Mid Life Crisis...should I?

[dot.]

Long time lurker....

I read quite a bit on here around many trying to get a start this industry on and so forth, however many seem quite young. My situation appears rather the opposite, and I have not come across anyone in my age bracket pondering going on a GA adventure.

Flying has been nothing but a hobby, PPL Hobby for the last 20 years, a dozen different aircraft types and assorted endorsements, however late 30s, 350hrs racked up, never considered it as a career, more just fun really, and like many, you get comfortable and happy in a job routine and you stick with it. We had kids young, who are about to move out, current corp finance job for a major org, however have reached a point in the life, in which we are quite financially sounds that I could go away for a bit (with a pay cut) without packing up and life could just roll on back home, wifey pushing me to do it, you only live once and so on as she says....

I have been doing some research and talking around the GA traps, and looking around, and everyone seems rather young. I am a skeptical person by nature, so I start pondering that I wouldn't fit in, they wont hire me, I am too old.

I like to think I have 30 years left to run before retirement, appreciate any advice before taking the leap of faith.

[Global Aviator]

Mate, if it’s a passion and you are FINANCIALLY sound then simply go for it.

I flew with a bloke not long ago who had only just got back into aviation after a looooong time and he is 50 and flying turbo props.

There will be many pros and cons listed here, but don’t live life with regrets (again if you can afford it).

Leave without pay or long service leave from your current job?

Go for it!

P.s. Not a bad midlife crisis, better than a Lambo, Harley or younger erm… all of which would probably cost more!

[Aussie Bob]

I reckon that if you have to ask is you wont make it. Your age is no barrier.

[asw28-866]

I took the leap at 39 resigning from a high pay/high stress executive role to get a CPL and fly GA. Still doing it 20 years later and loving it! As a lifestyle, passion, adventure choice it is a no-brainer. I would suggest having a financial buffer though. Comparing last full year as an executive to first full year as a commercial pilot was a 90% pay cut. Twenty years on I’m earning about 50% of my former career compensation.

[Mach E Avelli]

Assuming that you would be OK on MUCH less salary, and living in a remote area, why not give it a go? Having a supportive wife is half the battle already won.
If you completed your CPL in a round dial C182/C206 - rather than some useless touch screen plastic fantastic - you should be quite employable, as by then you would have about 400 hours. Some operators would prefer more mature pilots, as the young studs and studettes usually have airline ambitions and don't hang around long. After rent, you'd be able to afford one big romantic night a month dining out at Maccas followed by a glass or two of chateau box parked down by the creek (lock the car doors).
A season or two up north, add a MECIR and (unless the market crashes again), you should be ripe for a regional turbo prop gig. Depending on your base, that's not such a bad lifestyle.
If it does not work out, it seems like you could go back to the corporate world, having written off the experience knowing that it's better to go to your grave regretting the things you did, than those you did not do.

[Lookleft]

Your wife is onboard, you are financially comfortable you already have a PPL, what is holding you back? Do the next thing, then the next thing then the next. At any point along the timeline it sounds like you can pull the pin and say that you had a crack. Its not easy and a lot of commitment but if it is your passion then go for it.

[Mr Proach]

If you want financial security, do not get involved in this industry. (I note you indicated you are financially secure)
If self dignity is something you value, do not get not involved in this industry.
If be subjected to intimidation and bullying is an issue for you, do not get involved in this industry.
If you enjoy being continuously monitored and scrutinised, get involved in this industry.
If you seek compensation commensurate for the responsibilities you will be legally liable for, do not get involved in this industry.
If you want to work with some of the most machiavellian humans on the planet, get involved in this industry.
If you want to be rewarded for loyalty and contribution, do not get involved in this industry.
Be aware, it is more likely than unlikely that the cancer of GA will slowly suck the goodness from your being and as a consequence your passion to be an airborne machine operator will diminish. Life in GA is not for those who want a journey to somewhere decent (as you said you don't see hoards of older pilots in the GA environment)
That said, at your age, if you can survive and progress past the sewer pit end of the GA industry, there are still a few options outside of the airlines when you can have a semi decent existence e.g. (air ambulance, government/police air wing, RFDS)

[KRviator]

I've said it before, and it's worth repeating here - be extremely careful about turning a 'hobby' into a 'job'.

I've seen it many, many times on the railway, where the train buff wants to drive the big noisy train, and after a few years, they're gone, because they don't like the shiftwork, they don't like the missed family gatherings, or it simply isn't what they thought it was going to be. I've been flying off and on since I was in my teens - I'm now in my 40's but I saw the writing on the wall nearly 20 years ago and gave away any thought of flying professionally when I left Ronny - and I haven't regretted it for a second. Yes, I could have followed through with it and would probably have been a narrow-body skipper now, but I don't care about that missed opportunity one iota. I've still got a good job in an industry you have to work in to actually experience, it has an awesome roster, decent paycheck and that's been enough to pay off the mortgage, fund the kids private school fees and pay for my toys, including building an RV-9 that I fly for fun.

That's what flying is meant to be, for me. Not 0200 starts and taking your shoes off just to get to the jet to fly a 4 sector day with a Captain who has the personality of a fencepost. If I CBF'd flying this week, who cares? The plane stays in the hangar and I watch the club's students flying their circuits from my backyard. IF Mini-Me want's to go for a lap around the patch after school on a sunset junket, we walk over to the hangar, preflight the RV and go! You'll lose that flexibility if you do pursue a career in aviation.

