Q: The job of my dream is flying low and slow in some sparsely populated, rural and forested areas helping local foresters, farmers, hunters, fishermen, and so on. So, I need a commercial certificate only but I will need financial aid after earning my private.
Currently I am self-employed and I don’t have a stable income. I don’t have any degree in aviation. Do I have a chance to get an educational loan to continue from private to commercial? If so, do I have a chance of finding a job like that described, which will give me enough money to pay the loan and still have at least $1,000/month for living at the same time?
There is one more point: While I am a legal resident and may work in the United States, I am not a U.S. citizen yet. Is this bad for my plans?—Yuri
A: Yuri, it is the rare person who is looking for a career in what could be called grassroots flying. Financing is certainly out there. Seach the Internet and you will find many resources such as www.pilot
finance.com and local banks. However, the gotcha in your scenario is your confession that “I don’t have a stable income.” That is assuredly a deal-breaker for most financial institutions. You state that you have a good but short credit record, but it is suspected that your debt-to-income ratio is thin.
Once you earn your private pilot certificate at, say, 80 hours, you will still need to accumulate another 170 hours to meet the commercial pilot minimum experience of 250 hours. It may take more depending on ability and time. So, with airplane and some instructor time, figure $200 per hour on the average times 170, and that equals $34,000. You will probably need a flight instructor certificate, too, so you can build time. Add another 15 to 20 hours for that, or an additional $4,000.
All that being stated, do yourself a favor and contact one of those financing institutions and speak with a loan officer. Your situation may be unique.
About that job: Honestly, it is a very lucky aviator who can lock down a job with a fresh commercial pilot certificate and 250 hours of flight time. Unless it is a position as a certificated flight instructor or banner tower, you will need at least 500 hours of total flight time. Your dream of flying fishermen and hunters into the backwoods is going to require employment with a Part 135 air taxi/charter company. For that, you definitely will need 500 hours for VFR-only flight. The same holds true for U.S. Forest Service contractors. Insurance companies are likely to require even more time for serious commercial operations.
Your desire to service your debt of some $30,000-plus and have monthly take-home pay of $1,000 after taxes is a very aggressive wish and probably unattainable unless you have a well-connected network of professionals who can mentor you into a good-paying position. Figure gross pay for an entry-level job between $18,000 and $25,000 annually.
Your citizenship status should not be a factor, but don’t be surprised if the door to employment is open a little wider for home-grown pilots. If all this sounds daunting, it is. Insurmountable? Absolutely not. Patience, sacrifice, and perseverance are traits that thousands of aviators before you have had to develop. With proper planning, you can, too.
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