Oh My God - I have done it -- and I am scared

[spitfire747]

Well it has now been a year since i gained my PPL. Since then I managed to get 90 hours TT and a night rating - wasn't easy by perseverence made it happen.

Since Sept 11th I have been following the news of the industry and been reading many useful and some not to useful posts on here about the future. It has been depressing at times with the realisation despite hard work and enthusiasm, actually reaching the RHS FO position is going to be very difficult indeed.

I spent the day filling in the entrance revision pack for London Guildhall University, pondering on all that maths and physics i learnt at school and convinced myself I would never use again in my life. I sent the form in not being hopeful atall.
Well i got the acceptance letter for the ATPL full time course starting in September.

It took a lot of thinking, a few sleepless nights, but I went for it, sent up the £300 deposit and when received the confirmation letter, did the scariest thing i have ever done - handed in my notice at work. The thought of leaving a job, although not highly paid, to go away and study into an industry that is so difficult to gain a foothold had affected everything. My girlfriend has left me, she wanted the new house and security now, not in 5 years so she thought it best to go it alone - this in itself was difficult, but as my flying instructor said, "Your job is for life, your partner may not be", words of comfort ina sense i guess.

Well I have now secured my place, got to go to the bank to see if i can borrow the money for the rest of the CPL, (FI), IR and hour building.

Despite all this, I am a firm believer that if you want something bad enough, you will always get it. It will be difficult for a few years until things change back round, but i want to be in the position to be ready rather than "I Wish I had done that".
I read many people who doubt their ability and personal worth when it comes to flying or a flying career.
I reckon as long as you have passed a class one medical - go for it, if you don't try you will never suceed.

If anyone else has been accepted onto the September course at LGU and want to get in contact - email me

Good Luck
Spitfire

[CAT3C AUTOLAND]

Hi Spitfire,

I found your post a refreshing read this morning, it is nice to know there are others with a similar train of thought. I agree fully with the positive thinking, yes getting through the course will be tough and yes getting that job will be tough but the good things in life never come easy :D.

I am in a similar position to you, however, not quite as advanced. I have a PPL with around 93 hours TT, however I do not have my night or IMC. I am off to the US next month to revalidate my PPL (I let it lapse :(), and complete the IMC and night.

I am thinking of going to London Guild Hall Uni, I would be interested in your thoughts on the place. I have downloaded the information they provide on the net and I have heard some positive things said about the establishment. What is the damage by the way, and do the prices include on site board?

Don't worry about the lack of job, I did the same thing, and am convinced that it will be the best thing I ever did!!

Good luck with your ATPL studies, I have statred doing some pre-requisite study the ATPL's and I hope you like things like AC theory, electromagnetic induction and all that stuff, personally it does my head in :D. I wish I had not thrown all my Aerospace Eng college notes away now, oops ;)

[easondown]

Spitfire747,

Your story sounds very familiar to me. Several years ago I was in the same position as you (I even went to Guildhall). I'm now in the rhs of an A320 - It was very difficult at times, but if you want it bad enough some how you will get it.

All the very best of luck.

[EGLG777]

Hi Spitfire747

Know what you mean about the scary bit. I left my job a few months ago after getting my PPL and it all seemed pretty daunting at the time.

I'm also enrolled on the Sept course at LGU so will see you there!

All the best

[RowleyUK]

Hey s747,

Im about to leave my job in 8 days!:eek:

Cant wait......I borrowed 15K and have got the rest saved up!

Ive got a PPL with 100hrs and start full time ATPLs the week after next!

Maybe blind hope will get us through........but one thing is for sure, its gonna be the best money ive ever spent and believe me, im gonna love every second of it!(well maybe not the exams)

[Autofly]

747,

What an inspiring post ...... if I knew where to get the cash from i'd follow. I'm PPL, 80TT and a recent Night Rating and don't want to be one of those "I wish i'd done that."

The reality is that everyone wants to do a job they'll love. If you find a job you love, you'll never work again. All the best to you.

AF

[Wee Weasley Welshman]

Well done Spit. Most commercial pilots have been there. I remember giving up my job in 1999 and its an unnerving time. You'll come good I know it.

Keep smiling, the good times are comin'...

WWW

[kaeveritt]

A rather helpful post I thought!!

Up until now, I have been stuck in that position of should I, shouldn’t I. I think that you have given me that little bit of incentive to get off of my backside and do something with my life instead of waiting for it all to come to me on a plate
:)

[Sagey]

Think I have virtually secured my first full time permanent job since leaving Uni, things not only been a nightmare for aviation industry, with all those redundancies out there it has been tough for recent Grads.

