Please, somebody put me off flying…
Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2015
Posts: 11
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From: UK
Please, somebody put me off flying…
Evening all,
Long time lurking, infrequent poster here.
I’m in the incredibly fortunate position to be a Train Driver here in the UK for a long distance, high speed Train Operating Company, which (despite what the Daily Fail like to promote), is a fantastically lucrative role for both work-life balance, and for the wage slip each month. Each night I get to go home, see my wife, attend parties (most of the time) and the railway provides a lifestyle that we sadly all know aviation definitely does not.
However…
The goal, dream, ambition, call it what you will, is to fly commercially.
How can it be, that an industry that’s so volatile, provides significantly less time off, lower pay, far worse conditions, and general mental peril, can STILL have this appeal to somebody in such a lucky position?
I’m 32 now, so likely past the stage of these MPL programmes, but I still dream of the day I enrol up to BGS to begin those lovely 14 exams.
My request is this;
Please, somebody… put me off flying!
Long time lurking, infrequent poster here.
I’m in the incredibly fortunate position to be a Train Driver here in the UK for a long distance, high speed Train Operating Company, which (despite what the Daily Fail like to promote), is a fantastically lucrative role for both work-life balance, and for the wage slip each month. Each night I get to go home, see my wife, attend parties (most of the time) and the railway provides a lifestyle that we sadly all know aviation definitely does not.
However…
The goal, dream, ambition, call it what you will, is to fly commercially.
How can it be, that an industry that’s so volatile, provides significantly less time off, lower pay, far worse conditions, and general mental peril, can STILL have this appeal to somebody in such a lucky position?
I’m 32 now, so likely past the stage of these MPL programmes, but I still dream of the day I enrol up to BGS to begin those lovely 14 exams.
My request is this;
Please, somebody… put me off flying!
Joined: Nov 2017
Posts: 24
Likes: 0
From: Somewhere between FAF and DA
Why not get a PPL and enjoy flying as a hobby. Do enough hours and become an FI on the weekends at a local flying club.
You are in a good career, well paid, good work-life balance.
That will all go out of the proverbial window for the next 5 years at least. Then hope you get a nearby base when you get a job, you'll be there for 3-4 years or uproot and move elsewhere.
You are in a good career, well paid, good work-life balance.
That will all go out of the proverbial window for the next 5 years at least. Then hope you get a nearby base when you get a job, you'll be there for 3-4 years or uproot and move elsewhere.
Educated Hillbilly
Joined: Dec 2004
Aviation Qualifications: ATPL
Posts: 1,003
Likes: 13
From: From the Hills
Only issue with that plan is long term part time instructing is exhausting, 1 or 2 days part time along side another job can mean working 6 or 7 days a week in total.
Joined: Nov 1999
Aviation Qualifications: ATPL
Posts: 3,144
Likes: 741
From: UK
Flying PPL Cessna 172 or PA 28's is NOTHING like airline flying, which I call 'coffee and shirtsleeves flying'. I would liken it to driving, say, an old Mk 1 Mini or Landrover, with no radio or aircon or driver aids, bad wipers etc. and very noisy and rattly, versus, say, driving a modern luxury coach. The PPL aircraft are small, basic, noisy and cramped, airliners are (mostly) smooth, quiet and sophisticated.
However; Difficult rosters, maximum hours and 35 minute turn-arounds are exhausting, day after day.
After 20 years airline flying, and two airlines going out of business; I would dearly love to get a train driver's job, but it is proving very difficult to get into.
.
However; Difficult rosters, maximum hours and 35 minute turn-arounds are exhausting, day after day.
After 20 years airline flying, and two airlines going out of business; I would dearly love to get a train driver's job, but it is proving very difficult to get into.
.
Last edited by Uplinker; 7th June 2023 at 11:17.
Joined: Sep 2022
Aviation Qualifications: ATPL
Posts: 328
Likes: 183
From: Perpetually circling OCK for some reason
An oldie but a goody:
"One fine hot summer's afternoon saw a Cessna 150 flying in the pattern at a quiet country airfield. The instructor, bothered with the student's inability to maintain altitude in the thermals, was getting impatient at sometimes having to take over the controls. Just then he saw a twin-engine Cessna 5,000 feet above him and thought, Another 1,000 hours of this and I qualify for the twin charter job! Aaahh, to be a real pilot, going somewhere!
