Cost of becoming an airline pilot..

[liam548]

Sorry if it has been posted before.

Apart from the social costs and studying time what are the costs of going from zero to 35000feet sat in the right seat of an airliner?

Rough figures will do..

I'll start

PPL- £6000 to £7000k in UK (without any additional ratings)

[daria-ox]

Modular.. it would be around 40K with minimum hours (PPL - FATPL), plus if you want to do a type rating yourself, which I don't really think is a good idea, add another 20 or so K into the 40K.

[Celtic Pilot]

This is a bit of a vaig question but it really depends on what route you take to complete the training.... Oxford quote 63K for their integrated course and I would imagine that their modular route isnt to far behind it,, So to give you as a precise answer as I can it would be summed up as!!!!!

A hell of alot of money (investment) + A huge risk (especially right now)



= Airline Pilot!!!!!! (hypotetically) in current industry not very likely!!!! :E

[daria-ox]

I think it would be a good idea to slow down your training or don't start for a while, until the current climate will change, at least a little. It doesn't look good at the moment, and I doubt you would get a job in the nearest future.

[preduk]

As said, Modular around 40K or Integrated around 70k+ plus interest on bank loans, so probably around 90-100k

This will get you qualified, not necessarily a job with an airline, you still need to build hours and experience (usually done via instructing).

[DB777]

liam548,

I am in a similar boat, I have just started my NPPL though. Once I have had LASEK (and stablised) i'll be converting that to a PPL. I have worked out it'll cost me about £5500 (Then £2k for the LASEK). I think it depends on many variables, such at how quickly you learn and were you're flying!

I am also interested of the financial path thereafter; hour building costs,Night rating etc, IR, CPL then the APTL (including exam cost etc.) As i've got at least a year until I obtain my PPL I don't doubt, especially in the current economic climate, costs will vary - the path may even alter...

Why am I doing this?!!!!!!!

All the best

[liam548]

yes I agree.

I am talking 3-4 years before I would be looking for a job I am sure the turn around will have started by then and opportunities will have got better

[v6g]

Total about £25-30k by doing the PPL & CPL in Canada and working for a year or so (so your training becomes tax deductible). Then return to Europe to complete the groundschool exams and the JAA IR.

Of course you'll need a "skill" in order to work in Canada but many people easily qualify for that by learning how to drive a bus or something.

[daria-ox]

+ add accomodation and living costs to it, and the flight tickets. The price will be nearly the same.

[Obs cop]

For folks who are wondering just how it breaks down, here's a rough layout of my costings. I'm a significant way down the route so some figures are accurate, some are quotes and on top of all of this you need a slush fund for contingencies and accomodation/transport (which are fortunately not an issue for me with my circumstances).

Class 1 medical £450

PPL £6130 (includes test fee, exams, ground training and home landing fees)
Other landing fees £50
Aircraft hire for test £270
Licence issue fee £168

ATPL Distance Learning £1995
Exams £882

Hours building-UK (100 hours) £10,000

Medical renewal £125 (after 12 months)

Night rating £793
Rating addition to licence £78

M/Engine CPL course £8125
Test Fee £729
Licence issue £216

M/Engine Instrument Rating £13,054 (OUCH)
Test Fee £729
Rating addition to licence £108

MCC £2695

The grand total is £46,597

Can you run to this budget?

Yes, I am currently under mine by £395 thus far and expect to claw a little more back as I go. Likewise the hours buildng and courses I am doing are all UK based so can be done cheaper elsewhere.

But folks, do not expect it to be a cheap or easy path as £3465 (8 percent on top of the actual cost of the training!) of the finest pounds sterling quoted above have gone direct to the CAA and are often not quoted in course prices.

Hope this helps some out there.

Obs

[flaps 15 3 green]

Daria ox:

I don't know about you boy but if you're paying 30k for accommodation, flight tickets and living expenses, you're either a royal or an idiot..

