Oh god, what am I thinking...
Oh boy - where do I start... Well at the beginning of course!
Like most of you guys and gals on this board I have been looking at the route to a job as a pilot and I am considering the ATPL modular course but there are so many questions I need answered and as good as the WWW is, it is very general in its answers so I would like to try and get something more specific to apply to my situation.
First, a little bit about myself. I'm 26, have a job in IT which pays almost 30,000 pounds per annum and I hate it. I have a mortgage and a long term girlfriend who I know would support me (emotionally, not financially) if I decided to train. I have no flying experience (apart from being a skydiver for the past 3 years) however I have had an interest in aviation since about age 10 (stay with me, I am going to ask questions soon - I promise).
What I would like to know is:
(i) How many of you are in a similair situation to me in terms of lifestyle (job and mortgage) and how do you finance your flying. I can probably get the money for a UK based PPL course within the next couple of months but what about after that. How many hrs/week or hrs/month should I be flying if I want to eventually do the ATPL. If I grit my teeth then I can probably find 400 - 500 pound per month to spend on training (Is this enough?).
(ii) Is it feasable to hold down my present job working 5 days a week, 7.5 hrs per day and still be able to do the ATPL? What timescale do u think I am looking at.
(iii) I have a voucher from one of the major airlines which entitles me to a free return flight on any of their routes. Would it be practical for me to study in a place where training would be cheaper (e.g. South Africa) or would that be a total non-starter (I know there might be a possibility of a couple of extra hours training back in the UK to get used to the differences).
(iv) Am I supposed to have butterflies in my stomach and pangs of anxiety when I think of the massive change and trauma I want to put myself through to achieve this (Only joking - I know the answer to this one!!).
(v) Goals - Am I a freak because I don't want to be a Captain on a major passenger airliner. I would rather do small charter aircraft or cargo flying.
(vi) Prospects - I know the market has its ups and downs (hey, I work in IT) but there must be an average wage for pilots. What is the lowest you could start on - sorry, I know this is a fairly hard question to answer but I'm sure it's at the back of every wannabe's mind.
I know I have more questions but these are a place to start. Many thanks to anyone who gives a sensible reply - I know it can be a pain when people who are new to the scene ask questions that you have probably heard a hundred times before.
Thanks again,
Springo