Advice appreciated.. what now?

[Bluehair]

Bear with me on this one folks but having spoken at length to friends and family I would much appreciate advice/info/opinions from those who've been there and are going through it right now :)

Basically I'm now 27 having spent the last 7 years or so (with a bit of time out) working in the Airline industry from check-in, boarding to reservations. Took a shot at the cadetships in my early twenties but while I always got by the aptitude stuff I never managed to convince the final interviewers :rolleyes:

Other life stuff took over so while still keenly interested in becoming a pilot I put it on the back burner for a time while buying a house and setting up a biz (got screwed with the biz but that's a whole other story). So am now back in the industry I love but not in the seat I truly desire. :(

Obviously things aren't rosy for job prospects at the moment but having been lurking here for years I am convinced that the market will pick up significantly in 18-24 months.. why? a combination of seeing similar cycles before and opinion from others in the business.

Hence I find myself with a decision to make... If I throw myself into it I could be coming out with my fATPL in about a year and a half to hopefully much better prospects..

However... (heres the crunch. ;) )

I'm in kinda a unique situation which has major implications on the funding of all this. An opportunity has arisen where I could sell my current home (City centre, refurbished Victorian, 5 mins *walk* from work), pay off the *entire* mortgage, buy a smaller house about 45mins train from work BUT still have around 80,000 Euros in the bank after all is done.

If I did this I could still have a roof over my head and sufficient funds to pay for an integrated course.

OR (and the option I'm leaning towards.. maybe I'm getting conservative in my old age) I could do the above, go part-time in my job and aim for fATPL in about 2-2.5yrs through distance learning and modular training.

I know to some it's an enviable choice but there's a couple of catches. Firstly unless this works out(ie I get a job with a view to that jet command on the horizon) there's little likelihood of my ever affording the kind of house I currently own again (I picked it up for a song badly run down and have completely refurbished it over the years). It's been something of another dream to own this kind of property so it'll mean sacrificing one dream for another. My current employment whilst in the industry is absolutely dire pay so no chance of keeping the house and trying to stretch out modular training over a longer period.

In my favour though I don't think I'm over the hill just yet at 27 and though I do have a long-term girlfriend (who is quite supportive of the idea btw) I don't have kids or other such commitments.

Anyway sorry to go into this at such length and thanks for reading this far. There is a vast resource of experience out there so I'd be a fool not to try to tap into it. ANY opinions/info/advice/tips/stories etc. etc are appreciated and will make a difference! :D Cheers...

[Flypuppy]

If you have equity in your property why not borrow against that equity?

The upside is that you keep your dream home, the downside is you will have to keep paying the mortgage during your training. Although if you have enough equity, you might be able to pay for your training and keep the mortgage serviced.

Doing it via modular or integrated? There are plenty of threads on this topic. Up to you really, but doing it via a modular route allows you to be more flexible. Should political/world situations mean that aviation will take another beating you can put your training on hold and go off and find a temporary job before commiting large sums of money at say an IR.

It isnt easy, the ground exams will drive you mental, it is important to get things squred away before you start the flying section as any external distractions will only cost you more money and time.

[Luke SkyToddler]

Hell ... let me get this straight.

1) You've always wanted to be a pilot but never quite got round to it

2) You're suffering from lack-of-fulfilment-in-present-job disease anyway

3) You could afford to go do your integrated FATPL tomorrow, walk out debt free, and still the proud owner of a nice house in the suburbs at the end of it :eek:

4) You're still only 27

5) Even your girlfriend thinks its a good idea

... and you're still having trouble making your mind up??!! :eek: :eek: :rolleyes:

*slaps Bluehair round the head a few times with a soggy kipper*

Right. Log off this internet right now young man, pick up that telephone, and make two phone calls ... one to your real estate agent, and the other to your integrated school of preference in order to arrange your start date. Do it quickly before all the starving, debt saddled, family jewellery selling, FATPL holding desperate wannabes on this forum come round there and break your knee caps, just out of sheer jealousy :rolleyes:

[Thunder Child]

Would definitely recommend 'going modular' with regard to the ground studies. Much more flexibility time-wise with the added bonus of shopping around when it comes to doing the IR and CPL.

With the chances of getting a job ever increasing over the next few years, the schools' are going to be in fiercer (is that a word?!) competition with each other than before, so you have the luxury of seeing how the rates compare prior to putting any wedge down. The Integrated courses don't give you this option as they tend to give you a price at the beginning to which you sign-up to pay.......

Best of luck..

[Wee Weasley Welshman]

Go modular.

Firstly do nothing more than get the Class One. A PPL and start the ATPL distance learning course with X or Y provider. All that will take you until next Spring to get done. In the meantime work and save.

Make sure Gulf War2 isn't going to happen next Spring and then remortgage the house for the £30k you will need for the Hours/CPL/Multi/IR.

That would be my plan of attack. The first phase of PPL/Medical/ATPL enrollment should cost no more than about £6,000 which I assume you can access now without significant pain.

Good luck,

WWW

[Backontrack]

Bluehair

I am doing just what the others have recommended above. I think you should seriously consider it. I have remortgaged my own dream home, taking out £30k, with the mortgage offers around at the moment the payments, believe it or not have actually gone down!(I know interest rates may go up, but you can't legislate for everything) I'll be adding it to savings and will be resigning from my high stress, high boredom IT Sales position next month, cannot wait!

I am scared sh*tless but, I would rather live to regret it than live with the regret of not doing it. My route will be to finish my PPL, currently have 40 odd hours, should complete in the next 4 weeks or so. I am booked on the ATPL course with ATA, Coventry in November, I am looking to visit South Africa to hour build in October and shall then shop around for the CPL/IR following successful completion of the ATPL's.

I am 33, I too have a supportive Fiance, we are approaching the whole life changing event as an experience, I don't mean that to sound crap, it just means we get to keep our fantastic home, we rent it our for 12-18 months, it increases in value again and we come back with me qulaified to do the job I really want to do. Yes I know, before anyone posts a response, it will then be the most difficult phase, finding a job. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

Good luck in the choices you make.

[Bluehair]

Thanks for the feedback folks it really helped to affirm the course of action I had in mind. :)

Btw (and I know Luke is def gonna want to slap me with that kipper now :D ) I *may* have swung being able to have my cake and eat it too. In just over a month I will get to switch my current work hours to 3x12hr days and the other four days off.

I'm awaiting a phone call from an old friend (funnily enough who is a qualified pilot!) who could rent me a room real cheap about 45mins train from work. I can then let my own prop for about 18K a year. Whilst it'll be a tight budget for a couple of years I should have sufficient funds and time off to pursue the modular route and give it my all.

I should even be able to convince work to give me a month unpaid during the winter and am planning to hit the PPL flying then.

In the meantime I've got a *lot* of studying to do ;) (going with Bristol btw for the ATPL distance learning).

Thanks for the insight again and I'll keep you posted about my progress :)

[Mister Gash]

Bluehair,

Check your message box and give me a shout.

Gash

[Broken Wings]

Bluehair
Agree with WWW - do the Class One first, without that your going nowhere.
Bristol GS is a good move and while you're down there check out Bristol Flying Centre. They've got excellent instructors and have a very good pass rate (on display near the vending machine). Both come highly recommended ( I did both).
Remember the addage for most things in life " It's better to have tried and failed than have failed to try", otherwise you'll probably end up with a chip on your shoulder. Your timing could work out very well if world events stay stable. Best of Luck and when the going gets tough, as it will on many occasions, remember the end goal - it is worth it despite what some have posted on these forums.

[G-SPOTs Lost]

Luke - Fabulous :D :D