The perpetual 'Am I too old?' thread
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My research indicates that the job market for fresh pilots can be tricky for people starting at advanced ages. I'm particularly interested in this because I'm going to be at least 35 (am 26 now) before I can afford to pay for all of my certificates and training.
Has anyone here heard of a mid thirties cadet pilot breaking into the commercial sector recently?
I've noticed that most of Ryanair's recruits in their monthly corporate photos look young but a couple of the cadets do look older.
Has anyone here heard of a mid thirties cadet pilot breaking into the commercial sector recently?
I've noticed that most of Ryanair's recruits in their monthly corporate photos look young but a couple of the cadets do look older.
Not in Europe... But I personally know one guy who got a job with an airline (Twin Turboprop) at the age of 43... 
1950+ TT and not having flown commercially for 2 years... It was worth keeping the licence, ratings and medical current.
Granted most of the guys/gals I've encountered on assessment and subsequent Type Rating course were early to mid-20's... But there is still hope for us old'uns
1950+ TT and not having flown commercially for 2 years... It was worth keeping the licence, ratings and medical current.
Granted most of the guys/gals I've encountered on assessment and subsequent Type Rating course were early to mid-20's... But there is still hope for us old'uns
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Having a technically oriented career and a similar degree all seem to help if the things I've read are true.
I hear Ryanair are the best place to apply for older pilots but I'm not sure who to go towards if that fails.
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There are a lot of old pilots here and I'm sure not all of them became pilots in their 20s. I wonder if anyone's done a survey regarding the age at which airline pilots start their aviation careers? Long story short, I don't think what we see is representative of what's actually happening. For sure most of the pilots start out young but we don't really know what percentage of pilots started later in their lives.
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30 years in the same business.
Member of Pprune for 18 years.
PPL A & PPL H
45 and starting out on the road to ATPL's!!!!
When is all said and done, I would think I would have 17-18 years good flying and FINALLY chase my other dream.
Member of Pprune for 18 years.
PPL A & PPL H
45 and starting out on the road to ATPL's!!!!
When is all said and done, I would think I would have 17-18 years good flying and FINALLY chase my other dream.
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I was 48 when I took my ATPLs - and started as a DEC with a major British Airline on a 4 engine turbo prop! Then the doors slammed closed behind me.
Go for it - if you don't, you will never know if you could have made it or not!
HWB
Go for it - if you don't, you will never know if you could have made it or not!
HWB
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Looking at ATPL training for older students
Hi all,
Pleasure to meet you all, I've been reading regularly, but was hoping to get some good advice on options for this. I'm currently 39, work as an ex-pat manager in Shanghai, have a university degree and en executive MBA. Currently no kids, just a girlfriend. Every three months I go back to our company HQ in the Netherlands and usually get in some flying with Premier at Norwich airport (where my dad lives) I am very close to completing my PPL, despite the distance and sometimes non co-operative weather. My job is ok, as it pays relatively well, but it's a bit of a dead-end and we're getting really tired of living in China. And if ever I am going to be a professional pilot, this is probably my last chance.
I'm not going to pose the old "am I too old to be a pilot" question again as there are lots of answers already and I figure as with most things in life, sheer determination and intelligence and a bit of luck can see you through. What I'm looking at is training organizations that would still take on an old-timer like me that have some pretty good links to the airlines and where with any luck at the end I could end up doing a type-rating.
- Is it fair to assume that a large organization such as CAE is more likely to have the network and brand to land you a flying job at the end or are there smaller academies that are good at this too?
- I tried the KLM flight academy in the Netherlands ( I can speak Dutch) already; even though there is no official maximum age, they do have a soft cap of around 27,5 years old. KLM mostly recruits from them, but I'm unlikely to be accepted. I'm looking at Atlantic flight academy as well, due to the links to Ryanair. Are there any others worth looking at that might accept us oldies that the carriers recruit from directly?
- Usually, can your PPL allow you to skip certain parts of the practical course? (not the 15 written exams obviously)
Just looking for some no-nonsense advice here. Belgium or UK (Norfolk) are easiest for me as I can live rent-free in either, but I'll actually consider anywhere in the world as long as the help in landing that type rating/first job at the end is good. Relatively comfortable money-wise as I have saved quite a bit and can always get a regular job if things don't pan out, but I would love to fly for a living.
