Hey Mark,

You're like my most favorite pilot ever!!! I love your Rolls that turn into a blurr.

Anyway, I know you're a full scale pilot too, and i have been begging my parents to give me flying lessons, what does it take to become a aerobatic pilot? Where can you fly aerobatics, bc i doubt you are allowed to do stunts over cities.

Thanks,
Adam

Adam,
It is true that you have to stay away from large cities, along with a few more regulations that require flying at a certain altitude and in a certain portion of airspace. I was very lucky in starting my flying career. My father and grandfather owned and operated a flying business in the Grand Canyon. I grew up flying airplanes. I started flying aerobatics in the late 1990's. Steve Rojecki took me flying in Mr. Bill Bennets Extra 300L. My second ride was with Patty Wagstaff. This got me hooked for life. I met a guy named Craig Fordem five years ago, who taught me how to fly acro. If you persist and dont give up, it will happen if you want it bad enough. Since then, I have logged 500 hrs in the Extra 300L/200 aircraft and don't regret a minute of it.
It is very expensive and very time consuming. I learn something evey single day. Although I have attained the things I have, it would not be possible without the help of many people. You will meet people along the way. Most good and some not so good.
The best advice I can give is to never give up. There will be times that you will want to, believe me!
Listen to what someone who has 20,000 hrs of flying time has to say. There is a reason why they have lived so long.
It will be the most rewarding thing in the world someday. Especially when you have 350 people on board your aircraft with 500 miles worth thunderstorms in front of you, a 100 million dollar aircraft that you are responsible for, an instrument approach that you have to execute, and a safe landing to make. O ya, dont spill Grandma's drink in row 34E and she is also afraid to fly.
Some dont realize the job that we have. While I am not even responsible for 10 people and a 7 million dollar aircraft, I hope to someday be that person that makes a great landing in a 747 and get folks home safely.

Good Luck to You,
Mark Leseberg Jr.

That sounds great Mark, most of my family is involved in airplanes in one way or another. My father worked for USAirways for 13 years as a mechanic on the "Big Birds" and is now on volentary Farlow. My grandfather (moms side) worked at boeing making parts for planes. My uncles (both on dads side) are currently mechanics for continental airlines. And hopefully I can keep airplanes in the family for a couple more generations. Preferably being a pilot, but if i absolutly have to i can definitly settle for a mechanic. I plan on going to college for a few years and get the degree I need to be a pilot in the airforce, after that go to an airline piloting passenger planes! While at the sametime keeping this awesome hobby in my life. How long does it take to get a regular pilots licsense?

Thanks for your time,

Adam Ranck

Just stumbled on this post and thought I'd add my .03 cents (inflation)

Adam,

Im not sure how old you are but I assume you around high school aged. Im now 23 and when i was your age I researched all of the college aviation programs in my state (indiana) and choose the best one for my goals. It is very exspensive but very rewarding. Many classmates joined the national guard in order to let uncle sam help foot the bills. If I were you I would look for a part time job as a linemen at one of your local airports washing planes, mowing grass, sweeping hanger floors, pumping gas, anything. Maybe you can find an airport with a flight school and begin some flight training with the money you earn. Thats what I did and it worked out for me, Im now a instructor for my university. Get out there and find something in your area! Oh and by the way a private pilots license requires a minimun of 40 hours of instruction and you can figure to pay at least $125 per hour depending where you live.

Just ask if you have other questions

Chris

I have been researching a few colleges, some aviation, some not. But so far i have come up w\ Emry Riddle (Daytona Beach FL) or Devry University. I have had a few people from Devry come to my high school and tell us about what they have to offer, one of the first things they had on the list was pilot. And they also said they give out scolarships for more then just high grades, good sport record...but they also give it out for having a hobby and using it torwards life situations. One of the examples they mentioned was a girl made her own prom dress out of something (can't remember what) and that was her hobby, making clothes and stuff. They gave her a scolarship. So i figured i could definently use this hobby torwards flying a real plane, i already know what every control does, i'm sure i know a lot more then any1 who don't fly radio control airplanes. And 3D would impress them quiet a bit!