Anyway am envious as will now be desperately saving up after paying off student loans to start from scratch to fulfill dreams, and obviously I hope to faced with the same concerns in the not so distant future (I hope ;) )

Best of luck to all of those that have made the big jump, enjoy it and work hard :). I totally agree with the sentiment that it is definitely something that you don't want to look back upon in forty years time and say "Only if I had followed my heart"

Sagey

[FlyingForFun]

Spitfire,

You and others are more brave than me - good luck to all of you! I'm in a very similar position, but decided work part-time towards the ATPL while still keeping my current job to pay the bills. A little over a month into the distance-learning, I'm sitting at work, bored out of my mind, wishing I had the finances to just quit the job and get the ATPL sorted asap!

It's a long road, but we'll all make it in the end, as long as it's what we want to do.

FFF
------------

[CAT3C AUTOLAND]

easondown, maximum respect, it is a post like that, that keeps a smile on my face from ear to ear.

RHS on the old A320 eh? Sounds fantastic, next time I am slamming my head against a brick wall because electrics has come back to haunt me on the ATPL course, I will think about your post!:D

Just out of interest, what is the feeling like, when you walk down the jet way, with your stripes and your pilot case, approaching a big shiny jet remembering back to when you were stuck underneath a clapped out Cessna trying the drain the engine fuel drain? :cool: WWW, you could probably answer that one :).

[easondown]

cat3c,

Let me tell you, the feeling you get is better than sexxxxxxxxxx....

[CAT3C AUTOLAND]

easondown,

I am now laughing my ass off :D.

The feeling I get when I am near a big shiny jet is better than sex, jesus christ it looks as if I am in for a real treat, maybe even a heart attack :eek: , if I am successful of course.

Happy side sticks!!:D

[liquidhockey]

That was an enjoyable post to read i must say.

Just to put forward my opinion... if your girlfriend couldn't see what it meant to you and got up and left then you were better off without her.:)

Good luck in the future mate

Keep the faith.

Yours
Dave

[stalling attitude]

stick with it coz if u want it bad enough you will get it . i was in the same position a few years ago and im now in the rhs of a 737 getting paid great money for doing something i love ( just dont tell my employer):D

[bgd]

Hi Spit
Just be yourself and do what 90% of us did.Pay the maney bite the bullet and wait to see that sun raising as you rotate 50000kgs of iron towards some nice coastline town with nice espresso.good luck!May I say nice two esspresos?

[tama7]

Wow you guys are insprirational - all of you! I have just about given up on flying after a painful break-up with my ex (a rotor blader) and I am so tired of feeling like I have nothing to look forward to anymore...I'm almost tempted to fly tonight! I've missed it soooo much that the ache is like a double whammy!
Thanks for being so dedicated and discussing it.
Stay safe and close to heaven.

[cleartoland04]

Hello everyone,

Good move Spit, probably a very hard step to make but certainly one you will never regret (or so I hope).

I'm also stuck behind a computer right now making good money from a well known european a/c manufacturer but I can't wait for the day where I'll go to my boss office, scared as never, to tell him thank you very much but it's time for me to spread my wings and fly away...and I will, just a couple of months to wait!

Anyway, I wish you the best of luck as well as to all the wannabes around here...if nothing major happens in that stupid world there will be a seat for all of us in the future.

Keep the sunny side up

Clear

[spitfire747]

Just a quick thankyou to all those of you who have taken the trouble to reply with your messages of inspiration.
I know that i will achieve what i dream of with alot of hard work and some luck.
September seems along way away but it will soon come.
I remember back to an Easyjet flight I had a couple of months ago from Gatwick. Picture this - I was sat in the front row, it was very windy outside, pouring down with rain, grey clouds and a generally miserable day all round, BUT the first officer despite having to go and doa walk around with the chance of getting wetter than if he jumped into a swimming pool, had that look on his face, the look of fufilment, enjoyment, excitement and happiness. - Oh boy i cannot wait to get there!

People are right, what I am doing, what people have done and what others will do is a RISK and a big one at that, but then again my Nan kept saying to me before she left this world, life is full of risk, you may get run over by a bus in the morning, if you want something go for it and you will suceed.
2 Years ago i was dreaming of being a private pilot, i saved the money and went for it, now I have got it, I am now dreaming of being a commercial pilot, so witht he same hard work and commitment, next year i will post a messag here saying " Last year I dreamt of being a commercial pilot an now i am.."

