to see a pay back.
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Not so much anymore.
 
The words "flight academy" scare me. That almost always means Part 141 and extra costs. Lots of good advice in this thread.

Bob Gardner
 
This might seem harsh, but if you only have an extra $200 a month of expendable income and bad credit, I wouldn’t pursue aviation at this time.

if it was two years ago, the answer might be different. But in today’s world with Covid and the airlines fixing your lay-off tens of thousands of positions, I wouldn’t be looking at aviation as a future for a 40 year old. It could take a decade for the airline industry to recover

I would suggest taking the time that you would spend learning to fly and find a second job to help pay down your bills. Then in a year or two when we have a better idea what the future of the economy in general is going to be, then maybe look at it again.

take that time to watch free YouTube videos and read the free publications

Beg a flight whenever possible from local aviators. See if you are even comfortable in the plane.

These pilot mills and their sales pitches to unsuspecting people of spending $100 grand and you will be making $350,000 a year is horse hockey. Especially now. There are a lot of these guys and gals that are soon going to find out that their $2,000 a month student loans aren’t forgivable in bankruptcy while at the same time asking “do you want fries with that?”
 
AggieMike88 said:
Rod’s presentation style is definitely unique and appeals to many. The basic information is the same as the PHAK/AFH, but he uses humorous stories and bad dad jokes to try and make it more fun.

For me, the need to have a joke, pun, or stale humor every 6-8 sentences got a bit old. But the book was well organized and helped me understand the key concepts.

Another textbook I would suggest for primary students is “The Complete Pilot” series by Bob Gardner who is a member of PoA here. You can get copies of his books at www.asa2fly.com
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Hey. Thanks. I will check out Bob’s book.
 
AJS said:
Hey. Thanks. I will check out Bob’s book.
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Good.

As you start gathering momentum, feel free to start a new thread with any questions that may develop... lots of good people here to provide answers.
 
cowtowner said:
This might seem harsh, but if you only have an extra $200 a month of expendable income and bad credit, I wouldn’t pursue aviation at this time.

if it was two years ago...
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This might seem harsh but, albeit not two, it WAS over a year ago.

Reading is fundamental.

LMAO
 
Foiled again by necroposting!
 
AJS said:
Hey. Thanks. I will check out Bob’s book.
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Do not hesitate to contact me directly if you have any questions.

Bob Gardner
 
AJS said:
Haha. Sorry. My fault. I started this necropsy.
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It happens! I saw Kritchlow’s post and thought, “What the hell is he talking about? He knows better than that!”

And then, “Ohhhhhhh”

:p
 
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Hopefully single mom didnt spend the year going into debt in aviation only to have this recent industry wide setback.
 
bobmrg said:
Do not hesitate to contact me directly if you have any questions.

Bob Gardner
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Thanks Bob. Will have to get it autographed once I can cross country!

AJ
 
AJS said:
Thanks Bob. Will have to get it autographed once I can cross country!

AJ
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Fine with me! If you buy today (Amazon, Sporty's, B. Dalton, your local pilot supply store, etc), you will get the 13th edition. The 14th edition is at the printers, due on store shelves in September...the 13's have to sell out first. If you can't wait, rattle my cage and will send you the changes/additions/revisions that I sent to my editor to turn 13 into 14.

Bob
 
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