Hi Footsie.
This is somewhat of a pet topic of mine, so I apologise in advance if I go on a bit...
I don't wish to put a downer on your dreams, but at the same time I'd like to try and give you a realistic picture of things.
I'm one of the pro flyers of whom you speak. You say:
What really bothers me is the attitude of some of the pros, as seen on other forums. Guys who are doing what we are all desperate to do, and being paid for it, seem to have the same moans as people in 'normal' jobs. Over things like pay and conditions, management, pension rights etc. etc. Are they representative of pro flyers generally?
Now with all due respect, don't you think you're being just a trifle naive? Of course we have the same moans as people in"normal" jobs. We are just "normal" human beings after all.
To try and put it in a nutshell for you, think of something pleasurable you love doing, and think of being paid to do it. Sounds great. Too good to be true. Now think of someone deciding when, and how often you have to do it. Obviously there would come a point when it would cease to be a pleasure. Well, this is one of the reasons the pros complain - the constant battle between what the company wants from them versus the line at which it all becomes a grind.
Are they representative of pro flyers generally?
Well, obviously when someone posts on pprune they have a vested interest in convincing others of their own particular beliefs, myself included. But basically, anyone giving you the impression that pilots go to work every day grinning from ear to ear is kidding you.
As someone who isn't a pilot, let alone a professional pilot, you have no way of knowing what the job is actually like, day in, day out. So the advice of the pros is all you've got to go on - if you sense that some are disgruntled, take it seriously - there is a reason. Don't get caught in the wanabee trap that you actually love flying much more than these people and you wouldn't be moaning if only you were sitting in the right hand seat of something, anything......it just doesn't work that way.
It might be a great novelty at first......but after two years? Five years? Ten years? The skills and responsibilities in this job are high, but a lot of it is very mind numbing routine - but routine that you can't get wrong.
The most enjoyable flying I've done hasn't been professional. For example, learning to fly on Bulldogs - low level circuits, formation flying, aerobatics. Hovering a Bell 47 solo for the first time. Autorotations to the ground. Transitions. Quickstops.
So what am I rambling on about? Well, once it becomes professional, ie, once you're employed as a pilot, it all becomes a lot more serious. Manipulating the controls is about a quarter of it. Think paperwork, constant checking of your abilities and fatigue. It becomes a job.
Don't get me wrong, I love flying, but.....I've said it before, if I could, I'd earn a sh*t load of money, and fly for my own pleasure, what I want, where I want, when I want. If you're in the position to do this, I'd seriously question the point of becoming a pro.