Seeking Insight after Class 1 Failure
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Seeking Insight after Class 1 Failure
I trust this missive finds you in good spirits. I find myself at a juncture in my aviation journey where sage advice and collective wisdom are invaluable, and thus, I seek advice of this community yet again.
As some of you may be aware from my previous posts, I recently encountered a setback in my pursuit of a CAA Class 1 certification, primarily due to eyesight constraints. Undeterred, I have crafted a strategic plan to navigate this challenge and realize my ambition of becoming a commercial pilot. Allow me to outline my course of action, and I welcome any insights or critiques that this learned assembly may offer.
In light of my Class 1 impediment, I have successfully obtained a Class 2 certification and am currently on the path to acquiring my PPL. Subsequently, my intention is to pursue the CFI license, with aspirations of instructing temporarily. I am particularly keen to discern from those with first hand experience whether an instructor's salary is sufficient for a comfortable standard of living, and to what extent this may be influenced by geographical factors.
Given that many view instructional roles as a stepping stone to commercial flying, I acknowledge that my trajectory may be extended by a few years. Consequently, I am keenly interested in the experiences of those who have trodden a similar path or possess insights into the financial aspects of the instructional phase, as I have heard the salary can be poor if not in a great area.
My forward-looking strategy involves exploring medical certifications outside the UK, including investigating possibilities within the EASA framework, Canada, and other potential avenues. To this end, I am curious about the viability of leveraging familial ties in European countries, specifically France, to facilitate visa acquisition. Additionally, I have heard of Canada's relatively lenient visa requirements and more accessible Class 1 certification process.
I am cognizant that my ocular condition, diplopia (double vision), poses a unique challenge. While one optometrist has indicated surgery as an improbable solution, I am scheduled for comprehensive testing and a second opinion post-Christmas, seeking a definitive assessment of my prospects for corrective measures.
Having engaged in enlightening conversations with knowledgeable individuals, I have formulated this plan with diligence. However, I humbly turn to this community for a collective assessment—does this strategic framework hold promise, or are there potential pitfalls that I may have overlooked?
In closing, I extend a sincere expression of gratitude to B2N2 for their invaluable assistance thus far. Your insights have been instrumental in shaping my approach, and I remain grateful for the support. I'm only 18 so have a lot of time, as much as I want to dive straight into things.
I eagerly anticipate the erudition that this esteemed community is renowned for, and I thank you in advance for your time and consideration.
As some of you may be aware from my previous posts, I recently encountered a setback in my pursuit of a CAA Class 1 certification, primarily due to eyesight constraints. Undeterred, I have crafted a strategic plan to navigate this challenge and realize my ambition of becoming a commercial pilot. Allow me to outline my course of action, and I welcome any insights or critiques that this learned assembly may offer.
In light of my Class 1 impediment, I have successfully obtained a Class 2 certification and am currently on the path to acquiring my PPL. Subsequently, my intention is to pursue the CFI license, with aspirations of instructing temporarily. I am particularly keen to discern from those with first hand experience whether an instructor's salary is sufficient for a comfortable standard of living, and to what extent this may be influenced by geographical factors.
Given that many view instructional roles as a stepping stone to commercial flying, I acknowledge that my trajectory may be extended by a few years. Consequently, I am keenly interested in the experiences of those who have trodden a similar path or possess insights into the financial aspects of the instructional phase, as I have heard the salary can be poor if not in a great area.
My forward-looking strategy involves exploring medical certifications outside the UK, including investigating possibilities within the EASA framework, Canada, and other potential avenues. To this end, I am curious about the viability of leveraging familial ties in European countries, specifically France, to facilitate visa acquisition. Additionally, I have heard of Canada's relatively lenient visa requirements and more accessible Class 1 certification process.
I am cognizant that my ocular condition, diplopia (double vision), poses a unique challenge. While one optometrist has indicated surgery as an improbable solution, I am scheduled for comprehensive testing and a second opinion post-Christmas, seeking a definitive assessment of my prospects for corrective measures.
Having engaged in enlightening conversations with knowledgeable individuals, I have formulated this plan with diligence. However, I humbly turn to this community for a collective assessment—does this strategic framework hold promise, or are there potential pitfalls that I may have overlooked?
In closing, I extend a sincere expression of gratitude to B2N2 for their invaluable assistance thus far. Your insights have been instrumental in shaping my approach, and I remain grateful for the support. I'm only 18 so have a lot of time, as much as I want to dive straight into things.
I eagerly anticipate the erudition that this esteemed community is renowned for, and I thank you in advance for your time and consideration.
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Additionally, I have heard of Canada's relatively lenient visa requirements and more accessible Class 1 certification process.
