A sudden awakening at 32

[CY80]

Hello all!
From the age of 14 I set myself a goal to go flight academy as soon as i finish school. It was 1996 when i graduated but our family immigrated from Russia to Cyprus where I live till present day.

Since Russian flight academy was out of the question i began looking for a possible scenarios to get started in Cyprus or UK but it was financially impossible. First of all I couldn't get a loan as a non Cypriot and secondly my family was never secure (immigration issues) how long we would stay in Cyprus.

Thats when i gave up, but till today i fly a 5 monitor (Xplane 10) setup, been flying on VATSIM for years, can read charts, do flight planning, procedures, checklists etc. It pretty much progressed as a hobby.

Long story short, 17 years later... i am still here (CY citizen), 32 years old with a small but established video production & digital cinematography business. When suddenly it clicked... i think i can afford to do it myself, just to prove a point or even have a chance of a career after my 40s.

I passed my medical, will do a trial run with Griffon Aviation in Paphos and see how it goes. Might do a modular starting with PPL.

I was always adventurous (i am also a passionate windsurfer) and I've made a lot of sudden decisions & turns in my life and never regretted once. What do you think of the prospects? I am fluent in 3 languages, having 2 citizenships, Cypriot & Russian.

[Mikehotel152]

Do the PPL and fly for fun.

Don't go into the airline industry unless you can afford to pay for your training, type rating, and live for a few years without an income from flying.

Also, seeing as your hobby (apparently) involves all the elements of the airline pilot's job, what would you gain by actually becoming an airline pilot?

Might be better to enjoy living in the sun, flying for fun in the air and on your computer, and avoid ruining yourself financially for life.

[andre1990]

Don't mean to hijack this thread by any means (might be of use to OP in some sort of way), but does an MPL, and hopefully subsequent ATPL, allow you to fly PPL (i.e. light aircraft for fun) if you don't cover PPL as part of your training?

Bit of a mouthful but hopefully my question is clear.

[fungi]

Run your business
Do your PPL,
Do small steps, and don't look too much forward.
Go for modular. If you have money, you can slow down your training, or speed it up.
You never know what will be the situation in a few years.
But most important.
DON'T GIVEUP YOUR DREAMS.
And remember, first point and last one is most important.
PS. Don't worry about your age. Friend of mine, 42 now, 1 year ago finished modular, and today finished TR to fly on 737 in my country :)
So you never know, what will happens in the future.

[CY80]

Mikehotel152,
Thank you for your honest opinion, as mentioned before I've reached a point where I can afford the training all the way to ATPL. The question lies, will i do ATPL and thats it? Its OK to prove a point but is there any chance of actually make a use of it at my age? If i do modular ATPL in lets say 3-4 years (achievable?), 36 years old for inexperienced pilot... a possibility for FO?

I am fine with not making a lot of income in the first few years, i have other means of supporting myself.

[CY80]

Thank you, that was my plan. take one step at a time and continue to work.

[Mikehotel152]

CY80

Budget for a type rating because it is 80% certain that you will need to fund it. That is €30,000.

Too old? The industry has changed in the last 5 years. I was so positive when I started training. I was willing to knock on doors, 'network' in order to make contacts in the industry, work for any company to build hours, aiming to fly for an airline at some time in the future. I too, have a second career to fall back on, and I was confident that I could make it work.

But now that I've been in the industry for a few years, I am no longer naiive. This industry is run by nasty, arrogant, selfish people. They do not care who is the best man or woman for the job, they just want the cheapest person to sit on the seat. And that goes from the locos to the old-fashioned airlines, except the latter can choose the best cheap pilots rather than whoever can afford the training. Unfortunately, there is a perception that only youngsters are cheap, that older pilots are either more expensive to train or cost more to keep happy. Therefore, age does matter.

[CY80]

Thanks, I have done some research, most offer A320/737NG type rating from 12.000 to 15.000 Eur. Is this correct or there are hidden fees?

[mark_c]

Absolutely go for it! Go do a trial flight and see if you like it, you would be surprised the amount of people who go up and realise its just not for them! You are going to be stuck between a rock and a hard place.. If you go modular it will allow you to keep the business ticking over but it will take longer and you are looking at being 34 or 35 when complete...going intergrated will have you ready in ~12 months but you may have to sacrifice the business or family commitments. Being in your mid 30's with a CPL an airline job is definitely not out of the question, you will still have 25-30 years flying ahead of you. Don't give up on the dream, go for it! Best of luck!

[pudoc]

As mikehotel152 has clearly demonstrated, if you go into this with your eyes shut you will be as unhappy as he seems to be. Know what to expect, and you'll be happy.

I'd go for it if I were you. Eyes wide open though.

[Mikehotel152]

pudoc

You couldn't be more wrong. I am not unhappy. I thoroughly enjoy my day job. But I also went into it with my eyes open. I had a contingency plan and I did lots of research. What I saw back then is NOT what you will see if you open your eyes to the state of the industry now. Age is more of an issue than ever before. There are still jobs to be found for more mature pilots, and those with the greatest hunger and biggest slice of luck will get them.

