Commercial Pilot Jobs in West Virginia
Cities in West Virginia with Aviation Schools:
- Asbury
- Barboursville
- Beckley
- Bluefield
- Bridgeport
- Buckhannon
- Caldwell
- Cassville
- Chapmanville
- Charles Town
- Charleston
- Cheat Lake
- Clarksburg
- Cross Lanes
- Cunard
- Dawson
- Dunbar
- Elkins
- Erbacon
- Fairlea
- Fairmont
- Gassaway
- Grafton
- Granville
- Harpers Ferry
- Hedgesville
- Hinton
- Huntington
- Hurricane
- Inwood
- Jones Springs
- Lewisburg
- Martinsburg
- Montgomery
- Morgantown
- Moundsville
- Parkersburg
- Weirton
- Wheeling
Commercial Pilot Jobs West Virginia
West Virginia Commercial Pilot Salary - How Much Do Commercial Pilots Make?
Commercial Pilot Benefits
Depending on the company you work for, as a commercial pilot you may be eligible to receive health insurance, life insurance, and disability benefits, along with retirement plans and "per diem" pay for longer trips, but these benefits are fairly rare for most commercial pilot jobs.
Seniority Affects Pay
As a new commercial pilot, you can expect to make entry level pay, fly older, less sophisticated aircraft, and fly less desirable routes and schedules. New commercial pilots typically must "pay their dues" in this role in order to accumulate the required hours to apply for better jobs and move up the career ladder into higher paying jobs. Get more information about commercial pilot training.
Pilot Training - What you need to know to fly for a living
Commercial pilots with two years of college or more have an advantage over pilots with only a high school diploma. However, many operations do hire pilots with only a high school education. Pilots who have degrees in aviation-related fields like aeronautics have a better chance of landing a job. If you want to become a commercial pilot, there are two routes to take: military or civilian training. Military training is only a viable option for people with top grades and a four year degree, as competition for military flying slots is fierce, to say the least. The majority of new commercial pilot training occurs at flight schools, flight academies, and colleges with flight training programs.
Where to Find Commercial Pilot Training Near West Virginia
Most schools, academies, and colleges offer pilot training for people with no experience. These programs will have a base price for earning all the required licenses and ratings to become a commercial pilot and begin building your flight hours to find a job. Keep in mind that the quoted price is for people who progress at the "average" rate, so the price can go lower or higher, depending on your personal progress.
Building Commercial Pilot Hours
Since you will need to build flight hours after earning your licenses and ratings, it's important to find a flight school or academy that offers jobs to its graduates. This way, assuming you are professional in your approach to flying and the flight training environment, you are virtually assured of having your first "commercial pilot" job after graduation, and have a chance to build those flight hours and experience you need to move on to your next position. Learn about commercial pilot jobs.
As a commercial pilot, you will be required to take additional training and check rides periodically, depending on the type of operation you work for, and the type of aircraft being flown. Ongoing training is a reality for all commercial pilots.
Fixed-Wing Aircraft Facts Stabilator
A movable horizontal tail section, called a stabilator, is a control surface that combines the action of both the horizontal stabilizer and the elevator. Basically, a stabilator is a horizontal stabilizer that can also be rotated about the horizontal axis to affect the pitch of the aircraft.
Fun Aviation Facts - Pilots Eat a Different Meal
There are various rules which are imposed by different airlines, but there is one common rule that states pilots must be fed a different meal from the co-pilots. The copilots are encouraged to eat different entrees to guard against cases of food poisoning.
Commercial Pilot Jobs West Virginia
Commercial Pilot License - Which License and Ratings Will You Need?
To become a commercial pilot in West Virginia, you need to be at least 18 years old (although you can earn your private pilot's license at 17, you must be 18 or older to get your commercial pilot license) and get at least a third class FAA medical certificate. The medical certificate ensures that you are in good overall health, have good vision (corrected or uncorrected is okay) and don't have any disabilities which could affect your ability to fly, although the FAA may grant a waiver for individual cases. Learn about commercial pilot jobs.