I hope that made sense, what do you think???

Thanks for suggestions,
Adam Ranck (11th grade)

rcpimpin101, I am currently a Junior at Embry-Riddle in DAB. In fact, I believe Mark attended ERAU or maybe took online courses or something. The Aeronautical Science degree is awesome and the flight training is great (although very expensive), I did my commercial and multi commericl add-on here and it was great training. You can also take a degree called Aerospace studies and fly off campus I believe. All in all, ERAU is a great school for the aspriing airline/corporate pilot as well as controllers, prople persuing the safety field, aircraft maintenance, etc... If you want to attend an aviation school it's hard to beat ERAU, it's the biggest name in aviation colleges by far. Hope this helps.

-Kelly Gerber

That sounds great, i have never spoke to any1 who has attended *Embry-Riddle*, sounds like you're enjoying it there, a lot!!! What are grade requirements to attend there after high school? Bc honestly, my current grades arent exactly A's and B's, i have very hard time in school bc i have ZERO interest in some subjects like Small Business (i don't want to be an entrepeneur), or history. I just don't know why I have to know every detail in history to fly an airplane. Anyway, im sticking it out as much as possible.


If I went to Embry-Riddle, would there be a need for the airforce? Unless I just couldnt afford some of the comercial training, i guess I still might end up in the airforce! O man, so much to think about...but so little time. Any suggestions would be great!

Adam Ranck

It's good to have a 3.0 CGPA or over in high school but they might give you a chance if you had lower. Also over a 1,000 on the SAT's wouldn't hurt. The AirForce ROTC program is great as it pay's for most of your school once you sign those papers. Most of the students here are in huge debt's from student loans which they will have to pay off once they get a stable job. Good luck on your decision.

-Kelly Gerber

I would love to take ROTC but my school don't offer it[&o]. I cannot change schools bc I have to go to the school I live closes to. I'm sure I can meet those standards you just wrote. Thanks for the information!

Adam

Adam
I fly for a living,and it has been a great experiance for me. I'm not a book smart person ,but I wish I did go and get a Degree. I started flying full scale my senior year in High school( senior skip day) I learn in a J3 cub in waynesville ohio, so mostly it was seat of the pants flying. I do recommend college if you can because it will pay in the long run. with a Degree you can get a job that pays you very well,with very little work, and thats what you want in life is a (lifestyle). (second) you need alot of support from your parents. Money,room and board, if possible.
once I got my commercial ticket I got a job flying skydivers, which alot of people don't think it is good quality time but it was for me . I flew beech 18's ,twin otter,and casa's 212, etc. this built my multi engine time which also helped in meeting the right people. Plus that helped me understand and learn how to really fly a plane ,because I flew everyday and with alot of different situations. Now I fly for a company in Detriot MI. I have been here for 4 1/2 years. 3 years as a Falcon 20 captain 1 year as a falcon FO and now in the right seat of a DC-9 .I have over 5000 hours and I can only look up and forward,,BUT I do wish I had a degree because the options would be endless.. The reason for the long story is that I don't have a degree,and I didn't go threw the military. I didn't go to Riddle (wish I did). I didn't have anybody give me anything,but I did work hard for my time and thier are alot of options out there if you want it bad enough. Once you read this I mention a degree alot because it is important. but if you don't get a degree you can go a different road. go to your local County airport and get to know some people there. maybe get a job and pump some gas and wash planes for some flight time. I can't tell you how many airplanes I washed and tuged around. And one fast thing is that (it's not what you know it's who you know). Dewey Davenport

My life so far is unfolding like your story, and I have no problem with that, I just have to find a way to add washing planes etc...for flight time, between RC, school, and friends it'll be hard. RC is a big part of my life right now bc i have a local hobby shop sponsoring me and I hate to give up on it. I'm definitly not giving up school.

I'm thinking about how going to comm. college for a couple years then Riddle would work, this would give me more time to break away from my hometown and more time to figure things out.

