Do you really Want to Do This...??
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Other ways to fly...
Now this is what PPRUNE is all about.... a little tetchy at times, but always a great read.
If I'm joining in, I'm a natural wannabe whose chose to follow the alternative route of flying for pleasure rather than work. And I'm not sure this perspective has been covered much.
Yes, I'm like everyone else, my head rises every time I start to hear a buzz or a roar overhead, yes I devour the mags & PPRUNE like everyone else, but I came to a conclusion at 16 years old that to try to become an airline pilot outside of going via the military was total insanity.
My opinion has not changed. Nothing necessarily to do with the job even (you guys are the experts on that...), but it's what it takes to get there. Name me another profession that asks such staggering sacrifices with so few gaurantees??
I chose another career... that of a geologist. Maybe it's because the passions are related, the downsides of the job are not dissimilar. And the rewards too. When I get the rare chance to chat with airline pilots, they get it, they know what I'm talking about.
Recently, I've been wondering in every sense what I get out is worth what I put in to my profession. Pilots, commercial or otherwise, ask themselves the same question too about their vocation. I've concluded I still love the buzz I get from my job.... the views that few others see, the nuts & bolts of how things work, the Big Picture, the mystery of new discoveries.... sound familiar?!?
It will pay me back in time for the broken relationships, the 4am departure lounges, the smiling when I don't feel it, the it's-up-to-you moments....(it better....) Again, sound familiar?!?
To fly is a struggle sometimes, but I HAVE to. I don't care what, but it's a drag I've got to have. Every flying machine can be made to be exciting & can provide a never-ever learning curve. In the end, wings touch air & wheels touch ground.
You can fly like a professional in anything & frankly that's what we should all be aiming for & is a subject that distressingly gets rarely discussed on here in amongst all our rants about paperwork & money & flight schools & the bl££dy CAA....
If you ask me, one of the saddest aspects of the current aviation scene is not so much the lack of communication between wannabes & those doing the job they will sell their skin for but more between Professionals & Amateurs. We all love flying & we can all learn something.
This is why we hang out in spaces like this & we can all contribute to.
Getting back to the original thread, the big question is whether you convert passion to vocation into profession. That's three very different things. It's a bit like fling vs relationship vs marriage I guess. All are possible in aviation.
I still like to think of flying as a continual courtship.
BFA
If I'm joining in, I'm a natural wannabe whose chose to follow the alternative route of flying for pleasure rather than work. And I'm not sure this perspective has been covered much.
Yes, I'm like everyone else, my head rises every time I start to hear a buzz or a roar overhead, yes I devour the mags & PPRUNE like everyone else, but I came to a conclusion at 16 years old that to try to become an airline pilot outside of going via the military was total insanity.
My opinion has not changed. Nothing necessarily to do with the job even (you guys are the experts on that...), but it's what it takes to get there. Name me another profession that asks such staggering sacrifices with so few gaurantees??
I chose another career... that of a geologist. Maybe it's because the passions are related, the downsides of the job are not dissimilar. And the rewards too. When I get the rare chance to chat with airline pilots, they get it, they know what I'm talking about.
Recently, I've been wondering in every sense what I get out is worth what I put in to my profession. Pilots, commercial or otherwise, ask themselves the same question too about their vocation. I've concluded I still love the buzz I get from my job.... the views that few others see, the nuts & bolts of how things work, the Big Picture, the mystery of new discoveries.... sound familiar?!?
It will pay me back in time for the broken relationships, the 4am departure lounges, the smiling when I don't feel it, the it's-up-to-you moments....(it better....) Again, sound familiar?!?
To fly is a struggle sometimes, but I HAVE to. I don't care what, but it's a drag I've got to have. Every flying machine can be made to be exciting & can provide a never-ever learning curve. In the end, wings touch air & wheels touch ground.
You can fly like a professional in anything & frankly that's what we should all be aiming for & is a subject that distressingly gets rarely discussed on here in amongst all our rants about paperwork & money & flight schools & the bl££dy CAA....
