Well I did my ground school before I left to Sabena. People say it is a waste of time to do this before you fly and run to US straight to the cockpit but personally I feel doing ground school is the best decision I took in my life. 2 reasons being that it gave me an idea to what i was getting into and it taught me my fundamentals really well. No matter what you say ground school in India is 10 times better than that in the states because they dont teach you anything and they expect you to learn all the shit within a month which i m telling you is absolutely crazy. Its after all your life. I personally went to united aviation like all spice cadets and I must say they did a really amazing job. The most dedicated teachers I ever met (and i had 16 years of education in some really good institutes mind you). I would have probably ended up as ashes scattered around the arizona desert.(well that plane does carry a lot of 100 octane fuel in it in case you didnt know n believe me if you crash dats all dat remains of you).

Anyways lets get to the point.If you are planning to go to the states to fly here is what you gotta do:-

1- Get the loan- well every bank does offer loans as long as you put your property but sbi has a particular loan for pilots which is a good deal. Interest rates vary but the thing is they will charge you only after 6 months to a year once you flying is done…

2-Once that is done apply for a date-to do this you have to pay in some particular hdfc bank and once that is done you can apply for any paricular date.

3-The Interview- well i had an unfair advantage in that i had a spicejet appointment letter which really helps.(any appointment letter from any airline is really good).Well the secret is to be really prepared and organised. They only have a minute or two to make their minds so you got to rehearse the questions. Basically you got to prove that you are just going to be get your training and come back and that you have the funds to do it. The ca documents and property document photo copies will do. Be confident and give concise answers to what ever questions he has and you are good to go. When you go there firstly greet him/her.”how are you?hows your day been?”.”Man this queue is long.”something to break the ice and then go to the point.”I wanna go to the states to train in so and so school to be a commercial pilot. (give the i-20.)this is my qualifications (show your certificates and tell him your qualification & work ex if you have any) and this is how my finances look (show the ca document)”.speak slowly and CLEARLY. Make sure you have enough liquid assets. If he asks why dont you do it in India tell him its cheaper and much better in the states and tell him that the asian market is hot so i m definitely coming back to fly in india.

Thats it you are all set to go. If you fail dont get dejected just give it again. Of course I must tell this but if you dont speak english fluently or not understand it properly and want to train to be a pilot I am telling you now dont think about being a pilot. English is very very important for you to know. You dont need to be an expert just be able to have a normal conversation without getting lost for words and be a little gramatically correct. If you have a problem with english but still want to be a pilot then you got to switch off those saas bahu serials and hindi channels and start watching english movies and news channels WITHOUT SUBTITLES.

I am stressing all this because I have seen many students struggle with radio calls and basic conversations particularly with students from the north where hindi is rampant. No matter where you fly anywhere across the world the only language spoken in aviation is english so if you cannot converse in english as good as you can speak hindi or any other language then you better improve. I am stating the facts. Again I am not trying to be a racist or bring people down but you are doing a job which involves the lives of 100s of passengers and thousands on the ground. This is a very responsible job and no body will give you this responsibilty if you cant understand or comply what you want to say in English.

Well hope I helped in anyway. Let me know what you guys think and if any else has anything to add or say about this post please feel free to speak out. HAPPY LANDINGS.