"The Cessna 402 was already late, and the boss had told the pilot that this charter was for one of the company's premier clients. He'd already set maximum continuous thrust and the cylinders didn't like it in the summer day's heat. He was at 6,000 feet with a 20-knot headwind. Today was the sixth day straight and he was pretty tired of fighting these engines. Maybe if he got 10,000 feet out of them the headwind might die off-geez, those cylinder temps! He looked out momentarily and saw a Boeing 737 leaving a contrail at 33,000 feet in the serene blue sky. Oh, man, he thought, my interview is next month. I just hope I don't blow it! A nice jet job, above the weather, no snotty passengers to wait for....aaahh.
"The 737 bucked and weaved in the heavy clear air turbulence at Flight Level 330 and air traffic control advised that lower levels were not available because of traffic. The captain, who was only recently advised that his destination was below runway visual range minimums, had slowed to long-range cruise to try and hold off a possible in-flight diversion, hoping the later arrival would ensure that the fog had lifted to Category II approach minimums. The company negotiations broke down yesterday and it looked as if everyone was going to take a pay cut. The first officers would be particularly hard-hit as their pay wasn't anything to speak of anyway. Finally deciding on a speed compromise between long-range cruise and turbulence penetration speed, the captain looked up and saw a Concorde at Mach 2-plus. Tapping his first officer's shoulder as the 737 took another bashing, he said, 'Now that's what we should be on. Huge pay, super fast, not too many routes, not too many legs, above the turbulence. Yes, that's the life.'
"Flight Level 590 was not what the Concorde pilot wanted anyway and he considered FL570. Already the total air temperature was creeping up again and they would have to either descend or slow down. That rear fuel transfer pump was becoming unreliable and the flight engineer had said moments ago that the radiation meter was not reading numbers that he'd like to see. The Concorde descended to FL570, but the radiation was still quite high, even though the notam indicated good conditions below FL610. Evening turned into night as they passed over the Atlantic. Looking up, the first officer could see a tiny white dot moving against the backdrop of myriad stars. 'Hey, Captain,' he called as he pointed, 'must be the space shuttle.' The captain thought about how a shuttle mission must be the be-all and end-all in aviation. Above the gunk, no radiation problems, no fuel transfer problems...aaahh.
"Discovery was into its twenty-seventh orbit, and perigee was 200 feet out from nominated rendezvous altitude with the communications satellite. The robot arm was virtually unusable and a walk may become necessary. The 200-foot predicted error would necessitate a corrective burn, and Discovery needed that fuel if a walk was to be required. Houston continually asked what the commander wanted to do, but the advice they proffered wasn't much help. The commander had already been 12 hours on station sorting out the problem and just wanted 10 minutes to himself. Just then a mission specialist, who had tilted the telescope down to the surface for a minute or two, called the commander to the scope. 'Have a look at this, sir-isn't this the kind of flying you said you wanted to do after you finish up with NASA?' The commander peered through the telescope and cried, 'Aaahh, yes. Now that’s flying! I'd give anything just to be doing that down there!'
"The shuttle commander was looking at a Cessna 150 in the pattern at a quiet country airfield on a nice, bright sunny afternoon."
I believe many of us on here can vouch for just how accurate this is.
"One fine hot summer's afternoon saw a Cessna 150 flying in the pattern at a quiet country airfield. The instructor, bothered with the student's inability to maintain altitude in the thermals, was getting impatient at sometimes having to take over the controls. Just then he saw a twin-engine Cessna 5,000 feet above him and thought, Another 1,000 hours of this and I qualify for the twin charter job! Aaahh, to be a real pilot, going somewhere!
"The Cessna 402 was already late, and the boss had told the pilot that this charter was for one of the company's premier clients. He'd already set maximum continuous thrust and the cylinders didn't like it in the summer day's heat. He was at 6,000 feet with a 20-knot headwind. Today was the sixth day straight and he was pretty tired of fighting these engines. Maybe if he got 10,000 feet out of them the headwind might die off-geez, those cylinder temps! He looked out momentarily and saw a Boeing 737 leaving a contrail at 33,000 feet in the serene blue sky. Oh, man, he thought, my interview is next month. I just hope I don't blow it! A nice jet job, above the weather, no snotty passengers to wait for....aaahh.