If you ask me, one of the saddest aspects of the current aviation scene is not so much the lack of communication between wannabes & those doing the job they will sell their skin for but more between Professionals & Amateurs. We all love flying & we can all learn something.
This is why we hang out in spaces like this & we can all contribute to.
Getting back to the original thread, the big question is whether you convert passion to vocation into profession. That's three very different things. It's a bit like fling vs relationship vs marriage I guess. All are possible in aviation.
I still like to think of flying as a continual courtship.
BFA
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Has the glamour gone??.....if it has who cares
hiya all, Ive been doing alot of resarch on the internet recently, and there seems to be quite alot floating about along the lines of 'being a commercial pilot is a career prospect not worth looking into'. I'd like to know other peoples thoughts of this. I know that being a commercial pilot isn't necessarily what it was say 30 years ago however if I'm honest I can't see myself embarking on any other career. Regards, Jack
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So...
Things I love about flying (and to name but a few) include climbing into the LHS on a cold morning, and turning on the engine, and hearing it get warmer.. The musty smell of old cockpits on the wee Pipers I'm used to flying.. The smell of avgas.. Speeding up on the runway to take off.. Pulling the throttle right back and pretending to the passenger that the engine's just failed 
.. Hearing the stall alarm when landing.. Parking on the runway, stretching me legs and thinking about the great flight I've just had.. Flying at night and seeing the wee white dots below and not being a part of that world.. And the list could go on forever.
So back to the original question Do you really want to do this...??
Hell yeah
.. Hearing the stall alarm when landing.. Parking on the runway, stretching me legs and thinking about the great flight I've just had.. Flying at night and seeing the wee white dots below and not being a part of that world.. And the list could go on forever.So back to the original question Do you really want to do this...??
Hell yeah
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I understand where everyone is coming from here, life is full of highs and lows, but at the end of the day, follow your heart. If flying is your passion, go for it! You'll adapt to the salaries and lifestyles if your career requirements are fulfilled. I can't imagine what can be more satisfying than a flying job!
I've done 9 yrs in the RAF on radars, followed by as many years in IT, gained my PPL and then tried to follow my life time dream of becoming a professional pilot, unfortunately this week that just passed me by, having had success in 13 of the 14 ATPL exams and failing the last one by a mere 4%! I'm looking at being a PPL lifer unless anyone has any great ideas for me?
Aviation - it's a passion, not a job, fly the dream and enjoy it! I'd happily swap places with deathcruzer or anyone and fly the planes while you fly my office desk at 0ft. Now, go fly.
I've done 9 yrs in the RAF on radars, followed by as many years in IT, gained my PPL and then tried to follow my life time dream of becoming a professional pilot, unfortunately this week that just passed me by, having had success in 13 of the 14 ATPL exams and failing the last one by a mere 4%! I'm looking at being a PPL lifer unless anyone has any great ideas for me?
Aviation - it's a passion, not a job, fly the dream and enjoy it! I'd happily swap places with deathcruzer or anyone and fly the planes while you fly my office desk at 0ft. Now, go fly.
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topcat, if you fail only one . it is good, very good.
some guys fail 4-5-6 exams.
so restudy the feedback questions, and resit the exam.
I would be happy to take your office job, so I can make money!
some guys fail 4-5-6 exams.
so restudy the feedback questions, and resit the exam.
I would be happy to take your office job, so I can make money!
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I'm earning just over 47K a year in the RAF as rearcrew. I have a job until 55 - and a Final Salary, Index Linked Pension to boot.
But I am deployed for 5 months every 11 to 12 months in an ageing aircraft which has recently been in the news - sadly for the wrong reasons but civvy aircraft have problems too.
Being regularly mortared is a novel experience too - as aircrew!
And I no longer believe that Politicians or Senior Officers act in the interests of their men: "Warfare lad, not welfare!"
However, looking at some of the other threads it seems that the commercial flying world has its fair share of "leadership issues".
I have my CPL ME SPA IR with ATPL credit Perf A Perf E & instruct too. Now on 624 hours TT.
Four things keep me in the military:
1. Pension.
2. The fear that at 46 I am unlikely to even get an interview offer should I jump ship (I would dearly love to fly cargo TPs - genuinely).
