Originally Posted by
BertieC
Sowait for it.
I've been flying 9 days and have 7 hours, But I am on course to finish my PPL () early January as I am ramping up the hours from next week,
I've taken a lot of knocks recently (divorce finalised, cancer op ,mother committing suicide - all in the one week, a month ago) and so decided to change my life
and do what I've always dreamed of doing. I have the money but I want to qualify fast. And fast usually means you pay a premium which is why I should have been more accurate
and said I'm looking for a not expensive fast way to do this.
I'm 55 and so speed is important!
Thanks for your replies. Keep them coming.
I would be surprised if you finish by early / in January with how the weather can be, the availability over Christmas and with all the PPL exams to pass, 7 hours in is too early to tell if you're going to blast through the rest easily and finish close to the 45 hours. I did mine in my early 20's 3 to 4 days per week through summer and it still took me 5 months and I passed with 50 hours. ( the weather wasn't the best that year )
ATPL exams are your next problem, I don't know your background but they definitely aren't easy and are only getting harder, if you passed them in under 6 months it would be impressive by anyones standards.
Class 1 - get that straight away so you know you can get it when you need it, wouldn't want to spend 50 odd K on your PPL, Hour building and ATPL's then find out you can't get one due to a medical issue.
You can still instruct on a Class 2 though, but bare in mind you'll need 200 hours pilot in command and still need to pass the commercial exams ( this will bypass the need for a CPL, but thats around 200 hours of hour building after you've got your PPL )
If you do manage to get all this done by the time you're 56/57 you'll only have 3-4 years left to fly commercially but on such little hours the hopes of getting any work are very slim/next to none. If I'm not mistaken and someone will probably correct me, you can fly up to the age of 65 as a co pilot providing the pilot in command is under 60. This means going multi crew and realistically having to do your IR ,then find a company that will take on a pilot who only has a few years of their career left and can only fly with another pilot present.
Sorry if this all seems a little harsh but just being honest.
If you have your heart set on it then go for it, its never too late, but just be realistic in the fact that you may get quite a way in and realise your only route is to instruct.
Which aircraft are you currently flying and where are you located?