That being said, age isn't a barrier, and in many instances can be seen as an asset to a potential employer as you've got some life experiences behind you. Just be sure it's something you want to do as a career, not just for fun. If it is, fill ya boots!

[j3pipercub]

Good question.

Is aviation a perfectly safe career path that will lead to lollipops and rainbows on the back of a unicorn? No, very few careers are this day an age, unless you're selling feet pics. Apparently it's a lucrative market, according to a mate.

Could you get 90% of the satisfaction from owning/flying your own aircraft privately? Definitely. But there might be that little ear worm asking you "Do I actually posses the talent to be in command of the jet?". You are in the position where you have to ask yourself if you are comfortable with that ear worm. With 350 hours of private flying, you no doubt have a passion for aviation. It comes down to your personal motivation. Do you look up at an airliner and think 'cool' or do you really dig late afternoon circuits in a lightie before retiring to the hangar for refreshing cool beverage. The real answer to that will tell you what you want to do.

I have been flying professionally for almost 2 decades and grew up in an aviation family, so I was probably doomed from the start. It has been an amazing journey and even in hindsight, there is little I would change. Except for maybe my first marriage.

j3

[lucille]

Dot.

Is your wife up for this “adventure”? Remember, one person’s adventure is another’s nightmare.

If she’s up for it, then I say go for it and damn the consequences. To quote Mark Twain “In 20 years from now you will be more disappointed by things you didn’t rather than the ones you did”.

In my case, the worst outcomes have been through timidity in my early years.

[phlegm]

I've only just started out in GA so my experience is limited, but I'm in my early 30s and although I'm older than my colleagues I found my age to be viewed as a positive rather than a negative by the employers I interviewed with.

The biggest concern employers will have about your age is that you might have a hard time accepting the leadership of senior pilots who are much younger than you. As long as you can convince them that this isn't the case you'll be fine.

[dot.]

Thankyou all for the input, always helpful.

Dot.
Is your wife up for this “adventure”? Remember, one person’s adventure is another’s nightmare.
If she’s up for it, then I say go for it and damn the consequences. To quote Mark Twain “In 20 years from now you will be more disappointed by things you didn’t rather than the ones you did”.
In my case, the worst outcomes have been through timidity in my early years.
Wife not going anywhere. Staying put in city. House nearly paid off. Just me away for a bit.

The biggest concern employers will have about your age is that you might have a hard time accepting the leadership of senior pilots who are much younger than you. As long as you can convince them that this isn't the case you'll be fine.
That was something I noted. However, would be a common sight for myself for a long way into this potential journey, considering many sitting to my left in the future would likely be half my age.

I get that a much younger bunch of pilots would likely see old mate walking in, as a threat. Normal human behaviour. I don't fit the standard image of someone who generally walks in the door handing in a resume wanting a chat, the broke/young/in debt/begging/desperate for the first job pilot.

[Wizofoz]

OR....

Try and expand your horizons wrt flying as a recreation- give Aerobatics a go, Try gliding with a view to competition, Get a formation rating.
There are ways to scrtch the flying itch that don't mean getting paid for it.

[Pearly White]

I say go for it. You'll never know unless you have a go.

[lucille]

Dot.

”away for a bit”?

Music to the ears of divorce lawyers. Think long and hard before going down that path.

[Clare Prop]

What do you mean by a GA adventure?

I've trained people in middle age who have gone on to a very good career in survey flying. Huge demand for pilots there. They are having to get them from overseas. The young'uns are busy chasing the shiny things, but there's a lot more out there than airlines!

[pithblot]

dot,

FWIW, you could do it. Easily, particularly if you are a hard working straight shooter with a bit of common sense. But I don’t think you should. I recon you should lie down until the urge to fly 40 or 50 year old aeroplanes professionally goes away. Don’t do it. Find something else to do. If it’s got to be flying, be professional in your private flying. Someone mentioned gliding or aeros are good options.

In the 1980s, I got to fly a DC3 for a while with a bloke who gets a chapter in one Ernest Gann’s books. “Oh Ernie Gann, I gave him a job once”, said George when I mentioned Fate is the Hunter as we rattled into Ambon. And he did too - I found the story some years later: Gann was contracted by an exceptional Kiwi navigator (George) to ferry a Super DC3 from LA to Fiji, back in the day. It was one cool story among many.

A take away lesson I learnt from this is to find the flying Stop Button early in your career. That is, plan an exit strategy before the flying bug bites - or you’ll get stuck building another man’s business doing the hard-yards in aviation, General Aviation, when you should really be at home bouncing your grand children on your knee. Many of Gann’s stories had this theme and George’s remarkable career came to a sad end in a GA klunker because he just couldn’t fine that stop button.

Many pilots suffer the same fate. It’s so easy to get enamoured with aviation: single pilot, GA, Best job in the world etc (but the worst career) and lose track of what is important.

You have a supportive wife. Great. “Wife not going anywhere. Staying put in city. House nearly paid off. Just me away for a bit.” Stay with her. The novelty of endless three week swings away from home flying survey in a pristine 404 or Conquest will soon wear off. Ditto leaving her at home wondering which side of the squall line you are negotiating tonight flying aeromed, when you don’t have to.

Stick to a simple life mate, is my opinion, there are many better things to do than get tangled up in GA.

pithblot