| Deciding on where to obtain your pilot training is one of | | | | not only giving the future career commercial pilot the |
| the most important decisions you'll make on your way | | | | best training, many of them will guarantee interviews |
| to becoming a pilot. The first question you need to ask | | | | with airlines they have relationships with. If you can |
| yourself is what is your goal in aviation. Do you want | | | | afford the step tuition that these specialized places of |
| to become a fighter pilot for the US Air Force? Do | | | | learning charge, this type of school may be best for |
| you want to fly a Boeing 747 for the airlines? Charter | | | | you. |
| pilot? Or, are you interested in aviation not as a career, | | | | If you want to become an Air Force pilot, there is really |
| but just to be able to fly yourself and your family | | | | no need to obtain any sort of aviation training in |
| around? | | | | advance. If you end up at the US Air Force Academy, |
| I remember when I knew that I wanted to learn how to | | | | as I eventually did, you will find that right now Embry |
| fly. I was 13 years old and had just taken my first | | | | Riddle is the Academy's contractor to provide flight |
| discovery flight at the local airport. Because funds for | | | | training to seniors at the Air Force Academy. Of |
| my pilot training were limited to what I could make | | | | course, once you make it through the Academy and |
| washing airplanes and pumping gas at the local airport, I | | | | get to Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT), the Air |
| did not have an overabundance of choices when it | | | | Force is going to give you all the training you'll ever |
| came to learning how to fly. I pretty much had to go | | | | need to fly a Mach 3 with your hair on fire. |
| with whatever flight school was at the local airport. | | | | Just want to fly around on your own with possibly |
| Luckily, it worked out just fine for me. | | | | your friends or family on board? Believe it or not, |
| If I had to do it all over again and knew back then that I | | | | pretty much any old FBO at your local airport will do |
| had wanted a career as a professional pilot, I probably | | | | the trick just fine. At that point, it's important to try and |
| would have attended a four-year college that offered | | | | end up with a flight instructor that you think you'll be |
| a major in aviation or an aviation-related science. | | | | able to get along with and learn from. If you don't feel |
| Looking back, I can imagine the fun I would have had | | | | a connection within a few hours of training, you're |
| flying for the Western Michigan Flying Broncos flying | | | | probably best off looking for another instructor. If you |
| team. | | | | don't mind the limitations imposed by the new Sport |
| All you have to do is thumb through a flying magazine | | | | Pilot certificate, then you might want to take |
| or other similar publication and find places that offer | | | | advantage of this new, less expensive way to get into |
| professional aviation training. These places specialize in | | | | the air. |