Where to go after PPL?

[freedomoftheskies]

Hi I'm Soph (14)
I have just started my PPL and am starting to think about where I would go and what I do after i ve got it! I know I want to be an airline pilot, and I need a CPL and an ATPL, but I have no clue where I would go, or what I would do to get them.

So what i really need is a list of what to do, in which order, and some good places to go in the uk please!
Sorry, I think I might be asking a lot here- but anything is helpful!
Thanks:O:)

[FlyingSportsman]

You could do yourself a huge favour by just browsing the forums and typing in specific questions you have or keywords into the search function. At 14, you are the minimum age for logging hours, and as you know, 16 is min. for first solo, and 17 for PPL licence issue.
There are 2 ways to gain the necessary licences to fly the big tin cans for a living, integrated and modular. If you wack those into a google search you should get lots of info,

Let me google that for you (http://lmgtfy.com/?q=how+to+get+a+frozen+ATPL)

Best of luck.

[Spit161]

Try looking at the Cadets scheme run by CTC Wings.

CTC Wings Cadet Programme | Pilot Sponsorship UK | CTC Wings (http://www.ctcwings.com/europe/courses/cadet_programme)

cheers and best of luck (from a fellow teenager!)

[Piltdown Man]

I am very sorry, but I have some bad news for you. I'm sure that you are like most other 14 year olds - bright, keen and quick to learn. And this is your problem, you'll have a PPL hacked in a few weeks but will have years to wait before you can actually use it. If your parents have the cash, do a bit every now and again, just for the hell of it. Do aeros, low level map reading excursions but don't train for what you won't be able to enjoy for a years. Personally, I'd wait until you were 16yrs, 11months and then go for it - or start gliding earlier if the goons at EASA will allows solo flight at a younger age.

[..Daniel..]

I was in the same predicament as you, albeit in Australia, when I was a youngin. I wanted to start flying SO bad but had to wait as starting too early would just be a waste of money, considering there are the issues of minimum ages to gain licences.

What I did, was go and join the Australian Air Force Cadets and that sufficed my urge to start flying until the age came about. Now, last year I went on a trip called IACE (Internatinal Air Cadet Exchange) during which I went to England and Wales, visiting numerous tourist hotspots as well as English and Welsh air cadet squadrons.

You may be thinking, well, I don't like the military, I don't want to be in the actual military later in life etc... But the fact is, the Air Cadets is a fun and structured way of learning about all things to do with civil and military aviation, with no commitments to any of the armed forces upon completion.

During my 6 years service I had the privilege of getting flights on numerous military aircraft, I spent all in all about 2 months (spread over the 6 years) on various air force bases within Australia taking part in numerous activities, one of which gained me a certificate in frontline management, and a certificate in machining and drilling just by completing the course! I even went on an amazing international trip!

While I was in Wales, whilst staying at RAF Valley (Prince William's posted RAF Base) I was fortunate enough to get a trip to the Central Gliding School at RAF Syerston, and was taken up by current RAF fighter pilots for some amazing glider aerobatics in both powered and traditional gliders. The Central Gliding School has numerous aircraft and instructors, and I know for a fact that you can go solo and all that jazz through cadets itself, at a very subsidized rate (as much as 50% off the hourly rate).

This website will tell you pretty much everything you need to know:
Air Cadets - Home (http://www.raf.mod.uk/aircadets/)

Even, after looking at the website, you're still unsure, just go and visit your local squadron and ask the Commanding Officer to give you a little tour, I'm more than sure they would oblige.

The air cadets is a fantastic way of sufficing your aviation urges whilst doing something fun, and useful for later in life. And as an added bonus, a long career in the cadets looks amazing on the resume.

I hope this helps! =)

[mrmum]

Hi Soph,
I know you're enthusiastic to get going and it's all very exciting, but you really just need to take it steady a bit.
As your school will probably have told you, any flying training you do from 14 will count towards the requirements for licence issue, however you can only fly dual until you are 16, after which the solo hours can be flown, then you can take the skill test, but you cannot have a PPL until you become 17. So you are looking at between 2 and 3 minimum, before you even have a PPL. You can do all the syllabus exercises dual and pass the theory exams between now and becoming 16, then get a medical and do the 10 hours solo and LST, ready to have your PPL issued when you turn 17. However, this way of doing it will be more expensive than waiting until you are 16 and doing it in a more conventional order.

How then to progress from PPL to a professional licence? The answer this week, for someone who is 17 or 18 probably won't be the same as it will be for you in several years time. The "good" or "cheap" places to go now may not be the same in the future, they may not even exist anymore. The regulatory environment is also changing significantly over the next few years, that may change the options available to you.

So by all means continue for your PPL, but don't discount other types of aviation experience, as mentioned in previous posts, such as gliding and the ATC.

[..Daniel..]

One thing that has been omitted from this thread is the fact that if you fly every now and then, the chances are that you'll get rusty on items previously learnt. I.e. If you do climbing and descending during one lesson, then take a month break until your next lesson, you'll most likely have forgotten everything (or simply gotten rusty) you did in the last lesson and spend half of the current lesson relearning what you did a month ago.

This works out to make the whole process a lot more time consuming as well as more expensive.

The way is to fly as often as possible, so it's all fresh in your head and makes the whole process a lot easier and cheaper. Which, as others have said, might mean waiting until you're a bit older. Try the cadets, though.

[Kristoff]

The Rainman knows what hes talking about, many other pilots suggest the same thing - Do your PPL ect when you get slightly older, you could use it to give you an edge over other candidates as you could prove to the HR ladies that you are truly committed to aviation & a career as a commercial pilot.

Give the various Cadetships a go, theres quite a few in the EEA.