Another naive wannabe seeking advice (sorry)..
Greetings to all,
Yes, this is the usual wannabe enquiry, but I promise you I've scoured the whole forum for every tidbit of info before writing this post!
First a little background:
I'm currently 33 years old and have been fascinated by helicopters for the last 31 of them. Been around aircraft all my life (dad in RAF), have some PPL(A) training (15 hrs a few years back in Canada while working) and have reached a point where financially I can give up my hard earned home and follow my dream and re-train to fly.
It's taken me six months hard research and thinking to get to this point, I've done aptitude tests (scored highly), trial flight, spoken to folks from several UK and US training schools, and read everything I can find on the net. I'm well aware of the pitfalls of the industry, and that I'm going to need to budget a good deal more than the CPL money alone to give myself even the slightest chance of success.
So, here's what I currently plan on doing. Any insights as to what I might do differently to give myself a better chance are welcome. I've accumulated all the best advice and wisdom I could find but I still really don't have any clue as to whether I'm being realistic or whether my plans are naive pie in the sky material:
I aim to do the joint JAA/FAA course at Heli Adventures in Florida including the FAA CFI course, (I have a provisional booking for Sept '05.) Then instruct for the remaining year of the J1 visa (relocating nationally in US as required). During that time I'm going to get myself a single-engine turbine rating and self fund another 10 or 20 hours on it, or spend that money on a dual-turbine rating as well.
Upon return to the UK, I would fund a JAA CFI qualification and seek work here for another 1000 hours or so. All the qualifications and ratings at this point I can afford to do self-funded.
So, I'm hoping that by then I'd have taken 3 to 4 years since starting the CPL, have accrued 2000 hours and have at least an additional low-use turbine rating. (I really don't think I could stretch to an IR as well but I could if I tightened my belt somewhat as well as forgoing the JAA CFI, but then I'd loose the hours I could earn with it..)
Is this realistic? Would I at this point stand a reasonable chance of finding work? I'm seeing this as a no compromise life-changing journey and one that I'm prepared to follow anywhere around the world to do. (No dependents, lucky me.)
I'm well aware it's still a huge risk. I'm trying to mitigate against that by investing some of my equity from my vastly over-enflated Oxfordshire house value into rental property.
I understand that there's no certainties, but have I considered everything I should have and devised a workable plan? (And I could always go back to software if it didn't work out, I lost the medical, etc. I'd just have spent my house..)
Thanks for any and every piece of advice.
Si
No need to apologise Simon. Yours is one of the best wannabe posts for a long time. Nobody minds being asked questions by someone who's done some research of their own before asking.
Heliport