I can agree with this. And I find it difficult to understand why it is left to the students to manage. Students talk to each other so why is is not more of a concern to the operators management about the student experience while training under them? We obviously see eye to eye on these things. I have learned that I am much less likely to put up with it in future but, following a branching and rejoining paths of aviation training, the path will narrow to a single track and there is the reasonable risk of just having to grin and bear it to get through, which is a shame.

Interesting points on the early Astronauts, the first round were only open to military aviators so Neil Armstrong wasn't eligible as he had become a civilian test pilot by that time (though he was an ex-naval aviator). He was selected as one of two civilians in the 'next nine' of astronauts. By the end of Apollo, NASA thought a real scientist should go up Harrison Schmidt and non military. By now, the peak of the bell curve for age of astronauts on their first trip to the ISS is 41-47 (1998-2013) but still at the top end of their fields in academia rather than military. The bar today to get the ISS is only a spare few tens of millions of dollars for two weeks on the ISS. Mars they say they will be looking for people with psychological traits that can survive and thrive cooped up with the same people.

Axiom space will start building the replacement for the ISS in the next few years and there will be jobs for the first commercial astronauts to shepherd groups of other paying astronauts up into low earth orbit. The hope is the paths will continue to splinter and the opportunities multiply. I am aiming for either launching underslung rockets from a modified 747 (Virgin Orbit, currently employing military pilots !) hopefully from UK soil (the spaceports currently in planning and construction in Cornwall or Sutherland). Or, dependent on suborbital plane development, flying to to edge of space. I would be very happy with these 'bus driver of the air' jobs while the real astronauts are out to and above low earth orbit. My age and, relative to MIT professors, modest academics makes it unlikely I will an astronaut. But that doesn't seem like a good enough reason not to send in a speculative application when the time comes !! :)

Thanks VariablePitchP. I will take note on the third instructor :) If I were to go back to my school, I would hold out and wait for 1 or 2 instructors there that I know we would understand each other. As I sais, students talk. My jokey 'failing' and become a 747 pilot was sincere, I would love a job flying airliners (or maybe even huge freight planes, it is gaining more appeal for some reason... flying for the world food programme?).

I have an 'you got to be in it to win it' attitude towards any sub-orbital or spaceflight beyond that, guessing/extreme speculating there are 300k airline pilot jobs and 300 space related pilot jobs today, that could be 400k and 200k in 25 years and would suck airline pilots into the space pilot industry (assuming it develops). If I were 26 with a PHD from MIT, it could still be an extreme long shot. But who knows how things will develop, new fuels, new materials, new physics... [insert point about predicting the internet, smart phones, a functional use for electricity]. If a sizable industry did develop and I have closed the option off today then I would be kicking myself in 15-25 years. More likely, I will look back at this post of dreamer but hopefully it should be looking back from the cockpit of an airliner !

The plan is to pay as I go while working, I have a career that should be able to pay for it over a few years. Understood about the instructor, makes sense. Thanks for the constructive words Deltasierra.

[I tried to post this yesterday but couldn't post more than 5 in 24 hours]

Thank you all for your replies. This has been helpful, but not in the way I expected at the start ! :D Talking to you has removed at lot of my reluctance to draw a line and say what is done is done and lit a fire under me to get back at it. I have the resolve again to press forward and I am confident I can regain my joy of flying. ATPLs will follow from there. Now it is just a matter of when then will be.

Thanks again :ok:

I'd say you need to understand exactly what it is about flying that you enjoy and to be blunt with you, formulate achievable goals that you can enjoy reaching. If it's hands-on, 'in the control loop' flying of an aircraft, then I'd look at aerobatics, some form of air racing (navigational rather than Reno!), bush flying, flying safaris etc. Go and try a ride in some different types, twins, tail draggers, see what floats your boat (seaplane?) - if you're set on going weightless (at least momentarily) I'd recommend competition aerobatics. Jump into a Pitts for example; mastering that will keep you engaged very nicely for years to come.

You are lucky enough to have a good job with apparently good remuneration - frankly, I'd hang onto that with both hands (and both feet) and use as a means to fund your passion of flying. Going commercial now would be akin to going parachuting with a rucksack. My LinkedIn feed is jammed with out of work type-rated flight crew driving forklift trucks and vans. BA is about to release another 1000 highly skilled aircrew into the wilderness.

Mid 30s at the stage you're at, thinking about space flight is... well, it shows you're an optimist! The last application acceptance rate at NASA is 0.065%. The lower orbit market might grow from practically zero to not much - pilot shortage is going to be the smallest problem on the table with those programs!

Given you're not already a test pilot and would need 1000hrs jet time PIC to get through the first sift, your best (and cheapest) chance of making that first sift is learning Russian and gaining a PhD in a strong STEM topic, achievable in 5-7 years part-time if you are tenacious enough. Although you'd still need to gain some actual research experience - assuming you don't already work in the field?

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Agreed. If someone called me French I would be asking for a different instructor.