"The 737 bucked and weaved in the heavy clear air turbulence at Flight Level 330 and air traffic control advised that lower levels were not available because of traffic. The captain, who was only recently advised that his destination was below runway visual range minimums, had slowed to long-range cruise to try and hold off a possible in-flight diversion, hoping the later arrival would ensure that the fog had lifted to Category II approach minimums. The company negotiations broke down yesterday and it looked as if everyone was going to take a pay cut. The first officers would be particularly hard-hit as their pay wasn't anything to speak of anyway. Finally deciding on a speed compromise between long-range cruise and turbulence penetration speed, the captain looked up and saw a Concorde at Mach 2-plus. Tapping his first officer's shoulder as the 737 took another bashing, he said, 'Now that's what we should be on. Huge pay, super fast, not too many routes, not too many legs, above the turbulence. Yes, that's the life.'
"Flight Level 590 was not what the Concorde pilot wanted anyway and he considered FL570. Already the total air temperature was creeping up again and they would have to either descend or slow down. That rear fuel transfer pump was becoming unreliable and the flight engineer had said moments ago that the radiation meter was not reading numbers that he'd like to see. The Concorde descended to FL570, but the radiation was still quite high, even though the notam indicated good conditions below FL610. Evening turned into night as they passed over the Atlantic. Looking up, the first officer could see a tiny white dot moving against the backdrop of myriad stars. 'Hey, Captain,' he called as he pointed, 'must be the space shuttle.' The captain thought about how a shuttle mission must be the be-all and end-all in aviation. Above the gunk, no radiation problems, no fuel transfer problems...aaahh.
"Discovery was into its twenty-seventh orbit, and perigee was 200 feet out from nominated rendezvous altitude with the communications satellite. The robot arm was virtually unusable and a walk may become necessary. The 200-foot predicted error would necessitate a corrective burn, and Discovery needed that fuel if a walk was to be required. Houston continually asked what the commander wanted to do, but the advice they proffered wasn't much help. The commander had already been 12 hours on station sorting out the problem and just wanted 10 minutes to himself. Just then a mission specialist, who had tilted the telescope down to the surface for a minute or two, called the commander to the scope. 'Have a look at this, sir-isn't this the kind of flying you said you wanted to do after you finish up with NASA?' The commander peered through the telescope and cried, 'Aaahh, yes. Now that’s flying! I'd give anything just to be doing that down there!'
"The shuttle commander was looking at a Cessna 150 in the pattern at a quiet country airfield on a nice, bright sunny afternoon."
I believe many of us on here can vouch for just how accurate this is.
Joined: Dec 2005
Aviation Qualifications: ATPL
Posts: 4,975
Likes: 327
From: Hong Kong
The same questions get asked time and time again:
"I'm 23½ - am I too old to become a pilot?"
"Should I go modular or integrated?"
"Is this the best time to start training?"
Is a potential 20 year flying career long enough? If it is then 43 is not too late to start, people are starting in their 50s with diminishing returns obviously.
Would you rather pay £20 for a bottle of wine in a pub or £6 for the same bottle in a supermarket if having some wine was your primary concern? Only go integrated if there is a good reason to do so, like a job offer.
There's never a good time to start training, only a good time to finish training: Modular gives you more control over that while Integrated just spits you out at the end.
My advice to someone who wants to be a pilot but keep their current job as long a possible:
1 Get a class one medical
2 Use your holiday allowance training in Florida in two blocks of 2 weeks. That's enough to get a PPL.
3 Study for the ATPLs alongside your current job. By the time you've finished them you'll have only spent 25% of your budget but done 75% of the work. Then you can either take another 4 weeks holiday the next year or quit and go full time.
"I'm 23½ - am I too old to become a pilot?"
"Should I go modular or integrated?"
"Is this the best time to start training?"
Is a potential 20 year flying career long enough? If it is then 43 is not too late to start, people are starting in their 50s with diminishing returns obviously.
Would you rather pay £20 for a bottle of wine in a pub or £6 for the same bottle in a supermarket if having some wine was your primary concern? Only go integrated if there is a good reason to do so, like a job offer.
There's never a good time to start training, only a good time to finish training: Modular gives you more control over that while Integrated just spits you out at the end.
My advice to someone who wants to be a pilot but keep their current job as long a possible:
1 Get a class one medical
2 Use your holiday allowance training in Florida in two blocks of 2 weeks. That's enough to get a PPL.
3 Study for the ATPLs alongside your current job. By the time you've finished them you'll have only spent 25% of your budget but done 75% of the work. Then you can either take another 4 weeks holiday the next year or quit and go full time.
