Professional Pilot Training

If you have goals of becoming a professional pilot flying in the air transport category, your personal and training requirements become more stringent. Commanding a mult-million dollar aircraft with sometimes more than 400 passengers is a demanding responsibility. Because of this, most airlines require a college degree and a least 1,000 hours of  the "right" kind of flight time--meaning a high percentage of flight hours in multi-engine and turbine aircraft. Typical regional airline hire new pilots with and average of 2,000 hours and the majors typically hire 4000 hour pilots.

To assist you in your professional aviation career, the NGPA Education Fund offers scholarships to qualified candidates.

Although about half of all airline pilots received training in the military, civilian training options are numerous. The following is a list of pilot training schools that focus either entirely or primarily on professional pilot training and preparation for regional airline work. Some of the programs offer a college degree (either a Bachelor or Associates) along with flight training but all of them offer at least Private Pilot through Multiengine Instrument Commercial.

There are literally hundreds of these schools across the country serving the needs of future professional pilots. However, they differ greatly in style, substance and cost. Some are run in a formal military style, others are more relaxed. Some are intensive and fast paced, while others let the student set the pace. Also, some are pay as you go and some require you to pay a full program fee up front. Each student has to evaluate his/her own needs and shop wisely to find the right program for them.

We all acknowledge that being gay in the aviation industry can be a challenge. It has traditionally been an industry dominated by a military attitude and often intolerant of diversity. However that has been changing over the last several years and now diversity in the cockpit is more apparent and increasing each year. There are many more women, people of color and yes, open gays and lesbians at work in the airlines. It is not possible to screen each school for its tolerance and acceptance of gays. We recommend that you ask the questions important to you to each school you are interested in. Put them to the test before you offer them your life savings. You may not get the engraved "gay" invitation, but you will get a sense of the atmosphere from the responses you get. Don't be afraid! They are there to serve you and you are paying for excellent training in a safe and comfortable environment that values you for your professionalism and dedication, not just your cash.

This links below will be updated periodically as we receive more information. We encourage you to be in contact with us here at NGPA about you experiences. If you have a great response from a school, we would like to know so we can pass the information along to the next gay or lesbian future professional pilot. Same goes for the negative. We want to remove names of schools that don't value diversity.

GOOD LUCK AND KEEP THE BLUE SIDE UP!

Want More information?

Institutions whose aviation-related education programs meet the academic and training standards of the Council on Aviation Accreditation can be found by clicking here.

Additional information may be found at the Air Line Pilots Association and by joining NGPA and networking with our members working professionally at all levels in the industry.