42, sitting on cash, no interest in airline flying - advice?

[agfoxx]

Hi guys,

I'm after a bit of advice please.

At the grand old age of 42, I've just been made redundant from my job of the last 19 years.

This means I'm due a payout of about £80k after tax and after I've covered my debts. Which is great.

Now, I'm a microlight and glider pilot, and I've always wanted to fly professionally but I've no interest at all in flying the big jets.

My ideal flying job - add I imagine it - is island hopping around the Scottish coast, or ferrying GA types across borders, or doing scenic flights, or even instructing.

The absolute dream is to fly that seaplane which lives at Loch Lomond.

So basically, the fewer computerized bits and the more hand-flying, the better.

My calculations show I need to make at least £45k a year to maintain my current standard of living.

I'd be very grateful for advice on
1) whether I'm mad
2) if I'm not, which route is best, - CPL or ATPL
3) what are the other questions I should be asking myself and this community.

I'll be at the Aeroexpo at Booker this weekend - I'll talk to people face to face there, but I'd be very grateful for the input of this communitype, as well.

Thank you!

[ilvaporista]

Have a talk to, or better still go and visit these ladies and gents.

https://www.taysideaviation.com/

[ShamrockF]

Was thinking Loganair too. Good operator, nice mix of aircraft. Also, their routes are short enough to require a bit of real flying.

Ask around about flight instructing jobs. Some clubs and schools pay about £20 an hour which isn't great, but some commercial schools pay thier instructors a lot more. There's a shortage of instructors at the moment so it could be a good time to get into that.

[magicmick]

Before you commit to aviation training there are a few questions that you should ask yourself:



Can you afford to lose the five figure sum of money that it would take to train through to completion? Flying training is a massive gamble with your money at stake and you should never gamble what you cannot afford to lose. There are plenty of people who have worked long and hard to train and have never flown professionally. Do not commit any money until you have a Class 1 medical in your pocket.



I do not know your domestic situation (wife, partner kids etc) but you will need the support of those closest to you during training and possibly your first job. You may have to live remotely from home during training and/ or your first job. Long periods of absence can undermine even a strong relationship and there are plenty of divorced pilots who only see their kids rarely.



Can you support yourself (and family) during training as well as pay training fees? Such things as mortgage, rent, food, utility bills etc still have to be paid.



If you do not train could you live with the ‘what if’ or ‘if only’ questions that you will ask yourself later down the line?



Focussing on one employer in the current low hours recruitment situation is not advisable though if you really want Logan then they used to have some sort of link with Tayside Aviation, not sure if that’s still going and I understand that Wings Alliance pupils have also been taken by Logan. I’m sure that Tayside and Wings Alliance will answer any questions that you have.



Have a Plan B ready in case you do not walk straight out of training into a job and be ready for Plan B to become Plan A while you look for flying work. We have no idea what the industry will be like in 12 to 18 months and we have no idea how Brexit will look and how that might affect employment prospects.



Finally I’m not going to say that you should or should not train, only you know how strong your desires, dreams and ambitions are and it’s not my place to inflate or deflate them. The choice has to be yours alone. I wish you good luck in weighing up the options and if you do decide to train then you have my sincere best wishes with the training and job hunting.

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[button push ignored]

Are you saying that all you have to your name is £80,000 at age 42?
And your thinking of spending money!
Dude, your almost broke.
Dividends or interest on that pittance wouldn’t get you £1500 a year.
Your going to have to go get a real job, that pays.
And learn how to save.

[Contact Approach]

Are you saying that all you have to your name is £80,000 at age 42?
And your thinking of spending money!
Dude, your almost broke.
Dividends or interest on that pittance wouldn’t get you £1500 a year.
Your going to have to go get a real job, that pays.
And learn how to save.

I disagree. His debts are paid off (mortgage possibly?) and he's 80k up. There are worse places to be. However, I'm doubtful you would get a return on your investment if your objective is to remain within GA.
C.A

[nightfright]

Go invest that amount in another property or business and also take a year out travelling - fly for fun with what you have now.

if you want to be treated like a low life and be offered scraps - and made to feel that you need to thank people for that - go ahead and be my guest.

80K up is nothing much but still a good place to be..... i would definitely not advise spending that amount on becoming a pilot having been though it. But if you don’t mind loosing that amount as a punt - go for it - you can only live to regret it...

On a serious note - fly for fun, invest that sum and take a holiday..... you will appreciate it all much better.