Need some help.

[Richy_737]

Hi everyone. Just a few questions, i'm 25 never took a flying lesson in my life, absolutely love planes and always thought it would be to become a pilot and make a living from it, I have looked into it, what you need and ways of doing it etc. I just want a few thoughts from people with regards to what would be the best route for me to take and if it would be possible if i started now? I have no commitments and I'm willing to put in as much work as possible! I do have a fairly good contact as I know of a Ryan air pilot. Any info would be greatly appreciated!

[CaptainCriticalAngle]

Richy,

You should be taking your pilot friend in Ryanair for as many drinks as possible between now and getting your fATPL. He might even be a captain by then. He should be able to answer all your Qs.

[Richy_737]

I am very fortunate to have a contact like this, so I do plan on getting as much info as possible from him. I just hope someway or another I'll get to where I want to be. My education isn't the best either so that might need improving. Thanks for your response!

[Genghis the Engineer]

What to do next?

At risk of stating the very obvious - learn to fly.

For most people, becoming a professional pilot requires the following qualifications, typically completed in this order:-

PPL
Night
CPL
SEP/IR (some people skip this and go straight to MEP/IR)
MEP/IR
MCC (only essential if going airlines)

The first on the ladder, the Private Pilots Licence is one of the cheapest, but it still requires a lot of application and effort. The whole lot takes the equivalent of about 18 months full time effort so if you're working and doing this part time - as many of us did, you'll take rather longer. That's fine, you're annoyingly young, and we live in a society where nobody can expect to retire before 70 any more, and many people change career one or more times in the course of their life.

So, start with a couple of lessons to get a basic feel of being in the air, then commit yourself to a PPL on light aircraft. If you go pro, it's a necessary step on the ladder, if you don't, you'll have either found an amazing hobby, or just had a cheap lesson about yourself and your abilities.

The PPL will tell you if you have the motivation, aptitude and capacity to become a pilot. Nothing else will do that as well or as cheaply: you'll be spending £7-£10k, which isn't cheap in absolute terms, but far cheaper than the full course.

If you have a weak school education, you'll probably also need to pick up your maths and science: especially physics. There are plenty of ways to do that, and they're affordable, just take effort on your part. The standards are not that high: somewhere between GCSE and A level, and anybody who wants it enough can get there.


The PPL is it. It'll answer the questions about yourself, and it'll also put you in a much more informed position to make the big decisions about the rest of the training, and whether it's for you. No amount of advice from us, or your chum at Ryanair, will tell substitute for having that personal experience - although absolutely take all the advice you can get - but as well, not instead.

It's worth, en-route, learning that there are a whole bunch of different ways of earning your living in the air, and being an airline pilot isn't the only one. It's also not necessarily the easiest to get into, nor at the bottom end all that well paid (at the top, it certainly is) - but the PPL is a perfectly good route into just about any other form of professional flying, not just the obvious one.

[Richy_737]

Thanks for your response G.

I'm currently looking for employment as I've recently come back to the UK from spending a summer working in Rhodes.

Once I gain employment I'll be starting my lessons towards my PPL, I do hope I'll be able to do a few lessons this side of Christmas!

I was beginning to believe I was getting slightly old in terms of learning to fly, especially when you see all the young 20-23 year olds getting jobs as F/O's! So if you believe age is still in my side, it's certainly a confidence boost for me!

In terms of my education, I do have GCSE's in sciences and maths not the best but grade C's and B's, it's not that I'm unable to achieve an higher grade, I never put enough work in and didn't attend as frequently as I should, so I do feel I have the ability to get my education to a level that it may need to be at!

Do you know of any flying schools around the West Midlands? I am aware of half penny green, that's not to far away from me, I'd say 30-45 minuet drive.

Thanks again.

[Genghis the Engineer]

For airfields - splurge out £4.50 on a copy of this. It'll cover the local schools, syllabus, costs, most stuff you want to know about getting your PPL anywhere in Britain.

https://subscriptions.flyer.co.uk/product/learn-to-fly-guide-201516/


If you're going to be a while getting the cash together for proper lessons, you could do worse than spend some of your unwanted leisure time at the moment making a start on the books for the written exams. That's time consuming, a bit dull, but very necessary. Here's what I'd recommend as the best of books for the exams - but if you rummage around on eBay odds are that you'll get them much cheaper. Make sure that you get the latest edition air law book - but just about any other subject 20 year old copies are just as good.

AFE PPL Course Series Pack (http://www.afeonline.com/shop/afe-ppl-course-series-pack.html?osCsid=380d563ab1d4170f06f862defbb6d212)

You'll get a feel as you go through this if / where you need to brush the maths and science up - but grade B GCSEs is a fair starting point. You're learning to be a pilot, not an engineer - although A level standard is certainly an advantage, it's not essential.

[Richy_737]

Thanks again G for your input!

I certainly get a copy of the learn to fly guide before I choose which school ill be taking my lessons at.

I never thought of doing that, so I will look into the costs of the books i'll need for the theory, hopefully they won't cost too much as i'm really struggling financially.

Once I start my lessons I'll be able to see if my maths and physics will need improving, if it does what would be the best way, i don't believe i'd be able to enrol to college for a levels at my age.

Thanks again.