by admin -

Why Choose AeroStar for a Type Rating?

Aerostar Training Services operates simulation training centers and provides aircraft type ratings, namely the Airbus A320 & the Boeing 737 Classic & NG versions. Aerostar offers Jet Transition Training, the ATP CTP, and Type Ratings. You have many choices for professional pilot training and type ratings. Professional pilots have many reasons to choose AeroStar, including the following:

  • AeroStar allows you to GET A TYPE RATING FAST ! You can get an Airbus or BoeingType Rating in as little as 10 days! Our unique Distant Learning courses by AvSoft allow you to complete most of the ground school requirements on your personal computer at your pace on your time. AvSoft’s courses explore all the major aircraft systems of the A320 and b737, including all the components, operations, controls, and indications involved with each system.
  • New FMS Trainers for A320 and b737 Type Ratings from ECA Group Flight Management System Trainers (FMS) offer a free play and accurate simulation for a cost effective pricing, bringing a great added value before entering into simulators expensive sessions. Pilots’ transition to complex aircraft flight management system is smoothly performed thanks to an easy-to-use interface and a complete set of available functions.
  • AeroStar’s Instructor Team is comprised solely of highly experienced Airbus and Boeing pilots who have logged thousands of hours both flying and teaching these unique aircraft. Our instructors have been selected to join the AeroStar training team because of their passion for providing personalized training and their ability to help customers succeed.
  • The Most Important Reason to choose AeroStar is the people on our team, all of whom are dedicated to the success of your aviation career. We do more than provide flight training – we put a powerful group of professionals with aviation experience on your side!
by admin -

Why Every Pilot Needs an A320 Type Rating

AeroStar

A type rating certification is the most important credentials a pilot should acquire if they want a career as an airline pilot. A type rating is necessary certification for flying a commercial jet. Having a type rating provides a pilot the necessary competencies to operate an aircraft and provide the pilot with a comprehensive knowledge of the systems and skills required on a specific kind of jet aircraft.

In the world of commercial aviation, the Airbus A320 (A320) is one of the most frequently used aircraft. Here we discuss why investing in an a320 type rating with AeroStar Training Services proves to be advantageous for current Airline Transport Pilots and future ATP pilots.

Aerostar Training Services in Orlando, Florida operates simulation training centers and provides aircraft type ratings, namely the Airbus A320 & the Boeing 737 Classic & NG versions. Aerostar offers Jet Transition Training, the atp ctp, and Type Ratings. AeroStar Training Services offers training courses that will allow you to navigate an Airbus 320 as well as the A318, A319 & A321 series of aircraft.

A320 Type Rating - Fast Facts

The Airbus A320 series ranked as the world’s fastest-selling jet airliner and as the best-selling single-generation aircraft program. 6,157 aircraft are currently in service. Another 5,099 airliners are on firm order.

Since its first flight back in 1988, the Airbus A320 remains to be one of the most ordered and used aircraft amongst airlines across the globe. It is was the first commercial aircraft that was outfitted with the Fly-By-Wire system, catapulting the technology of then analogue pilot controls into digital electronic signals via wire transmissions.

A market-leader in the single-aisle jetliner industry and one of the best-selling aircrafts in the world, the A320 offers flexibility and improved performance. To date, Airbus has already logged over 11,000 booked orders for the A320 family. Its unique construction, consistently strong performance, cost efficiency and its high capacity for both cross-region and cross-continental flights makes the A320 a popular choice in the industry.

AeroStar is the world leader in atp ctp and Type Rating Training and is now offering an A320 Type Rating. a320 type rating Training at AeroStar provides a thorough understanding of the Airbus A318, A319, A320 & A321 series of aircraft.

Part of the process in acquiring a type rating is going through a comprehensive training course. These programs are designed to equip pilots with capabilities in handling complex aircraft systems and instruments. At AeroStar, that training includes ground school, fixed base simulator training and full flight simulator training in an FAA certified Level D Airbus A320 Full Flight Simulator.

One advantage of this particular type of training is that it not only equips pilots with advanced knowledge on flight, it also provides pilots a comprehensive understanding on the demands of the role of an airline pilot.  The AeroStar A320 simulators replicate the cockpit of its namesake and even replicate all weather operations, routes and technical problems, preparing pilots for everything they can expect in their future careers.

