I need to know Everything!

[Daniel_109]

I want to become a commercial pilot, i need to know how much it costs, what qualifications i need to have, how strict the medical tests are, and so on! I NEED TO KNOW EVERYTHING!!:ok:
Cheers,
Danny:O

[silverknapper]

Try a search, has been covered so many times before

[mad_jock]

School kid alert.

Be gentle chaps he was in chat asking as well.

MJ

[PaddyMcGinty]

there are so many different posts about this question. check out this thread though:

http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=119608

Cost varys so much, from about £40,000 up to £70,000 depending on where you do it and whether its integrated or modular!

Dont know what the qualifications are. Couple of GCSEs i think and fluency in english.

As for the medical, its a tough day but if your fairly fit and have good hearing and correctable vision you should be fine. Just as long as you dont have epilepsy or something like that.

Get the book: "guide to becoming a professional pilot" by Clive Hughes. Its excellent and will answer most of your questions about everything involved in becoming a pilot!

Best of luck!

Steve

[Jesus H]

Daniel_109

Bless you and good luck!

JHC

[p.savage]

Danny, for your own health and safety, you'd be just as well using the search facility.

Welcome to PPruNe by the way, you'll find pretty much everything you need to know here.

Good luck

[Daniel_109]

Thanks! :ok: I've everything i need now (i Think!).
Thanks again,
Danny

[Send Clowns]

I think he'll survive this lions' den, Mr Savage :p

[eire_boy]

Hi Daniel

If you're any where near Dublin you should try and get out to Weston aerodrome (http://www.westonairport.com) some weekend. There are three Fixed wing Flying schools where you can at least do an intro-flight (you might find you dont actually like it?!)

Get talking to some of the people out there, you can get an idea of whats involved and costs.

If you're outside Dublin check this link for a list of Flying schools through out Ireland:
IAA website (http://www.iaa.ie/licensing/pilots/rtf_main.asp)

Good luck with it :)

[ikea]

hey-you will always get people saying 'its been covered before', 'you have mispelled X', 'maybe you should do this....', anyway, you will usually get more helpful responses

May I suggest going abroad. You will need a JAA/CAA/IAA license to work in the UK, Ireland, Europe. IF you get an American license you will proably only be able to use it in America, and so on .....

So you can convert you license from country Y to JAA, or you can get a JAA one right out, which seems to cost a lot more, but you will need to convert it anyway.

From what I can guage, it is very hard to get a permit to work abroad, so you will proably be better off with a JAA license, as you will proably have the legal right to work in Europe.

There are fewer jobs here in Europe for a small hours pilot. For a commercial license you need about 250 hours, and once you have this you can get a license to work on a larger commercial plane with an ATPL frozen, then once you have 1500 hours, this becomes unfrozen, Its complicated, but I recommend the CAA (UK) LASORS, its very long winded but bear with it. It tells you a lot!! I hope this has been helpful, if you wish, just ask for more! I will be happy to help :-)

[Charlie Zulu]

Hi Danny,

I'm going to, for the next few minutes, try and look busy in work by replying to your questions on pprune... ;)

The minimum qualification to obtain an airline job in the UK / Ireland at least is an JAA CPL/IR with ATPL Written Subjects passed, this is more commonly mis-referred to as a "frozen ATPL".

To obtain the above there are two distinct routes. They are Integrated and Modular.

Integrated:

Takes just over a year to go from zero flying experience to holding a JAA CPL/IR with ATPL Written Subjects Passed.
You will also have the MCC (Multi Crew Co-operation) course completed.
You'll have around 200 hours total time.
Costs at around £70,000 + Living, Expenses etc.

Modular:

Complete the following modules (in roughly the following order):

PPL
ATPL Written Subjects
Hour Build to 100 Hours P1
CPL
IR
MCC

This will then give you the same as the Integrated, ie a JAA CPL/IR with ATPL Written Subjects passed and the MCC course.

This can be done full time and can take around the same time as an integrated course but normally takes longer as people tend to stay in full time employment (as I am) whilst training.

Modular route will give you at the minimum around 250 hours totaly flying times.

Modular will cost around £40,000 and can be paid as you take each course, ie pay-as-you-go.

However with so few hours you probably won't get an airline job. Most people will go and do an instructors course but I would only recommend this if you believe you will enjoy instructing. You'd then be looking for a job instructing people for their PPLs at a local flying club.

When you have a minimum of 700 hours total time you can do some air charter work on Seneca's and other piston twins.

Or you may be lucky to get an airline job, although most people I know have a thousand hours at least before gaining a job (I do know a couple of young people who got jobs at around three hundred hours though).

I won't even touch on the paying for your own type rating (basically getting a Boeing or Airbus on your licence) as this'll cost around £20,000 in itself. There are many other threads on the pro's and con's to doing this on pprune.

Get yourself to the London Heathrow Flight Training Exhibition... but just to let you know its tomorrow... ;)

Hope this helps.

Best wishes,

Charlie Zulu.

[tom24]

Most people will go and do an instructor’s course but I would only recommend this if you believe you will enjoy instructing. You'd then be looking for a job instructing people for their PPLs at a local flying club

If you don't do instructors rating because you don't enjoy it and have no luck getting in with 250 hours, what do you do? Hire a PA28 for 450 hours for £100 per hour at a cost of £45,000? Whether you like it or not, I think the instructor route is the only way of getting the hours up without having to spend more than £6k. You might not like it, but I doubt you like the job you're doing now if you're attempting to become a professional pilot.

Lets face it, the only way to get on in this industry is to send out hundreds of CV's, offer to pay for any training/type rating you need for a job on type, network and finally be the best of the bunch - if that fails get an instructors rating and pray you'll get in that way!

[Charlie Zulu]

Ah but I don't really mind the job I'm doing now as its my backup career... in the IT Industry and it also pays very good money.

But I take your point in regards to instructing.