Learning to fly at 50+
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Vancouver Island
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Hey Chipjockey:
Age in and of its self is no barrier, Bob Hoover is over eighty and he sure as hell knows what he is doing.
There is a danger allowing idiots to fly though Chipjockey, so for the sake of safety I hope you are not a pilot.
Cat Driver:
Age in and of its self is no barrier, Bob Hoover is over eighty and he sure as hell knows what he is doing.
There is a danger allowing idiots to fly though Chipjockey, so for the sake of safety I hope you are not a pilot.
Cat Driver:
The Original Whirly
Join Date: Feb 1999
Location: Belper, Derbyshire, UK
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Chipjockey, are you for real or a wind-up merchant? Either way, let's not let you sabotage what is turning out to be an interesting thread.
I was in my late 40s when I started flying (OK, I finally admitted it; Whirly is not the sweet young thing she pretends to be. For the record, I'm not tall and blonde as a lot of people seem to think either, but that's irrelevant here.
) It never occurred to me at first that my age was supposed to make a difference. Having not had kids, I guess I missed the whole generation pigeon-holing thing that many people seem to pick up naturally. Anyway, when I started to struggle, everyone else came out with comments like: "Well, you're no spring chicken are you?" "You're not used to learning at your age" etc. Never mind that (a) I'd struggled with anything involved distance/depth perception or co-ordiantion since I was a kid, and (b) learning wasn't new for me; I'd got A level Welsh a couple of years earlier, and then improved enough to be mistaken for a native speaker. No, I had just reached that point where it HAD to be my age. So much so that I almost started to believe it myself. But not enough to stop me deciding to learn to fly helicopters, getting a CPL(H), flying in the US and Russia, etc etc etc. And you know what? If I ignore the fact that getting older is supposed to make things difficult, then it doesn't. And then everyone else starts ignoring it too. No-one's mentioned it to me now for ages. If I start to say that I'm unlikely to live long enough to earn enough through flying to ever recoup what I've paid out, they look at me in amazement. So either flying makes you look younger, or...
Come on people, what is all this age cr@p anyhow? Polly Vacher is about to start a second flight solo around the world, and she's at least in her 50s. Jennifer Murray became the first woman to fly a piston engined helicopter around the world at the age of 60, having learned to fly helos at the age of 54. I know of several people doing CPLs in their late 40s and 50s. At the microlight club where I battled with a flexwing, loads of people seem to be, and have learned, in their 50s and older, and no-one there seems to even notice. As I said earlier, on average it might, just might, take a few hours longer in the early stages. Dunno why, but it seems to. But that's about all.
The rest, kids, is just so much hot air and prejudice!
I was in my late 40s when I started flying (OK, I finally admitted it; Whirly is not the sweet young thing she pretends to be. For the record, I'm not tall and blonde as a lot of people seem to think either, but that's irrelevant here.
) It never occurred to me at first that my age was supposed to make a difference. Having not had kids, I guess I missed the whole generation pigeon-holing thing that many people seem to pick up naturally. Anyway, when I started to struggle, everyone else came out with comments like: "Well, you're no spring chicken are you?" "You're not used to learning at your age" etc. Never mind that (a) I'd struggled with anything involved distance/depth perception or co-ordiantion since I was a kid, and (b) learning wasn't new for me; I'd got A level Welsh a couple of years earlier, and then improved enough to be mistaken for a native speaker. No, I had just reached that point where it HAD to be my age. So much so that I almost started to believe it myself. But not enough to stop me deciding to learn to fly helicopters, getting a CPL(H), flying in the US and Russia, etc etc etc. And you know what? If I ignore the fact that getting older is supposed to make things difficult, then it doesn't. And then everyone else starts ignoring it too. No-one's mentioned it to me now for ages. If I start to say that I'm unlikely to live long enough to earn enough through flying to ever recoup what I've paid out, they look at me in amazement. So either flying makes you look younger, or... Come on people, what is all this age cr@p anyhow? Polly Vacher is about to start a second flight solo around the world, and she's at least in her 50s. Jennifer Murray became the first woman to fly a piston engined helicopter around the world at the age of 60, having learned to fly helos at the age of 54. I know of several people doing CPLs in their late 40s and 50s. At the microlight club where I battled with a flexwing, loads of people seem to be, and have learned, in their 50s and older, and no-one there seems to even notice. As I said earlier, on average it might, just might, take a few hours longer in the early stages. Dunno why, but it seems to. But that's about all.