Thanks for any insights!
Pleasure to meet you all, I've been reading regularly, but was hoping to get some good advice on options for this. I'm currently 39, work as an ex-pat manager in Shanghai, have a university degree and en executive MBA. Currently no kids, just a girlfriend. Every three months I go back to our company HQ in the Netherlands and usually get in some flying with Premier at Norwich airport (where my dad lives) I am very close to completing my PPL, despite the distance and sometimes non co-operative weather. My job is ok, as it pays relatively well, but it's a bit of a dead-end and we're getting really tired of living in China. And if ever I am going to be a professional pilot, this is probably my last chance.
I'm not going to pose the old "am I too old to be a pilot" question again as there are lots of answers already and I figure as with most things in life, sheer determination and intelligence and a bit of luck can see you through. What I'm looking at is training organizations that would still take on an old-timer like me that have some pretty good links to the airlines and where with any luck at the end I could end up doing a type-rating.
- Is it fair to assume that a large organization such as CAE is more likely to have the network and brand to land you a flying job at the end or are there smaller academies that are good at this too?
- I tried the KLM flight academy in the Netherlands ( I can speak Dutch) already; even though there is no official maximum age, they do have a soft cap of around 27,5 years old. KLM mostly recruits from them, but I'm unlikely to be accepted. I'm looking at Atlantic flight academy as well, due to the links to Ryanair. Are there any others worth looking at that might accept us oldies that the carriers recruit from directly?
- Usually, can your PPL allow you to skip certain parts of the practical course? (not the 15 written exams obviously)
Just looking for some no-nonsense advice here. Belgium or UK (Norfolk) are easiest for me as I can live rent-free in either, but I'll actually consider anywhere in the world as long as the help in landing that type rating/first job at the end is good. Relatively comfortable money-wise as I have saved quite a bit and can always get a regular job if things don't pan out, but I would love to fly for a living.
Thanks for any insights!
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Advise needed
I was hoping for some guidance here. I am 37, based in Dubai for a full time Job. To be able to finance myself, I am considering the modular distant learning route. All support and guidance welcomed on the best academies to contact for an EASA fATPL.
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48 and I have my first interview interview coming up 
Got my licence and ratings 9 years ago but it all got put on the back-burner, what with family commitments and moving to the other side of the world. Can anyone recommend which psychometric tests to use as practice? Thanks
Got my licence and ratings 9 years ago but it all got put on the back-burner, what with family commitments and moving to the other side of the world. Can anyone recommend which psychometric tests to use as practice? Thanks
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48 and I have my first interview interview coming up Got my licence and ratings 9 years ago but it all got put on the back-burner, what with family commitments and moving to the other side of the world. Can anyone recommend which psychometric tests to use as practice? Thanks
Got my licence and ratings 9 years ago but it all got put on the back-burner, what with family commitments and moving to the other side of the world. Can anyone recommend which psychometric tests to use as practice? ThanksJoin Date: Jun 2008
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Quick maths techniques
Cheers youngretired
Can anyone help with quick mental maths techniques for the likes of the tests? i.e. A man exchanges 368 pounds for dollars at an exchange rate of 1 pound=1:72 dollars. How many dollars does he get in return? (answer to the nearest dollar)
If you travel 1248 miles, how much fuel will you need if you burn 4500 kgs per hour and are travelling at 72O mph?; A 737 flies 930 miles in 75 minutes. How many miles does it fly in 4 hours 45 minutes assuming as constant speed?
If an aircraft departed an airfield and headed directly south for 16 miles and then turned onto a heading of 27O degrees for 12 minutes at an average speed of 80 miles per hour, how many miles is it (in a straight line) from its original destination?
How many nautical miles can an aircraft travel if it is carrying 288O kgs of fuel and burns 240 kgs an hour averaging a speed of 375 knots?
This sort of thing. It's up there but a bit cloudy after not using it for so long, so any quick help or poke in the right direction, as the topic has no doubt been covered on here before, would be greatly appreciated. Don't mean to hijack the post. If I need to ask elsewhere or start a new thread, please let me know.
