My son wants to be a pilot and I'm trying to steer him in the correct direction but don't know much about this area. He is 17 and graduates next year. Not sure exactly what questions to ask other than where to start. Are there Academys that are similar to for example West Point. Where room and board is included in the training for a number of years commitment to the Airline post graduation?

The only thing that fits that is Army Warrant Officer program; everything else is the collegiate atmosphere and all that entails.

Thanks for the Warrant Officer suggestion,  he wasn't to keen on a 10 year commitment. Although,  I thought it was worth it. I did find a texas college that offers a BS in professional pilot, never heard of this degree. Don't know how you could fall back on that degree if he fails a medical or life happens.

Expect big $$$$$ for flight time

So what is the SOP for this route? He will be using my Hazzle Act for his BS. Do most commercial pilots take huge loans to build hours?

250 hours required for commercial airplane pilot and cfi.  Figure $150/hr average cost for each of those 250 hours. At that point he will be able to get a poverty wage job for the purpose of getting hours.  

Yes there are such places, they are called army, navy, and air force.  No degree required for army, he can be getting paid very well to fly a $40million helicopter before he can legally drink a beer.

http://www.aacadetacademy.com/CadetAcademy/index

https://www.psaairlines.com/cadets

https://unitedaviate.com/aviate-program-career-paths/united-aviate-academy/


Google "airline" and "cadet" for more such links.

Outside of the military:

Airlines will not pay for any of your son’s training. It’s normal to take a $100k loan for training and equipment.  That gets you to 200-250 flight hours and a commercial certificate.  You go to CFI school to become a flight instructor, and then flight instruct for until you hit 1,500 hours which makes you eligible to get an ATP and get a regional airline job.

Plan on a $900 private student loan payment due every month that you will have to co-sign on to be approved.

9 -12 months for all flight training making no income at all.  Private, instrument, commercial multi/single, flight instructor, instrument instructor, etc.  No outside distractions during this time.  Oh by the way if he fails 3 + flight tests then he “may” struggle to find good employment past the regionals.

1-2 years of instructing at 35k /yr, maybe delivering pizzas at night, living on ramen noodles gets you to the regionals as a first officer at 1500 hours of total flight time.

2 years at a regional as a first officer, $50k /yr will get you to a captain spot, captain requires 1000 flight hours as a first officer in the regional jet

2+ years as a captain ~80k /yr and you can move to the majors where the income reaches 200-300k /yr

Be prepared to need to financially bail him out from time to time.  It’s a big family decision to make.  A large percentage of people who start flight training never finish it, and the chance of failure and financial ruin is a possibility.  If he can do it then the payoff at the end is worth it, but there absolutely are risks involved.

The cadet programs don’t really do anything other than offer slightly better seniority for biding base / equipment when he starts at a regional, but really they aren’t a necessity at all.

If you aren’t willing to co-sign on the loan then he’ll either need to join the military or pay for training as he goes.  The latter usually leads to people quitting during training.  Once he does start training he really needs to do it all at once to be successful.

ATP Flight School is expensive but they are fast and well organized and have the easiest financing where you can include lodging during training.

The military isn't such a bad deal.  The Air Force paid for my college and then paid for all my flight certificates through Airline Transport Pilot along with five type ratings.  It was a 10 year commitment after earning my wings, but after my commitment was up, I had job offers from every airline I applied to and was able to walk on to the airline of my choice.

I would say the military is an excellent deal.  He can get all the free college he wants, free pilot licenses, all the flight hours he wants(assuming he doesn’t turn into a dirtbag), and countless other incredible benefits.  At 10 years when he can get out he’ll be making $70k base pay(around $100k after you add in flight pay, housing allowance, and special pays), have zero debt, and be able to walk into a wide variety of good paying jobs after the military.  

The alternative is to do it as a civilian and start his working career with a massive amount of debt.  

I did the same thing in the 90s - I got my private license on my own after graduating college and decided I wanted to be a pilot.  I quickly realized that I would be dirt poor for many years before there was good money to be made.  So I decided to join the military, best work decision I ever made.

Look at the Air National Guard.  I enlisted as a mechanic and they paid 100% of my tuition (while serving part time), plus tons of other money (GI Bill/Kicker/Bonus/etc...), while I went to college.  A year before I graduated they hired me to be a pilot in our squadron.  Fast forward a few years and I made it to the major airlines before most of the guy I started college with who went the civilian route, and the flying I've gotten to do was outstanding.  Flying in the Guard is still at 10 year commitment, but you can do most of that as a part time pilot, like I'm doing now.

My son finished all his ratings here:

https://atpflightschool.com/land/commercial-pilot.html?gclid=CjwKCAiA9aKQBhBREiwAyGP5la20T5ywL77gf2tGd83oZf89ZmhqrRPcMFI37KyxtQsfStA-b97zvBoCT-UQAvD_BwE

Several years ago now but at the time I thought the training was really good.

I flew with him sometime afterwards (multi engine aircraft/instrument conditions ) and was really impressed with his flying.
He's a Capt. at Envoy on an Embraer 175 now.

If I had another kiddo that wanted to be an airline pilot I'd send him/her to ATP straight out of high school.
Get those ratings and flight time ASAP.

Go to college online while they are flight instructing.

how's his health?  check the first box

If it was me, I'd have uncle Sam pay the way, but that's not as easy as it used to be.

Second choice would be ATP.  They crank people through like a machine.  A rating is a rating is a rating.

