Originally Posted by
alexeyAP
Thanks for your replies, it's been truly helpful.
Wow, £15k of £50k is taxed? Maybe I should start being more cynical, that's criminal in my eyes
Welcome to the world of work.
Originally Posted by
alexeyAP
Are you sure about ATPL being 100k in loans? Bristol groundschool has ATPL(a) courses at £3k and while I appreciate that BGS is only the theory part I've mostly heard £50-60k quoted as a price for the modular.
No I'm not sure, but it won't be far off. Costs are increasing and unlikely to decrease. You might be able to do it for £50k, but I think you'll find that's a hopeful estimate. The theory is a tiny part of the cost.
Originally Posted by
alexeyAP
Flying a/c to build hours through glider tugging (bit of a rare breed here in the UK, we mostly use winch launch) and skydiving etc. is definitely a good suggestion.
Yep. Hence the bit about it being hard to find. I was last a member of a gliding club in 2006 though, so you're quite right, things may have changed.
Originally Posted by
alexeyAP
I know I seem right now very over optimistic about working for the airlines and completely ignorant of the work that I'll have to put in before getting there, but I truly believe I have the motivation to do as you suggest and fly GA for a few years. Any aviation is still aviation in my eyes, that will never change
I've also been looking into opportunities at the RAF. I spoke to a recruiter about getting in as a pilot and after he'd finished chuckling he told me that out of 35k applicants last year only 35 were selected to go through pilot training, keep in mind only a small portion will be flying fastjets. It's really really competitive. I'm in the air cadets though, we go to the glider field every few months and do 2 launches at a time. Lots of fun and definitely a good starting point to progress into aviation further.
Thanks for the help hobbit, you've been very kind. Take care.
No problem. Good luck.