A Jumbo pilot at 20 - Daily Mail July 12th
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A Jumbo pilot at 20 - Daily Mail July 12th
Seen today's Daily Mail?? Page 17 runs a half page story on Jonathan Clarke, a 20 year old lad with no A levels who has realised his dream and become an airline pilot.
He's £50,000 in debt and hopes to pilot a jumbo where he can "expect earnings in the £100,000 a year bracket".
Turns out he's just another fzn ATPL looking for work.
Good on him getting it so young but why take up so much news space Daily Mail? Gonna do a story on the other 1000s of us looking for work??
Join the queue Jonathan.
LJ
He's £50,000 in debt and hopes to pilot a jumbo where he can "expect earnings in the £100,000 a year bracket".
Turns out he's just another fzn ATPL looking for work.
Good on him getting it so young but why take up so much news space Daily Mail? Gonna do a story on the other 1000s of us looking for work??
Join the queue Jonathan.
LJ
In BA it is currently unpopular to bid onto the 747 fleet due to seniority issues meaning poor route choice and long time to command. Therefore pilots with quite low seniority are being able to to successfully bid for a move from - say LGW 737 - to LHR 744.
Some are ex-cadets who only just scrape the 1500hrs ATPL with conversion and line training. One or two of them are in their early 20's.
Thats what I thought this story would be about!
Good on 'em I say, 30+ years in a 744 is a fine career. Wouldn't fancy all those Lagos's for a decade but then 20 years of JFK, LAX and RIO would be a hell of a pay off
WWW
Some are ex-cadets who only just scrape the 1500hrs ATPL with conversion and line training. One or two of them are in their early 20's.
Thats what I thought this story would be about!
Good on 'em I say, 30+ years in a 744 is a fine career. Wouldn't fancy all those Lagos's for a decade but then 20 years of JFK, LAX and RIO would be a hell of a pay off
WWW
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Wee Weasley Welshman
Ya, But first he's got to get IN BA. and the only way he'll do that on a Frozen with 250hrs right now is if Scotty 'Beams' him aboard!
......."Beam Me Up Scotty!"
Ya, But first he's got to get IN BA. and the only way he'll do that on a Frozen with 250hrs right now is if Scotty 'Beams' him aboard!
......."Beam Me Up Scotty!"
David, of course.
We had one recent OATS graduate in the crew room at work on Thursday sniffing around for contacts/jump seat rides etc. I do feel sorry for guys like that - £60k down and working the checkin desk in the hope of getting a foot in the door.
Its tough.
WWW
We had one recent OATS graduate in the crew room at work on Thursday sniffing around for contacts/jump seat rides etc. I do feel sorry for guys like that - £60k down and working the checkin desk in the hope of getting a foot in the door.
Its tough.
WWW
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Feeling sorry for me, and those in my position www??
You know yourself that work doesnt come to you. You gotta keep working towards that goal. Getting the fzn ATPL is the easy bit, and its just the start.
My advice to anyone coming out of the schools at the moment would be to now save up for your renewals.
Over 180 rejections in 14 months. Got over 1000hrs now cos I bothered to borrow even more for the FI(A). Best thing I did.
Financially crippled, but keeping chin up. Getting closer every day!!
Cheers,
LJ
You know yourself that work doesnt come to you. You gotta keep working towards that goal. Getting the fzn ATPL is the easy bit, and its just the start.
My advice to anyone coming out of the schools at the moment would be to now save up for your renewals.
Over 180 rejections in 14 months. Got over 1000hrs now cos I bothered to borrow even more for the FI(A). Best thing I did.
Financially crippled, but keeping chin up. Getting closer every day!!
Cheers,
LJ
Dancing with the devil, going with the flow... it's all a game to me.
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Had a similar feature on our local TV news programme earlier this week here in East Anglia. Same deal: young guy, did PPL, went to Cranwell to do CPL etc and is now working behind the desk at some airline waiting for his first job offer. Anyone else see the feature?
VFE.
VFE.
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Did the guy on the East Anglia news go to cranfield and not cranwell because if he did then there was an news article on him and a girl a few months ago before they took their IR. I did my training with them and they said their interview was seriously edited.
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Kids DON'T DON'T DON'T get involved with the press / media. I have flown with a lot of cadets out of approved courses with very few hours and in the main they have been pretty good and the industry knows it, hang in there for the upturn.
20yo Jumbo pilot............!!???
Anyone see the article in todays Daily Mail about the guy, spouting about how hes just qualified in his life long dream to be a pilot. And hes going to get a job flying a JUMBO soon, earning £100,000 a year to pay off his £50k debt. But !! hes going to have to wait till hes 21 for his command. Poor Dear!
Is he for real?
Edited for uneccesary insult
Is he for real?
Edited for uneccesary insult
Last edited by Capt PPRuNe; 13th Jul 2002 at 17:43.
PPRuNe Knight in Shining Armour
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I checked the date of the paper, it wasn't 1st April so I am bit aghast.
Still, fair play, he got a free advert even though the reporter seemed a little ill advised.
Still, fair play, he got a free advert even though the reporter seemed a little ill advised.
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Well, I started flying for an airline at 20. Maybe not in a Jumbo, but in an EMB145-still a passenger jet (ended at 21 in the aftermath of sep11 
, but that's another story). Anyway, it it IS possible
Greetings
Smola
, but that's another story). Anyway, it it IS possibleGreetings
Smola
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Yeah I read it. Not to detract from the guy but the headline did overdo it a bit (still what can you expect from the press?). Jumbo pilot at 20 turns out on closer reading to be a guy whos just passed his (I assume) frozen ATPL, photographed (superimposed)in front of a 757 not yet with a job and the only stumbling block according th the Head of Training at Bonus Aviation, Cranfield (who is probably just plugging his business but should know better), seems to be that he's 1 year too young for a command!
The interesting thing is, to me (as an expert in the field of aviation) this story is pure BS: when I read an article about something which I know very little (politics, nuclear power plant safety, congestion charges in London etc) is the story equally way off the mark?
The interesting thing is, to me (as an expert in the field of aviation) this story is pure BS: when I read an article about something which I know very little (politics, nuclear power plant safety, congestion charges in London etc) is the story equally way off the mark?
Last edited by GearUp CheerUp; 12th Jul 2002 at 23:46.
