Blimey, am I the only one who doesn’t work in IT? <img src="confused.gif" border="0">
(i) I’m in a pretty similar situation; 30, married, 2 year old mortgage & (thankfully) no kids. Obviously the more money you can find, the quicker you can train, but at the moment I’m limited to around £250 per month, so your £400 – 500 is realistic. In any case, bearing in mind the state of the job market at the moment, its probably not a bad idea to slow your training down. Also remember that your budget will have to cover a lot more than just flying hours – initial class 1 medical at £400, books at £20 a throw, exams, etc etc.
(ii) Yes, as long as you can handle the commitment. For most people with a mortgage, this is the only way they can fund the ATPL. It will certainly take longer, and an understanding employer who will let you take leave at short notice or for extended periods will certainly help. The PPL & hours building while working full time is no sweat, but the ATPL written exams can take a year or more if you’re only studying part time. This doesn’t work for everyone however, and many people enrol on a full-time ground-school course to get them out of the way.
(iii) It might, but then again it might not. There are few places as expensive as the UK for training, but there is a school of though that says if you want to fly here commercially, it makes sense to train here as well. Stories abound of newly qualified PPLs returning from the US who have real trouble with UK wx and RT, who then need additional training. When the total costs are compared, there often isn’t that much of a difference. All you can do is check out all the options and see which one is best for you. Whatever you do, don’t part with loads of cash upfront – if the school demands advance payment, find another one. And always pay by credit card.
(iv) You’d be worryingly laid back if you didn’t. A career change is always a bit of a leap in the dark. When it involves blowing £50k + without any guarantee of employment, its normal to be a little nervous. Keep in touch on Pprune, and you’ll get loads of support from people who’ve either done it already or are in the same boat as you.
(v) No. Its a big industry, and if everyone wanted to be a Concorde captain, there would be a lot of disappointed people out there. Much like any other line of work, given time you can find your niche.
(vi) Unsurprisingly, it depends. Before September 11th, a lucky few were starting on jets at £30k+. More realistic was around £20k on a TP. However, when times are bad, you’ll get people cutting each other’s throats for £10 per flying hour as an instructor. Pick a figure anywhere in between.
Hope that fills in a few blanks, but feel free to e-mail me if there’s anything else.