An a320 type rating facilitates easier transition to a different type. The various aircrafts in the Airbus family share a number of similarities in terms of cockpit layout, handling characteristics and system operations. For example, a cadet with an a320 type rating would find it easier to cross certify over to the double decker Airbus A380, which is primarily used for long-haul flights.

Airbus has also developed its own Cross-Crew Qualification (CCQ) concept that enables pilots to transition from any Airbus fly-by-wire equipped type to another simply through difference training. With the effective planning and implementation of the CCQ difference training, a transition from an A320 to the A380 would take a mere 13 days. With this, airlines can maximize operations as a result of reduced transition training period and costs.

With the significant increase of airlines ordering Airbus fleets by the bulk, having an a320 type rating is more important than ever. The a320 type rating ensures that pilots remain relevant and have the opportunity to pursue successful careers in the ever-expanding aviation industry.

AeroStar offers the A320 Standard Type Rating which is perfect for the first time jet pilot or those who prefer the benefit of instructor lead classroom training. The course requires approximately three weeks to complete and includes 9 days of ground school/labs with a blend of lecture, virtual flight, and CBT training.

  • 1 level 5 FTD procedures integration session (four hours per crew)
  • 5 level D full flight simulator sessions including LOFT (twenty hours per crew)
  • 1 oral & practical exam in a level D simulator by an in-house evaluator (four hours per crew)

AeroStar offers the A320 Fast Track Type Rating for those pilots who have previous jet experience and or those who need to get their training done with fewer days away from family and work. This course requires approximately 10 days on site to complete and includes:

  • 56 to 72 hours of cloud based aircraft systems instruction via distance learning software
  • 3 days of ground school – includes a blend of lecture and virtual flight
  • 1 level 5 FTD procedures integration session (four hour per crew)
  • 5 level D full flight simulator sessions including LOFT (twenty hours per crew)
  • 1 oral & practical exam in a level D simulator by an in-house evaluator (four hours per crew)

(A320 Fast Track Type Rating students must meet eligibility requirements)

AeroStar offers the A320 Upgrade or Foreign License Conversion for pilots with three hundred hours or more recent experience in type or those who possess a foreign PIC type rating. This course can be accomplished in approximately 9 days and includes:

  • 5 days of ground school – includes a blend of lecture, virtual flight, and CBT
  • 1 level 5 FTD procedures integration session (four hours per crew)
  • 3 level D full flight sim sessions including a LOFT (twelve hours per crew)
  • 1 oral & practical exam in a level D simulator by an in-house evaluator (four hours per crew)

AeroStar offers the A320 PIC / SIC Recurrent Proficiency Check for pilots who require an annual proficiency check or just want to refresh their skills. This course can be accomplished within 2 to 3 days and includes:

  • 1 day of ground school – includes a blend of lecture, virtual flight, and CBT
  • 4 hours level D full flight sim sessions (includes proficiency training and check)

Tailored recurrent programs are available upon request ranging from two to five days.

AeroStar offers the A320 ATP – CTP for pilots looking to complete their ATP written exam. This course can be accomplished in approximately 7-9 days and includes:

  • 4 days of ground school – includes a blend of lecture, virtual flight, and CBT
  • 4 hours of level 5 FTD per crew in the A320
  • 6 hours of level D full flight simulator per crew in the A320

Note – The Airline Transport Pilot Certification Training Program is an FAA mandated prerequisite prior to accomplishing the ATP written Exam

Pilots with an a320 type rating will usually end up being hired almost immediately with an airline or possibly the A318 business jet version. A320 pilots are very passionate about their profession and love flying airplanes.  Of everyone I know in all kinds of different professions, no one enjoys their job as much as I do.  And likely, if you do meet your career aspirations of becoming an airline pilot, you will realize the same thing.  There are few things better in life than going to work and actually enjoying what you do.  The job is always different, it’s stimulating, interesting, and can be extremely rewarding.  Frankly, it’s probably one of the coolest jobs anyone could ever have short of being a brain surgeon or an astronaut ????