My heart sometimes beats so hard when i think of myself in the RHS of a shiny passenger plane, i find it hard to imagine anything that comes close.
I have met many many different "aviators" over the past few years and will be a privellage to spend my working life with a bunch of the friendliest, professional and most helpful people. It is the sort of industry where everyone is out to help everyone else, not themselves !


Keep with it everyone
Spitfire..

[RowleyUK]

Check This Thread.....Things could be on the up soon! (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=457002#post457002)

[MorningGlory]

Spit,

Well done. I too made the move last year. It's funny that throughout your training you'll find that you cant wait to get onto the next stage of your training knowing that everyday that passes, you're a step closer to your dream!

The ATPL groundschool seems to drag while you're there, and I couldnt wait to start the CPL, but as soon as I had passed all 14 (long 7 months), and started the CPL, I was kind of wishing I was back in the classroom. No, the flying is better than the class, but its all a very enjoyable experience.

If I could give you one piece of advice for September it would be: Make things easy on yourself and work like a slave during the groundschool, because you will not want to retake any of the ATPL exams. If you think someone is studying harder than you, then study harder yourself, It WILL pay off.

Best of luck, see you at FL360 soon.

[Fast Jet Wannabe]

Spit / EGLG777,

Just out of interest, I presume you two are both starting the pure ATPL course at the LGU?

I'm starting the aviation managment degree in the same building, also in September. Sure to see you both thre.

Just out of interest, can I ask how old you two both are?

Cheers!

FJW.

[t'aint natural]

Spitfire:
Look at it this way... you can't afford not to.
I thought about it when there was still time, but there were lines of lesser resistance into other more profitable careers, and the time passed me by. I'm in my middle years now and it'll never happen. I keep my hand in with a little helicopter instruction but I missed the boat and there isn't another one.

[PT6Driver]

Spit,

Good luck:) Just remember to work hard at the groundschool and aim for a first time pass in all subjects. I took Met 3 times under the old system and the strain is somthing else:mad:
Also whether on groundschool or flying you will probably hit a wall that apears too high - remember that eveybody who is flying and getting paid has been there and bought the T-shirt so stick with it.
Good luck.

[NorthernSky]

I'll apologise in advance for wetting a few bonfires....

I work for a very successful operator, flying and doing some fascinating office work, and yet I would drop it all tomorrow for a 'proper' job with weekends off and predictable hours. When it's good, it's oh-so-good. The rest, the majority of the time, it's awful.

Sadly, once you fly, you have only one skill. Yes, think about it seriously, only one skill. If you can't make money exercising that skill, you're dead in the water. Most other professionals have skills which would allow them to re-train into other well-paid professions with relative ease. Pilots don't. Very few professionals work as hard as pilots can, or do so much extremely early and late work. I have some strong feelings about the long-term effects of working to the limits of CAP371 or equivalent. Take a look at the (few) statistical analyses of survival amongst long-term long-haul pilots. Yes, this job will kill you early.

You'll work in an industry now wholly-owned by accountants. Standards are lower than ever and falling. Believe me, I've seen it (from the flight deck, the office, and the regulatory stand-point).

Finally, no other equivalent profession expects its inductees to cover the entire cost of their basic training. Does this not tell you something extremely profound about the manner in which your future employers will view you?

I'd love to go on for pages, and maybe one day I will, but not now. It's time for bed. Saturday tomorrow, and whilst the kids take the day off I'll be flying again. And Sunday too.

[tinyrice]

Good luck to you Sunshine, I hope your enthusiasm never dulls. I ejected from my day job last year to do something I wanted to, except in my case it was to get out of aviation. Oh and don't forget, you get to slip the surly bonds thanks to the efforts of maintenance, so be nice to them lest they tie knots in your pilots relief tube.

[Slim20]

Spit

You are on the right track. Self belief will get you there in the end. Despite Northern Sky's jaded grumblings, you know commercial flying's what you want to do, warts and all.

The CPL/IR is hard work, but get through it. I don't think exam results are worth that much in the real world, just try to get them out of the way asap, as its that part of the course that saps most poeple's enthusiasm. Make six months sacrifice of your whole life just to get rid of them, and then the fun will really start.

Don't sweat it - just remain a believer!!;)

[stator vane]

flying is good, but to say it is better than sex implies that you have been missing something in that department!!

