Hi All,
As the title suggests I'm experiencing major analysis paralysis trying to figure out the best way for me to go back to flying after a couple of years off. I miss it dearly. Any advice or personal experiences relating to getting back into flying (I am aware the journey is already well documented) is greatly,
greatly appreciated.
[TLDR at bottom]
A bit of background:
I moved to Sydney in 2021 (age 20 at the time) to start flying at Basair as part of their CPL+MECIR course. I completed RPL and most of PPL (2-3 flights remaining), but was working late nights every weekend as a bartender to pay rent etc, so I ended up having to take a break from studying as my mental and physical health was really suffering from the lifestyle. I worked and enjoyed myself for ~18 months whilst settling into Sydney and making friends, and I have no regrets about that as I feel I’m finally ready to take it on again.
I now work a pretty cruisy FIFO, mainly desk-bound, job which I got with a qualification I already had. I aim to use this as a leg up to get myself back on track with flying. As easy as the role is, it’s definitely not something I want to get sucked into doing for more than a couple of years, however the lifestyle is perfect for me as I can save money, eat well and work out daily without the distractions and temptations Sydney offers, especially as an ex-hospo worker with plenty of friends still in the industry.
I work a 2 weeks on, 1 week off schedule, and I’m lucky enough to have a family member’s apartment in Sydney to stay in when I’m not working. My parents do help me out but aren’t in a position to foot the bill for my studies, or my living costs.
I was planning to join the SFC Tamworth Academy in their January 2025 intake, but have now been advised I won’t be able to join without redoing my RPL/PPL components (starting at day dot). My HELP loan is already at ~39k, so I’d have to save -at minimum- both the 25k accommodation/food cost, as well as an extra 30k to cover the RPL,PPL components. I don’t hate the idea of redoing those as it’ll give me an additional 40-50 hours and I won’t have to do revision flights before PPL, but saving the extra 30k will incur a considerable delay.
From what I’ve gathered, my options are:
- Tamworth Academy — Save up for 12-18 months and start in the Jul 25/Jan 26 intake. This would obviously set me up with a mountain of debt, but the lifestyle living on-campus and having meals provided would be very easy to transition into after working on-site FIFO for 2-3 years - This would probably be the least stressful method for me personally.
- Part-time study CPL — As mentioned, my job is cruisy and most days I could average 6-10 hours of study (management encourages using downtime productively as there is so much of it) for the entire 14-day swing (I would burn out before my work duties cut my studying time short). I don’t know how viable studying CPL part-time is, but I could do all the theory subjects over a period of time, while continuing to save money, then take a few months off of work to smash all the CPL flying out at once. Any thoughts on knowledge retention, etc with part-time studying over a long period?
- International options — Perhaps if I’m saving all this money to pay outright anyways, the US market would be a better plan? If anyone has any resources/knowledge/rough numbers on studying overseas, please do reply!
- Doing CPL at a flight college in Bankstown, then going back to work to save for MEA/IR/FIR - This seems particularly cumbersome, but it’s an option.
TLDR : Don’t know which avenue to take getting back into flying - CPL onwards. I already have 40k in HELP debt, and I don’t really want to balloon that to the big $179k but will if I need to in order to pursue this. I work FIFO on a 2-1 schedule, so I can save money to do an integrated course next year, or I could start doing part-time study now, but not sure about the timelines associated with it. Any advice is much appreciated.
Thanks again,
GB