Can anyone help with quick mental maths techniques for the likes of the tests? i.e. A man exchanges 368 pounds for dollars at an exchange rate of 1 pound=1:72 dollars. How many dollars does he get in return? (answer to the nearest dollar)
If you travel 1248 miles, how much fuel will you need if you burn 4500 kgs per hour and are travelling at 72O mph?; A 737 flies 930 miles in 75 minutes. How many miles does it fly in 4 hours 45 minutes assuming as constant speed?
If an aircraft departed an airfield and headed directly south for 16 miles and then turned onto a heading of 27O degrees for 12 minutes at an average speed of 80 miles per hour, how many miles is it (in a straight line) from its original destination?
How many nautical miles can an aircraft travel if it is carrying 288O kgs of fuel and burns 240 kgs an hour averaging a speed of 375 knots?
This sort of thing. It's up there but a bit cloudy after not using it for so long, so any quick help or poke in the right direction, as the topic has no doubt been covered on here before, would be greatly appreciated. Don't mean to hijack the post. If I need to ask elsewhere or start a new thread, please let me know.
Not sure about "quick" mental maths... what sort of time limit are you facing? 
But I generally find that for these sorts of exercises, you often need to spot the "short cuts" to get the figures into nice round numbers... usually, this is due to converting values from "hours" to "minutes" or recognising that 12 minutes = 1/5th of an hour etc... or decimals into whole numbers by removing the decimal point and adding back later on... and a lot of the values given will be evenly divisible by 60 to give you "per minute" values etc... then a bit of pencil/paper multiplication will usually give you the answer. Sometimes I find that breaking the multiplication or division down into smaller parts helps to calculate it mentally... ie. 3960 / 360... => 3600 / 360 = 10... 360 left over... 360 / 360 = 1... 10 + 1 = 11... so 3960 / 360 = 11
A man exchanges 368 pounds for dollars at an exchange rate of 1 pound=1:72 dollars. How many dollars does he get in return? (answer to the nearest dollar)
Is straight multiplication if you remove the decimal point... 368 * 172 = 63292, then put the decimal point back in => 632.92... rounded to nearest dollar = 633
If you travel 1248 miles, how much fuel will you need if you burn 4500 kgs per hour and are travelling at 72O mph?
convert the "per hour" figures into "per minute"... wouldn't you know it, 720 mph is divisible by 60
720 / 60 = 12 miles a minute....
1248 miles / 12 = 104 minutes... (1200 / 12 = 100... 48 / 12 = 4... 100+4)
What about the fuel burn? huh, look at that 4500 kg/hr is also cleanly divisible by 60 (4200 / 60 = 70, 300 / 60 = 5)
4500 / 60 = 75kg/minute...
Then you're left with basic multiplication:
104 * 75 = 7800 kg
The basic multiplication can also be done in chunks... 100 * 75 = 7500... 75 * 4 = 300... 7500+300 = 7800 etc
A 737 flies 930 miles in 75 minutes. How many miles does it fly in 4 hours 45 minutes assuming as constant speed?
What I'm seeing here is "15 minute" chunks... 75 = 5x 15 minute chunks... 4 hrs 45 = 19x 15 minute chunks...
930 / 5 = 186 (pro tip: dividing by 5 is the same as dividing by 10 and then doubling the answer)... 930 / 10 = 93... *2 = 186
You're then left with "easy" multiplication of 186 * 19 = 3534...
You could also do 186 * 20 = 3720... then subtract the 186 to give 3534.
If an aircraft departed an airfield and headed directly south for 16 miles and then turned onto a heading of 27O degrees for 12 minutes at an average speed of 80 miles per hour, how many miles is it (in a straight line) from its original destination?
Ok... so 12 minutes = 1/5th of an hour... 80 / 5 = 16 miles...
south then west is a right angle triangle with two sides of 16 miles and 16 miles... I'm not sure this is solvable with mental math... but I know with a 45-45-90 triangle like this... the hypotenuse is x* sqrt(2)...
maybe the a-squared + b-squared = c-squared? Honestly, I'd probably just guess knowing that sqrt(2) is around 1.4... 16 * 1.4 ~= 22.5 miles.
