When you’ve spent your military career flying multi-million-dollar aircraft, it can be hard to settle into a cubicle for the rest of your life. And yet, many of the world’s top performing military aviators have found themselves in just this situation. Whether they were unable to get “current” prior to leaving service or thought a desk job was the only viable option for entering the civilian workforce, many military pilots are now looking for a way to get back in the saddle, years and even decades later. To coin a phrase, they’re ready to re-transition into aviation.

Recent Boeing projections show that the world will need to produce twice as many commercial pilots over the next 20 years. Concerns are mounting in the wake of a recent announcement revealing an unprecedented pilot shortage. According to yearly projections from Boeing (NYSE: BA) for pilots and technicians, the world’s commercial aviation fleet is expected to double over the next 20 years. This will drive a demand for 790,000 pilots, a staggering number who need to be trained and ready to fly a commercial airliner to keep up with the growth.

I am proud to announce that Coast Flight Training has added two new partner airlines to their Rotor Transition Program: Mesa Airlines and SkyWest Airlines. Adding these two, along with our current partner, Envoy Air, brings us to three regional carriers that we service with our world-class training program!

In my experience, the transition happened over the course of about 8 months. From the time I had my instrument rating and I started getting halfway decent at flying, I spent a lot of time teaching people what I had learned. I led study groups and even flew with other students well before I become an instructor. I eventually got my Ground Instrutor Certificate and was actually hired as a ground instructor teaching 3 hour or more classroom lectures in addition to one on one sessions. When it was time to take my CFI checkride, I was already an instructor. I believed in myself, I just had to make the examiner believe.

Location is everything. San Diego offers the best of Southern California, miles of endless beaches line the Pacific Coast with incredible weather all year round. The benefits of San Diego airspace are also endless. Learning to fly in an area of that boasts restricted Bravo airspace as well as countless small general aviation airports to explore and an International Airport is sure to increase the confidence and knowledge of a new pilot. Coast Flight Training provides a learning atmosphere geared toward creating confident pilots. With group study sessions, dedicated instructors, and the only conditional offer of employment before you begin flight training, Coast Flight is unparalleled by any