voluntary work experience

[g10]

Hi everyone

I hope this is the correct forum to post this. - I have a few questions that I hope some of you might be able to help me with.

I want to be an airline pilot. However the route it looks i'll be taking (Self-sponsored licence) is going to take a long time.

In this time I would like to gain experience within an airline and get to know how they work from the inside. I graduated with an aeronautical engineering degree and am very interested in airline operations.

I'd be quite happy to spend my weekends working for an airline on a voluntary basis (preferably at Heathrow, although Gatwick, Luton and Stanstead are within reach). The question is would any airline be willing to take me on as a volunteer?

Also, if i could get voluntary work, what sort of reception would i receive from members of staff who already work in the airline - would i look like a crawler? as someone who is taking away a job from a colleague who has been laid off?

Before applying to airlines I thought I'd ask what you folk thought of my idea and if you'd have any objections if you had a volunteer helping out? and if this sort of thing is already happening?

Look forward to hearing your responses

Thanks

g10