List of Licenses and Ratings
Commercial pilots typically hold some or all of the following licenses, ratings, and certificates, depending on the operation:
- Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Medical First Class - Certificate
- Private Pilot - License
- Commercial Pilot - License
- Instrument Pilot - Rating
- Multi-Engine - Rating
- Type Rating - Rating specific to the type of aircraft being flown, if necessary
The Road to a Commercial Pilot License
The first license you earn is private pilot. Next, most people get their instrument rating, and then go on to the commercial pilot license. Some operations don't require an instrument rating. However, possessing the rating is always beneficial both for piloting skills and getting jobs. If you'll be flying multi-engine aircraft (and you probably will), you'll need to earn a multi-engine rating, and, if flying larger aircraft (over 12,500 pounds gross weight) or turbo jet aircraft, you'll also need a type rating for that specific model or family of aircraft. Many companies offer type rating training specifically for this purpose. Get more information on commercial pilot training.
West Virginia Commercial Pilot License Tests
Most, but not all, FAA licenses and ratings require that you pass written, oral, and practical (check ride) tests given by approved testing centers and designated examiners.
Accelerated Flight Training - Condensed training helps pilots retain info, earn more ratings, and get jobs
No matter how you look at it, flight training is a lengthy process. There are many new things to learn and hundreds of flight hours to gain. When it comes down to it, flight training can only be condensed so much before it bumps up against regulations. This presents a bit of a problem to someone looking to start a career in aviation. Training costs money, but it's going to be a while before flying will pay. So what's the best solution? Accelerated training. Accelerated flight training offers some notable benefits including being good for career pilots, quick progression through ratings, and increased job placement opportunities. Great for Career Pilots
Accelerated training is great for career pilots. It allows the student to condense their training into a few weeks or months rather than years. This works by allowing the student to fly multiple lessons per week while also taking consolidated ground school. The nature of the training typically demands the student train like a full-time job--eight hours a day, five days a week. This is great for someone who's looking to get started with a career in the quickest amount of time. It's unfortunately not so great for someone who can't devote more than a few hours per week.
Most accelerated training programs function similarly to military training in that students alternate between flying and classroom instruction before entering a phase of longer flights. Some accelerated programs even dispatch students and aircraft on a series of long flights that are intended to provide a large amount of flight time and allow the student a more varied cross-country experience.
Quick Progression Through Ratings
This type of training is primarily designed to fast track students to ratings. Rather than taking six months to obtain a private pilot certificate or an instrument rating, it can take as little as fourteen days. How can you take something that takes six months and effectively learn it in fourteen days? Attend ground school and flight training eight hours per day. The bottom line on all flight training is the more you do it, the more you retain. Accelerated programs are based on this concept and their success stems from the fact that their students are immersed in flying so much that they can't help but learn.
Job Placement Opportunities
Most of the larger accelerated flight training schools offer job placement to graduates. They have agreements with some airlines and often directly offer employment to some of the graduates. This is a great asset to someone looking to break into the aviation career field. When considering job placement agreements, some schools offer actual job placements while some offer guaranteed interviews. Either is better than nothing no matter how you look at it. It's debatable, but the single biggest employer of many accelerated flight training program graduates is often the schools offering the programs. After all, they need flight instructors to teach their students and someone who's familiar with the program is a great asset.
As you can see, for someone trying to launch into an aviation career, accelerated flight training has a number of benefits. Even people that are just trying to get several ratings at once can benefit from an accelerated program. So if you're looking for a flying career and you have time to devote to training, consider an accelerated program.
Interesting Helicopter Facts
In 1944, American inventor Stanley Hiller, Jr. made the first helicopter with all-metal rotor blades that were very stiff.
There are two types of helicopter engines; one is Turbine engine and second is Piston Engine.
A helicopter can rotate to 360 degrees while hovering.