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 4,330
Likes: 74
From: White Waltham, Prestwick & Calgary
Good advice. I used to fly a Beaver for the British Army and used to roll up regularly alongside the DC10s etc on the stands at Calgary airport to pick up visitors. The number of times the crews used to come over and say they wished they were still flying one made me not bother with airlines particularly but stay with machines that require a bit of myself as an input to be flown properly, like driving an old Bentley rather than a new one, hence stopping at the 212. I couldn't quite do the 139 
Joined: Apr 2012
Aviation Qualifications: PPL
Posts: 400
Likes: 18
From: UK
One of the drivers at my place went part-time (two weeks on, two weeks off) so he could do a modular CPL/ME/IR with the aim of flying on a zero hours contract during his two week periods away from the railway once qualified. Then COVID happened and he allowed his ratings to lapse, though he has family flying commercially for a major UK airline.
Whether or not such a strategy would still be viable I don't know. That being said, I regretfully don't see a BALPA CC anywhere being in quite the same league as the ASLEF DCC at my place.
Whether or not such a strategy would still be viable I don't know. That being said, I regretfully don't see a BALPA CC anywhere being in quite the same league as the ASLEF DCC at my place.
Last edited by Chris the Robot; 8th June 2023 at 02:34.
Joined: Feb 2013
Aviation Qualifications: ATPL
Posts: 154
Likes: 7
From: London
Excellent post by speed trim fail above.
I’ve had a very fortunate career and now fly a modern jet around the world way above the weather (most of the time) and get paid pretty well for doing so. Although increasingly not well enough in my view. I’ve been doing this long enough now though that the novelty has well and truly worn off. It becomes a job just like any other. It is unusually demanding in terms of rostering, medical fitness, mental health when constantly jet lagged on the other side of the world & away from your family. The sim checks hang over you. Every time the economy hits a bump the management starts talking about redundancies. It cannot on any level be good for your physical health. I concluded some time ago that if someone gave me a million quid tomorrow I’d be gone in a heartbeat.
Just be realistic about it is all. There are worse things to do for a living but it does become a job with its own set of stresses & strains. If I could have somehow afforded to have kept flying as a hobby while earning decent money I would, in hindsight, have done so.
I’ve had a very fortunate career and now fly a modern jet around the world way above the weather (most of the time) and get paid pretty well for doing so. Although increasingly not well enough in my view. I’ve been doing this long enough now though that the novelty has well and truly worn off. It becomes a job just like any other. It is unusually demanding in terms of rostering, medical fitness, mental health when constantly jet lagged on the other side of the world & away from your family. The sim checks hang over you. Every time the economy hits a bump the management starts talking about redundancies. It cannot on any level be good for your physical health. I concluded some time ago that if someone gave me a million quid tomorrow I’d be gone in a heartbeat.
Just be realistic about it is all. There are worse things to do for a living but it does become a job with its own set of stresses & strains. If I could have somehow afforded to have kept flying as a hobby while earning decent money I would, in hindsight, have done so.
Joined: Jul 1999
Posts: 272
Likes: 5
From: England
I’m in the incredibly fortunate position to be a Train Driver here in the UK for a long distance, high speed Train Operating Company, which (despite what the Daily Fail like to promote), is a fantastically lucrative role for both work-life balance, and for the wage slip each month. Each night I get to go home, see my wife, attend parties (most of the time) and the railway provides a lifestyle that we sadly all know aviation definitely does not.
There are undoubtedly some good moments but they are few and far between. Aviation does appear to be an exciting, glamorous career but the reality is much different. The golden age of aviation has long passed. I would make the most of your current job, enjoy the work life balance and good renumeration and find a hobby that gives you the enjoyment that you (mistakenly) believe that aviation would give you.
I was fortunate enough to move into a different career and to retire early but most people that I know who have been in aviation for any length of time have gone part time as it is the only way they can cope with the lifestyle. That alone probably tells you all you need to know about being a pilot. You have a good job, a good lifestyle and probably a good pension, aviation will struggle to match that for you.
Joined: Sep 2022
Aviation Qualifications: ATPL
Posts: 328
Likes: 183
From: Perpetually circling OCK for some reason
You won't have a work life balance full stop. Depending on your roster patterns, you will spend half your life trying to be awake when you want to be asleep and the other half trying to get to sleep when you want to be awake. You will suffer from poor food/diet on a daily basis and due to early starts and late finishes your days off will be much diminished, particularly so if you have any kind of commute to the airport. Unless you are on a regular roster pattern, you won't be able to accept invites to social events until your roster is published. Sadly, the aviation career has, over the years turned into a job where pilots are just thought of as over paid button pushers and the renumeration reflects that.
