Flight Attendant Information

I want to become a pilot, what are the best flight schools?

I wear contacts and or glasses. Is this okay? Would i need to go to a university first?

Public Comments

1. US Airforce
2. American Eagle has a new hire program. If you do become a pilot, I'd definatly check into it. (you have to have a certain amount of flying time) http://www.americaneaglecareers.com/pilots.html that's the qualifications and all.
3. My boyfriend and his father are both pilots... You normally have to have 20-20 vision to become a pilot, but you could be an air traffic controller with less than 20-20. I believe they are working on legislature that individuals who get Lasik eye surgery to correct their vision to 20-20 or better can become pilots. Anyway, Embry Riddle Aeronautical Academy out of Florida or Wings in Minnesota.are good flight school/places to get flight hours, but very expensive. You're best bet might be to join a branch of the military and train through them. The Air Force is a natural choice, but all branches need pilots. Good luck!
4. first decide what level you want to attain. if all you want is a private license, then any flight instructor willing to take you on as a student will do fine. check with local and regional airports. if you can avoid international airports as the learning load is huge and confusing compared to small airports. if on the other hand you want to fly air taxi's, or jumbo jets, or other commercial operation, then a dedicated university like embry-riddle is where you want to go. as for glasses and contacts, they are fine as long as you can pass the physical.
5. You don't need 20-20 to be a pilot. Just corrected to 20/20. Not even that good for just a private pilot
6. Im not a pilot however, there are lots of different piloting jobs, and different pay rates too. I read an article in yahoo finance the other day that said commercial pilots generally make 6 figures per year, that’s the good news!! The question is what kind of pilot do you hope to be, and how dedicated are you to becoming one. Bush Pilot (Super Cubs, etc), Commercial Pilot (Large jets, Era, AK air, etc), or a USAIRFORCE PILOT (Recommended) If I were young again and I had good vision this is what I would try to be, what could be better than being 22 years old behind billion dollar fighter jet that could break the sound barrier!! Sky is the limit, if your dedicated start with a plan, write it down, then do the research. Here are a couple of web sites to get you started, talk to your parents too!!! Joining the airforce is a big commitment so dont just run out and join........research, research, research.....the airforce may pay for your college, if your academic performance from highschool merits scholarships then have the academic community pay for your school and start a career in the private sector. It all depends on what you want and how much your willing to give of yourself to earn it!! http://airforce.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/airforce.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=61&p_created=1038320890&p_sid=XGJmSZEi&p_accessibility=0&p_redirect=&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPSZwX3NvcnRfYnk9JnBfZ3JpZHNvcnQ9JnBfcm93X2NudD04MSZwX3Byb2RzPSZwX2NhdHM9JnBfcHY9JnBfY3Y9JnBfc2VhcmNoX3R5cGU9YW5zd2Vycy5zZWFyY2hfbmwmcF9wYWdlPTI*&p_li=&p_topview=1 http://airforce.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/airforce.cfg/php/enduser/std_alp.php?p_sid=XGJmSZEi&p_accessibility=0&p_redirect=&p_lva=&p_sp=&p_li= Good luck and remember do your research first.......
7. To answer your question it is kind of hard. Flight schools and training have changed over the last decade. I wear glasses and was a flight instructor for ten years. Glasses or contacts are just fine as long as your eyes are 20/50 correctable to 20/20. Schools like Embry Riddle are great. A lot of colleges have flight training and you can go into other areas such as aviation mechanic or avionic (aircraft electronics) repair. Learning to fly will take time so you might want to consider a degree program. With all the new radios and more complex aircraft flying and fixing aircraft or radios could be a good field. Try out this site: http://www.thirtythousandfeet.com/training.htm#univ
8. the glasses and contacts are okay for the private pilots license, but if you were to go commercial, normally if there is no great demand of pilots, they get picky about medical stuff. but looks like everyone needs pilots. you do not need to go to university, just flying with instructors to get private pilot and so on. But if you want to fly 747, you might need the degree, but it all depends on the industry at that time.
9. In order to go into the military as a pilot, you must have uncorrected 20/20 vision, or very close to uncorrected 20/20 vision. You can get LASIK to get your vision back to 20/20, but you must get a waiver from the appropriate branch of the military. There are no stringent vision requirements for airlines. As long as you are close to 20/20 with glasses or contacts you are fine. In order to be a pilot for one of the major airlines (Delta, Continental, Southwest, United, etc...) you must have a 4-year college degree. Graduate study is preferred. Degrees may be in any discipline, you just have to have one. Regional airlines (ASA, TSA, Republic, Pinnacle, Compass, etc...) do not require a degree of any kind. It would be extremely helpful to get a 4-year degree in something totally unrelated to aviation due to the ups and downs that always will plague the airline industry. It is possible to make a career out of a regional airline as many 15+ year captains at regionals make $90k-$100k+ per year. Basically there are 3 ways to get to the airlines. The military, Accelerated Flight Schools, and traditional pilot training at your local airport. Accelerated Flight Schools would be places like Delta Connection Academy, ATP school, Phoenix East Aviation, etc... Completing these programs will qualify you to become a regional airline pilot, but no degree is awarded. Taking this route is very expensive. Personally, the best way to become a pilot is by taking lessons from an instructor at your local airport. It might take longer to get your ratings and such, but the quality of instruction most likely will be better, and it will end up being cheaper than one of the accelerated programs mentioned above. All airlines have "minimums" that they require for new hires. These include total time behind the stick of an airplane, total multi-engine time, and a minimum amount of time flown within the last 3 months, 6 months, or year, depending on the airline. Right now you can get hired at some regional airlines with as little as 400 hours total time and 50 hours multi-engine time.