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I have a son who is 25 with a BS in engineering who has always wanted to fly. He has found one flight school apparently affiliated with Delta Airlines which is very expensive. I would think that pursuing a Master's degree at Embrey Riddle may be a better choice. Of course, the military is the best option for training and cost, and one he is considering. Is there a message board or an area of this board where he could explore some of the options?
Any suggestions are welcomed.

It's not a main subject area of this forum, so he might like to take a look at http://www.pprune.org/forums/index.php which is a pre-dominantly UK based forum for professional pilots, but which also gets a fair amount of international traffic, I believe there are some sections on there for people who want to be. I'm not sure if there is a US equivalent.

I'm also going to move your thread over into travelbuzz, where I think it might get a better response. I hope you find something, and he gets onto the path he wants :)

Jenbel
Co-moderator, Communitybuzz!

There is absolutely, I repeat, absolutely no reason to persue a Master's degree if your son is interested in a career as an airline pilot (unless he's bored and has a lot of extra money to blow). The BS in Engineering will suit him just fine. Airlines are looking to see that a candidate can complete a degree (shows dedication, work, etc). There are a number of good schools that cater to people who already have a BS/BA and want to begin an airline career.

If he isn't interested in making flying his career, then he should not even consider a "flight academy". They are designed to get you a regional airline job as quickly as possible, and it's a great program for that alone.

If he wants to be an engineer and fly for fun, he would do better (and cheaper) just getting his ratings at the local flight school.

A couple of the industry boards also have sections about training that he might find interested. He should check out:

www.airlinepilotforums.com
www.jetcareers.com

Hope this helps. Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions. I'm fairly familiar with the basic offerings of the "big name" places.

I don't want to get into a discussion better suited for the enthusiatic flightinfo.com pilot boards, but I believe the school "affiliated with Delta" you're alluding to is the Delta Connection Academy. Actually, the only affiliation with Delta is that the airline allows the school to use its name and logo. The pilots at flightinfo.com will give a venomous view of the professional airline's view of DCC....let's just say it's not that favorable. You may also find some discussion about the school at airliners.net.

With the current pilot shortage looming, there's no need to go to a high-priced specialty school that promises an interview with a regional if they successfully complete the program. All that the airlines want to see is a bachelor's degree, the requisite licenses (which are the same whether they come from an instructor at the local municipal airport or a big flight school), and a certain quantity of flight experience. The cheapest way for your son to get his licenses would be from an instructor at your local municipal or county airport. The fastest way is from one of the flight training academies. Of all of those, FlightSafety probably has the best reputation.

Thank you for all of these responses. That is very helpful.

Before spending huge amounts of money (it's very expensive!) he can check out a local flight school to get his Private and Instrument while working. Most local flight schools have something like a "Discovery Flight" for about $25 (in this area, anyway) where an instructor takes the potential student up for a first lesson. Even if he decides against it, he can get his Private license and fly when the weather's good as long as he keeps his license current.

I agree. (i'm a pilot too).

The large schools teach ab-initio flying which is good and repititous, and I think the airlines like that. However, a good route is to go to the local airport and fly with different instructors. I've flown with 3-4 different instructors over the courses of my ratings which gives me a great perspective since all have a different opinion of the methods but the same goal (safe flight).

Since he already has a degree, going to a big-name school is of marginal value. Good luck to him.

http://forums.aopa.org/ but I believe you have to be an AOPA member to post there. I vaguely recall they give away free six-month memberships to potential student pilots.