There are undoubtedly some good moments but they are few and far between. Aviation does appear to be an exciting, glamorous career but the reality is much different. The golden age of aviation has long passed. I would make the most of your current job, enjoy the work life balance and good renumeration and find a hobby that gives you the enjoyment that you (mistakenly) believe that aviation would give you.
I was fortunate enough to move into a different career and to retire early but most people that I know who have been in aviation for any length of time have gone part time as it is the only way they can cope with the lifestyle. That alone probably tells you all you need to know about being a pilot. You have a good job, a good lifestyle and probably a good pension, aviation will struggle to match that for you.
There are undoubtedly some good moments but they are few and far between. Aviation does appear to be an exciting, glamorous career but the reality is much different. The golden age of aviation has long passed. I would make the most of your current job, enjoy the work life balance and good renumeration and find a hobby that gives you the enjoyment that you (mistakenly) believe that aviation would give you.
I was fortunate enough to move into a different career and to retire early but most people that I know who have been in aviation for any length of time have gone part time as it is the only way they can cope with the lifestyle. That alone probably tells you all you need to know about being a pilot. You have a good job, a good lifestyle and probably a good pension, aviation will struggle to match that for you.
Joined: May 2005
Aviation Qualifications: PPL
Posts: 394
Likes: 159
From: Denmark
Re the title of this thread: No one's going to put you off flying, only you self can do that.
Anyways, have seen a number of threads like this and started thinking why do people want to fly, well we can't, as we'd quickly find out if tried, but rather manipulating a machine that can fly.
So, is it:
Sorry if slightly incoherent, had fun typing this...
Anyways, have seen a number of threads like this and started thinking why do people want to fly, well we can't, as we'd quickly find out if tried, but rather manipulating a machine that can fly.
So, is it:
- Prestige
- Some sort of romantic view of early aviation
- Earning respect
- Macho
- Love of machinery
- Unknown
- Uniform
- Fetish for cheap acomodation
- Add
Sorry if slightly incoherent, had fun typing this...
Joined: Jul 2022
Posts: 18
Likes: 0
From: Inverness
I have to agree with other posters about getting your PPL first, it's great fun as a hobby, but as a career, you're not in control. Horrible shift patterns, you fit in with them. Stick to passenger train driving, your shifts will rarely start/finish before or after midnight decent salary allowing you to be able to afford a good lifestyle. Just don't transfer to freight train driving, I know this from experience, £120k+, shift patterns all over the place, no life, burnt out at 56. Add life to your days, not just days to your life.
You're only here once, enjoy it.
You're only here once, enjoy it.
Joined: Nov 1999
Aviation Qualifications: ATPL
Posts: 3,144
Likes: 741
From: UK
I would urge the OP to re-read post #12, and also post #6.
Don Coyote sums it up very well - aviation does have a glamorous image, and yes, piloting a modern jetliner can be exciting and thrilling - but also tedious and knackering - and the downsides are becoming greater and greater. Particularly rostering and the work-life balance, but also restrictions such as taking minimum fuel or MEL defects etc. The locked cockpit door has removed a lot of the fun of the job too.
And it sounds great to fly to, say, New York or San Francisco, but these days you might very well only have 18-24 hours there, so not long enough to do any meaningful sight seeing, and barely worth taking your family, (who probably won't be allowed to travel in the crew transport). I usually managed a 5-10km jog around Central Park or the city, but there isn't really enough time to hire a car and go somewhere. Shopping? well the pound is approaching parity with the dollar, so that has limited appeal now. You cannot drink much, (or anything), of course, and will probably need to (try to) sleep in the afternoon in the hotel before your flight home; while the cleaners are working and vacuuming outside your room, or the hotel-door slamming display team are staying on your corridor.
Or short-haul; doing 4 sectors a day with 40 minute turnarounds.
.
Don Coyote sums it up very well - aviation does have a glamorous image, and yes, piloting a modern jetliner can be exciting and thrilling - but also tedious and knackering - and the downsides are becoming greater and greater. Particularly rostering and the work-life balance, but also restrictions such as taking minimum fuel or MEL defects etc. The locked cockpit door has removed a lot of the fun of the job too.