The schedule flexibility, especially the flexibility afforded to senior A320 pilots, can be extremely beneficial. Airline pilots don’t work the typical 9 to 5 schedule that many other professionals work.  Very often, pilots have groups of days where they are “ON” and have groups of days off where they are “OFF.”  The quantity and the quality of these ON/OFF days are usually determined by one thing- seniority.  A moderately senior pilot can have sometimes 18 days off, with these days off grouped together in a manner that would allow weekends and holidays off, or perhaps long stretches of time off by grouping “OFF” days together.   There are very few jobs that offer that type of flexibility.  Of course, you have to be senior enough to take advantage of these scheduling abilities.

For lower time ATP or Airline Transport Pilots pay is very low, especially during the early several years of one’s career with a regional airline. However, for Airbus A320 pilots, the career can be very lucrative.  It is possible, after many years of service, to earn high salaries sometimes well north of $100,000 per year.  Some airlines still have pensions, now becoming extinct in other industries, so becoming employed by one of these carriers could be financially beneficial to your retirement.

If you love to travel, then flying the A320 is the job for you.  Not only will you have the opportunity to “see the world” on your company’s dime as you “work for the man” as an Airbus A320 pilot, but you also will enjoy travel benefits, like inexpensive space available seating to wherever your airline flies, or discounted airline tickets for you, your family, and your parents.   Now I’ll be the first to tell you that the travel benefits aren’t as good as they used to be just 10 years ago, but for the most part they are usable if you travel smart.  And if you’re traveling alone as a pilot, you’ll have access to the jump seat(s) in the cockpit of both your airline and other airlines, usually for free.  With this benefit, you can travel virtually anywhere in the world on your own.

Just as pilots usually love their jobs, you’ll find that the other professionals you work with enjoy theirs, too.  You’ll meet many different people, cultures, and their associated ideas.  There are few things more enjoyable than flying with a group of people who love their jobs and the airline biz.

Since pilots can fly very inexpensively on their own airline, or use the pilot-exclusive cockpit jump seats on their own carrier or just about any other carrier for free, many pilots choose to live outside of the city they are based in with their airline.  For example, a Chicago based pilot could live in Florida if he or she desires.  As long as the pilot allows enough time to fly from their home to their airline’s domicile to begin their trips, it’s perfectly acceptable to commute and live wherever you choose.  Some pilots, however, would find such a commute stressful and undesirable so therefore chose to live in their assigned domicile.  Regardless, the pilot can choose to live “in base” or anywhere else, as desired.  Few jobs offer that type of flexibility.

This is more for career changers, but unlike other professions where once you hit a “certain age” it becomes more and more difficult to find employment, in the airline business the airlines don’t really seem to care how old one is.  In particular, during the short periods of time of airline economic growth where regional airlines get desperate for anyone to take their low paying, low quality, entry-level jobs, they’ll hire just about anyone who meets minimum qualifications.  You could be 60 years old for all they care.  If you meet their minimum requirements and can withstand the financially difficult regional airline first officer lifestyle, the job will likely be yours!

Many professionals, even when at home, are still chained to their company.  Even on days off, they still may be required to answer e-mails, texts, or phone calls. Typically when you set the parking brake on the last leg of your last day, that’s it.  You don’t take your job home with you.  There may be some times where you might have to do a little “homework” for the job (like preparing for your check rides or upgrades) but again, for the most part, unless you’re on call you are not required to answer your phone or be “available” to the company.

Simply put, getting an a320 type rating from AeroStar Training Services in Orlando, Florida will enrich your life and open the door to a rewarding career flying all over the world in one of the greatest aircraft ever designed. For more information about getting a type rating or pilot career advice please email [email protected] or call us at (407)888-9011 to speak to one of our specialist. Please visit our website for more info & download our free course catalog www.AeroStarTypeRatings.com 

by admin -

Stories from Our Students and Graduates – First Officer Kenian Jabbour

Graduate Stories: As the Admissions Director of AeroStar, I learn a lot about our students and their careers.

The career path for pilots has changed in the last few years.  The career path used to be something like this:

  1. Get your multi-engine and commercial license
  2. Become a CFI
  3. Build time as an instructor
  4. Work for a Regional Airline or 121 to build more time
  5. Apply to a major airline or for a corporate flight department

Airlines were also willing to pay for type rating training for new hires.

A more typical (and better!) career path for today’s pilots goes like this:

  1. Get your multi-engine and commercial license
  2. Get your A320 or b737 type rating from AeroStar
  3. Get hired by an overseas airline (many of whom are hiring our graduates!)
  4. Get paid while you build time
  5. Apply for a major U.S. airline (if you like.)

