Advice please...PPL/COMMERCIAL
Firstly,Hello!
I'm new on the forum and have only just registered.
I am looking for some advice (lots of it I think) so I will just fire out some of my questions and briefly describe my situation.
My situation: I am 28, live on the south coast (Bournemouth) I achieved my PPL back in 2004/5 but was unable to keep up the hours to keep it valid, time has passed by with no flying and I have not revalidated the licence.
I have been in employment in the marine industry over this period of time. I am feeling stale in my industry/employment and am now considering a (big) change in career direction and am looking into the feasibility of flying commercially.
- Will it be possible to use the PPL towards commercial certification without completely re-doing all of the work / investment? I accept I will have to more or less start again regarding study etc
- What are the current options like regarding sponsorship/part sponsorship? are there any operators I should look at contacting?
- Are loans still available for commercial pilot training? If self funding, what are the employment prospects like?
I think my next step is to go for a Class 1 medical to make sure I am capable of pursuing this and to speak to some schools about my options and a way forward, although I do think everything from a training provider should be taken with a pinch of salt , hence my post on this forum.
If I make the decision to go for it, I think the biggest hurdle would be funding and living whilst training as I am very used to receiving a pay cheque each month. A sponsorship opportunity would be a dream situation but I cannot seem to find any good resources on the internet.
If anyone has any advice or entered the commercial pilot world from a similar situation ( after years of employment in another industry etc) it would be very gratefully received!