Is it to late ,age wise ?

[prophead123]

I am an 45 year old male living in Brisbane ,Queensland Australia.I have always loved aviation and I am a fully qualified aircraft technician having worked in aviation maintenance and production for the past 27 years ,
Question is I am about to make a big investment on a new career ? Am I too old to start an aviation career as a pilot ,I am looking to invest $100.000 dollars plus in training and to achive enough decent hour s towards a CPL is it worth it in the long run .my main interest is to return to Africa and do bush flying and charter work no big airline stuff I have an SA passport ....I just need some true advice ?

[Horatio Leafblower]

I would sugest with your background and experience, and most importantly with your stated goals, you could give yourself a 5-year plan.

I don't know anything about SA's industry but I have been told it is a bit similar to ours in some ways.

If you wanted to go and fly jets for an airline I would be dubious, but fly in the bush... yaw yaw, go fer et men!

PS: I think $100,000 is pretty rich for bush/GA qualifications...?

[tartare]

If you don't do it... in forty or fifty years time will you be lying there thinking... "If only...?"
Life isn't a dress rehearsal; you get one shot.
Go for it.

[The Green Goblin]

Life isn't a dress rehearsal; you get one shot.
Go for it.

Wise words, maybe you lot do get educated in New Zuland after all

[PA39]

If you have the constitution and will power, age doesn't matter. There is ALWAYS room for guys or gals who excel at their profession. 45 should have you as a mature adult with a lot of common sense and life experiences.

[Mach E Avelli]

45 is not too late for G.A. but without prior experience almost certainly too old for the airlines or regionals. Most have some secret age/experience criteria which they are not allowed to publish because of age discrimination laws, but apply nevertheless.
In fact, a smart G.A. Chief Pilot would realise that an older person is likely to stick around longer because with no prior experience will have nowhere else to go.
As well as needing a war chest to fund your training, at 45 you may need to ask if you can really afford the typical G.A. salary (pittance) that you will be on. Love of flying is one thing; but no one can live on love alone. Unless you have an independent income, the novelty could wear off when the hunger pangs hit.
Also, to consider - if your first job will be in Africa, why not go there to learn to fly rather than doing it here then having to go through the hassle of converting licenses over? If you are learning in a particular location you tend to make useful contacts there and it may be cheaper there. Ask around. It's not as if there is anything special about an Australian CPL that makes it worth 100 grand.

[Lodown]

I would think being a "fully qualified aviation technician" depending on what those qualifications (licensed???) entail, with a pilot's license would make you a desirable candidate in rural Australia or Africa. Should you take up flying as a career, you'll have to be careful that you don't get shoe-horned back into a technician's role again, unless that is what you want, because employers are going to want to double dip on your qualifications.

[Mick.B]

Also with all those years experience, no doubt you would have allot of contacts. Not what you know its who you know.

[The_Pharoah]

"Most have some secret age/experience criteria which they are not allowed to publish because of age discrimination laws, but apply nevertheless."

any details on this?

[The Green Goblin]

A rule of thumb is 100 per year of age, i.e a 30 year old should have 3000 hours. Once you hit 40 I believe 500 hours per year above. so 41 = 4500 etc.

At 45 you should have at least 6500 hours.

GG

[Captain Nomad]

A phrase that was used quite openly with larger airline type experience requirements criteria:

"Experience commensurate with age" - a caveat to allow selectivity and a polite way to decline applicants 'not meeting the criteria.'

[The_Pharoah]

so basically us 'late bloomers' got no chance

[The_Pharoah]

yes I've heard that many time before however at the end of the day if attempting to join QF, VB or J* at age 40 with only say 2000 hrs on the clock is a waste of time, it would be nice to know earlier than later.

I echo the sentiments expressed earlier...once the love runs out...you still have to eat.

