A Vain? Hope
 

Dear All
This might be a vain hope ( and probably is), but I am just coming upto first solo on a ppl course. I have wanted to join the airline fraternity since I was knee high to a grasshopper, and started learning earlier this year, with the hope of getting the ppl, and then attempting to gain a sponsorship to ATPL.

However, as we all know, life sucks and smacks you in the nose whenever it can. So, I am about to run out of money for this plan (I should make 1st solo & maybee an hour or two over that).

So, does anyone know of a way in that I can take at my level of experience, or of a sponsorship scheme that may be willing to take a 33 year old wannabe with no money!!

I would appreciate some advice on this from anyone who has been there, both on the possibilties of getting the ATPL, and joining the aviation world in general..

Thanks

This is probably gonna sound really harsh, but from my experience at least it is realistic.

The old style of sponsorships are now very rare, but in any case the entry requirements are quite restrictive. The most restrictive part for you or I is age.

Most if not all required applicants to be no more than 28 years of age. A couple of the less well known ones would consider up to 31 years, but at 33 years old, I feel you could be unlucky. From memory, the following did offer sponsorships over the last year:

Britannia, Easyjet, Air Atlantique.

There are no doubt more, but at 29 years I was too old for all of them!

Gapan do a sponsorship for PPL training, and I don't know what the age limit is. At least that could be considered for furthering your training. The applications for this are usually around spring time and your current efforts would go some way to demonstrating your desire. A search on the internet should turn up their site.

Even if you were 18 you could spend years trying to get sponsored and never quite getting there. I fear you need to jump on the same boat as I have and figure out personal finances to pay for training.

The big players OAT, Cabair and now CTC Macalpine all provide limited help in sourcing some of the £55k to £70k needed for their courses, but all borrowed by yourself with the risk to yourself. Certainly it is worth having a chat with them to see what your options are.

Going by the modular route can lower costs to £25k if you search around. Less money to find but I would suggest a lower risk and thus more likely to achieve.

Practicalities are that the airlines are less willing to spend vast sums of money running sponsorship schemes at the moment. With the glut of people willing to pay £70k and then buy their own type rating, nobody said it would be easy. It has taken me 10 years to get enough money to train (Re-mortgage!) but even then I still need to find a bit more. The hurdles may seem impossibly high, but they can be jumped even without sponsorship.

Obs cop

I am afraid that your age is probably against you.

If you are struggling to fund your PPL, the modular route which is often cheaper is going to prove even more difficult.

If you can obtain employment connected to aviation, this might be the other route open to you.