And it sounds great to fly to, say, New York or San Francisco, but these days you might very well only have 18-24 hours there, so not long enough to do any meaningful sight seeing, and barely worth taking your family, (who probably won't be allowed to travel in the crew transport). I usually managed a 5-10km jog around Central Park or the city, but there isn't really enough time to hire a car and go somewhere. Shopping? well the pound is approaching parity with the dollar, so that has limited appeal now. You cannot drink much, (or anything), of course, and will probably need to (try to) sleep in the afternoon in the hotel before your flight home; while the cleaners are working and vacuuming outside your room, or the hotel-door slamming display team are staying on your corridor.
Or short-haul; doing 4 sectors a day with 40 minute turnarounds.
.
Last edited by Uplinker; 10th June 2023 at 15:51. Reason: clarification
Joined: Sep 2022
Aviation Qualifications: ATPL
Posts: 328
Likes: 183
From: Perpetually circling OCK for some reason
I would urge you to re-read post #12, and also post #6.
Don Coyote sums it up very well - aviation does have a glamorous image, and yes, piloting a modern jetliner can be exciting and thrilling - but also tedious and knackering - and the downsides are becoming greater and greater. Particularly rostering and the work-life balance, but also restrictions such as taking minimum fuel or MEL defects etc. The locked cockpit door has removed a lot of the fun of the job too.
And it sounds great to fly to, say, New York or San Francisco, but these days you might very well only have 18-24 hours there, so not long enough to do any meaningful sight seeing, and barely worth taking your family, (who probably won't be allowed to travel in the crew transport). I usually managed a 5-10km jog around Central Park or the city, but there isn't really enough time to hire a car and go somewhere. Shopping? well the pound is approaching parity with the dollar, so that has limited appeal now. You cannot drink much, (or anything), of course, and will probably need to (try to) sleep in the afternoon in the hotel before your flight home; while the cleaners are working and vacuuming outside your room, or the hotel-door slamming display team are staying on your corridor.
Or short-haul; doing 4 sectors a day with 40 minute turnarounds.
Don Coyote sums it up very well - aviation does have a glamorous image, and yes, piloting a modern jetliner can be exciting and thrilling - but also tedious and knackering - and the downsides are becoming greater and greater. Particularly rostering and the work-life balance, but also restrictions such as taking minimum fuel or MEL defects etc. The locked cockpit door has removed a lot of the fun of the job too.
And it sounds great to fly to, say, New York or San Francisco, but these days you might very well only have 18-24 hours there, so not long enough to do any meaningful sight seeing, and barely worth taking your family, (who probably won't be allowed to travel in the crew transport). I usually managed a 5-10km jog around Central Park or the city, but there isn't really enough time to hire a car and go somewhere. Shopping? well the pound is approaching parity with the dollar, so that has limited appeal now. You cannot drink much, (or anything), of course, and will probably need to (try to) sleep in the afternoon in the hotel before your flight home; while the cleaners are working and vacuuming outside your room, or the hotel-door slamming display team are staying on your corridor.
Or short-haul; doing 4 sectors a day with 40 minute turnarounds.
The chap who first taught me aerobatics was a career Instructor and aerobatic pilot, and I can still remember him saying “When you first got a driving licence I strongly suspect the last thing you wanted to go out and drive was the largest bus you could find in order to go up and down motorways for hours at a time.” This was a guy with time on Harvards, chipmunks, an L39, almost any light twin you care to name… and that’s where the real flying pleasure is (or perhaps the grass is greener?).
There are “flying” parts of the job I love, absolutely, but for me the real pleasure at work comes around working with my colleagues and, surprisingly, making the difference for customers - even if that is just taking the time for a chat whilst waiting for assistance to arrive for someone who needs a wheelchair, or being able to sort someone’s connection, or even just delivering the news that we no longer have a 90 minute slot 😂.
Joined: Dec 2021
Posts: 41
Likes: 0
From: earth
I'm in a somewhat similar situation and had the same trouble trying to decide if this was a path I wanted to go down.
In the end I decided to go for it, I'd rather finish all the training and never get a job that to never have done it and always be thinking what if. I could always go back to my old career.
Also don't forget that pprune tends to paint a broadly negative picture of the job and the industry. if you loved your job and we're happy, why would you come on a forum to tell everyone about it? Much more likely to happen with someone who isn't having a positive experience.
Do it. Go modular, get a class 1 medical and your PPL as a starting point. Getting that far may even just "scratch the itch".