How many nautical miles can an aircraft travel if it is carrying 288O kgs of fuel and burns 240 kgs an hour averaging a speed of 375 knots?
need to get total endurance... fuel onboard / fuel burn... 2880 / 240... well 2400 / 240 = 10... leaving 480... 480/240 = 2... so 2880 / 240 = 12...
so we have 12 hours of fuel on board... again we're doing "simple" multiplication in a speed/time/distance calc... 375 kts * 12 hrs = 4500 nm
Again, you can always do 375 * 10 = 3750... 375 * 2 = 750... 3750 + 750 = 4500...
You'll find that as you practice, practice, practice... you'll start to notice the "short cuts"
But I generally find that for these sorts of exercises, you often need to spot the "short cuts" to get the figures into nice round numbers... usually, this is due to converting values from "hours" to "minutes" or recognising that 12 minutes = 1/5th of an hour etc... or decimals into whole numbers by removing the decimal point and adding back later on... and a lot of the values given will be evenly divisible by 60 to give you "per minute" values etc... then a bit of pencil/paper multiplication will usually give you the answer. Sometimes I find that breaking the multiplication or division down into smaller parts helps to calculate it mentally... ie. 3960 / 360... => 3600 / 360 = 10... 360 left over... 360 / 360 = 1... 10 + 1 = 11... so 3960 / 360 = 11
A man exchanges 368 pounds for dollars at an exchange rate of 1 pound=1:72 dollars. How many dollars does he get in return? (answer to the nearest dollar)
Is straight multiplication if you remove the decimal point... 368 * 172 = 63292, then put the decimal point back in => 632.92... rounded to nearest dollar = 633
If you travel 1248 miles, how much fuel will you need if you burn 4500 kgs per hour and are travelling at 72O mph?
convert the "per hour" figures into "per minute"... wouldn't you know it, 720 mph is divisible by 60
720 / 60 = 12 miles a minute....
1248 miles / 12 = 104 minutes... (1200 / 12 = 100... 48 / 12 = 4... 100+4)
What about the fuel burn? huh, look at that 4500 kg/hr is also cleanly divisible by 60 (4200 / 60 = 70, 300 / 60 = 5)
4500 / 60 = 75kg/minute...
Then you're left with basic multiplication:
104 * 75 = 7800 kg
The basic multiplication can also be done in chunks... 100 * 75 = 7500... 75 * 4 = 300... 7500+300 = 7800 etc
A 737 flies 930 miles in 75 minutes. How many miles does it fly in 4 hours 45 minutes assuming as constant speed?
What I'm seeing here is "15 minute" chunks... 75 = 5x 15 minute chunks... 4 hrs 45 = 19x 15 minute chunks...
930 / 5 = 186 (pro tip: dividing by 5 is the same as dividing by 10 and then doubling the answer)... 930 / 10 = 93... *2 = 186
You're then left with "easy" multiplication of 186 * 19 = 3534...
You could also do 186 * 20 = 3720... then subtract the 186 to give 3534.
If an aircraft departed an airfield and headed directly south for 16 miles and then turned onto a heading of 27O degrees for 12 minutes at an average speed of 80 miles per hour, how many miles is it (in a straight line) from its original destination?
Ok... so 12 minutes = 1/5th of an hour... 80 / 5 = 16 miles...
south then west is a right angle triangle with two sides of 16 miles and 16 miles... I'm not sure this is solvable with mental math... but I know with a 45-45-90 triangle like this... the hypotenuse is x* sqrt(2)...
maybe the a-squared + b-squared = c-squared? Honestly, I'd probably just guess knowing that sqrt(2) is around 1.4... 16 * 1.4 ~= 22.5 miles.How many nautical miles can an aircraft travel if it is carrying 288O kgs of fuel and burns 240 kgs an hour averaging a speed of 375 knots?
need to get total endurance... fuel onboard / fuel burn... 2880 / 240... well 2400 / 240 = 10... leaving 480... 480/240 = 2... so 2880 / 240 = 12...
so we have 12 hours of fuel on board... again we're doing "simple" multiplication in a speed/time/distance calc... 375 kts * 12 hrs = 4500 nm
Again, you can always do 375 * 10 = 3750... 375 * 2 = 750... 3750 + 750 = 4500...
