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I am 15 years old this Friday and have had a strong interest in flying since about age 13, I joined the air cadets then as they offer some great experiences such as the occasional flight in a Grob 115E with an instructor and numerous visits to air shows and RAF bases. Recently at school my teachers have been talking to us alot about finding somewhere for us to do our work experience later this year in October. This got me thinking because if we do not find somewhere ourselves the school picks for us and it is usually something that does not appeal to me e.g. Hairdressing/Waitoring.
My question is that is there any sort of possibility of me doing this work experience at a flying club? I live in Essex and can easily access airfields such as Southend Airport or North Weald. Another question would be what sort of work would I expect to be doing there were I to be taken onboard? Has anyone done this sort of thing before?. I really am clueless so please forgive me if all of this is out of the question.
I too once once in the Air Cadets and thoroughly enjoyed it (Got a couple of scholarships out of it). I also had to do work experience when I was your age and actually did mine for a local airline where I come from. If your set on a career in aviation or are not sure, then I recommend doing an aviation related work experience it will begin your integration into the world of aviation and confirm whether or not its an industry you want to get into. Seeing as I did my experience with n airline you may have different tasks to me at a flying school but it should be interesting. I imagine you will have to carry out quite a few administration tasks such as booking in flying lessons, and taking payments. I imagine you may also be involved in a more technical side such as maintenance of the aircraft, you may be asked to help clean them etc. Also, if its quite a local flying club then, what tends to happen is they give the work experience people a couple of free flights when theres nothing to do (Thats what happens at the one where I live). When I did my work experience I had to carry out check-in, luggage handling, freight delivery, loading and unloading aircraft and passenger directing. I hope this helped you I'm currently in the process of getting my PPL so I might not be the best person for advice, but I try.
Doesn't Amy Childs have a beauty salon in Essex?? That doesn't sound too bad to me!
On a serious note... go knock on the door at the flying club and ask. Lots of guys got their start by washing planes and whatnot at flying clubs. Sounds better than being stuck at a hairdresser... unless Amy Childs is there
Thanks for that, I hadn't seen them before and looks quite interesting! Also southend airport is an ideal location as they have just built a train station there so getting there will be simple. I will try and get in touch with them soon and will let you know how things went, thank you very much,
Thank you Matt7504
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|This is the exact sort of answer I was looking for so thank you . It sounds pretty good to me just to even get a feel of the way the club runs but the possibility of getting a free flight or helping with maintainence sounds very good and fun! Also did you get a place for a flying scholarship with the cadets?
Hey fella - do the work experience (most places are more than happy to help), then if all goes well, suggest to them the possibility of some ongoing work in exchange for some flying?
When I was 15, my deal was 20 hours of work and I got a flying lesson. Most of the time was spent getting pissed off at how hard those flies were to get off the leading edges, even with Mer cleaner!
Present yourself well, be personable and interested, and show off your passion. Aviation seriously needs people like you to get involved more
If I was preflighting and saw you working hard, I'd be happy to talk to the boss and see if I could get you airborne with me for an hour or so, and in my experience, many others are the same.
Location: Within 2hrs drive of LHR (most of the time)
Posts: 10
I started by working in flying clubs and small airlines, slowly building hours and experience back in the early 80s. I got there in the end and have been an airline captain for the past 20 years and am now flying A330s, so it can be done. It was not easy and I nearly gave up several times! Persevere!
Yes I got 2 scholarships in the end. The first I got was a gliding scholarship up at RAF Syertston when I was 16, which was to get me up to solo standard in a glider and the second I got when I was 17 which was to get me up to solo standard in a powered light aircraft. Aka I got the first 15 hours of my PPL for free
Thanks everyone for all the helpful suggestions , I plan to contact a few flying clubs and see if any of them are interested, i will keep you posted on how things go!
Give us a call at Anglian Flight Centres, Earls Colne Airfield. We run a year long programme for work experience. It's what I started out doing and now I'm a Flight Instructor.
My school are yet to mention the exact dates we need to have it arranged for but they say sometime in may, so hopefully I will give you a call as soon as I find out, again thankyou very much!
Hello there,
Your story interested me because it I something that I did!! I knocked on the door of my local flying club in Hong Kong at the age of 15 an they employed me at weekends to do odd jobs. After this I worked for another 2 years after finishing my A Levels. I washed aircraft, refueled them, filed flight plans, made bookings and flew the desk when there was nobody there and even cycled down the road to collect the instructors lunch when they were busy. In return I go the most amazon introduction to aviation ever. I sat along with instructors on positioning flights and logged hours, sat on in briefings drank beer at the club bar with airline pilots and in general absorbed myself in all things flying, subsequently realizing that it was the only place I wanted to be. It ha been a career that has seen me move from these early beginnings to obtaining my licenses, becoming an instructor and all the way to flying 747s..... Pop down to your local club and chat to the CFI, owner, manager an you might be suprised that they might have something for you. At the very least get yourself known!!! Don't expect to be paid much but not many of us entered aviation to be rich!!! Best of luck.
Thanks Cavallier! Its always good to hear from someone who has been through it all and worked their way up to the big jets. The plan ATM is to wait until the school tell us when we need to start searching and then phone up a few local flying clubs and and have a chat with someone down there see if they are interested and hopefully with a spot of luck I will get a place!
Good for you! I did the exact same thing as you in June 2007 (or around that time anyway). I sent a bombardment of letters to all the local flying schools around and heard from 5, only one offered me some work experience.
It was a fantastic two weeks (a few flgihts here and there), washing down the Aircraft after flights (to de-bug them ) and helping with general administration. I enjoyed my time there so much, I decided to stay on for an extra 8 months helping them voluntarily.
Nearly 5 years down the line, I now work for a Private Air Charter company as a Ground Handler & it is a fantastic job! Its a start for anyway looking at pursuing a career as a Pilot or any other career with Aviation.
Got my son into Thomas Cook engineering for one week...and Airbus wing manufacturing site at Chester the second...lots of people do it...as someone said though get it in early.
Work experience at a flying club?
and I nearly gave up several times! Persevere!