Many of our students do exactly this.

It is good to see people who are so excited about their success.

A few months ago, Kenian Jabbour had had his doubts about our program.  His crew partner was getting his flight training at a competing academy (PanAm) and had been quoted a lower price than AeroStar was offering.  But Keenan toured our facility, compared the quality of the program, and started with us.

Kenian spent 10 days on site with us getting his a320 type rating.  He was hired as a first officer for an airline, and recently stopped by our office while his aircraft was being fueled. They had just returned from France and were planning a trip to Casablanca.

Since then, his crew partner has actually spent MORE money on additional training and was still working on his type rating.

Why do AeroStar students get hired?

  1. Our students stand out from the pack by showing that they’ve made a smart investment in their career.
  2. Our students save time for the airlines because they are already fluent and proficient and no additional training is needed.

A big thank you to Sunrise Aviation for helping students like Kenian get started and referring them to AeroStar for advanced flight training. Together we help aviation career dreams take flight!

by admin -

AeroStar Saving Lives One Upset Recovery Training at a Time

Aircraft upset is a dangerous and potentially life-threatening condition in aircraft operations. It’s a situation in which the flight attitude or airspeed of an aircraft is outside the normal flight parameters for which it is designed. This may result in loss of control (LOC) of the aircraft and sometimes the total loss of the aircraft itself. Loss of control may be due to turbulent weather, pilot disorientation, or a system failure.

The FAA defines upset prevention and upset recovery training as: ”To prevent loss-of-control accidents due to aircraft upset after inadvertently entering an extreme or abnormal flight attitude.” An NTSB data compiled list determined that 3,051 lives were lost in 32 accidents in the years 1998–2015 due to LOC accidents.

Some recent crashes involving upset or loss of control include the infamous Colgan Air Flight 3407 which stalled and crashed killing all on board and Air France Flight 447 which entered a high altitude stall and crashed in the ocean.

Most recently, there was an Air Asia A320 crash that would have been totally preventable had the flight crew received upset recovery training. The pilots received an alert indicating a mechanical problem in the tail section that had been worked on recently. In an attempt to cancel the alert the Captain began to shut down computers and systems on the aircraft.
This caused the autopilot to remain engaged without the proper working data it would normally have access to. Soon the aircraft started to climb out of control. The panicked flight crew immediately disengaged the autopilot in an unusually nose high attitude with the pilot in the right seat pushing forward on the control column and the pilot in the left seat pulling back on the side stick.

Neither pilot had any indication what the other was doing. This caused the aircraft to remain in the attitude it was in before the flight crew attempted to override the autopilot. The aircraft eventually stalled and spiraled out of control, crashing into the sea and killing everyone on board. Again, this accident was totally preventable if the A320 crew had been trained in upset recovery.

A friend of mine who has been flying the A320 since 1999 told me that Airbus had actually published a memo in 2000 to all Airbus operators on the subject of training for unusual attitude or upset recovery in the simulator.

The memo basically said that unusual attitude training should not be taught in A320 simulators since, they claimed, that a theoretical knowledge of Jet Upset recovery techniques is all that is needed. That was rather like saying to a child, “I won’t teach you how to swim but I will train you not to go near the water!”

The rationale for the memo appears to be that because aerodynamic forces associated with Jet Upset cannot be reproduced with proper fidelity in a simulator, it is therefore considered negative training. Alternatively, the aircraft’s sophisticated computers & fly-by wire technology would never let that situation occur to begin with.

We now know this to be entirely false. In the Air Asia accident the pilots caused a chain reaction by shutting off systems. By doing so, they inadvertently caused the aircraft to continue flying on the autopilot without proper data input. This confused the aircraft’s auto pilot and caused it to pitch nose up and climb out of control. The rest is history.

In addition, G forces cannot be reproduced in an airliner simulator. But the flight instrument indications of a Jet Upset are easily demonstrated. An inverted nose low attitude will reproduce quite normally on the ADI; the airspeed and altimeter readings would also work as expected. I have observed this many times in another type aircraft simulator.

In 2004, the NTSB issued a formal Safety Recommendation which requested the FAA to require all airlines to provide simulator training for flight crews that would enable them to recognize and recover from “unusual attitudes and upset maneuvers.

