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Carter Lee

ENG 1201.509

Professor Hunter

25 October 2020

What is the best route to achieve the education, training, and experience requirements of a

successful airline pilot?

There are many routes to achieve the status of an airline pilot but what is required and

how do you get there? Is one program better than another? What is the most cost effective?

These questions have personal meaning to me in that this is the career I am choosing to follow.

While the education curriculum for pilot training and knowledge is set by the Federal

Aviation Administration (FAA), there also is a need for higher-level education in most

circumstances. According to Erika Armstrong, “pilots need degrees to get hired these days” even

though it does not matter what the degree is in. Armstrong also said that “employers are simply

looking at a person’s ability to put in the effort to study and learn at a higher level”. According to

Alan Levin, “an airline can hire a pilot with as few as 250 hours”, even though he feels that he

minimum should be raised to 1500 hours for the safety of passengers. Levin also explained that

Europe has more “rigorous training” while having a similar number of minimum flight hours

required.

The training that pilots receive is extensive in comparison to some other careers. It is

extensive for obvious safety reasons, but they are set by the FAA. These requirements include a

specific number of flight hours per license as well as knowledge-based tests on aviation
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curriculum. For instance, under CFR Part 141 in the FAA regulations, only 35 flight hours are

required to achieve your private pilots license. Whereas, under CFR Part 61, 40 flight hours are

required to achieve your private pilots license. Part 141 is pilot training through a 2-4 college or

university, but Part 61 is pilot training through a more casual and self-paced environment and

can be found at most small airports/airparks.

After interviewing a pilot with a military and commercial aviation background, I got

clarity on a lot of questions that I had. Major James Moore is currently a pilot in the United

States Air Force as well as a pilot for American Airlines. He has been in this field for over 15

years and has a wealth of knowledge on this subject matter. He said that the best ways to get

trained to fly would be through a military branch or an accredited flight school including 2-4-

year colleges. He said that it is much cheaper to let the military pay for your flight training, but

that it can be very difficult to get selected for pilot training being that so many people want to fly

in the military. Moore also gave me other useful information on this career field such as pay rates

he has experienced and the typical work schedule of a pilot.

After researching the topic, I feel that I have gained a solid understanding of what it takes

to become, and airline pilot and I have found many answers to my questions. It is evident that it

takes a lot of education, training, and dedication to become an airline pilot. I will continue to

research the subject until the research paper is complete.

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Works Cited

Armstrong, Erika. “What Does It Mean to Be a Pilot?” Disciples of Flight, 1 Mar. 2017,

disciplesofflight.com/pilot/. Accessed 18 Oct. 2020.

Berry, Mark L. “So You Want to Become an Airline Pilot? The Civilian Route.” Airways

Magazine, 6 June 2016, airwaysmag.com/best-of-airways/want-become-airline-pilot-

civilian-route/. Accessed 17 Oct. 2020.

“China Seeks to Double Pilot Training Rate.” Aviation Week & Space Technology, vol. 139, no.

19, Nov. 1993, p. 36. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=a9h&AN=9403310087&site=ehost-live. Accessed 18 Oct. 2020

Fullingim, James F. “The Marketability of Higher Education Aviation Graduates as Perceived by

Regional Airline Pilots.” Collegiate Aviation Review, vol. 29, no. 1, Mar. 2011, pp. 28–

44. EBSCOhost, doi:10.22488/okstate.18.100416. Accessed 17 Oct. 2020.

Lawrence, Robert. How to Become an Airline Pilot: Achieve Your Dream without Going Broke.

Robert Lawrence, 2018.

Leroux-Parra, Marc. “A Terminal Profession: The Pilot Shortage Amid an Aviation

Boom.” Harvard International Review, vol. 40, no. 3, Summer 2019, pp. 11–

13. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=a9h&AN=139891161&site=ehost-live. Accessed 18 Oct. 2020.

Levin, Alan. “How Much Training Should a Pilot Get?” USA Today. EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=a9h&AN=J0E171677418410&site=ehost-live. Accessed 18 Oct. 2020.

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Moore, James. Personal interview. 12 Sept. 2020.

Pasztor, Andy. “FAA Tightens Training Requirements for Airline Pilots.” Wall Street Journal -

Online Edition, 25 Feb. 2020, p. N.PAG. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=a9h&AN=141902064&site=ehost-live. Accessed 18 Oct. 2020.

The Disciples of Flight. Directed by Bryan Stewart and Jacob Dickey, 2019.