In the end I decided to go for it, I'd rather finish all the training and never get a job that to never have done it and always be thinking what if. I could always go back to my old career.
Also don't forget that pprune tends to paint a broadly negative picture of the job and the industry. if you loved your job and we're happy, why would you come on a forum to tell everyone about it? Much more likely to happen with someone who isn't having a positive experience.
Do it. Go modular, get a class 1 medical and your PPL as a starting point. Getting that far may even just "scratch the itch".
Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2015
Posts: 11
Likes: 0
From: UK
Evening all,
Rather busy week followed by a weekend away, hence the lack of replies! (Ironically both of these items probably wouldn’t have happened in the aviation sector).
There are some really useful, thought provoking comments here regarding my original post. It’s great to hear people’s opinions on both sides of the fence.
I should have also stated in the OP that I’m fortunate enough to hold a PPL too, so can still fly for leisure.
When aviation is so volatile, safe jobs are few and far between, work-life balance is nil & void and the cost to gain a RHS job is eye-brow raising, do we still wish to fly commercially? Perhaps there is no answer.
All of the above stories are fantastic, thank you all so much for sharing your views!
Rather busy week followed by a weekend away, hence the lack of replies! (Ironically both of these items probably wouldn’t have happened in the aviation sector).
There are some really useful, thought provoking comments here regarding my original post. It’s great to hear people’s opinions on both sides of the fence.
I should have also stated in the OP that I’m fortunate enough to hold a PPL too, so can still fly for leisure.
When aviation is so volatile, safe jobs are few and far between, work-life balance is nil & void and the cost to gain a RHS job is eye-brow raising, do we still wish to fly commercially? Perhaps there is no answer.
All of the above stories are fantastic, thank you all so much for sharing your views!
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 591
Likes: 36
From: The middle
I’ve always tried to encourage anyone who wants to fly for a living, but….
I’ve worked for four flying clubs, only one of which now exists, three corporate operators, none of which are still flying, and seven airlines, only two of which are still in business. I’ve been made redundant from airlines twice, and each time spent most of the family’s savings to live while searching for another job, and now find myself at the age of sixty two either getting up at three in the morning to go to work, or landing at four in the morning to finish work. I get to see horrible grimy parts of airports that passengers never see and spend hours waiting in the night for ambulifts and crew busses that are horribly late or never turn up. I might or might not work for a major uk tour operator whose management don’t give a stuff that any of it’s pilots or cabin crews who were flying on the morning that free bidding for winter leave opened cannot book a single weekend day off between October this year and March 2024.
Of the thirty eight years and almost twenty thousand hours of my flying career so far, it would be fair to say that the most enjoyable were the seven years at the beginning that I spent instructing for a decent flying club that treated it’s staff well, and was prepared to help finance advanced instructor ratings, so kept instructing interesting. All the rest was just done for money.
Drive the train, have a life that your family can enjoy, earn good money in a secure job protected by proper union recognition and which has a decent and secure pension scheme. Fly for fun, instruct as a hobby.
“Why do we still wish to fly commercially ?” Because we have to make our own mistakes, and people only give us the advice that we want to hear…
I’ve worked for four flying clubs, only one of which now exists, three corporate operators, none of which are still flying, and seven airlines, only two of which are still in business. I’ve been made redundant from airlines twice, and each time spent most of the family’s savings to live while searching for another job, and now find myself at the age of sixty two either getting up at three in the morning to go to work, or landing at four in the morning to finish work. I get to see horrible grimy parts of airports that passengers never see and spend hours waiting in the night for ambulifts and crew busses that are horribly late or never turn up. I might or might not work for a major uk tour operator whose management don’t give a stuff that any of it’s pilots or cabin crews who were flying on the morning that free bidding for winter leave opened cannot book a single weekend day off between October this year and March 2024.
Of the thirty eight years and almost twenty thousand hours of my flying career so far, it would be fair to say that the most enjoyable were the seven years at the beginning that I spent instructing for a decent flying club that treated it’s staff well, and was prepared to help finance advanced instructor ratings, so kept instructing interesting. All the rest was just done for money.
Drive the train, have a life that your family can enjoy, earn good money in a secure job protected by proper union recognition and which has a decent and secure pension scheme. Fly for fun, instruct as a hobby.
“Why do we still wish to fly commercially ?” Because we have to make our own mistakes, and people only give us the advice that we want to hear…