This would include upsets that occur while the aircraft is being controlled by automatic flight control systems, as well as unusual attitudes that result from flight control malfunctions and uncommanded flight control surface movements.

The new FAA rules were finalized in 2010, requiring specific training for pilots to recover from aircraft upset incidents. New training programs are now known under the term “advanced maneuver – upset recovery training.”

Since 2008, AeroStar Training Services has recognized the critical value of Upset Recovery Training. AeroStar is a FAA Part 142 training center that provides Type Rating Training in the Boeing 737 classic, the B737 NG, the A320 series & the ATP CTP. AeroStar was founded for Airline pilots by Airline Captains who want to provide Higher Quality, Affordable Type Rating and ATP CTP Training.

Each program includes ground and full flight level D simulator training in airplane upset recovery techniques. This includes stalls, nose-high, wings-level recovery techniques as well as nose-low, wings-level recovery techniques.

Additional training consists of the use of nose down elevator, use of bank angle, thrust reduction, nose low recovery, accelerated stall demonstrations, high bank and inverted flight. AeroStar trains for upset recovery techniques and many other upset situations that most programs do not include.

This higher level of training ensures that AeroStar’s pilot training graduates are among the safest in the skies, ready to face and overcome any cockpit situation that may arise, thus ensuring the safety of the passengers and crew.

*U.S DOT, FAA Advisory Circular 11/24/15 Subject: Stall Prevention and Recovery Training
* This article incorporates public domain material from the Federal Aviation Administration document “http://www.faa.gov/other_visit/aviation_industry/airline_operators/training/media/AP_UpsetRecovery_Book.pdf”.

by Deidra Toye -

AeroStar Saving Lives One Upset Recovery Training at a Time

Aircraft upset is a dangerous and potentially life-threatening condition in aircraft operations. It’s a situation in which the flight attitude or airspeed of an aircraft is outside the normal flight parameters for which it is designed. This may result in loss of control (LOC) of the aircraft and sometimes the total loss of the aircraft itself. Loss of control may be due to turbulent weather, pilot disorientation, or a system failure.

The FAA defines upset prevention and upset recovery training as:”To prevent loss-of-control accidents due to aircraft upset after inadvertently entering an extreme or abnormal flight attitude.” An NTSB data compiled list determined that 3,051 lives were lost in 32 accidents in the years 1998–2015 due to LOC accidents.

Some recent crashes involving upset or loss of control include the infamous Colgan Air Flight 3407 which stalled and crashed killing all on board and Air France Flight 447 which entered a high altitude stall and crashed in the ocean.

Most recently, there was an Air Asia A320 crash that would have been totally preventable had the flight crew received upset recovery training. The pilots received an alert indicating a mechanical problem in the tail section that had been worked on recently. In an attempt to cancel the alert the Captain began to shut down computers and systems on the aircraft. This caused the autopilot to remain engaged without the proper working data it would normally have access to. Soon the aircraft started to climb out of control. The panicked flight crew immediately disengaged the autopilot in an unusually nose high attitude with the pilot in the right seat pushing forward on the control column and the pilot in the left seat pulling back on the side stick.

Neither pilot had any indication what the other was doing. This caused the aircraft to remain in the attitude it was in before the flight crew attempted to override the autopilot. The aircraft eventually stalled and spiraled out of control, crashing into the sea and killing everyone on board. Again, this accident was totally preventable if the A320 crew had been trained in upset recovery.

A friend of mine who has been flying the A320 since 1999 told me that Airbus had actually published a memo in 2000 to all Airbus operators on the subject of training for unusual attitude or upset recovery in the simulator.

The memo basically said that unusual attitude training should not be taught in A320 simulators since, they claimed, that a theoretical knowledge of Jet Upset recovery techniques is all that is needed. That was rather like saying to a child, “I won’t teach you how to swim but I will train you not to go near the water!”

The rationale for the memo appears to be that because aerodynamic forces associated with Jet Upset cannot be reproduced with proper fidelity in a simulator, it is therefore considered negative training. Alternatively, the aircraft’s sophisticated computers & fly-by wire technology would never let that situation occur to begin with.

