Right, In order....
Your Dad...
1. You don't need to be rich. Borrow the cash. Anything can be done with the right approach. Treat it like setting up your own business - then the sums don't seem so bad!
2. I'm sh*t at maths. Failed O level maths (well, nearly) but so what. I fly an A330 on longhaul routes and the only maths I use regularly is the 3 times table (height/distance) and the reciprocal of bearings (-200 +20). Piece of Pi*s mate. If I can do it, anybody can!
3. Tell him to give you credit for the rent for 13 months. Should not be a big deal for you to pay back 1300 quid when you land that first job
Your girlfriend:
1. You're going to leave her eventually, so don't worry about it now! Or is that too cynical?! Tell her a salary of £2400 per month should be less 'skunk like' (without wishing to enquire further about what that style of living exactly involves)!!
Your Mum:
1.You are much more likely to be killed driving/taking the train to work than flying a plane. Not pleasant, but true.
Your Local flying club :
1.Find another. Their lack of aircraft is their problem, don't let it be yours!
People who promise you money:
1.No-one is going to give you anything for nothing in this industry. Only believe them when you have the cash in your hand. Eggs and hatching etc etc
Those doubters who you work with....
I was told by some supposed 'good friends' that I worked with a few years ago "You are a fool for leaving a stable career and risking it all for a foolish dream". I think about that every time I fly over my previous employers on the approach to 27L at LHR. I am earning three times what I was then.
At the end of the day, just remember PMA (positive mental attitude) will get you everywhere. It is not easy to keep it all the time, and reaching your dreams is never easy, but if you stay focussed you WILL (I repeat WILL) get there. Just ignore the doubters and go for it. Do you want to sit in your twighlight years thinking "What if I had....."? No? So, in the words of the great sporting shoe company 'Just Do It'.
[ 21 August 2001: Message edited by: Busta Level ]