3. Recognition that the commercial aviation industry is "economically fraught".
4. Cameraderie.
So why did I fork out circa 30K for a mix of CAA/JAR qualifications - the love of flying. It is a bl**dy drug!!!
What to do, what to do, what to do............
But I am deployed for 5 months every 11 to 12 months in an ageing aircraft which has recently been in the news - sadly for the wrong reasons but civvy aircraft have problems too.
Being regularly mortared is a novel experience too - as aircrew!
And I no longer believe that Politicians or Senior Officers act in the interests of their men: "Warfare lad, not welfare!"
However, looking at some of the other threads it seems that the commercial flying world has its fair share of "leadership issues".
I have my CPL ME SPA IR with ATPL credit Perf A Perf E & instruct too. Now on 624 hours TT.
Four things keep me in the military:
1. Pension.
2. The fear that at 46 I am unlikely to even get an interview offer should I jump ship (I would dearly love to fly cargo TPs - genuinely).
3. Recognition that the commercial aviation industry is "economically fraught".
4. Cameraderie.
So why did I fork out circa 30K for a mix of CAA/JAR qualifications - the love of flying. It is a bl**dy drug!!!
What to do, what to do, what to do............
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Still thinking
So take the rose coloured spectacles off and take a good in- depth look at the Industry before you commit a penny. Or you are likely to become another lamb to the slaughter.
I work as a manager at an abattoir, today we slaughtered 600 lambs.
I am seriously thinking about a change in career, with plans to learn to fly at ormond beach then return to UK and continue a flying career.
I am trying to find out the average salary for pilots to work out if i am better off sticking with the slaughtering, or do i follow my dream and learn to fly?
at present the most i could earn in my role is around 40k - what are the chances in this day and age of earning that much?
But at the end of the day its not just about money, which is better, soaring above the clouds, or walking around a windolwess factory with blood on my boots?
I work as a manager at an abattoir, today we slaughtered 600 lambs.
I am seriously thinking about a change in career, with plans to learn to fly at ormond beach then return to UK and continue a flying career.
I am trying to find out the average salary for pilots to work out if i am better off sticking with the slaughtering, or do i follow my dream and learn to fly?
at present the most i could earn in my role is around 40k - what are the chances in this day and age of earning that much?
But at the end of the day its not just about money, which is better, soaring above the clouds, or walking around a windolwess factory with blood on my boots?
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I have just spent far too long reading this thread from the start .
I am just about to embark on my ATPL training (at Bristol GS and ESMA in Montpelier), having spent the last 7 years as a conductor in the musical theatre industry. My previous experience is limited to 20 hours in a DA20 Katana from an RAF flying scholarship, and about 8 or 9 hours in Bulldogs/Chipmunks as part of the CCF.
Arguably, I am going from one undervalued job to another, but having looked long and hard at the pros/cons of a) both leaving a career in an industry in which I am established, and b) starting training for a new one at the (relatively old) age of 26, I have decided to go for it.
Some while ago some professional pilots mentioned how frustrating it was to be told that "all you do is push buttons and watch the plane fly itself", and in addition how the attitude of their colleagues towards FD visitors / other aviation professionals did not necessarily help.
Although the comparison may be bad, I can draw parallels to this in the theatre industry. The number of times I have been told
that conducting is "just waving your arms around" and that "any Tom, Dick or Harry [to plagarise a phrase
] can play the piano for a show" is beyond counting, and is also immensely frustrating. I am a highly trained professional doing a job that is not particularly easy, and when we have had, as we do on occasion, visitors "sitting in" the pit for a show, their arrogance and naiveté can be astounding.
(Having said that, my job is rarely "safety critical", and I don't have the responsibility of audience's lives in my hands...! )
There is no doubt at all that being an airline pilot is an incredibly demanding and difficult job that requires a) a massively high level of training, b) enormous financial and personal commitment to even get the qualifications to apply for a job, and, I am sure, c) a certain amount of luck and applying to the right place at the right time. I mean that final point as no disrespect to any professional pilots/FOs, but it holds true for any industry where there are more qualified people than jobs...