Thanks

Adam Ranck

rcpimpin101,

I am another ERAU grad (93'-Daytona). I paid my way through to an aircraft eng. degree. I did not end up working for Boeing or the like, but I do work as a mech. eng. I get my fix now by designing and building my own R/C pattern planes. I'm slowly getting better at building and flying and I wouldn't trade my experience ERAU for any other degree.

ERAU also has a campus in AZ (Prescott).

Don't let anything stop you....beg, borrow, whatever (maybe not steal) to go to college....I had to eat noodles and drive a crap car for ten years after graduating (school loans) but now things are nice I wouldn't trade it for the world.

-Mark
www.geocities.com/markhunt_2000/INSIGHT

Definately get the degree. Models are fun, but the rest of your life is more important. If you work at school, everything else will fall into place.
Mark

I can't wait to start going to Embry-Riddle! I just found out that my school will be offering ROTC next year, thats my luck they start doing it my senior year. I guess one year of it is better then no year of it. I appreciate all of the suggestions, i think I know what I want to do now. I'm gonna go to Embry-Riddle and get a degree. If everything goes well cash wise I prolly wont be going to the airforce.


Thanks

Adam

STOP!!!!!!!!! Why spend the requires $100,000 on ERAU????? It will get you no furthur in the airline industry then the local business degree and airport....The fact is to get started you need hours, (majors and corporate require the degree and that will take awhile) go to a local university and get a degree in a usable field like business or engineering (if aero then Riddle will do). Take your flight lessons at the local airport, get through them as fast as you can..Riddle will take 4yrs (I KNOW). Start instructing, doing traffic watch what ever to build time and finish your degree...No degree is needed for the regionals to make $20,000 a year the first yr (try living on that) it will take 3 yrs and a captain upgrade to hit the $50,000 mark...It will take one bankruptcy threat to put you back on the street looking for that $20,000 job again..

Adam, I left a firefighter career in 1999 to fulfill my dream of flying for the airlines. I am there, working for Express Jet (continental express) flyin 35-50 seat jets...Let me tell you when you shut that door and lock it is the best feeling, when you open it back up reality hits...This job is nothing like it use to be..I listen to my crashpad mates (Continental Main line) talk about all the hits they are going to have to take in this round of pay cuts to stay alive, it is depressing...If you love to fly, your young, do it and have fun. Get that degree in another field to make the house payments though because since 9/11 things are up in the air still...

Oh yea I wouldn't trade my decision for the world, just my paycheck....

Disclaimer: I do not hate Riddle, I have 6 courses left on my aero degree..My wife is a Riddle engineering grad..I just know better now and see more clearly...

Other flight school options: University of N. Dakota, Ohio State, Purdue (good), plus others I missed. These all offer degree fields outside of the flight department... You could also spend the $35,000 on a 6-9 month flight program in florida and have all your tickets done. Then start your college courses while you instruct on the side to build those required hours the regionals want...Which from what I understand is very low, and scaring the PI$$$$$ out of alot of captains...

Oh yea, Adam those course's you think you will never need...Take it from me, every job I have held since high school I have needed them...Except maybe history....but everything else........

Thanks man, the last post I posted wasnt official but it was what i was planning to do. But I have already contacted my local airport about flying lessons, i think my parents are finally taking me seriously about wanting to fly. I have also just found out that Gardner Webb will have some new courses concerning a pilot, by the time i am ready for college they will be offering those courses. Thanks a lot, if anyone else has any opinions feel free to express them!

thanks,
adam

Adam,

Just thought I would give you something else to think about. Guilford Technical Community College in Jamestown, NC offers an Associate's degree in Aeronautical Technology and a Commercial Pilot training program. These courses will transfer to a four year school and you will not have even one tenth the debt that you would if you went to Embry. My son in presently enrolled there, has 32 hours flight time and will get his Private ticket by the end of this month. My wife and I are paying for both his college and his flight training as he goes so he has zero student debt. My son works at one of the FBO's at the Greensboro Triad airport and is quite honestly having a ball. He loves his job, made Dean's list for the first semester and is becoming a very good pilot. If you would like more info.. just let me know. I have 39 hours in a Piper Warrior and have been flying R/C for over 40 years... don't stand on the ground looking up.. R/C isn't even close...Get your wings !! Good Luck.....

