410000 Euro to spend....

[Skeman]

Hallo, i,ve been in the ground handling business for 5 years trying to save me money to get into a cockpit. I´m Scandinavian and i had given up my hope to actually save the big amount to take me into a shiny jet. 2 years ago i was found guilty of possesion of marijuana and got a 600Euro fine. " i had it in my home, but the test shown that i haden´t smoked any" Actually i had not.

3 month ago me and my friend won 820000Euro in a lottery and now the sum of 410000Euro is on my account.

I am 29 years old, and i wonder if it is even possible to get into the flying sector of aviation? I know for a fact that i will get trouble in my home country to even got the license because of my 600Euro-fine.



I have 3 questions:

1: Is it possible to even try to at a flight school in scanadinavia-USA with my record?

2: Can i got a license to fly in south africa or another country?

3: Am i to old for this?

( Bonus question, what would you do? )

I have called and sent away e-mails, but it is a gray zone, and i have to attend a medical BEFORE the justice tell me if i can fly.

I know it aint smart to keep drugs in my home.

[duxfordflyer]

Not sure if this is a wind up or not? On the CTC Wings course, assuming you pass a medical and clear a criminal records test then that would possibly be acceptable. That is for a training course, I dont know about working comercially, it would depend employer i suppose but obviously you could get asked awkward questions in interviews. Probably best to try and do what you can and see how far you get. Though I would ask a lawyer to look it up for you before start with medicals etc (there expensive); You need to find out if you would be able to be employed by an EU/US airline. Might cost 100 quid, but sounds like a sound investment before you go waxing 80 grand on the training when you cant get a job"

[zondaracer]

You may have trouble getting a visa to the US with a criminal record, and a visa is required to do flight training unless you are a US Citizen.

It looks like you have SJS! This totally looks like a windup :hmm:, but if it is not, I can tell you that having a drug related conviction on your record is going to make it next to impossible to get a job at an airline. Better off flying under the radar if you catch my drift. :rolleyes:

[CaptainSox]

It is unfortunate that you find yourself in this terrible situation with this lottery win.:ugh:

My advice. DO NOT BECOME A PILOT, spend the money on a house, get a 9 to 5 job, enjoy weekends with the family. And if you must, get a PPL and do some fun flying without being screwed around in the Aviation industry.

Hyinsite is a wonderful thing! :{

[Skeman]

It´s not a wind up. And ofcourse it´s not a terrible situation to find myself in.But if you look at it, i can move to asia and have a good life fore 10 years, but then it will be over. To invest 100000 Euro for school-typerating and start a career at a airline with a good salary. ( I know that these jobs don´t come easy and even i are sceptic to Eaglejet and Lion) According to the justice, it will be 3 more years before my fine will be erased on my record.

I have a 9-5 job already and that´s not the funniest thing to do.

Thanks for the answers.

But the age? Is a FO of 23 years more attractive then the 32 year old FO?

[Lord Spandex Masher]

The 50+ year old hosties will take either.

[YYZ_Instructor]

Mate,

I would take the move very seriously. Even though you have more than enough money to go through the training, type rate yourself and even do 500 hrs on type what you might get is 2000-3000 a month at best with a very difficult roster.....chance is you might not even get that! Also consider that you will have to be an FO for at least 4-5 years + all the training before that.

Now on the other hand investing 350000 Euro's may even make you more than what you would make as an FO, and you wouldn't even have to work for it. I would consider talking to an investment specialist first, because with that kind of money you might have a better life doing something else.

I have no clue about your criminal conviction. But from what I remember it doesn't matter if its on your record as long as its a spent conviction and you do not owe money or jail time.

This is my opinion being a former stock broker and 10 yrs airline pilot.

Good luck, and I wish you every success which ever way you proceed. :ok:

[Luke SkyToddler]

My friend ...

- spend a few thousand on a high spec gaming computer with one of those super duper flight sim cockpit mockups

- pay some grumpy old b*stard $10 / hour, to sit next to you and patronize you and tell you when to raise the gear and lower the flaps

- pay some hot chick $50 / hour to dress like a hostie and bring you coffee in the imaginary cruise

- spend a couple of nights a week staying in a crap hotel in town, drinking with that grumpy old bastard and the hot chick, after a while go to bed on your own while they go back to each other's room

- keep the rest of your money with a good investment broker

- once you get sick of it in a few weeks, go surfing in Bali for the rest of your life and live off the interest of your money

- live happily ever after :cool:

[CRASH TEST]

If flying is your long time dream, then I would definetly go for it now that you can finally afford it.

Times are hard for the Industry but given your situation, nothing to lose in my opinion.

Good luck dude!

[Ronand]

Forget about it as a career. Figure out some investments options, apartments properties you might be able to make much more money this way. Pretty much all airlines do criminal record checks. Any flightschool will tell you you're fine and will be happy to take your money, but getting a job later will be a different story.
Do flying for fun, some aerobatics thats where the real fun is....

[Skeman]

And again i thank you all for your answers. To invest money feels like a risky business, easy come easy go. I think i will try to get the license in my home country, Sweden. If it fails then i will not get access to even enter a flight school... It will take 3 more year for my fine to be invisible in the system ( That´s hove it works in my country ).

I Will let you know what the authoritys tell me.

Happy landings.

[CRASH TEST]

Skeman, I was just going to tell you just that ..... go ask your civil aviation authorities before doing anything

We are not discussing here how to make your fresh money grow or if investing in an aviation career is the best option ... but if you should go after your dream or not

My advice is clear: Go for it!!

Good Luck.

