Pay To Fly- A Moral Dilemma

[karrilon]

Hi

I recently read a thread concerning Pay to Fly TR's and airline pilots' thoughts on them......a tad negative to say the least!

My current position is this- I have always wanted to fly commercially but unfortunately after leaving school I nor my parents were in the financial position to fund my training.

I am now coming to the end of my 22 years in the Armed Forces (non-flight) and for the first time I am now able to fulfil my dream. My problem is my age........by the time I complete my ATPL i will be 42/43 with none of the heavy turboprop or jet hours that the airlines want. Not ideal!!!!!

The only way forward I can see is by going for a TR which includes the additional hours line experience but after reading some of the responses to the scheme BMI have introduced ( most of them I agree with) I've become a bit apprehensive. Coming from a culture where you dont s**t on your oppo, I was wondering if anyone could suggest an alternative to depriving employed pilots of flying time.

Regards
K.

[maxdrypower]

Matey a dozen things have to happen to you before you need to start considering the whys and wherefores of a SSTR , You are not even on number one yet .
There is a down turn in the industry that cannot be denied , but it wont last forever and plenty of people fly aeroplanes without buying TR's or time . As you say you will be 42-43 before you have an atpl and the situation will be vastly different maybe better , maybe be worse but different .
You have much more of a chance of getting a job with an atpl than without one .
Starting training now might just be a good thing , but who knows
Good Luck

[karrilon]

Max, thanks for your comments.

I know it seems like I'm getting ahead of myself and I appreciate that a TR is way down the line. I'm just trying to work out the budget for my training, which will be coming from my gratuity and releasing equity from my house.

Regards
K.

[chongololo]

Don't use the equity from your house to get into aviation, it's safer to rob a bank!!
Don't worry about your age, take your time and enjoy it. There are plenty of other options in aviation apart from the airlines. You could build up some turboprop hours flying charters and contracts, etc. without needing to pay for a TR.
There are many different ways to achieve your goals, you just have to think outsdie of the box.
Good luck

[Philpaz]

Hi there karrilon,

I'm ex mob (only 10 years for me though) and can appreciate where your coming from. I'm ex signals and so no flying for me, I have slowed my training down to a crawl and am instead investing in my business and my Isa's hoping for a recovery before i'm too old to live the dream. My advise would be to get your PPL and do some fun flying as and when you can, you could even do the GS. No one knows where the economy is heading but its best to be prudent with your money until the green shoots appear.
One things for certain, things will get better and the guy thats ready to walk straight on to his CPL and IR will be in a cracking position for the upturn boom.

Congrats on finishing your 22, braver man than I, and good luck.

Phil

[magicmick]

karillon,

nice to see fellow ex service types on the forum. Like you I served 22 years (RN Aircraft Engineer). I finished my time in January 2007, used my resettlement to get my ppl and my gratuity money to pay for hours building, CPL and MEIR, making maximum use of ELC grants along the way.

I seem to have qualified at a very depressed time for the employment market.....d'oh. I suppose I fired out about 70 or so cvs and got a few sniffs but no job offer (I don't think that being 42 years old was a factor but with current legislation they will never let on).

After 6 months in the wilderness I had to start earning some cash (my wife was very insistent) so I am working as a consultant on a 6 month engineering contract. But I will keep the faith and keep my ratings up to date in the hope that things will improve.

As far as paying to fly or paying for a type rating goes, I would budget for it and if you land a job without having to pay for one then you will be in profit. None of us know when the industry will recover and whether it will make a full recovery and the fact that you are prepared to finance your type rating may influence an operator to take you on.

Hopefully when you are ready to qualify the employment situation will be improved but whatever you choose to do I sincerely wish you every success.

Best Regards

MM

[Chasegood]

Ahhhh - quite a positive thread! Bit of a 'can do' thread rather than so many of the 'don't even think about it' type threads. :)

I'm currently gathering my plan of attack on the whole thing (36 y.o)