The two-step secret to learning how to be a pilot without spending a fortune

In all my travels and interactions in the world of aviation, student pilots always inspire me most personally.

Through their excited conversations, frustrations, and enthusiasm, I remember my own flight school days.

How exciting was the flight training! First fighting, then honing a new skill: dreaming of my future days in jet-powered flight levels (and wondering how I would get there).

And the smartest “pilots-in-training” I know are the few who are looking to come up with a career path plan, even before they can enter the workforce!

I have focused much of my efforts on discovering the best and most effective techniques and strategies for newly licensed pilots to move quickly through the ranks and straight into their dream jobs.

But there is also a way that a pilot-in-training can optimize his time in flight school to “land in flight” without delay, directly after graduation.

In other words, a student pilot can gain a significant advantage from the beginning of his pilot career and reach his goal much faster than the competition (and there will be a lot of competition!)

WARNING: I’m probably going to get a lot of hate mail from flight schools about what I’m going to tell you here. And they may not be YOUR biggest fan if you decide to follow this advice because it could be completely OPPOSITE of their “recommendations”!

Do not misunderstand …

Without a doubt, Flight Schools provide our industry with a valuable service. And most of them train pilots with an incredible degree of skill and professionalism. Without these essential establishments and the managers, mechanics, and instructor pilots who work there, commercial aviation would cease to exist altogether!

The smartest “pilots-in-training” I know are the few who are looking to come up with a career path plan, even before they can join the workforce!

But … they are a business and must be profitable to maintain operations. And as with any educational institution, they are dedicated to educating their clientele to the point where they will inevitably drop out of school to begin their careers.

So once a pilot-in-training becomes a licensed graduate, they are no longer a paying customer!

Therefore, a flight school should get the most benefit from each pilot-in-training while they are still enrolled. (We will discuss the various ways this is accomplished shortly.)

So, taking all this into account …

HERE IS THE 2-STEP SECRET to becoming a pilot, WITHOUT SPENDING A FORTUNE, so you can get your dream pilot job ASAP: (I wish someone had told me years ago!)

  1. Complete flight school as quickly as possible.
  2. Only spend your money on things that are directly related to writing your next check.

It sounds so simple but hardly any pilot in training can do it! This is why so many ambitious and deserving flight students run out of money before obtaining all their licenses, and have to LEAVE flight school before they are qualified to enter the workforce.

You probably already know that the more time you spend on your training, the faster you will learn to fly. It could take you a year or more to get a private pilot license if you only have 1 flying lesson a week, simply because you will spend a lot of time “remembering” skills that are stunted during the course by being out of the airport for extended periods. .

This is why I highly recommend attending a reputable full-time flight school and flying as much as possible EVERY day. That alone will save you many hundreds of dollars.

But the real secret to your success as a pilot-in-training lies more in what NOT to do.

As I mentioned, flight schools should take advantage of every day that you are there to sell you as much as possible. (Okay, this is how they can afford that beautiful Cessna 172 glass cockpit that you enjoy so much!)

And an important source of income is obtained by selling the “extras”.

The real secret to your success as a pilot-in-training is what NOT to do.

You know what I’m talking about. Pilots love shiny gadgets. They long for knowledge. They want to be “the best”. And they have money to spend or big loans.

That’s why flight schools and the “pilot supply industry” are happy to dish out you and your money by convincing you that you “need” all sorts of juicy extras.

Think of all the great toys you could buy beyond the actual requirements of flight training:

  • Books and magazines on special aviation topics
  • Training and nostalgia videos
  • A handheld GPS or EFB tablet
  • Flight planning and simulation software and applications
  • ANR Headphones
  • Chart subscriptions
  • Bud supports, knee pads and other cabin debris
  • A “Little John Portable” (ew, gross!)

I could go on and on …

But guess that?

You don’t “need” ANY of those things!

All of those books can be purchased online in used condition at a fraction of the price. (Even most of the REQUIRED books and charts can be downloaded for free.)

You can use someone else’s videos and software.

And a GPS and fancy headphones won’t help you get through your next checkride.

In fact, most of those things are more of a DISTRACTION than an ADVANTAGE!

But even more money (and time) is what I call “extracurricular” training courses often offered by flight schools.

They have several names, but they all fall into one of several categories:

  • Advanced flight training such as high performance, tail wheel, aerobatic or high altitude
  • Build time pay-per-flight programs or block hours
  • Crew resource management training
  • Glass booth or EFIS training
  • Quick Preparation or Airline Courses
  • Any training on a Level D simulator that does NOT result in a type rating

You get the picture.

Not that these courses aren’t great. I’m sure they are.

But taking them before you’ve gotten all your licenses and built a real-world flight time is probably a huge waste of time and money, for two reasons:

  1. You will not be able to apply most of the skills that you would learn during your early years as a professional pilot. And you’ll forget them when you’re in a cabin that requires all that advanced training.
  2. Anyway, most potential employers you know won’t mind! (And you might wonder why you would pay for time in a B737 simulator when you didn’t even have enough flight time to get “insurance approval” to fly the actual plane!)

It is simple. The most valuable training you can receive beyond your flight training will be obtained “in the field”, while receiving PAY as pilot-in-command.

No “Fast Track” course can replace the skills you will acquire while receiving flight instruction or flying during your first pilot job.

And smart employers know it.

As a chief pilot, I would ALWAYS choose to hire a pilot who has proven himself in the real world, than one with a CRM training certificate and a Bose headset, but with little to no PIC time.

So what can you do now as a pilot-in-training to get into the cockpit of your dreams as quickly as possible after graduating from flight school?

Here’s my advice, take it or leave it:

When faced with the prospect of spending ANY of your money, get in the habit of asking the question, “Is this absolutely necessary to pass my next check?”

It’s that easy.

Ask yourself this question, ask your instructor, and ask your flight school administrators when you enroll or start your next qualification.

Get in the habit of asking the question, “Is this absolutely necessary to pass my next checkup?”

If the answer to that question is “No”, DO NOT buy it!

Resist your natural desires to “know it all” and “have that cool thing.”

This will give you two BIG benefits:

  1. Without realizing it, you will put yourself on an “information diet.” You will learn only what you need to know for your current grade and avoid cluttering your mind with a lot of additional information. And because of this, you will pass your written exams and check-ups more easily. You will know the correct answer to any question asked, no more, no less.
  2. You will save a LOT of money! And you can use that money for really useful things, like your flight instructor qualification (if you weren’t planning on getting it yet), a visa or work permit to fly abroad, or your first airplane type qualification that might allow you to apply for his dream pilot job.

The goal of the flight school should be to obtain your pilot licenses. That is all!

Everything else you need will come through the process of building your racing career.

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