So yes, being stuck behind a locked door for 12 or 13 hours a day is something I am willing to tolerate to do what I want to do. It may indeed get wearing, but the 500th time I played "Tell Me It's Not True" in a cramped and frankly quite smelly pit was a bit wearing. Everything, to a greater or lesser extent, becomes at some point "just a job". I never thought that conducting musicals would ever get wearing, but it does.
I am jumping into this with my eyes wide open. I hope to be among "the few" (not meaning to deify flight crews, or indeed go all "Winston Churchill" on you
) one day. It may or may not happen for me, but if I don't try I will never forgive myself...
Anyway, my thoughts. They may or may not be relevant.
All the best,
Martin
.I am just about to embark on my ATPL training (at Bristol GS and ESMA in Montpelier), having spent the last 7 years as a conductor in the musical theatre industry. My previous experience is limited to 20 hours in a DA20 Katana from an RAF flying scholarship, and about 8 or 9 hours in Bulldogs/Chipmunks as part of the CCF.
Arguably, I am going from one undervalued job to another, but having looked long and hard at the pros/cons of a) both leaving a career in an industry in which I am established, and b) starting training for a new one at the (relatively old) age of 26, I have decided to go for it.
Some while ago some professional pilots mentioned how frustrating it was to be told that "all you do is push buttons and watch the plane fly itself", and in addition how the attitude of their colleagues towards FD visitors / other aviation professionals did not necessarily help.
Although the comparison may be bad, I can draw parallels to this in the theatre industry. The number of times I have been told
that conducting is "just waving your arms around" and that "any Tom, Dick or Harry [to plagarise a phrase
] can play the piano for a show" is beyond counting, and is also immensely frustrating. I am a highly trained professional doing a job that is not particularly easy, and when we have had, as we do on occasion, visitors "sitting in" the pit for a show, their arrogance and naiveté can be astounding.(Having said that, my job is rarely "safety critical", and I don't have the responsibility of audience's lives in my hands...!
)There is no doubt at all that being an airline pilot is an incredibly demanding and difficult job that requires a) a massively high level of training, b) enormous financial and personal commitment to even get the qualifications to apply for a job, and, I am sure, c) a certain amount of luck and applying to the right place at the right time. I mean that final point as no disrespect to any professional pilots/FOs, but it holds true for any industry where there are more qualified people than jobs...
So yes, being stuck behind a locked door for 12 or 13 hours a day is something I am willing to tolerate to do what I want to do. It may indeed get wearing, but the 500th time I played "Tell Me It's Not True" in a cramped and frankly quite smelly pit was a bit wearing. Everything, to a greater or lesser extent, becomes at some point "just a job". I never thought that conducting musicals would ever get wearing, but it does.
I am jumping into this with my eyes wide open. I hope to be among "the few" (not meaning to deify flight crews, or indeed go all "Winston Churchill" on you
) one day. It may or may not happen for me, but if I don't try I will never forgive myself...Anyway, my thoughts. They may or may not be relevant.
All the best,
Martin
Last edited by FirmamentFX; 28th Jun 2007 at 20:14.
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Short
Hi guys!
Let me tell you my story. I was Flight attendt for 5 years, now I'm flying A320 as FO. During thees 5 years I just fell in love even more with airplanes and aviation. Every cent I put aside for my training.
My point is, if you love this you'll go every day happy on your job and that is the best thing can happen to you if not...
I couldn't do anything else!!
Cheers
Let me tell you my story. I was Flight attendt for 5 years, now I'm flying A320 as FO. During thees 5 years I just fell in love even more with airplanes and aviation. Every cent I put aside for my training.
My point is, if you love this you'll go every day happy on your job and that is the best thing can happen to you if not...
I couldn't do anything else!!
Cheers
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flying is fine...its the ****ty hrs that are a killer...im exhausted all the time and getting paid crap wages and dealing with every one that treats you as a risk and eager to yank your license at any moment. welcome to the airlines baby!
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Do you really want to do this....
This is the question that I have asked myself many a time.....