[wangus]

Run a mile in the other direction. Three years since I finished my MCC, full of optimism, and still not a single interview. Now at peace with situation, having accepted my fate. Luckily I have a VERY supportive wife. If I could hand in my licence in exchange for a cheque for the £55,000 the worthless thing cost, I wouldn't have to think long. It would be a no-brainer for me. (I haven't been waiting for a job to be handed to me. 7 years as a flight despatcher. Volunteer at 2 flying clubs. Friends in high places.)

[MichaelOLearyGenius]

You only have one more year til your record is clear so start the training now. I would imagine it would be a hard enough deal to land a job flipping burgers in McDonalds with a drug conviction, let alone the airlines. The fact that you had the drugs in your apartment but not in your blood stream may imply that you were dealing and the penalties for supply are usually worse than for possession. I wish you luck.

[LH2]

Just to remind everyone that consumption, or possession of illicit drugs for personal use, is not in the least unlawful in some countries (the Netherlands and Spain come to mind). On those, your previous conviction is worth nothing.

On the other hand, consumption of certain substances is held to be incompatible with the medical standards required to hold a licence, so if you test positive on your Class I, you fail your medical. Note that even so, this is not a permanent disqualification, if you can get your condition successfully treated--same as with alcohol.

As for your idea that 100K on a chance of a pilot career is in any possible way a good investment... well... :uhoh:

[MichaelOLearyGenius]

LH2

Yes, but the fact that he had the drugs in his possession but not in his blood stream suggests it was not for personal use and could be construed as intent to supply thus opening up a whole new can of worms.

Just a suggestion?

[M1ghtyDuck]

He's already been found guilty of possession, that's it. It's not an impending trial where he might get done for intent to supply. Unless you think an airline is going to somehow read further into a possession conviction and assume they're automatically a dealer, which I find very unlikely.

[Akrapovic]

True, but I don't think any potential airline will ignore this conviction. Should you eventually get an interview I'd expect a few searching questions regarding the conviction, which leads to the obvious one; if you weren't smoking it, what were you planning to do with it? They'd just laugh if you tried to talk your way out of that one - probably easier to just say yes, I was gonna smoke it.......!

Good luck either way!

[KAG]

Buy a second hand sun odyssey with solar panel/windmill, water maker, go all around europe, from sweden (summer) to greece. You will find many hot "sea attendand" in different harbour to visit your boat or travel with you, and you will even be called "captain".

http://www.charterworld.com/images/yachts/Sun%20Odyssey%2045.2.jpg


Seriously, I would spend 20 000 Euro in a cheap single engine north american CPL (maybe add a FI rating), keep the remaining 21000 Euro aside for your travel/visa/further rating/life expense, then start looking for job on single engine piston in africa/canada/asia and start your career/build your skills slowly from there step by step as you discover what are the best options/ and test your motivation.

Pilot that's not necessarily F/O on a shiny jet.

As for your past marijuana problem get you **** together because drug dealer or pilot that's not exactly the same.

[captainsuperstorm]

400000 at 5% placement 20'000 per year. enough for your private, commercial, on 3 years.
jobs? forget about it...or stay with your private, rent a plane,...

[Skeman]

The thing is in 3 years time it will be impossible to see my conviction to any airline because it will disappear in my criminal records. I just wonder if it was POSSIBLE to get license to begin with, the Swedish auhtorithes is kind of hard, and it is very hard to find out IF i can even start.

Can i enter USA to go to a flight school there?

Ofcourse i was going to deal the marijuana, i was the only one with a connection, and ofcourse i regret it.

Again thank you all for your advices

[kkay]

OMG...this guy is soo lucky ..first he got insanely screwed up for drugs in his house...then he got euro410000(just count zero's)...now he wants a job in aviation ...where again everything is so unpredictable ...Are you drunk or taken drugs while making such decision...
get a ppl and fly around your home for fun..but don't consider is as career ..you can do many other things in your life..
don't even think that you have so much money right now..just spend your normal life and do job ..rest keep money for hard times...

[Adios]

I don't know the law in Sweden, but it is probably similar to the UK. There would be 2 or 3 separate issues to consider here, so probably likewise in Sweden.

1. Can you get a Class 1 Medical? - Most likely yes. I know of people in the UK with cannabis convictions and even police cautions for cocaine who got medicals.

Once you complete training;

2. Can you get an airside pass? You'll need to check the process in any country where you wish to apply for jobs. - In the UK, the rehabilitation of Offenders Act applies. Spent convictions disappear from your police record after a time. The amount of time depends on the length of the jail sentence. You didn't have a jail sentence, so your offence should be removed more quickly. You seem to have researched this already. You can time your course completion to the day the conviction will be removed from your police record.

3. Do you have to disclose it on a job application? - In the UK, you do not have to disclose spent convictions, therefore you simply answer "No" to questions about convictions on a job application. If you know it will not come up in the police background check in the country where you are seeking work, you need not worry the airline will find out. The best way to know for sure is to order whatever report you would need before applying for jobs there. In the UK, this would be a Basic Report from Disclosure Scotland. What I don't know is whether or not Disclosure Scotland would check with Sweden, but most likely they would. If the conviction is spent in Sweden, they could not share it with Disclosure Scotland.

I'd say ignore the arsy detractors here and pursue your dream, but invest the 3/4 of the winnings you won't need wisely.

[MichaelOLearyGenius]

Adios

If you are referring to me as one of the "arsey detractors", I was only being inquisitive. Having the drug in his possession but not in his blood stream didn't add up to me and as it turned out he has admitted his intent to deal.

Yes he has only been found guilty of possession and his conviction will be spent soon so it shouldn't be a problem, however, just like in aviation we should always be prepared for the worst case scenario.