I always urge pilots under training they obtain the highest medical category that they require for their aspirations before continuing with their flight training. Too often I've seen pilots spend tens of thousands of dollars not heeding this suggestion only to find they cannot, and will not, obtain a Category 1 medical, wasting the money that could have been better spent doing something else. That is the only pitfall I see in your plans - that you intend to continue towards your PPL in the hopes that this will work out. I'd wait until you know for sure that you can or cannot hold a Category 1 - unless you are satisfied with the PPL and doing something else, of which many other career options in aviation are equally fulfilling.
Last edited by +TSRA; 15th Dec 2023 at 02:47. Reason: clarification
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Instructing is fabulous and it is absolutely brilliant watching your students develop, flourish and gain what they set out to do, there is nothing quite like it.
I love instructing but I instruct part-time around a non-aviation well paid full time career and I most definitely could not give it up to instruct full time as much as I would love to do so! At the (true members) club I am a member of and instruct at we are all volunteers with no full time staff. All instructors are either retired military/airline pilots or current airline pilots with only me in a non-aviation career outside of instructing. I have two main students, we don't really have any more than two or three each as its not fair on either us or the students, we can dedicate more time to them.
The going rate for instructing is £30 per hour at our club and at the face of it that sounds like a very good hourly rate. However, instructors in the UK, at PPL level are generally paid only for hours flown so if you are at the club all day and fly three hours you'll be paid only for those three hours and out of this £30 you'll probably be responsible for your own Tax/NI etc. 3 Hours a Day, 5 Days a Week and accounting for 4 weeks holidays would give you £21.6k per annum or ~£1.5k per month after Tax/NI. But that is assuming the weather will play ball 5 days a week for the 48 weeks in the year you are at work. It won't. Especially in the UK. You'd be lucky to probably fly 500-600 hours in a year which would be ~£18k per annum before Tax/NI is deducted. You'll be knackered doing that too, its hard work but very enjoyable! You won't be applying for a mortgage on an instructors salary teaching at PPL level.
Where instructing starts to be better paid and/or salaried is when you become more experienced and have additional ratings so that you can teach the Multi Engine Instrument Rating. This is possible with a PPL/IR and an FI certificate with Multi and Instrument privileges. However, most ATOs (commercial schools) will expect you to be able to teach the CPL course as well as the ME-IR course which needs a UK CPL licence and a valid and current CAA UK Class 1 Medical. There may be niche schools out there teaching just the IR and you may get lucky finding an ATO to take you teaching everything bar the CPL course but they would be very few and far between.
Teaching type ratings full-motion simulators will require you to hold the type rating, a TRI certificate plus a lot of experience in a multi crew environment, for which you'll need to have been flying in the airlines (or similar) for a fair amount of time.
To obtain an FI certificate in the UK (we are not known as a CFI as that is an FAA term and a CFI in the UK is the abbreviation for the Chief Flying Instructor aka your boss(!)) you require at least a PPL and 200 hours including 150 hours Pilot in Command time if applying with a PPL (holding a CPL this reduces to 200 hours including 100 hours PIC). Once you have the experience you can attend an FI Course (FIC) which takes around 6 weeks with an Assessment of Competence at the end of the course. I found the FIC tough but the best course I have ever done, they expect you to be flying to CPL standards already even if you hold a PPL as the course is to teach you how to teach not how to fly. Your flying will be deconstructed and reconstructed - yes it was like learning to fly all over again 23 years after my initial PPL!
If you are really wanting to instruct then during the "hour building" phase please don't just bore holes in the sky. Go and do long cross countries, don't just follow the magenta line on the GPS. Go and do aerobatics, learn tailwheel flying, do an IR(R). It is all experience and will make you a more effective insturctor having some real world experience in your back pocket.
Having a PPL and FI will allow you to instruct the LAPL only. In order to instruct people for a PPL you also need CPL or ATPL theory exams passed. They'll take around 6-12 months of studying and passing of 13 exams. Now, this is what you need to decide, doing CPL exams means you'll need to do the ATPL exams at a later date for an airline career should you manage to get a Class 1 medical. So I would suggest going directly for the ATPL exams.
But. Here is a big but. The CPL and/or ATPL exams passes are valid for only 3 years to have a CPL issued. And to have your CPL issued you need the Class 1 Medical. If you don't manage to do that within three years then it'll be back to the books to pass all 13 ATPL exams again when you do obtain a Class 1 medical. In the three year validity you can get your self an SE-IR or ME-IR completed and issued using your PPL (you'll need an Audiogram added to your Class 2 medical) but the exams will expire in terms of CPL course/issuance if you don't have it issued within 3 years.
