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Originally Posted by MOSES1  Can someone tell me if this is realistic of me. Can someone also tell me if its economical to buy a plane instead of joining a flilght school to get me hours and endorsements. |
Welcome to JC! I think it's plenty realistic for you if you have the desire, motivation, and a means to finance the endeavor without putting yourself in the poor house (or worse, owe money for the next 15-30 years on a loan) once you complete your flight training. I advise you to look at your flight training options carefully and account for every penny you are going to spend from charts to fuel to rental to fees to tuition to...you get the idea. Learning to fly is fun. Supporting that fun cost money...lots and lots of money. I don't want to turn you off to the flying but you have to be realistic about how you're going to make it happen. Which leads me to...
Buying and owning an aircraft is a great way to facilitate your flight training. But you have to keep in mind that there are costs associated with aircraft ownership as well as regulatory requirements for maintenance and recurring costs such as insurance, tie down/hangar, repair/replacement of parts, etc. The most expensive thing in aviation is an aircraft sitting on the ramp. So you must decide if you are going to be flying her 4-6 hours a day or more, or is the bird just going to fly 1-2 hours a day for a few days a week. Again, you need to do the math here and determine if at the end the end justifies the means.
As far as job prospecting, keep in mind that a lot of Part 121 and Part 135 operators typically will want at least 500 hours of total time with at least 100 hours in multi-engine aircraft. Minimums are varying these days but by the time you're ready to apply, those minimums could be 1000 hours or more. Welcome to the unpredictable job market of aviation. You also have to determine if you are able/willing to take a hit in your take home pay. Typically, first and second year pay at airlines suck. So do the math there as well.
Good luck with your endeavors and my last advice to you is stay away from programs like FTS International's CAPT program. It's way too expensive and they're hurting for business these days and laying off instructors (which should really tell you that their model isn't working).