you have to pass and pay for a class 1 medical every year ( to be changed now to 2 years under 60 ) but like myself you wo'nt benefit from that
Eh? It was every six months, and has now been changed to every year if you're under 60...unless something has happened very recently that I don't know about.
I did my CPL(H) and FI rating in my early 50s. Studying...I quite enjoyed the challenge in a masochistic sort of way. Expense...I had the money, so what the hell. I started instructing when I was 54. I'm now...coming up to 59. I don't admit to that very often on PPRuNe, but it's relevant here. And I don't understand all this fuss about age. I probably get tired more often than I did 30 years ago, but all that means is that after a hard days flying, I rest rather than go out and paint the town red. I worried initially that I wouldn't have the stamina, reaction time etc, but it just doesn't seem to be a big deal. I eventually realised that those worries were in everyone else's head, not mine. Everyone ages at different rates, and has different capabilities. Yes, I could fail a medical...but that's true of anyone at any age. OK, the odds are slightly higher now, but only slightly. I could also go on passing medicals into my 70s and 80s. Will I want to instruct then? I've no idea, and neither have any of you.
It may be illegal and unfashionable to be ageist these days, but many people still are, incredibly so. It's the only reason I rarely tell people my age. They start treating me like grandma.
If I keep quiet, they assume I'm at least ten years younger, not because I look it (I wish!), but because I don't act like their preconceived idea of how someone my age is supposed to act. I still want to live! I'm not counting the days till I can retire and sit by the TV all day. Retirement? That's what old people do! I'll be ready for it...some day in the dim and distant future...maybe. Meanwhile, if I can get paid to fly, then I will. If I'd been doing it since my 20s, I'd probably be tired of it. But I haven't, so I'm not.
sunday driver,
You're probably going to end up taking a horrendous cut in pay if you do instruct fulltime. If it's part time, why worry. You'll be knackered at first when you start instructing...but friends who've done it in their 30s tell me they were knackered too. Other than that, if you want to, and you obviously do or you wouldn't have posted, where's the problem? What has your age got to do with anything?