Personally due to having failed your Class 1 medical I would seriously suggest a non-aviation career (or a non-pilot aviation career) and instruct part time if you really want to do so and if you are able to obtain a Class 1 medical in the future then happy days. But this way you are edging your bets and establishing yourself in a career earlier rather than later.
Whatever you decide, I wish you all the best and hope it all works out for you.
I love instructing but I instruct part-time around a non-aviation well paid full time career and I most definitely could not give it up to instruct full time as much as I would love to do so! At the (true members) club I am a member of and instruct at we are all volunteers with no full time staff. All instructors are either retired military/airline pilots or current airline pilots with only me in a non-aviation career outside of instructing. I have two main students, we don't really have any more than two or three each as its not fair on either us or the students, we can dedicate more time to them.
The going rate for instructing is £30 per hour at our club and at the face of it that sounds like a very good hourly rate. However, instructors in the UK, at PPL level are generally paid only for hours flown so if you are at the club all day and fly three hours you'll be paid only for those three hours and out of this £30 you'll probably be responsible for your own Tax/NI etc. 3 Hours a Day, 5 Days a Week and accounting for 4 weeks holidays would give you £21.6k per annum or ~£1.5k per month after Tax/NI. But that is assuming the weather will play ball 5 days a week for the 48 weeks in the year you are at work. It won't. Especially in the UK. You'd be lucky to probably fly 500-600 hours in a year which would be ~£18k per annum before Tax/NI is deducted. You'll be knackered doing that too, its hard work but very enjoyable! You won't be applying for a mortgage on an instructors salary teaching at PPL level.
Where instructing starts to be better paid and/or salaried is when you become more experienced and have additional ratings so that you can teach the Multi Engine Instrument Rating. This is possible with a PPL/IR and an FI certificate with Multi and Instrument privileges. However, most ATOs (commercial schools) will expect you to be able to teach the CPL course as well as the ME-IR course which needs a UK CPL licence and a valid and current CAA UK Class 1 Medical. There may be niche schools out there teaching just the IR and you may get lucky finding an ATO to take you teaching everything bar the CPL course but they would be very few and far between.
Teaching type ratings full-motion simulators will require you to hold the type rating, a TRI certificate plus a lot of experience in a multi crew environment, for which you'll need to have been flying in the airlines (or similar) for a fair amount of time.
To obtain an FI certificate in the UK (we are not known as a CFI as that is an FAA term and a CFI in the UK is the abbreviation for the Chief Flying Instructor aka your boss(!)) you require at least a PPL and 200 hours including 150 hours Pilot in Command time if applying with a PPL (holding a CPL this reduces to 200 hours including 100 hours PIC). Once you have the experience you can attend an FI Course (FIC) which takes around 6 weeks with an Assessment of Competence at the end of the course. I found the FIC tough but the best course I have ever done, they expect you to be flying to CPL standards already even if you hold a PPL as the course is to teach you how to teach not how to fly. Your flying will be deconstructed and reconstructed - yes it was like learning to fly all over again 23 years after my initial PPL!
If you are really wanting to instruct then during the "hour building" phase please don't just bore holes in the sky. Go and do long cross countries, don't just follow the magenta line on the GPS. Go and do aerobatics, learn tailwheel flying, do an IR(R). It is all experience and will make you a more effective insturctor having some real world experience in your back pocket.
Having a PPL and FI will allow you to instruct the LAPL only. In order to instruct people for a PPL you also need CPL or ATPL theory exams passed. They'll take around 6-12 months of studying and passing of 13 exams. Now, this is what you need to decide, doing CPL exams means you'll need to do the ATPL exams at a later date for an airline career should you manage to get a Class 1 medical. So I would suggest going directly for the ATPL exams.
But. Here is a big but. The CPL and/or ATPL exams passes are valid for only 3 years to have a CPL issued. And to have your CPL issued you need the Class 1 Medical. If you don't manage to do that within three years then it'll be back to the books to pass all 13 ATPL exams again when you do obtain a Class 1 medical. In the three year validity you can get your self an SE-IR or ME-IR completed and issued using your PPL (you'll need an Audiogram added to your Class 2 medical) but the exams will expire in terms of CPL course/issuance if you don't have it issued within 3 years.
Personally due to having failed your Class 1 medical I would seriously suggest a non-aviation career (or a non-pilot aviation career) and instruct part time if you really want to do so and if you are able to obtain a Class 1 medical in the future then happy days. But this way you are edging your bets and establishing yourself in a career earlier rather than later.
Whatever you decide, I wish you all the best and hope it all works out for you.