You'll find that as you practice, practice, practice... you'll start to notice the "short cuts"
Cheers youngretired
Can anyone help with quick mental maths techniques for the likes of the tests? i.e. A man exchanges 368 pounds for dollars at an exchange rate of 1 pound=1:72 dollars. How many dollars does he get in return? (answer to the nearest dollar)
If you travel 1248 miles, how much fuel will you need if you burn 4500 kgs per hour and are travelling at 72O mph?; A 737 flies 930 miles in 75 minutes. How many miles does it fly in 4 hours 45 minutes assuming as constant speed?
If an aircraft departed an airfield and headed directly south for 16 miles and then turned onto a heading of 27O degrees for 12 minutes at an average speed of 80 miles per hour, how many miles is it (in a straight line) from its original destination?
How many nautical miles can an aircraft travel if it is carrying 288O kgs of fuel and burns 240 kgs an hour averaging a speed of 375 knots?
This sort of thing. It's up there but a bit cloudy after not using it for so long, so any quick help or poke in the right direction, as the topic has no doubt been covered on here before, would be greatly appreciated. Don't mean to hijack the post. If I need to ask elsewhere or start a new thread, please let me know.
Can anyone help with quick mental maths techniques for the likes of the tests? i.e. A man exchanges 368 pounds for dollars at an exchange rate of 1 pound=1:72 dollars. How many dollars does he get in return? (answer to the nearest dollar)
If you travel 1248 miles, how much fuel will you need if you burn 4500 kgs per hour and are travelling at 72O mph?; A 737 flies 930 miles in 75 minutes. How many miles does it fly in 4 hours 45 minutes assuming as constant speed?
If an aircraft departed an airfield and headed directly south for 16 miles and then turned onto a heading of 27O degrees for 12 minutes at an average speed of 80 miles per hour, how many miles is it (in a straight line) from its original destination?
How many nautical miles can an aircraft travel if it is carrying 288O kgs of fuel and burns 240 kgs an hour averaging a speed of 375 knots?
This sort of thing. It's up there but a bit cloudy after not using it for so long, so any quick help or poke in the right direction, as the topic has no doubt been covered on here before, would be greatly appreciated. Don't mean to hijack the post. If I need to ask elsewhere or start a new thread, please let me know.
It is just practise for sure, but I don't see many companies who uses such tests that much.
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Hey 2unlimited, RHSandLovingIt and youngretired Thank you all for taking the time to answer, especially RHS. Apologies for not getting back to you earlier but I've been rather busy. So here's what happened. I asked them which psychometric test they used, the nice lady told me which one but not to worry as it's only personality test, all very relaxed. Various questions, 'I like to work alone'/ I prefer to work in a team...etc
Long story short it, got through that, the interview went well and they only went and offered me the job! So I've been flat out doing TR theory for the last couple of weeks! Can't stop smiling. Who'd have thought it. Thanks again. All the best TT23.
Long story short it, got through that, the interview went well and they only went and offered me the job! So I've been flat out doing TR theory for the last couple of weeks! Can't stop smiling. Who'd have thought it. Thanks again. All the best TT23.
Congrats mate...
blue skies and tailwinds!
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Hey 2unlimited, RHSandLovingIt and youngretired Thank you all for taking the time to answer, especially RHS. Apologies for not getting back to you earlier but I've been rather busy. So here's what happened. I asked them which psychometric test they used, the nice lady told me which one but not to worry as it's only personality test, all very relaxed. Various questions, 'I like to work alone'/ I prefer to work in a team...etc
Long story short it, got through that, the interview went well and they only went and offered me the job! So I've been flat out doing TR theory for the last couple of weeks! Can't stop smiling. Who'd have thought it. Thanks again. All the best TT23.
Long story short it, got through that, the interview went well and they only went and offered me the job! So I've been flat out doing TR theory for the last couple of weeks! Can't stop smiling. Who'd have thought it. Thanks again. All the best TT23.
I am in the middle of ATPL theory to convert my FAA CPL to EASA at the age of 40.
Could you tell us which operator did you make it with ?
Again Congrats !!
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Honestly with all the self funded self sponsored BS I'm not sure why age would even be a factor, especially considering someone older with a family has more "reason" to be responsible.