Do I really want to borrow a rediculous amount of money with no guarantee of work at the end, work unsociable hours when/if I do get a job, spend the next 9 years in the banks pocket, risk everything I have and give up my very secure and rewarding career which has taken me 3 years to build????
F**k yes!!!!
Why?????
Only if you have a true love of aviation and flying can you understand why. As previosuly said, Flying is a drug and I'm well hooked I'm afraid.
Becoming a commercial pilot is my ultimate career and I won't stop until I get into that RHS. However don't confuse this for blind optomism! I've worked out and meticulously planned everything including a number of contingencies should anythign go tits up.
In my book as long as you plan for a bumpy ride to your first FO position then I can't see any reason why not!
Chris
Do I really want to borrow a rediculous amount of money with no guarantee of work at the end, work unsociable hours when/if I do get a job, spend the next 9 years in the banks pocket, risk everything I have and give up my very secure and rewarding career which has taken me 3 years to build????
F**k yes!!!!
Why?????
Only if you have a true love of aviation and flying can you understand why. As previosuly said, Flying is a drug and I'm well hooked I'm afraid.
Becoming a commercial pilot is my ultimate career and I won't stop until I get into that RHS. However don't confuse this for blind optomism! I've worked out and meticulously planned everything including a number of contingencies should anythign go tits up.
In my book as long as you plan for a bumpy ride to your first FO position then I can't see any reason why not!
Chris
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Chris,
I completely agree. Flying gets to you. True, it's not "true flying" in the sense that throwing a PA28 or whatever around the sky is but I'd still much prefer it to a proper office job!
As Chris said, no guarantee, and maybe I will end up in that office anyway. If so, shall throw the PA28 around all the more
I completely agree. Flying gets to you. True, it's not "true flying" in the sense that throwing a PA28 or whatever around the sky is but I'd still much prefer it to a proper office job!
As Chris said, no guarantee, and maybe I will end up in that office anyway. If so, shall throw the PA28 around all the more
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But surely after you have been flying for umpteen years your passion for flying has gone, it's just a job, a job that you enjoy sometimes?
Do I have a passion for flying? I don't know, if it means I will fly for any kind of money or for any kind of company then no, I don't have a passion. But I can't think of another job that I would enjoy as much as being a pilot. I love the responsibility that my warrior gives me when I am in the circuit with other planes and on the commercial side, it is at the forefront of technology, heavily focussed on people and the world around us.
The prospect of losing my staff travel at 24 is also a consideration
Do I have a passion for flying? I don't know, if it means I will fly for any kind of money or for any kind of company then no, I don't have a passion. But I can't think of another job that I would enjoy as much as being a pilot. I love the responsibility that my warrior gives me when I am in the circuit with other planes and on the commercial side, it is at the forefront of technology, heavily focussed on people and the world around us.
The prospect of losing my staff travel at 24 is also a consideration
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This is one of those threads that takes on a life of its own. I started flying in 1966 and did the airline thing from 1969. I set the brakes on July 30th 2004 in a B737NG and never looked back. Until, well this is where the story for me got me into the "why should I" mode.
Pres. Bush signs into law that you can now fly in the US to age 65. I used to do the ex-pat thing, why not do it again? Didn't I love the 1649 Connie, the B707 and the WW11 guys that taught me how to fly them? Wasn't Indonesia, SE Asia, ME a blast. Oh yeah it did start to get weird around 1987 but by that time I had been a Capt for several years at a rock and roll 121 operation. Flying the B727 with the HUD, transitioning to the B737NG with a stint on the B737-200 for good measure.
As I watched my airline go from a nothing outfit to a golden child in a matter of months was fun. The upgrades came fast and furious, pay raises, new equipment and then we got famous. We were now high priced workers with mgt types cursing that this would be a great business if it just weren't for these pilots and F/A's.
While it did not happen to me I watched as my peers lost their retirements, wages slashed, down grades (harder to go backwards) chapter 11's, Frank Lorenzo's coming out of the wood work. Was not unusual to have a new FE who had come from brand X because of its demise. Oh yeah he or she saw that Toro lawn machine and the patio furniture go down the drive way in the wrong direction. Sure glad I did not take that job with United.
