How old is to old?

[Phot]

Hi Guys,

How old is to old to still think about a job as a commercial pilot? I'm not just talking about airline but maybe RFDS or corporate.

Interested to hear your thoughts.

Phot

[The_Pharoah]

hey mate

before you get in a flood of 'use the search function' posts, I have asked the same question previously and gotten some really good responses so either search for my prev posts or just search generally. This question has been asked a thousand times before and answered.

good luck

Pharoah

[Phot]

Thanks Pharoah for the heads up some good points in those posts.

I'm a little older that you on short final to 40, I wonder if that makes any difference?

Phot

[The_Pharoah]

mate, I've done a lot of reading and asking on this and I've come up with my own personal rule:

1. aiming for the airlines?

Max age to start = 46. Why? Say you take 5 years in GA to get your min req's to join an airline, that still leaves you around 10-15 years to work your way up the seniority ranks and hopefully get to the LHS. Plus a lot of o/seas airlines actually state the max age for application for FO is around 53/54 so thats what I'm using as a yardstick.

2. not aiming for the airlines?

I say around 50-55. That still leaves you 5-10 years of flying assuming you want to retire around 65 or thereabouts. As long as your health stays good, then you're sweet.

Now for the record, the above is SOLELY MY OPINION (before I get flamed ). Noone usually

However I am a firm believer in that if you truly want something and have the drive to get there...then go for it!!

Pharoah

[Wally Mk2]

'Phot' this is indeed the 'age old' (pun not intended) question as once upon a time if you didn't start at 16 with a 'learners permit' you where behind the 8 ball from day one with those that did so. Now however if cashed up & determination is high a commercial job at 40 or so is doable but with obvious limitations. The diff paths that you could take after completing a basic CPl vary a lot. Am sure many here will be more o fay with it all than I am but for the RFDS & perhaps Corporate it would indeed be a slim chance starting out so late but obviously nothing is pretty much not impossible. I'm not saying you won't make it but you don't need sunshine blown up yr ass either in this game
The main thing that I found as I struggled up the at times rickety ladder of flying ( as I was considered too old once) was that age versus hrs/experience is something that you might find bites you in da bum a fair bit. At 40 yrs it's kind of expected that you would have many 1000's of hrs in a variety of general charter Ops etc & turbine experience chucked in there too to be employed by the RFDS for instance.
But there would be a job for sure out there for you given the right attitude just don't plan it all or put all yr eggs in one basket for a Corporate/RFDS job at the end of yr training as expectations/assumptions are the mother of all F... ups especially in aviation:-)

Good luck with it all just food for thought here buddy, yr a long time dead, well so they say:-)

cheers

Wmk2:-)

[startingout]

I have witnessed first hand a couple of people starting at 40 and can say that it was pushing boundaries. Whilst everyone is different, the idea accecpted by both of them was that things take time, the class they were situated in was waiting a vast amount of times for things to be realised and also for even general flying skills to be caught up. At times this equated to an extra 40% extra flying through the more "advanced stages" of the training. Be prepared for large amounts learning and the need for acceptence of what is said, even if you just rejog your mind with brain teasers and quick arithmitic, this will all help for the future. Also remember that no matter how old people are when you start leaning to fly rely on the younger people as chances are they have the same if not more knowledge and are willing to share...
Good luck with what you choose. SO

[HTFU]

When your superannuation can no longer adequately supplement your crap pay

[neville_nobody]

Starting from scratch over 40 is probably pushing the limit if you want to go commercial. If you want to get into a jet I would say that you are going to find it very hard. The Air Force don't have age limits for no reason.

The other factor to consider is how on earth you are going to survive on the money on offer. If you are not independently wealthy or single you are going to struggle. On that note anyone of any age with a family is going to find Regional airlines and GA pretty tough financially.

[Aussie]

For what its worth, mate started at age 44, licensed and ready to work with 300hrs at age 45, and got a job on a dash during the recent upturn (goodtimes) 2 years later, age 47... can happen, but he was having serious doubts!

[yowieII]

If you really think you are too old then that's it bro! Stop wasting time and get the f%*k on with it

[Mr. Hat]

Its all to do with the right place and the right time being coincident and you being in the middle of it.

If you don't put yourself in the right place then one thing is for sure: you've run out of time.

As Pharoah said there was a big thread on this with the man himself involved right smack bang in the middle of the GFC so there was that issue ontop of the age issue. Worth a read.

My opinion? Think very carefully but don't think too long as I feel the next wave is between 6-12 months away and I'm not sure how long it will last. I do think however when it stops that will be it.

Here is something I wrote to a 17 year old thinking about getting into the industry in another thread. I'm replicating it as I think there are a few points in it to consider before jumping in. Obviously some of this may not apply to you due to your life experiences:

Don't get caught up in reasons to avoid GA and going bush (degrees instructor ratings ect) and don't get sold bull**** airline wet dreams. Its a tough business it can and does kill people. Make sure you want to fly for a living as opposed to want to impress a variety of bystanders, relatives and attractive women. It involves 1 medical (which randomly go wrong at times) and at Airline level 3 flight tests per year 2 of which largely have your entire career on the line. So be prepared and willing to open the books and do the work year in year out for the rest of your working life.

I’m definitely not the expert on this forum I’m just telling it from a point of view of someone that made a number of right and wrong turns along the way and am now able to make a reasonable living out of flying but accept that I’ll never become wealthy because of it. Good luck.

I just wish I knew all this at the start.

[The_Pharoah]

Phot...listen to Mr Hat --> pretty wise words.

would be nice if there was an 'Am I too old?' sticky or something so that anyone with the above question (like me) could just read through rather than ask. I've seen that posts disappear so that you can't find them with the pprune search function. Anyway, thats just me and logic.

Anyway, just on that...what sort of gig would someone with say 1000 hours of BN2 FO islander time (1250 hrs total) be able to get in Aust?

Pharoah

[Mach E Avelli]

Given that the Islander does not require a F/O (even if a particular client wants a two pilot operation), it is probable that the 1000 hours logged as F/O on it would be worth sfa. Airlines here would be unlikely to have interest in light aircraft F/O or ICUS time in today's market because there are enough pilots with the necessary PIC time already on their waiting lists.
However, in practical terms, a pilot with that much F/O time in an Islander should satisfy most insurance requirements and should have learned enough to at least get a gig as PIC on the same or a similar type. When the airlines start recruiting again there will be the usual musical chairs progression in G.A. from singles to twins to turboprops, so hang in there.

[The_Pharoah]

Thanks mate, I'll pass it on.