Originally Posted by
thorn bird
"I have given up on my dream of being in cockpit of a commercial airliner."
I know of a guy with a dream, he started his dream at age 39, every one discouraged him but he
persisted. At age 45 he found himself in the cockpit of a Boeing 737 as a first officer. He is now a captain.
Dreams do come true.
Spoken like a flying school operator!
Over the past 50 years there have been periods where some pilots had a dream run. It was all in the timing. I got lucky - had a job the same day I got my CPL (age 19), first airline job two years later, first airline command two years after that. BUT it was in the days of mandatory retirement and I did have to leave Australia and go to some less desirable locations to get there as quickly as I did. Those who stayed home took 12 to 15 years to their first command, but of course enjoyed better living conditions (and better climate!) while they waited. They thought they were secure, but the events of 1989 proved otherwise. Some who dropped out never returned to aviation. Some went overseas and did far better than they could have at home.
Then came deregulation. Several cycles of good and not so good times have followed. The FIFO business helped. It was in these good times that we saw relatively quick paths to the airlines and early commands. How many still have those commands or even those airline jobs? How many will have them in another three months if this crisis continues?
Think what that means for a 250 hour CPL hoping to get paid to fly.