[no sponsor]

Obs cops,

Good effort on the costs.

You need to add fees for approach, airways and landing fees for the IR (unless you are in a Duchess which does not attract airway fees).

Also, accommodation costs if the IR/CPL is done away from home. Also the MCC might need the odd night in a B&B. I spent around 10 weeks in a B&B.

The hour building requires landing fees too. You will, as a minimum need the two landings in the 300nm x-country.

The 100 per hr is a very conservative figure. I would argue 120 min if done in the UK.

I would say 50K. Keep 10% contingency, since you might need extra hrs, exams, tests. You never know.

I never kept a running total, but I was over 50K, since I did hr building abroad, and never went for the cheapest option.

[potkettleblack]

Travelling to Gatwick to sit exams (train, car, bus or fly). Accomodation at Gatwick for each sitting. All adds up.

Do you plan on passing everything first time? Hopefully so but don't let your dreams evaporate because you didn't allow a bit extra to cover having a bad day.

Add on at least a 10% contingency to your total costs to allow for the unforseen. eg: spending more time on the ground not flying due to wx whilst racking up your daily fixed costs (accomodation/food etc).

And if you have a job before changing careers then your TRUE cost will be the salary sacrifice of not working whilst training.

[Celtic Pilot]

TopSlide:

Thats not true... They will pass a person with LASEK procedure a class 1 medical as long as their diopetre measurement before the procedure was within their specified limits!!!! They have to wait a year after the surgery, to make sure that their is no long lasting affects from the procedure to the eye...

----common affect is to have hallows around lights at night!!!!

view the visual standards for class 1 medical on the CAA website!!!!!

[daria-ox]

'I don't know about you boy but if you're paying 30k for accommodation, flight tickets and living expenses, you're either a royal or an idiot'

First of all, I'm not a boy :D

30K? Did I say that? You can get through modular here for about 40K. Depends on school. You can get it for about 30K in the US. Add the accomodation costs to it, and the price won't be much different.
Read carefully.

[Obs cop]

no-sponsor,

Cheers, however, I'll just clarify a few points from my personal budget.

I am close enough to Oxford and Shuttleworth that I commute for the exams. Some would say that stopping in a B and B is better, but I have young kids, a wife and I am already paying £1100 per month plus bills for accomodation so I try to use that whenever possible:} In addition 1 hour of studying on the BGS web site at home is worth 2 hours anywhere else I reckon.

Likewise, £100 per hour for hours building in the UK is viable if you really look hard. It does mean a minimalist old 152 with dubious smelling upholstery, but if you can navigate one of those round the UK in 30 knot winds and rubbish weather then you build some very valuable experience in some of the most congested airspace in the world. As a note I'm flying from a fully serviced ATC controlled commercial traffic airfield with CTZ for £105 per hour at the moment!

The IR price is due to go up but does include £600 of landing/approach fees in the price stated. I suspect they are being a little conservative with that figure but hey let's see where that one goes.

I don't have massive loans to service, and have negated accomodation costs and reduced transport costs by looking at local FTO's. To this end I also drive a very tatty looking LPG fuelled jalopy which I do a lot of the mechanical work on myself.

I haven't had a foreign holiday for years, and so far the process has taken 4 1/2 years with at least another 8 to 10 months to go. Likewise between eaxms, hours building and maintaining a dayjob, I get 4 or 5 hours free time a week!

However, compared to integrated, the £15,000 to £20,000 I save will buy me a Tyyyyyyppppe.........bad boy in your box! It will buy me an FI rating after it all, increasing my chances of employment wihtout a huge debt to service and with the security of my current job and associated income throughout. Job market a bit slow, delay the IR, or even do the FI before the IR!

Flexibility, determination and feet on the ground common sense all appear to help massively IMHO.

Impatience, reliance on credit, lack of understanding and recklessness is a screwed up life waiting to happen.

Regards,
Obs