The rest, kids, is just so much hot air and prejudice!
Join Date: May 2001
Location: London
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Re old dog/new trick interface malfunction:
I know exactly what you mean. I did my instructor rating when I was 49 and always felt I was about 25 years too late. But if you persevere you'll crack it, and I'm convinced that life experience makes you a more circumspect and thoughtful pilot. Go for it.
I know exactly what you mean. I did my instructor rating when I was 49 and always felt I was about 25 years too late. But if you persevere you'll crack it, and I'm convinced that life experience makes you a more circumspect and thoughtful pilot. Go for it.
The Original Whirly
Join Date: Feb 1999
Location: Belper, Derbyshire, UK
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t'aint,
I'm about to do a helicopter instructors course in a month or two at a similar age, so I'll let you know if I agree. However, a couple of weeks ago I was discussing the course with three YOUNG instructors, who were all saying it was the hardest thing they'd ever done. But, you see, they didn't blame that on their age.
This whole issue reminds me of something I once read with respect to memory and age. The writer said that older people blame forgetting things on getting older. Yet six year olds come home from school, and say: "Sorry, I forgot to give my note to the teacher, I left my homework at school, and I can't remember where I left my gym bag". But they don't say they have a bad memory because of AGE - they save that for 40 years later!
I'm about to do a helicopter instructors course in a month or two at a similar age, so I'll let you know if I agree. However, a couple of weeks ago I was discussing the course with three YOUNG instructors, who were all saying it was the hardest thing they'd ever done. But, you see, they didn't blame that on their age.
This whole issue reminds me of something I once read with respect to memory and age. The writer said that older people blame forgetting things on getting older. Yet six year olds come home from school, and say: "Sorry, I forgot to give my note to the teacher, I left my homework at school, and I can't remember where I left my gym bag". But they don't say they have a bad memory because of AGE - they save that for 40 years later!
I originally qualified as a PPL in a DH82 at 28, after about 20 hours flying (experienced glider pilot). I learned non radio, and the sylabus was a lot simpler then.
After a break of 23 years with no flying, I re-qualified in my late 50's and am not aware that age had any impact on the learning process. I certainly sailed through the far more extensive exams and the only learning problems I had were that both my instructor and I assumed too much that I could already do most things and, as long as I did them, this assumption prevailed. It was only after qualifying that I really discovered that I had not really re-learned how to land properly, when I tried to check out on a different aeroplane.
Certainly, as I have got older, I seem to more frequently forget names of people and places but, so far, I seem to remember all essential information for flying. As one of my school teachers used to say, "You remember those things that you want to".
After a break of 23 years with no flying, I re-qualified in my late 50's and am not aware that age had any impact on the learning process. I certainly sailed through the far more extensive exams and the only learning problems I had were that both my instructor and I assumed too much that I could already do most things and, as long as I did them, this assumption prevailed. It was only after qualifying that I really discovered that I had not really re-learned how to land properly, when I tried to check out on a different aeroplane.
Certainly, as I have got older, I seem to more frequently forget names of people and places but, so far, I seem to remember all essential information for flying. As one of my school teachers used to say, "You remember those things that you want to".
Join Date: Apr 2002
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Have to admit at forty three to forgetting things and names and sometimes being a little slow but mostly seem to achieve safe aviation activity and learn new aviation tricks - now set me something to learn I am not particularly interested in and I am all for using ags as an excuse.
I still have a lot to learn so I hope I am still capable of it otherwise I might as well give up now.
I still have a lot to learn so I hope I am still capable of it otherwise I might as well give up now.
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