CY80

The cost of a type rating, if bought direct from a TRTO, is indeed fairly affordable. However, the general consensus is that buying a type rating without a job offer is a waste of money nowadays. Sadly, many airlines offer jobs subject to the candidate completing 'their' type rating at an exorbitant over-price. Be careful.

[CY80]

I think i will go for it. I shoot around 10 music videos a year + a few upmarket weddings, that keeps me afloat + i can have plenty of time to study.
Will check in here with my scanned PPL :)
Thanks to all :ok:

[Mikehotel152]

Good luck. The PPL is fantastic fun!

[CY80]

Reading some of your previous topics you are quite a pessimist, perhaps showing signs of clinical depression... no need to spill your share of bad luck on others.

[fulminn]

a full type rating with base training(unless isn't valid) cost around 25k € at least

[KAG]

I am fluent in 3 languages, having 2 citizenships, Cypriot & Russian.
Last I heard the Russian airlines were short of pilots, and they only hire Russians, what would be quite good for you. Have a close look, it could be interesting.


The Postman

[Ianp83]

CY80 - I'm 30 next month and have just handed in my notice to leave my corporate job to do the same as you. I have worked f:mad: hard for the last 8 years and put myself into a position where I can just about afford to do this. It was really hard to give up the salary (even though I'm not enjoying the job anymore), but you only get one shot at life, and getting older will only decrease options in aviation not increase them.

I got to the point where I realised if I didnt take the chance to do it now, it would never happen. Perhaps I'll spend £50k on a modular course and it still won't happen but it's worth a try.

Eyes open would be my only advice. When my boss said to me, are you sure there will be a job for you when you've done all the work, I told him no, I wasn't sure, in fact I'm sure it'll be quite hard to find a job, but people are retiring, people do lose their medicals and airlines are putting orders in.

I'd love to work as an instructor/TP operator for a few years and whilst the LHS of a flag-carrier is the end goal, I'm under no illusions of how long that may take.

It sounds from your post that you have the means to do this. Do it, you'll regret it in 10 years if you don't try.

Just my 2c.

[Flying Mechanic]

CY80. Just do it and chase your dream. Don't believe any crap on here about age, I knew a taxi driver , who threw it all in at 52, did a cpl/ ir, he ended getting a job on Metro 3 , as a f/0!. Good luck, once u get there, it's the best office in the world weather it's a Cessna or a Airbus.

[fulminn]

around 60k euro investments for a metroliner FO? are we mad!?:eek:

[Stratus Fractus]

If you can afford it you should go for it. I did, never got a job but count passing my IR first time (and to a lesser extent CPL) as one of the best achievements in my life and I enjoyed every minute of it.

Warning: before you get into a Seneca you have to do groundschool and that feels like a bit of a waste of time to be honest.You are studying whilst the sun is shining and life is passing you by.

If you are unsure about it maybe just do your PPL and buy a nice aircraft instead.

[squall1984]

Theres two ways to go this, one do it quickly and do nothing else with your life (no other job) or keep your job and fly on the side.

If you do it and only it then of course it goes quicker, and you inadvertently save money (you spend less time in the air revising stuff you learned last week etc etc), I've instructed people that flew two days a week and those that flew multiple times a week and the multiples are usually better. Some say they will fly loads of hours in the few days they have available in a week but eventually peoples learning for the day plateaus.

That being said looking at the hiring picture right now there are a lot of people out there that have the minimum qualifications, and it use to be that you could spend all your money (or your parents money) and still get a job but now even those oppertunities are drying up, it doesnt mean you wont get a job of course but it is harder and more expensive. There are good signs out there tho, Ryan Air put in a big order for new aircraft that are mainly for expansion and EasyJet will do so soon too. There are also quite a number of people that leave for the middle east.

My advice is look at your situation, no family/kids and money to blow go for it, especially if you have the ability to keep your job on the side. You only get one life and best spend it doing what you want, but at the same time dont *%@! it up and be broke :P

[squall1984]

Oh and when you do the math for how much it will cost you to do the training, look at what the flight school says and then add a third (at least) not because you wont do well but because weather and mechanics play a part, and they try keep their "estimate" as low as possible to attract more people when obviously everyone repeats lessons.

[119.35]

A B737 rating without hours on type is a complete waste of time.

[squall1984]

Yes I completely agree, type without time is useless.

I am completely against people paying for types (seems to only happen in the Europe) and obviously in a flash of a miracle everyone would stop doing at the same time and companies would pay you to do it, but that not happening anytime in the near future since everyone is doing it to get ahead of the other people *rant rant*...

Basically dont ever pay for a type unless and this is a BIG unless you are going to have a job to show for it. I would look very closely at any contract that they offer you for doing a type with them because lets think about this logically, why would they keep you on after your line training if they can get someone else to pay them to take your seat? :ugh: