CPL at 18

[Pearcy]

People's views on a CPL at 18 [email protected]


I am currently in my AS year at school, this is the point in which all the teachers start asking about your university choices. I have been interested all my life about flying and I have been working towards my PPL very slowly since 13. I am now looking at speeding the process up and moving onto my JAR-CPL.

I keep hearing about people starting this license much later in life and I am worried that starting it at 18 seems like the wrong thing to do. I am also still uncertain about the funding but putting that aside, this may be done at OAT or somewhere in America. I would like to do commercial piloting as a full time career from the start but is it wise to start so young as I have not heard any similar stories so far (maybe I have not looked hard enough)

I would be very grateful if you could help me with this situation and advise me on the correct direction to go. This will also help me with research on flying schools to keep my teacher quiet!!!

[flighttime2.0]

pearcy

Of course your not starting to young , but would you not consider going to collage and to a degree in aviation or something like that to farther your chances of employment as a pilot in the future while you still are so young .
also im sure must guy's , well certainely me anyway started later in life because I/we had to work our ass for for a few years to gather together some funds for our training !
flighttime.

[traumahawk71]

I would also suggest that you look at attending college/university 1st. 18 is not too young but once you have your licence its can be very hard to find your 1st Job.:ugh:
A harsh reality about this career is that although you will have spent a small fortune, there are no gaurentees you'll get a job. If you look at the major employers you'll see that they offer sponsorship which may be one option in funding your training. These schemes are very competative and some even require their entrants to have a degree.
Its also a good idea to get more than your A levels as you never know what will happen in the future. You might not like your job or worse still you might loose your medical so a back up plan is always useful.
As mentioned above the main reason a lot of people enter at a somewhat older age is due to financing. Its a sad fact of life that we can't all have rich mummies and daddies to fund our training :(.
In the meantime you can always do your PPL.

[Pearcy]

thank you for your views so far, i will investigate the different topics run in university to do with aviation as this seems an interesting route to take. i can imagine that it it will take me a very long time to collect enough money to take my CPL. Never the less it seems as if it is worth while in the end by many of the extremely positive comments i have heard from so many people. in the end it is probably one of these things i will have to wait and lookfowards to.
thanks again

the longer the wait the sweeter the reward

Any further infomation on this topic would be more than helpful

pearcy

[GrkPilot]

I received my CPL at the age of 18...no trouble finding a job either. Life is good :cool:

[Pilot16]

Dont worry about your age. I can gurantee you there will be hundreds of people out there wishing they were in your shoes.

Also, another point to consider, although the minimum CPL age is 18, chances are, by the time you have completed the ATPL, built your hours and completed the CPL course, you will be 19 or even 20.

Degree is a very good idea. I will personally recommdend you to do a non-aviation related degree as I think these degrees will not get you anywhere other then in aviation (for which you will have a piots licence to get into).

All the best.

[Cessna Capt]

Just got for!!! :ok:

Passed my CPL flight test a few weeks before my 18th b'day and i've had my CPL for just over a year now.

There are many pilots out there that started out when there are right out of school turning 18. If you work hard, act profesional and try not to party too hard while doing your training people will take you serrioulsy and not just some "kid" spending their parents money.

If things don't turn out as planned you can always change paths and go do a degree as you are still only young.

best of luck with everything

PM me if you have any other questions :D

[AlternativeProcedure]

Hi Pearcy,

I was in your shoes a couple of years ago, and I understand the urge to just go straight into flying training with all the desires of flying a jet and all that, but this is what I did. Just after A-level, I applied for and got an RAF flying scholarship which kinda paid for half of the PPL(I think these scholarships don't exist anymore) and I managed to somehow find the rest of the money to continue and I passed the PPL. After that, I decided to put things on hold whilst I went to university to do a Software Engineering Degree, just as a back up. You always need a backup in this profession where anything can happen. Something silly can just make you loose your medical and then what are you gonna do???? Even external factors which do not involve you may have an effect on you, things like 9/11 where a lot pilots were put out of work for God knows how long. It is for reasons like these that I would strongly recommend you do something you can rely on in the future, it may not be a degree, it maybe some sort of solid investment in another area other than aviation, just something else. Anyways, to cut a long story short, I finished my degree in 2003, re-commenced my professional training and now I hold a Frozen ATPL, I'm still in my very early 20's. And I don't for one minute regret spending 3 years getting my degree, its given me a good job and allowed me to survive whilst I wait for the job I want(flying one). In any event, goodluck with your decision.

Regards AP

[Strive]

I was in the same position as you last year when I had to choose my univesity destination.

I am 18 too and I study in Canada. As much as I love the aviation industry, my family doesn't really support this idea. They think it's more of a "dream" that can never come true and that this dream is too expensive. Being such a young adult, I don't have much money to afford the expensive training to complete a CPL. However, at the University of Western Ontario, it offers a program called BACS (Bachelor of Administrative and Commercial Studies) where you may study Aviation Management and get a degree when you graduate, and also complete your CPL during the 4 years of university studies. I applied for such program and got accepted. In the end, I didn't accept the offer. Why?

There are many factors to consider and many members in the forum have said it earlier already.
1. money. It just costs too much. Right now I only have 1/4 of the money to get a PPL and I am working hard to get the rest of the money. Getting a CPL costs a lot more. On top of that, I am already paying my own tuition fee and residence fee, etc. for my university studies.
2. education. and so you get a degree (well in your case, you are going off to training right the way), but the degree (the degree that I was mentioning about) is pretty useless other than working in the aviation industry. I need a back up. What if I can't get a job in this industry? I am not guaranteed to be employed by anyone after i graduate, even with a CPL, i need a lot of flying hours etc. I need a degree that is less specialized yet may benefit me in some other ways. That is, get a degree that is not aviation related.
3. For you, or for us, we are still young. We can get the CPL or whatever license you want later. Just take some time now, 3 to 4 years and get a university degre. This way, you are educated, and have a back up. After that, you may go for whatever you want (provided you have money).
4. Stability. You are not really stable until you are really employed by an airline.... so again.... having a degree may help you out here. As much as we want to be pilots, we also need money to keep up with our training and our everyday living. What if we don't get a job in the end right?

So in the end, I went to University of Toronto, and am now in there as their first year student, studying really hard for my Bachelor of Commerce. In the mean time, also trying to gather money for my PPL. My advise is, we are still young. After we graduate, we are only 21 years old. That's still young. We have lots of time to do things afterwards.

Good Luck.

[rocketboy]

Hi Pearcy,

I am writing from the perspective of being a final year student at university. In my university experience so far, I have been able to further my interest in aviation as well as my ambition of becoming a pilot, at the same time as studying for a degree.

I was able to do a number of part-time jobs at airports both during term-time and throughout my holidays. I then used the money I earnt to pay for my flying lessons, and eventually got a PPL.

It won't necessarily be easy, but if you do decide to go for a degree, you can still work towards becoming a pilot. This might be useful to think about as you decide on whether to get your CPL straight after your A-Levels or go to university first.

I personally do not believe there is a single best route. So it is really up to you as to what you feel is best, given the opportunities available to you. Whichever route you take, I wish you all the best.

In the meantime, good luck with your AS-Levels.:ok:

[Pearcy]

I thank you all for the information you have provided me with so far, it has been more than helpful, i am now looking at multiple different options in training and directions to head towards a CPL, including University and different scholarships that are available in this area.

Please keep the advice coming as the more i get the better picture I have as to the routs available.

I will keep you all informed about any progress i make

Thanks again

Pearcy

[email protected]