Get a degree in something besides aviation as a backup.  just my 2 cents

It’s possible to go the civilian route without debt. I paid for my training as I went along, never took out a loan. HOWEVER, you WILL be hungry and have nothing for a long time. I graduated from high school with a commercial ASEL with 200 hours. No instrument, nothing else, the last two summers before graduation were spent in the desert trading my time for flying. No parties, no girls, no cars. Just work and flying. I went on to pickup time and ratings flying skydivers, towing gliders, instructing, spraying bugs, corporate flying, cancelled checks, commuter (back when they were 10 seat recips) night freight, a small regional, and then finally the major airline of my choice. Only took 16 years.
There were a dozen people in my new hire class and three of them were straight out of their one tour of duty in either the Navy or Air Force, all of them younger than I.
I think the best way to go would be air guard or reserves.
I retired as a B777 captain and have a nice retirement and am enjoying life, but it was a cast iron *itch to get here…
If he goes the civilian route he can expect to be hungry.
To quote Yoda “You WILL be”.

Having gone to the USAF Academy then UPT followed by a 20 year career and now at a major airline your route is the one I suggest to anyone who asks.  You get the chance to either live where you want or be in an unit flying what you want to fly and avoid a bunch of silly active duty crap.

While the civilian route isn’t fantastic, it’s not as bad as it used to be. Regional FO pay starts at $50k now, captain is $100k or close depending on the airline.

I went from private pilot to a major in five years.

The civilian route is a lot faster than it used to be but you have to find a way to pay for your ratings.

My advice is to identify if his goal is being a military pilot or an airline pilot. If he wants to fly in the military, keep his grades up and find mentors to guide him and get a slot. If he wants to be an airline pilot, keep his grades up and get his ratings without failing a checkride.

I know people getting United and Delta interviews with no airline captain experience right now.

This is all great replies with useful info. Thank you! I think we may have to revisit the military avenue for him.

Delta has in house program where employees that work in other departments that are interested in flying can become pilots. My friends daughter is a regional pilot with Delta now as a result of that program. When she was hired by Delta she already had her PPL and some hours in twins. They helped her land a gig teaching part time at a flight school to build hours. It would help if your son has a vagina. Sorry that is the reality at the majors.  If he had some flight time now he could be ahead of the curve. will he pass a flight physical ? Also he can fly big jets overseas with less hours than any American carrier. That does entail a different lifestyle and is not for everyone. I would still say do the military all branches have pilots

This.

Where in TX are you located?

There are some programs in the state.

Look into the Delta Connection Academy in Florida. It's owned by Delta Airlines and most of their graduates end up flying for Delta. Their motto is "Being owned by Delta means everything".

I’m 99% sure this school closed / was sold about 10 years ago

Shit dude.  It lists Comair.  They went out of business 20 years ago?
Also ASA is gone, and I think Chitaqua.  And Eagle isn’t called that anymore.  

Those ads look old.  At a minimum they are outdated.
I’m not smart, but in general you need 1500 hours for airplane atp.  There are some exceptions, the lowest of which is military aviators who need only 750 hours.  

I’m pretty sure he posted that as an ironic inside pilot joke that only the old timers would get.   It was particularly well done.  Very slickly inserted, although perhaps not the appropriate thread for it?    

His legit point may have been to warn OP not to believe the glossy brochures?     And that, of course, is the single most important piece of advice OP could get.  

Incidentally, “most” of the candidates do not work at Delta.   I’d love to know the percentage, and would be shocked if it’s more than 20%.

Delta's program is called Delta propel.  I don't know anything about it.

https://propel.delta.com/content/propel/en_US/collegepath.html

If you’re in Texas, I provided some of the training when Lone Star College first started their flight program with an associates degree.  Not a bad program, and it will save you some money over A&M’s program.  Then he can transfer the credits to A&M and get his bachelor part time online as the schools have a formal partnership.  Either way, it’s expensive.  The nice part about LSC’s program is they have self examining authority for check rides and they will do everything in their power to make sure he doesn’t have any failures on his record, they have stage checks right before the check ride to ensure this.  The program includes commercial multi engine, and flight instructor and instrument instructor certifications.  They have close ties with United Aviate, as well as Envoy and Southwest.  They tend to hire graduates of the program, if the student does well and fits their personnel standards.

All that said a degree in a backup field is suggested.  Get the AS at LSC and a BS in something else from A&M after he starts working.

Get his first class medical before you and he waste any more time on this though.  I hate to see people spend money on training and college programs only to find out they do not qualify due to a medical issue.  Even something you don’t think will be an issue can be a show stopper.

Hopefully that is all legible.  Enjoying martinis this evening.

Have him look into the local Civil Air Patrol unit.

Yeah, Delta Connection is a thing of the past.  It was taken over by L3 and has little connection with Delta.  Many of the instructors are/were Envoy cadets.

Haven’t priced it lately but it was 75+k.  Another vote for ATP

The Hazlewood Act will pay for his tuition, but not for any of the $75,000+ worth of flight training and testing time.

The options are a massive loan that you will need to sign for, cash gift to him, he slowly pays for flight training as he is able to at a local flight school, or military.

ATP is currently $99,000 if you include DPE costs and do not need any additional flight time or a retest.  All his equipment such as iPad, headset, etc., are all addition.  The quoted price with the 100 hour multi engine program is now $110k…

Ouch.  How bad does he want it?  I would want some proof.  Lots of people think its what they want….half way through not so much