We now know this to be entirely false. In the Air Asia accident the pilots caused a chain reaction by shutting off systems. By doing so, they inadvertently caused the aircraft to continue flying on the autopilot without proper data input. This confused the aircraft’s auto pilot and caused it to pitch nose up and climb out of control. The rest is history.

In addition, G forces cannot be reproduced in an airliner simulator. But the flight instrument indications of a Jet Upset are easily demonstrated. An inverted nose low attitude will reproduce quite normally on the ADI; the airspeed and altimeter readings would also work as expected. I have observed this many times in another type aircraft simulator.

In 2004, the NTSB issued a formal Safety Recommendation which requested the FAA to require all airlines to provide simulator training for flight crews that would enable them to recognize and recover from “unusual attitudes and upset maneuvers.

This would include upsets that occur while the aircraft is being controlled by automatic flight control systems, as well as unusual attitudes that result from flight control malfunctions and uncommanded flight control surface movements.

The new FAA rules were finalized in 2010, requiring specific training for pilots to recover from aircraft upset incidents. New training programs are now known under the term “advanced maneuver – upset recovery training.”

Since 2008, AeroStar Training Services in Florida has recognized the critical value of Upset Recovery Training. AeroStar is a FAA Part 142 training center that provides Type Rating Training in the Boeing 737 classic, the B737 NG, the A320 series & the atp ctp. AeroStar was founded for Airline pilots by Airline Captains who want to provide Higher Quality, Affordable Type Rating and atp ctp Training.

Each program includes ground and full flight level D simulator training in airplane upset recovery techniques. This includes stalls, nose-high, wings-level recovery techniques as well as nose-low, wings-level recovery techniques.

Additional training consists of the use of nose down elevator, use of bank angle, thrust reduction, nose low recovery, accelerated stall demonstrations, high bank and inverted flight. AeroStar trains for upset recovery techniques and many other upset situations that most programs do not include.

This higher level of training ensures that AeroStar’s pilot training graduates are among the safest in the skies, ready to face and overcome any cockpit situation that may arise, thus ensuring the safety of the passengers and crew.

*U.S DOT, FAA Advisory Circular 11/24/15 Subject: Stall Prevention and Recovery Training
* This article incorporates public domain material from the Federal Aviation Administration document “http://www.faa.gov/other_visit/aviation_industry/airline_operators/training/media/AP_UpsetRecovery_Book.pdf”.

 

by Deidra Toye -

Sunny Skies Forecasted for B737 & A320 Family of Aircraft

Boeing launched its 737 family of jets in 1964, and since then the company has snagged over 13,000 firm orders for the plane. Airbus launched its competitor single-aisle, narrow-body family, the A320, in March 1984 and claims over 12,000 orders since the A320’s launch. The huge success and high demand for these two aircraft is only increasing.

Narrow-bodies dominate, and continue to be the fastest growing and largest segment of new aircraft orders. The fight is between the B737 family and the A320 will require 26,730 aircraft over the next 20 years. About 35 % of the single-aisle planes are expected to be acquired by Low Cost Carriers.

Airbus 320 and Boeing 737 families are and will remain the most popular aircraft types in the world in the foreseeable future, followed by Boeing 777 and Airbus 330. However, the regional jet market is likely to face a 20% decline by 2020, maintaining the trend at least till 2030, according to Boeing.

The airlines will be naturally forced to expand their cooperation with training organizations like AeroStar Training Services in Kissimmee, Florida who have special type rating programs for the Boeing 737 & Airbus A320 family of aircraft.

*statistical data courtesy of Halldale Media

by David Santo -

Do you have WIA or VA benefits?

VA Benefits, WIA Benefits

 

Did You Know?

AeroStar Training Service is approved for WIA and VA benefits and programs in Kentucky and Central Florida!

Contact us to find out how you could apply those benefits to acquire a type rating, a ATP-CTP certificate, or other advanced training!

by David Santo -

RAA Convention Update – Future Pilot Career Outlook

We recently returned from the RAA convention and are very encouraged about the prospects for pilots starting airline careers.

The Regional Airlines (members of the RAA) are an important career step for many of AeroStar’s former students as they graduate to legacy carriers and wide-body pilot positions. Advancing through the ranks at a regional airline can set you apart from other candidates applying for Captain or First Officer positions at larger, more prestigious carriers.