Helicopter Spotlight for Beckley
Unusual But Interesting Helicopter Facts in Beckley The new S-434 helicopter builds on the best qualities of the 333 model, including a well laid out cockpit, outstanding flight properties and low cost of ownership. To this, we have added a four-bladed rotor system, upgraded transmission and increased fuel capacity. The result of these improvements are increased useful load, hover performance, cruise speed and lower vibration.
Interesting Helicopter and Fixed-wing Facts for Charleston
In 1997, a Robinson R44 was piloted byJennifer Murray for the first helicopter circumnavigation of the world by a woman, covering a distance of 36,000 miles in 97 days.
The first helicopter to achieve completely untethered flight was the Cornu in 1907, which managed to hover one foot above the ground for 20 seconds.
Helicopter Facts for Charleston
Every helicopter pilot must obtain a private helicopter pilot license to fly. Students must be at least 17 years old, obtain a FAA medical certificate and pass a FAA written test. Additionally, the student must take at least 40 hours of flight time, 10 of which must be solo flight time. As part of those 40 hours, the student must do three hours of dual cross-country flying, three hours of dual nighttime flying and three hours of solo cross-country flying. The student must also do at least one 75-nautical mile cross-country flight and perform three solo takeoffs and landings.
Helicopter Spotlight for Clarksburg
The Mitsubishi MH 2000 is a 7/12 seat light utility helicopter. Low levels of interest in the aircraft forced Mitsubishi to halt sales of Mh4000 in September 2004. The Mh4000 is Japan's first indigenous helicopter with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) having sole responsibility for developing and manufacturing the fuselage and engines.
In the development of the Mh4000, MHI aimed for safety, economy and low noise levels. The program was launched in 1995 to fulfill a variety of missions, include passenger and business transport, law enforcement, search and rescue and emergency medical services.
Helicopter Spotlight for Clarksburg
The Bell UH-1 Iroquois (unofficially Huey) is a military helicopter powered by a singleturboshaft engine, with a two-bladed main rotor and tail rotor. The helicopter was developed by Bell Helicopter to meet theUnited States Army's requirement for a medical evacuation and utility helicopter in 1952, and first flew on 20 October 1956. Ordered into production in March 1960, the UH-1 was the first turbine-powered helicopter to enter production for the United States military, and more than 16,000 have been produced worldwide. The first combat operation of the UH-1 was in the service of the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. The original designation of HU-1 led to the helicopter's nickname of Huey. In September 1962, the designation was changed to UH-1, but \Huey remained in common use. Approximately 7000 UH-1 aircraft saw service in Vietnam.
Interesting Helicopter Facts for Fairmont
There are more than 11,000 civil helicopters operating just in the U.S. and more than 15,000 civil helicopters operating in more than 157 other countries around the world.
The record for the fastest helicopter in the world is held by the Sikorsky X2 which, during a flyby over Florida, United States, clocked 258mph (416kph). But this was beaten recently. On June 7th 2013, the X3 blew through the previous air speed record for helicopters by cruising at 255 knots (293 MPH) during a 40-minute flight over Southern France near Istres.
Aviation Quotes for Fairmont
Flight Instructor Facts for Fairmont The usual cost for a refresher course is roughly $200 US Dollars (USD). There are, however, additional costs for course options, such as in-house certification. This option allows you to obtain your updated certification certificate directly from the course provider instead of traveling to your local Federal Aviation Association (FAA)
Helicopter Fun Facts for Huntington
Whereas the latter require long runways on which to reduce forward velocity, helicopters have to reduce only vertical lift, which they can do by hovering prior to landing. Thus, they don't even require shock absorbers: their landing gear usually comprises only wheels or skids, or both.
Helicopter Facts for Huntington
Helicopter Training Facts for Huntington: There are a lot of facts, laws, rules, and regulations that must be memorized in helicopter pilot training. The ability to quickly memorize information and retain it is very important. Almost 60 percent of training is completed in the classroom. Be prepared for hours of class, followed by long hours of studying.
Fun Helicopter Facts for Martinsburg:
If you include military helicopters it is estimated that there are more than 45,000 operating worldwide.