The fact is that you will pay a very high price for the "love of flying". Ask your wife (if you still have one), how do your children fit in with this love of flying deal anyway? By the grace of God I still have great love and affection for my kids and it is the same for them. Guess what--it all got better when I quite flying.
Now I know that you can lead a horse or is it you can't make a silk purse, oh well you know what I mean. When I was younger I could not have been talked out of flying for anything. It was a quest, a journey, a whatever and God help those in my way. Well I flew for 7 airlines and have more type ratings than I need. When I retired I thought I was done with all of it but NO. I thought I had one more hurrah in me.
Started to look into ex-pat stuff overseas. What the hell the kids were grown and it would be fun to learn about another country again. This is what I found. Lots and lots of places need DEC so much that they are working them stupid. 6 days on and 1 day off. My God why would anyone do that to themselves. The answer is I would have and in a heart beat. When I as young and real driven I would have jumped at it. However I no longer have the interest and I might add the stamina to pull it off at 63 Yrs old. The reality is I cant learn much with one day off and chances are I would be tired of it very quickly and on my way home.
For those of you who love to fly, don't do the airline deal. With the automated format of all new airplanes you will finess the auto pilot (that is how they want to fly it, even more so in 3rd world countries) more often than not.
Now the question is would I do it again? Probably as I have a habit of repeating questionable behavior. Flying was what I did it was not what I was. Having said that I did enjoy the chaos of it all. Oh well, time for my nap.
Pres. Bush signs into law that you can now fly in the US to age 65. I used to do the ex-pat thing, why not do it again? Didn't I love the 1649 Connie, the B707 and the WW11 guys that taught me how to fly them? Wasn't Indonesia, SE Asia, ME a blast. Oh yeah it did start to get weird around 1987 but by that time I had been a Capt for several years at a rock and roll 121 operation. Flying the B727 with the HUD, transitioning to the B737NG with a stint on the B737-200 for good measure.
As I watched my airline go from a nothing outfit to a golden child in a matter of months was fun. The upgrades came fast and furious, pay raises, new equipment and then we got famous. We were now high priced workers with mgt types cursing that this would be a great business if it just weren't for these pilots and F/A's.
While it did not happen to me I watched as my peers lost their retirements, wages slashed, down grades (harder to go backwards) chapter 11's, Frank Lorenzo's coming out of the wood work. Was not unusual to have a new FE who had come from brand X because of its demise. Oh yeah he or she saw that Toro lawn machine and the patio furniture go down the drive way in the wrong direction. Sure glad I did not take that job with United.
The fact is that you will pay a very high price for the "love of flying". Ask your wife (if you still have one), how do your children fit in with this love of flying deal anyway? By the grace of God I still have great love and affection for my kids and it is the same for them. Guess what--it all got better when I quite flying.
Now I know that you can lead a horse or is it you can't make a silk purse, oh well you know what I mean. When I was younger I could not have been talked out of flying for anything. It was a quest, a journey, a whatever and God help those in my way. Well I flew for 7 airlines and have more type ratings than I need. When I retired I thought I was done with all of it but NO. I thought I had one more hurrah in me.
Started to look into ex-pat stuff overseas. What the hell the kids were grown and it would be fun to learn about another country again. This is what I found. Lots and lots of places need DEC so much that they are working them stupid. 6 days on and 1 day off. My God why would anyone do that to themselves. The answer is I would have and in a heart beat. When I as young and real driven I would have jumped at it. However I no longer have the interest and I might add the stamina to pull it off at 63 Yrs old. The reality is I cant learn much with one day off and chances are I would be tired of it very quickly and on my way home.
For those of you who love to fly, don't do the airline deal. With the automated format of all new airplanes you will finess the auto pilot (that is how they want to fly it, even more so in 3rd world countries) more often than not.
Now the question is would I do it again? Probably as I have a habit of repeating questionable behavior. Flying was what I did it was not what I was. Having said that I did enjoy the chaos of it all. Oh well, time for my nap.
