Frequently Asked Questions
about Career Flight Training
What is the current state of the industry?
Although September 11th had an immediate impact on pilot hiring,
the industry has rebounded and offers a positive forecast for
all types of pilots in the short and long terms complimented
with the forthcoming retirement of Vietnam-era pilots.
What are the employment options as a professional pilot?
There are numerous options for professional pilots including,
but not limited to: the regional airlines (regional jets and
turbo-props), major airlines (large commercial aircraft), corporate
flight departments (Lear Jet, King Air, etc.), air ambulance
operations, crop dusting, scenic flying, etc.
What is the salary potential for pilots?
The salary potential varies between sectors of the industry.
Initial- first time hires should expect to earn $25,000 a year
with relatively large increases coming very quickly. A professional
pilot who has been actively employed for 5 or more years has
the potential to earn between $50,000 and $100,000 a year. Pilots
who have been in the industry for more than 10 years can see
annual salaries in the $100's.
What is the process to become employable as a professional
pilot?
Employers hire pilots based on the ratings they have received
and the amount of experience they have acquired. The experience
level is based normally on the number of flight hours logged.
With langaAir, you will acquire the ratings in phase 1 of our
career development process and acquire the flight hours through
our paid internship in phase 2.
How does the Guaranteed paid CFI internship work?
We offer a commitment for commitment. For pilots who start from
scratch or take a majority of their training with us (from the
instrument rating on) and complete our career pilot course,
we offer a guaranteed position upon graduation. Since we cannot
offer this guarantee to everyone, we reserve that obligation
for individuals who commit and pre-pay for the entire professional
course. Any others who have went though some part of our program
may be eligible for employment as an instructor, however they
will only be considered after the guaranteed hiring pool is
taken care of.
How long will the training take?
Because of our structure and "work-at-your-own-pace"
curriculum, the time-table to complete the professional courses
will be in direct relationship to your desire and work ethic.
If you are motivated, you can accomplish the entire course in
9 months or less. We have had individuals complete it in a little
over 7 months.
How many flight hours are included in langaAir's professional
pilot program?
Our professional pilot program with our multi-engine time-building
option includes 338.5 total hours and 105.0 hours of multi-engine
time within those hours. All additional flight hours
(including multi-engine time) required to build your flight
experience to a level which will make you "employable"
as a professional pilot will be gained through our paid internship
as a certified flight instructor.
How long might I expect to be a CFI before I have the
amount of flight hours needed to become employable?
The amount of flight experience that employers will consider
varies depending on the sector of the industry and the specific
employers in each. We use a conservative number of 1200 of total
flight hours and 200 hours of multi-engine flight time within
that 1200 as a measuring stick. At that point, we anticipate
that you will be employable. You can expect to gain between
60 to 80 hours of flight time per month so it should take between
12 to 18 months to build your time.
What is the success rate for students getting a job upon
completion of your program?
To date, our students who have completed our two phase career
development program have found 100% success.
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Do you have any formal agreements with any airlines?
No. We have some good relationships and proven track records
with many Regional Airlines but do not have a formal agreement.
Should you be concerned? No. As the previous item explained,
to date we have seen 100% success. Our students have found that
since we are not pushing only one potential airline, the door
is widefor them to look for an airline that fits better
into their situation.
Do I need a degree?
It Depends on which sector you intend to work. A lot of employers
do not have a formal policy on college, but it is still something
they can use to weed out potential candidates. To be competitive
for a Regional Airline position, you likely will want at minimum
an Associates Degree.
What are langaAir's options for a degree?
We have a couple of different options including an on-line degree.
We are also working on an affiliation with a local college where
our students will receive college credit for all of their flight
ratings at no additional charge. That affiliation should be
formalized by January of 2006. In any event, we recommend that
you complete the training portion of your career development
and then complete your college curriculum while you are actively
engaged as a CFI with us. We believe you will find it to be
the most efficient and cost effective approach to earning your
degree.
Do you have on-staff examiners?
No. We intentionally do not because we never want the perception
to be that someone passed an exam based on internal influencing
factors. Our students all stand on their own so they can be
confident that their abilities are where they need to be.
How does the financing program work?
LangaAir is affiliated with Sallie Mae Financial and Key Bank.
You can finance as much (or as little) of the training costs,
and you can include living and housing expenses. Both programs
will defer the payments until after you have finished training
so that you can allow your new career to pay back the educational
loan that got you there. Over 80% of our students utilize one
of our finance programs.
Does your cost estimate include housing expenses?
No, we have found that there is a big variance between students
wants and needs. Most career students budget between $5,000
to $15,000 for living expenses and since the loan programs do
not have a penalty for early payments, if a student recognizes
that he/she does not need the full amount, they can pay back
any unused amounts at their discretion.
What are the housing options?
We have a representative on staff who will take as much time
as required with you to find the appropriate housing in the
immediate area - most of which are less than 5 to 10 minutes
from our facility. Our area has a relatively low cost of living
index. You can budget $300 to $500 a month for very comfortable
arrangements. If you would like to save even more, we can and
do assist in arranging roommates as requested.
Why is there such a diverse difference in pricing between
the different training organizations?
The bottom line is that you will need to get your basic ratings
no matter where you train. Some programs do not provide, what
we consider, a realistic price estimate. They leave out a lot
of the incidental and secondary costs that will be money out
of your pocket. Secondly, some programs have big names and affiliations
with an airline and they tout a "guaranteed" interview
- considering that it is not a guaranteed job, just an interview,
might be of concern to you. The prices associated with these
programs may run as high as 40% to 100% more than langaAir's.
Is the cost estimate I receive realistic, or should I
expect to pay more?
We understand that the FAA minimums are just that; minimums,
and that most people need some additional training to enhance
their skill and knowledge in order to pass the final stages
of training. We think it is a disservice not to consider this,
so we examined our past students and established a realistic,
attainable, all-inclusive price. It is conceivable and likely
that you will complete your training in less than what we estimate
- it happens all the time.
What is this Free Flight Credit Deal?
We offer an incentive for students who pre-pay any course with
an additional credit which gets applied to their account. This
credit cannot be taken as cash, but can be used as a "buffer"
should your training take a little longer than expected. This
is one additional way we ensure that our students get done in
less cost than laid out.
What is the "Net Zero Cost" deal?
If you take the total cost of our program and consider the amount
of typical income you will earn through our paid internship
as an instructor while building your time up to the magic flight
time of 1200 hours, the cost of all of the training, coincidentally,
will all be offset. This does not however take into account
living expenses, payroll taxes, and interest.
How does the free airfare deal to visit your school work?
If you get approved for financing for the career training program
(from at minimum the IFR course on), we will pick up your airfare
and put you in a hotel overnight so that you can see our facility
first hand and make an educated decision. There is no cost or
obligation to you. We invest a significant amount of money in
this program for two reasons; firstly, we know this is a big
investment on your part and we want to eliminate any uncertainty
at no cost to you before you commit, and secondly, we feel confident
enough in our program to put it up against any other program
in the country.
How long has langaAir been in business?
We have been in business for 15 years. We have always offered
flight training but in 1999, we took a very close look at the
industry and our specific operation and determined that a lot
of schools (our's included) had some fundamental flaws. We addressed
many of these issues and laid out a very structured, comprehensive,
standardized approach to training; one with a goal in mind to
give the students what they want, a career as a pilot.
How big is langaAir?
By some standards, we are quite a bit smaller than some of the
"bigger name" flight schools. However, we are very,
very involved in our day-to-day operations and do our utmost
to make our school the best in the country. We are not looking
to be the biggest; just the best.
How Do I Get Started? Click
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