Update from me:

I don't want to sound soppy/stupid, but do everything that you can to protect your dream. I didn't, maybe some of that wasn't my fault, but maybe I could have avoided it being taken away from me, I still get really annoyed with myself some days because of it, maybe it wasn't meant to be, perhaps it was-i'll never know.

You have nothing stopping you-protect that dream and chase it!:ok:

aviatordom: Thanks for your advice, but I just wondered what you mean by protecting your dream?

Surly at the age of 15 your dream is far from over:sad:i left school at 16 thinking i was jack the lad, got rubbish results, realised that i messed up big time, went night school got my GCSE's up to scratch, now im doing my ATPLS:ok:

Dom, within reason, at your age anything is possible. You have a clean slate unless it's medical related. You're still *very* young.

Its Medical Related:(

>Olaay: What do I mean by protecting your dream?

Things like working hard, getting as much experience as possible, doing everything you can possibly do to increase your chances of becoming a Pilot

I forgot to mention: Try asking a local flying club if they'll take you on to do part-time work such as organising paperwork, cleaning aircraft, etc.

Doesn't sound glamorous, but it might help and its another way of showing that your dedicated to your interests:ok:

My daughter started learning to fly when she had just turned 15, so you might like to consider these points...

Try it asap, to make sure that you really do enjoy it. If you do enjoy it, do you want it to be your hobby or your profession. In 6 years time you may have changed your mind, so make sure you don't take any decisions that preclude you doing something else. Check you aren't medically prevented from becoming a commercial pilot (e.g colour blindness etc etc etc)

There are many scholarships available, see the links on
Junior Gliding

Gliding outside the Air Cadets is extremely affordable for a youngster (my club is £40/year plus £6 per launch). Find your nearest club at
British Gliding Association - UK Map

Understand the cost vs time tradeoffs for Air Cadets and club flying. When learning it is advisable to fly as often as possible - I made little progress when only flying once a month.

My daughter was flying aerobatics in gliders -- loops and spins at 1500ft -- (with an instructor behind her of course) when she was 15, and she wasn't the only under-16 doing it. You could too. The major danger would be that you might get bored flying straight and level in powered aircraft :)

Glider flying is probably one of the best ways to start flying. You learn quite a lot about aircraft handling, weather, airmanship etc. Granted, over here in germany we do not have air cadets so glider flying was the only way for me to start flying for real at 14. It was cheap, i saw quite a lot of europe during our summer gliding camps in different european countries and i still draw from what i learned back then. However, weekend jobs and some working during vacation is probably needed to pursue that, but that isn't bad either.

As someone who left school at 16 with visions of being a pilot (note - not "airline"), I would also backup the ideas of starting with gliding - very cheap to learn and the trick with aviation is to keep your hand in if at all possible.

I managed to be getting paid to fly at the age of 19 - but it took at a lot of hard work! The backup plan is also sound advice - while I was job hunting I still had to eat, so having skills in another area is invaluable. Don't worry so much about the degree - like people have said - if you can do well through your ATPL GS then thats proof enough you have the knowledge.

Best of luck :)

Emily

Best thing to do is if you can, see if you could ever pass a class 1 medical at Gatwick. Not sure about what age you would have to be to do that. In the meantime, if you can afford to get your PPL then go for that.

I would also suggest that you seriously think about some other sort of job for the next 10 years whilst you save as much money as possible. Save as much as you can whilst you do your PPL if possible and then go modular route and get you licence.

Join the ATC and enjoy your time there and most impostant of all

Network, network, network

Rob

Option A

1) Get the very best GCSE and A-Level results you can. I know teachers and parents seem boring when they bash on about how important they are, and I was the first to stick 2 fingers up and nip outside for a crafty fag at school, but its so true that your school education is the foundation for the rest of your working life.

2) While studying for your GCSE's/A-Level's, investgate other options open to you. Get qualified in something else outside aviation, do a few years of meanigful work in this chosen field so that you can fall back on it if ever required.

3) Assess the state of the industry and your desire to get into flying with a mature and level head.

4) If after all the above your heart, head and gut still want it...GO FOR IT! You only live once.

OPTION B

1) Continue at school as normal.

2) Throw caution to the wind, get a huge loan and GO FOR IT! You only live once.


For the record, I did a mix of the two which has served me ok so far...other than qualifying in the midst of the worse recession for almost a century.

Now, I'm no aviation guru, I don't have umpteen thousand hours and perhaps I could have made some better choices along the way. But we're all only human and as any pilot worth their salt will tell you, its not a crime to make a mistake but its always criminal not to learn from it. So my best advice would be to do as much research as possible, speak to as many experienced and inexperienced pilots as you can. I guess what Im trying to say is to get the big picture before you do anything.

Finally....NEVER let ANYONE tell you somethings not possible. Work hard enough and use your loaf. When you go back to school after the easter break just go in every day with the thought that its your dream to lose if you dont work at it.

Cheers
FS :ok:

Very important.

When I was 15 I was told by my careers advisor to consider applying for a job with the local council because the chances of me getting good GCSEs/Standard Grades and going onto College or University were slim...

Ended up starting a Law degree at the age of 17 and became a qualified pilot a couple of years later. If you want something work for it, I ended up sending a letter to my careers advisor thanking them for their crap advice, it motivated me to prove them wrong.

What an inspiring thread, lots of great advice here. Have you considered the RAF? I had 20 great years and am now loving my second career in the commercial sector. I would never have been able to afford the training costs! Best advice I can give you is to believe in yourself and work damn hard! Read Ellen Macathur's book: 'taking on the world' - different topic but great inspiration for what can be achieved with nothing but determination.
Good Luck.

God, I wish someone had told me that when I was 14!!

Emily, you've heard lots of differing oppinions about whether you should or should not pursue a career in aviation and how you might go about it. None of them are wrong and all bring their own prospective and percpetion of aviation. However, listening to too many oppinions can make it difficult to formulate a plan of your own (cant see the woods for the trees!) and the best thing is to simply go and see for yourself.

The truth is, there is no standard or mathematical formula to achieving what you want in life generally. But here's a few ideas:

1. Do what you feel you are comfortable with, make sure you have a balance in your life in terms of school work, friends and hobbies. This is very very important. :)

2. Have a set of realistic goals and work towards them in small and fun chunks - small goals to be achieved in achievable timeframes. :ok:

3. Enjoy what you want to do by involving your parents and friends and by becoming part of a community. :ok:

4. Accept that sometimes you will not succeed (regardless of how hard you might try) and it will hurt :{ - but that does not mean you have failed or have to give up. :)

5. Keep an open mind to other options. Not because aviation is a big bad place :} - all industries have their issues - but because you might find you just dont like it or you like something better. :cool:

Good luck with whatever you choose to do. ;)

Keep the dream alive and don't give up. Work hard at school and get the best grades you can both in GCSE's and 'A' levels but as other's have said always have a plan 'B'
My son did the modular route to his ATPL's and got a job with a major British airline within six months of completing his training. They paid for his type rating on the A320/A321.
Most of the airlines are anxious to recruit more women in an effort to redress the skewed male to female percentage ratio of 90:10 percent respectively
Good luck !!

The percentage is worse than 90/10. More like 95/5.

As for rotary, hardly any females at all.

https://www.caa.co.uk/uploadedFiles/...sex%202016.pdf