Am I too old/big for a pilot career?
Hi all,
I am 34 years old, married with three kids. Recently I applied for a position with Airservices Australia as an ATC trainee and was unsuccessful, it seems that my 49% spatial vision did not get me across the line. Anyway, moral of the story is that I was devastated. Always wanted to be a pilot but never pursued it as quite frankly I did not have the money. Recently I found out that there is now the possibility of getting student loans to fund a decent portion of the training, I would love to do it but it is obviously a big leap and I was hoping some of you guys/gals can help me out.
My questions are:
1. Is 34 too old to consider flight training? I would love to one day be a long haul pilot, is it realistic? I have heard that due to this pilot shortage that new pilots have been recruited in their 40’s, is this actually true?
2. In the last 10 years I have fluctuated between 105kg - 130kg, desk jobs have not been kind. Currently I am sitting on 120kg. I know Soar Aviation state their planes have a 110kg weight limit for their introductory flights, what is the deal with other flight schools? I am about 6’2 so generally I carry weight well and don’t look huge but obviously it could be an issue.
I would really appreciate your your thoughts on this, please be honest, if it is something that can only be a dream than I would rather know that now.
Looking forward to your responses.