Dan

thanks!

Let me also add some food for thought Adam:

First off, GET A DEGREE! If you just start building hours now and do get lucky enough to get picked up flying some hot job, you always have to think of this: "What if I lose my medical?" No degree? Go back to flipping burgers or something.

Secondly, I'm an ERAU alumni from the Prescott, AZ campus. I loved Riddle! I also did ROTC for 3 years. I had a full scholarship to study EE and I had plans of becoming an AF pilot after graduation. Long story short is that I met my future husband there also studying EE and he was a year ahead of me. After he got his pilot slot, I decided to separate from the AF and just get my degree from ERAU and fly in the civilian world...that way we could be together. Two pilots trying to get the same plane and base is VERY hard.

So, going to Riddle offers lots of opportunites for you. You don't have to study Aeronautical Science if you want to fly professionally. The AF is in NEED of pilots and chances are very good that you'll be offered a pilot slot. You can have ANY educational background...even History...hehehe. Just had to throw that in there.

Anyway, another option is this: get your degree (in anything) locally from a community college...just make sure you get a B.S. in something and keep flying a little here and there to build some hours. Then apply to OTS (Officer Training School). That is only 3 months long down in Alabama and you still end up with a commission as a second lieutenant in the Air Force and a pilot slot if you apply.

Lastly, the last best-kept secret is the Air National Guard. Get a degree and apply to a local Guard squadron for a job as a "XXXXXXX" pilot. Some of my friends have automatically known that they were going to fly F-16's before they even went to Undergraduate Pilot Training just because they were hired by the Guard.

If you have any questions, let me know.

Jeanette

wow, thats a good bit of info! Thanks, right now i plan on doing some community college then going to Riddle, then try getting a job, I will be building up some airtime all along the way. Hopefully this summer I can go ahead and get a pilots license from my local airport.

Adam,

Thought I would give you an update on Guildford tech. It seems Embry Riddle is opening a satellite campus at Greensboro in coordination with Guildford Tech!!!!! The tuition is to be much lower and that will give you the option of being in Greensboro through your Bachelor's Degree. More incentive to "pay as you go"..... good luck.

Dan.

aka deadstik :-)

Riddle Class of 94 alum here, PRC campus... DON'T DO IT!!! Can't get more simple than that.

If you want a career in aviation, or really just about any field, a degree can only help you. But there is no, and let me repeat that again, NO reason to spend 80 grand at ERAU for a flying job. ERAU does have a good engineering programs, some of the best in the nation, and the business program is also well respected. The aeronautical science program (kollege fore piluts) is just simply too expensive for what it gives you. Simple advice from somebody who regrets spending so much money for nothing... get a degree in anything you are interested in... community college, state college... whatever. Then, or even better at the same time, work your way through the ratings at your local airport. There is nothing that I learned at Riddle that I couldn't have learned with a good CFI and a few good books.

For the record, I'm flying left seat for a Regional, doing pretty well for myself, my opinion isn't from sour grapes.

In any case, good luck and it's not where you went to school, it's who you know and what you learned.

Tom

No degree here.
I have had three flying jobs in my career.

Commuter for 7 years. Really learned to fly there.
Pennzoil Corporation. G-IV and Citation X
State Farm. CL604 and LR60 and will retire here.

I went to Spartan and got my ratings but did not get a degree.
I have been VERY lucky throughout the years but if I had to do it again I would have gotten a degree in something.

The airlines dont care what your degree is in. They look at it as higher education and comitment to something that is not easily atainable.

The airlines are in disaray right now so with luck by the time your ready, they will be back on the upper part of the rollercoaster.

Stick with it. Its not easy but the rewards are amazing.

I know this is an older thread, but here is another good choice. Get your 4 year degree, and seek out an air national guard or air force reserve flying unit. You can go to pilot training (best there is) for free, fly something cool, do it part time, and do something else the rest of the time, could be flying for a coorporation, airline, or something else non-flying. I went the active duty route, and wished I would have gone to the guard. I am leaving active duty next year in favor of the guard, its the best kept secret.