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Like I've said so many times before it all comes down to personal feelings and how much you're willing to risk and sacrafice to get to where you want to be.
Arguably there are many careers which pay the same or better and are 9-5 monday - friday etc. As mentioned in a couple of my other posts...I'm working 8.30 - 5.30 Monday - Friday as an accountant at the mo. I even quite like my job but it's not flying so it's not for me long term.
I've literally just booked my flights to Moncton and it's such a good sense of achievement knowing that the hard work and headaches to get to this point have paid off at last! Although the real hard work is just beginning I'm still a pretty happy chappy right now!!
Arguably there are many careers which pay the same or better and are 9-5 monday - friday etc. As mentioned in a couple of my other posts...I'm working 8.30 - 5.30 Monday - Friday as an accountant at the mo. I even quite like my job but it's not flying so it's not for me long term.
I've literally just booked my flights to Moncton and it's such a good sense of achievement knowing that the hard work and headaches to get to this point have paid off at last! Although the real hard work is just beginning I'm still a pretty happy chappy right now!!
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Great thread, its good to hear different stories, As you all have buckets of experience i wondered if i could grab some opinions.
At 18 years old i chose to join the Royal Navy as a Pilot having achieved ACC at A levels. Sadly after passing militerisation i failed my flight grading. This was a 13 hour couse with an exam at the end where i had to
-Book out
-STTO
-turns acel/decel
-stalls
-spins
-3 piece areo
-2 circuits with glide landing
I could do all of these manouvres by the time my hours were up, however i struggled to put it all in to a smooth routine for the test, i would be forgetting parts of checks or flying at 110kts instead of 100 for example as i was a working to capacity and would make odd mistakes.
Having failed I decided the course was a touch hard and fast and i wasn't a bad pilot, i just needed more hours, so i decided to go it alone, i left the Navy and have just started my PPL at Wycombe with the goal of getting to QFI and later making the jump to airlines.
But life story aside heres where i need some advice. Trying to convince people outside aviation i want to be a pilot when i have just failed a grading makes them stare at me as if im insane. My parents seem subtley upset that i have lost the uniform and think im just flying for the hell of it and am wasting money. Every time i go up im working so hard to get it right i dont get a kick out of it like i think i should, its dam hard work and when i get down im knackered and relieved! The only thing that keeps me going is that as soon as i leave the building i just want to get straight back up there tommorow, and i stop caring about anything else.
In your opinion do you think that sounds like the right motivation to commit myself to this? Has anyone else felt the same way and made it? Or should
I just admit defeat and go to uni like everybody else and get a normal job that pays average and i can just about enjoy?
At 18 years old i chose to join the Royal Navy as a Pilot having achieved ACC at A levels. Sadly after passing militerisation i failed my flight grading. This was a 13 hour couse with an exam at the end where i had to
-Book out
-STTO
-turns acel/decel
-stalls
-spins
-3 piece areo
-2 circuits with glide landing
I could do all of these manouvres by the time my hours were up, however i struggled to put it all in to a smooth routine for the test, i would be forgetting parts of checks or flying at 110kts instead of 100 for example as i was a working to capacity and would make odd mistakes.
Having failed I decided the course was a touch hard and fast and i wasn't a bad pilot, i just needed more hours, so i decided to go it alone, i left the Navy and have just started my PPL at Wycombe with the goal of getting to QFI and later making the jump to airlines.
But life story aside heres where i need some advice. Trying to convince people outside aviation i want to be a pilot when i have just failed a grading makes them stare at me as if im insane. My parents seem subtley upset that i have lost the uniform and think im just flying for the hell of it and am wasting money. Every time i go up im working so hard to get it right i dont get a kick out of it like i think i should, its dam hard work and when i get down im knackered and relieved! The only thing that keeps me going is that as soon as i leave the building i just want to get straight back up there tommorow, and i stop caring about anything else.
In your opinion do you think that sounds like the right motivation to commit myself to this? Has anyone else felt the same way and made it? Or should
I just admit defeat and go to uni like everybody else and get a normal job that pays average and i can just about enjoy?