[ab33t]

Hey , Im a SAFFA living in London , got my PPL at 41 and now am flying coporate , very tough . The comments and opinions as before , you could end up with a good jobe or working for the hole in the washer .... no kidding I sometimes fly for nothing just to do some flying , this wreaks hell on the finances . I LOVE FLYING , " Hate the industry" .

Take some of that A$100,000 and convert it to the good old Rands when the exchange is in your favour and put it away to live on when the going is tough. If you have a family , I would say right off think carefully .

Things are KAK in Africa as well , check the threads for Africa flying ... yes I have been looking at that as well just to do some flying .

[pilatuski]

I've been thinking along similar lines...thanks for asking the question Prophead123

I don't want to hijack this thread but I'm 34 and have been seriously considering going for my commercial ticket and making a big career choice move aswell.

The replies have answered a few of my questions, but, would I still be struggling to get the required hours to keep moving up the ladder and into the regionals etc.
Being based in NZ, I can imagine there are alot of pilots for a small number of jobs, but I would be able to look further afield (Uk-Europe) at a later date.
I have the ability to keep work going on a contract basis if things are tight which is good, and know of a few people in the aviation industry here......I'm just trying to look at things realistically.

Best part is my Wife and kids say go for it!!

Any helpful comments most welcome....and good luck with your decision prophead123

[Wally Mk2]

PH23 the only person that would actually stop you from doing this is you. Nobody knows you better than the guy you see in the mirror everyday Practice that mirror looking as we pilots love it You/we all fly 'cause we love it, do it for other reasons & you may very well fall flat on yr ass:-) We in here can all give you accounts of personal achievements etc but at the end of the day way up all the pro's & cons of undertaking this adventure & you decide based on where you see yourself in say 5 yrs having spent all that money & a full time fulfilling flying job hasn't eventuated. Like aviation itself have a back up plan for a rainy day & aviation is full of rainy days:-) Getting a pilots license is the easy part, too easy in some ways.
If you love flying them you should be will be able to keep it "up" longer than some Dr helo driver has shown of late

Good luck & we all here want a full report in say a couple of years time

Wmk2
.

[Homesick-Angel]

Its all pretty much been said, but really if you want to do it, you should.

If you were to pour all of yourself into it, and money was no obstacle you could get the training done asap, and your background will be an advantage.

Id go get a class one medical first up to make sure you can hold one and then just go for it..

Surely you can get your training done for a lot less than 100 grand if you do some looking around.

Good luck.Let us know how it pans out

[training wheels]

I remember reading here on Pprune that there was (is) A Qantaslink captain in his 70's. Is that correct?

If you're just aiming to fly for GA and may be even for the regionals, then I don't think age is not that much of a factor. You can continue to fly as long as your class 1 medical is valid.

[Di_Vosh]

Pharoah

Mate,

I had my first flying lesson at age 38, and am currently a Qlink FO. I meet the required minimas for J* (2400 TT at age 46), and think that I'd be successful if I were to apply. So you shouldn't have a problem with being

age 40 with only say 2000 hrs on the clock

It is (of course) vitally important to be in the right place, at the right time, and with the right qualifications. (I've been very lucky in that regard).

Disclaimer: By the time you're 40, the minimas may be well over 3000 TT, or J* may be hiring "250hour Fatpls".

Be aware of lifestyle changes:

I'm earning around half of what I earned as an I.T. consultant, so be prepared for a (possible) pay cut, along with everything that that entails, and being away from home a lot. There are sacrifices that you (and wife/kids) will have to make. I've been very lucky there as well.

On the plus side, I'm much happier in this career than my last one.

To the OP,

My tip is to go for it! You've set your sights on where you want to be, know where you'd like to operate and have been there before.

Not sure about whether it's better to do your training here and convert or over there. Depends on where in Africa you want to fly, I guess. I do agree that you should aim to work as a "Pilot who can also be an engineer" instead of the other way around. Good luck!

DIVOSH!

[unairworthy]

Thanks DiVosh, that is quite an inspriational post for many on here!