DeeTee
Great posting - just what wannabees need to read.
Quidditch Captain and gdnhalley - good to hear from you both - I am just on the lower side of 40 and working towards an ATPL by the time I am 42/43, so feel at home with you around on pprune. I have left it late to enter a commercial flying career, mainly due to the Class 1 eyesight standards only changing recently, but also until now I could never have afforded the huge expense of it all. I made the decision about 18 months ago to totally change career direction from a well paid and secure but bl**dy frustrating job that depresses me, to one that entralls and inspires me. I love every part of aviation, the stimulation of learning new skills every time you fly, the sheer exhiliration and privilege of being able to pilot an aircraft around the skies, the fascination with aircraft and how they are designed, built and maintained, the bustle of the airfield or airport. I even love the smell of kerosene! I must be a sad anorak.
I am enjoying building hours and broadening my flying experience at the moment and will shortly be commencing the ATPL course via distance learning. My initial career ambition is to become a poverty stricken flying instructor, and perhaps one day I might even have sufficient hours and there may be a large enough deficit of qualified pilots for me to land an airline job. If not I will still be happy and contented as I will have relished every minute of my time involved with aeroplanes and the people that fly them.
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"Happy are they who dream dreams and are prepared to pay the price to make them come true"