PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - What are the job prospects for new CPLs? (MERGED)
Old 2nd Jul 2006, 07:27
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Whirlybird

The Original Whirly
 
Join Date: Feb 1999
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I have had a couple of lessons from different people - to try and get an idea if I have any ability to do it (apparently, I do).
Be very, very, VERY careful of this sort of thing. A lot of instructors and schools will say and do practically ANYTHING to get a student.

I'm sure, without even knowing you, that you do have the ability to do it. YOu see, almost anyone can fly a helicopter. The thing that varies hugely is the amount of time it will take you. Is it possible to tell that in a trial lesson? Possibly. You can tell if someone has a natural aptitude for the actual flying. But you won't know how they'll get on with navigation, or exams, or their basic attitude, or how they'll react when the going gets tough, and all these things are more important.

If you have the money, perhaps it doesn't matter. But as someone who took a long time to do everything, I rather wish I HADN'T been told in the beginning that I was amazing, a complete natural, and all the other bull**** that I lapped up, gullible idiot that I was.

I recently heard from someone who was advised to do a f/w PPL first, so that, apparently, she'd learn about navigation and so on and could then concentrate entirely on flying helicopters. So spend £5000 to save a few extra hours on helicopters. Does that make sense to anyone except the f/w school who said it?

My advice would be - if you have a decent job, hang on to it, start flying helicopters, and see how you get on. And along with all the bull****, you'll get some reliable advice on here, and you'll soon learn who you can trust.
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