The record for the fastest helicopter in the world is held by the Sikorsky X2 which, during a flyby over Florida, United States, clocked 258mph (416kph). But this was beaten recently. On June 7th 2013, the X3 blew through the previous air speed record for helicopters by cruising at 255 knots (293 MPH) during a 40-minute flight over Southern France near Istres.
Helicopter Spotlight for Martinsburg
The Eurocopter UH-72 Lakota is a twin-engine helicopter with a single four-bladed main rotor. The UH-72 is a militarized version of the Eurocopter EC145 and is built by American Eurocopter division of EADS North America. Initially marketed as the UH-145 the helicopter was selected as the winner of the United States Army's Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) program on 30 June 2006. In October 2006 American Eurocopter was awarded a production contract for 345 aircraft to replace aging UH-1H/V and OH-58A/C helicopters in the U.S. Army and Army National Guard fleets.
Interesting Helicopter and Fixed-wing Facts for Morgantown
Igor Sikorsky built the first four-engine plane in 1913 and, after decades of development, he crafted the first working helicopter, with its first test flight in 1939. He designed and built the first military helicopter named XR-4. He delivered it to Colonel Franklin Gregory of the U.S. Army in 1940. In 1958, Igor Sikorsky's rotorcraft company made the world's first helicopter that had a boat hull and could land and takeoff from water. It could also float on the water.
Helicopter Facts for Morgantown
Helicopter Training Facts for Morgantown: Before you commit to a full program of lessons, it can be a good idea to take a test lesson in a helicopter to make sure that you like flying in the rotor-powered vehicles.
Helicopter Pilot Jobs for Morgantown A relatively common helicopter pilot job is working for emergency medical services. This typically involves flying solo and in weather conditions and over terrain that is challenging.
Helicopter Facts for Parkersburg
If the engine stops on a helicopter the rotor continues to spin allowing the machine to slowly land generally without crashing to the ground. Although Hollywood would have you thinking otherwise if the power is lost in flight the helicopter is safer than if you were flying in an airplane and the same thing happens. Helicopters do not have the best of glide ratios but as long as the rotor blades keep turning helicopters can do something airplanes cannot do; autorotation. Because of the rotating wings (rotors) instead of fixed wings like the airplane acting like a windmill as it floats down.
Helicopter Facts for Parkersburg
The Boeing/Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche unveiled in 1999 is the first helicopter using stealth technology. It is made of carbon-fiber and other composite materials, and the rotor hub is hidden.
Interesting Helicopter and Fixed-wing Facts for Weirton
Over 3 million lives have been saved by helicopters in both peacetime and wartime operations since the first person was rescued from the sea in 1944.
Fixed-Wing Aircraft Factoid Stabilator
A movable horizontal tail section, called a stabilator, is a control surface that combines the action of both the horizontal stabilizer and the elevator. Basically, a stabilator is a horizontal stabilizer that can also be rotated about the horizontal axis to affect the pitch of the aircraft.
Helicopter Facts for Weirton
Helicopter Careers - Military: The other factor to consider is the time commitment required to obtain your helicopter pilot license in the military. The military absolutely expects that you are a military officer first and a pilot second. This exchange requires a lot of give and take and should be considered prior to making a concrete decision. If you feel strongly about the military and are willing to sacrifice a block of your time
Helicopter History for Wheeling
The airframe, or fundamental structure, of a helicopter can be made of either metal or organic composite materials, or some combination of the two. Higher performance requirements will incline the designer to favor composites with higher strength-to-weight ratio, often epoxy (a resin) reinforced with glass, aramid (a strong, flexible nylon fiber), or carbon fiber.
Helicopter Facts for Wheeling
Pilot ratings remove flying restrictions. An instrument rating says that a pilot doesn't need visual references to fly, and can instead rely solely on a plane's instruments. It's required for airline transport pilots, though private and commercial pilots also commonly earn it. Without a multi-engine rating, pilots can fly only single-engine planes. Commercial pilots need the multi-engine rating for employment.