Many regional airlines have realized that they need to provide additional incentives to attract quality candidates. Those incentives may come in the form of sign-on bonuses, training opportunities, and other incentives that make these positions more attractive than they may have been in the past.

 

by David Santo -

Airline Pilot Career Workshop – A Second Career for 55+ Pilots?

Paula Williams –

Fantastic. And Jim from Brazil says he was flying a B737. He’s a Hawker 400 captain now jet, jet transition instructor. Okay, I guess that wasn’t really a question, so we’ll move on. Let’s see, and here’s another one.

I’m 52 years old, I’ve always dreamed of flying.

 30 years ago I took some, took the theoretical courses in France. Today I train with the flight simulator, is it too late for me to make a career as a pilot now? This is Robin from Guinea.

Captain David Santo –

So Robin I never think it’s too late, the current retirement age is 65. I know that at my airline, we have hired new hires that have been 60. I don’t know whether there’s been anybody hired older than that, but I believe so. So, you really, you know, the, the clock is ticking.

So to get some years of experience in, you really need to do everything you can do right now to pad your logbook, build your time. But if you were hired by 55. So that gives you two or three years, of really getting all of your time built up, your experience built up, you will have ten solid years to work as a airline pilot.

Now after that ten years mandatory retirement at 65. As it looks today, and that might change it might go up. So, you could ride that, that bow wave if it does, but retired airline pilots, still have the opportunity to do things like ferry airplanes. They do maintenance flights, and they also become Sim instructors.

So, I would say absolutely Robin if this is something you wanna do don’t wait, come on over the water’s fine and I think you’ll have a good time doing it.

 

by David Santo -

Pilot Jobs – Moving Back to the US from Overseas

back to the us from overseasPaula Williams –

Great. Robert from Oklahoma has, is looking at moving back to the US from overseas, he’s rated in the B737 and A320 and looking to do the ATP on his Airbus certificate and get a job.

Captain David Santo –

So all great goals, and I think it’s I’d love to hear where Robert has been but welcome back Robert, it’s a good time to come back. 142 school like Arrowstar, can do your atp ctp the new prerequisite for the written. If you don’t already have it, if you already have the written. You can attend a typewriting course based on your experience, add the typewriting and as long as you meet all the prerequisites set by the FAA we can get the ATP certificate check done at the exact same time. That gives you for example in our program, if you attend a standard type rating, that gives you 28 hours of jet multi-engine instrument time, because we use full flight level D simulators.

So it counts as actual twin, counts as jet, counts as instrument, multi-crew time. That can go towards the new 50 hour requirement for your ATP. And we can do the check rides combined with no additional cost. So it’s a great way, to pad your log book with some extra jet time.

Get a type writing on your license, that never goes away. And add that ATP certificate that you absolutely need now to get a job in the US.

Paula Williams –

And save some money at the same time, so you don’t have to do those separately.

Captain David Santo –

Well, that’s right, I mean, I think a lot of people don’t understand too the fact that if you do a type rating and your type rating is $13,000, $15,000. But you’re getting 28 hours of twin jet time out of it. Take the amount of money it costs to rent a twin, if anybody will rent you one  And multiply that out. Pretty soon the type rating is a pretty cheap option to do, a time builder, to get a type rating that’s on your license that never expires and add your ATP.

Paula Williams –

Right here’s another one on the theme of moving forward to the US,what airlines running A320s would be the best to apply for overseas crew for their first USA based airline, with an endorsement

Captain David Santo –

So I, so first I would like to say that we’ve worked with a whole lot of pilots from Australia we’ve done a lot of training at Aerostar under Casa. And have done that very successfully. A lot of our Australian customers are affiliated with Tiger Airways which is an A320 operation in Australia.

So what airlines running A320s would the best to apply for overseas, for overseas crews? Well, to work in the US, you have to have a green card or you have to be a US citizen. So no US airline is going to be able to hire you based on the current laws, unless you have either a green card or you are a US citizen.

Once you have that almost every major airline in the United States operates airbuses. The only one that comes to mind that does not, is Southwest Airlines. But if you think of every other major airline in the U.S, they all operate Airbuses now. Outside the U.S. certainly Australian Casa-qualified pilots have been in big demand on the Pacific Rim.

So any of the Asian countries on the Pacific Rim. Big demand for Australian pilots.