[citrus200]

Stator i`d agree -

`the feeling when you walk down the jetway to your shiny jet`

well most of the time i think `who are the cabin crew`, or`i bet the last gash ****** left the flight deck in a real messy state`or its bloody cold and wet out there wonder why the skippers given the sector to me?`

and thinking about walking round a cessna - did i really used to have to fly those things - nah must have been a bad dream, there`s no brewers or toilets! and where are you supposed to keep your crew meal!:eek:

[jtumbler]

To all of you starting an aviation carreer :
you won't regret it. It's the greatest 'job' you could ever imagine.
It won't be easy and don't think the hard work is done once you find yourself in the RHseat of that 'shiny' jet...
I've been working for Sabena for three years and loved the experience but find myself now again as a 'wannabee'. Hard times but I agree with Spitf747 "If you want it hard enough..."
Can't wait to find myself back in the good old 737 !!!
Best of luck to you all.;)

[Pilot Pete]

Spit

Well done, stick at it as it will not be easy. Yes, walking down the airbridge feels great, but sitting in the seat and placing it softly on the tarmac in tricky conditions feels even better! This is how I got to the rhs of the 757; http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6911

Good luck

PP

[Soku]

I must say this topic has brought to me a little hope after the 9/11 every airline needs money to stay afloat thing. I would like to thanks to spitfire and all the others who dare to dream. This thread really helped me out thanks.

[spitfire747]

I remember back to my childhood to a film called "The Boy Who Could Fly"

The punchline was:

WISH HARD ENOUGH, LOVE LONG ENOUGH and ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE

Words of truth !

[MorningGlory]

Pilot Pete,

I read your post on how you got there from your link above. Wow, sounds like you had your fair share of good and bad times.

I, like you did, am training in a similar way, and not sure now if I'm looking forward to my next test, the CPL skills test, seeing as you said it was one of your most worrying!

Anyway, well done to you, to me, and to all others who have taken their first lesson in a C150 or have just had their first take off clearance in a large jet, to one and all, like you said, if you want it enough you'll get there, and it's with that in mind, I'll see you and no doubt many others reading this at FL360 one day!

Must dash, got some CPL checks to revise!!

[whisperbrick]

I fully remember my first walk to the jet, feeling like an aviation god with my "gold stripes" and flight case,feeling proud and confident.

Just then the bloody handle fell off and disgorged the contents all over the apron, at least giving the spectators terrace a good laugh at the t**t below,

Hope your first day is better

[Pilot Pete]

same happened to me on my first CRM day with the company. CC found it amusing:rolleyes:

PP

[spitfire747]

right, less than two weeks to go untill I start the course at LGU, am i scared still, erm..... YES, **it scared infact, but life is boring without risk.
Life will be tough, no job no money, no beer, stale bread and cabbage water but it will be fun, i WILL pass and will go on to be a good pilot.
There is alot of pessimistic people on here and alot of optimistic ones aswell, my pint glass his half full, it has got to be, without optimism and a sense of humour I will never make it.

Ladies and gentlemen, all raise your glasses to our futures !!! :D :D :D :D

Spitty
:)

[Backontrack]

Wow, this post couldn't be timed better! I am quitting my job in the coming weeks. I'm due to take my PPL skills test in two weeks, did my X country qualifier last week and have hour building booked in South Africa for October. There is so much going on at present, all new things that are scary as hell but I cannot help feeling excited as hell.

I start my ATPL's in November with ATA and yes I'm anxious about how difficult it is going to be but to read some of the posts here really helps to solidify that there is a way through and the risk and the pain will be worthwhile...........one day.

Good luck to all those who take it by the throat and make it happen, we're all taking risk in our own ways, my mortgage will be the size of the national debt of some small countries but having worked in IT for several years, I know that the pursuit of money alone does not make you happy......go and do it.

[TopBum]

I prety much agree with NorthernSky comments on the state of the air transport industry. By and large because the same state of affairs appears to be present in most other industries.

Long hours, ungrateful (and not always competent) managers that take you for granted and for a mug, ever decreasing standards and so on.

All this will probably be a factor in what ever industry you work in. It has been in my experience and that of others I've talked to.

Hence I don't really see this as a good reason (at least by itself) not to go and work in a job you'll love.

[kopbhoy2]

It's better to be skint but studying for a job you really want and will really love, than to be paid well but working in a job which is unfulfilling.

To those of you 'going for it' - best of luck, see you up there :)

[The Islander]

Spit,
Well done for making your move, but don't get too anxious. Having just completed Part A at LGU I can tell you you'll be in good hands. You will be pleasantly surprised by the fact that everyone in your class will have the same aspirations and anxieties as you and as the course progresses you'll be helping each other through. Not only that, but directly opposite your classroom will be 19 of us doing Part B who will gladly offer any assistance, if needed.

Not all the exams results from this month are known, but according to the Administrators they are shaping up to be the best the school has produced.

E-mail me if you have any specific questions.

See you in Sept!