Planner
 

Age should never be a barrier to achieving your goals.
From the age of 12 it had been my ambition to qualify as a pilot. However for medical reasons this never proved possible. Earlier this year (after many attempts) I finally resolved my medical difficulties, got a class 2 medical and have embarked on a PPL ...at the grand old age of 61. Ok, I recognise that I may never actually make a living from aviation but I'm having a hell of a lot of fun in C172, and may even get to be an instructor...who knows.
You can have a great career outside aviation (I did) but life is short and time moves with frightening speed. If flying is your dream go for it. At age 40 you are truely still a kid !!

Just wondering how fluid is a career in the aviation industry, for instance everyone states a given amount of years until command and so on, almost as though set in stone. In other industries you may be able to progress quicker within a company, on a meritocratic system, based on performance, attendance record e.t.c. Is it not as such in the aviation sector, there must have arisen times when an individual has been at the company for the time to command yet still incompetant and an oppurtunity handed for someone will less time within the company to leapfrog, or is this not the case and companies have strict guidelines on how long it should take pilots to progress, for reasons which hopefully someone can inform me on.

Pilot Training
 

I'm currently playing sport professionally but at the age of 32 need to start looking at new careers!
I've had a few flying lessons in the past for pure enjoyment but am now looking at it as a potential career. I was wondering if anyone could shed any light on the following:

Can you be too old to begin flight training? Is it a viable options at 32?

Is the job market as buoyant as the course provider tells me?
Are there jobs available for newly trained pilots?

Are there any sponsorship schemes available?

Any advice is happily received!

Thanks

Hi career2

I will try to answer a few of your points, firstly age 32 is not too old to begin training, depending on whether you train all the way through to CPL MEIR full time or part time you will be 34 – 36 when you complete training. Probably too old to ever make it as a long haul skipper on a national flag carrier airline but not too old to have a very satisfying and lucrative career.

Regarding availability of jobs, you can read about that on various threads on PPRuNe, to save you a bit of time:

There are very few jobs for low hours freshly qualified people and there are thousands of low hours freshly qualified people chasing those few opportunities. If you are exceedingly lucky you might land something but you need to be prepared for the possibility of finding an extra £30,000 or so to fund type rating and also be prepared to have travel to another country or continent to find work.

There might be a shortage of experienced senior Captains but there is absolutely no shortage of low hours people looking for work.

Do not believe what any training school tells you about the job market, they want your money, the truth is awkward for them and stands between them and your wallet. They won’t be any help to you when you’ve finished training and looking for work, they’ll be concentrating on signing up more students.

There are mentored, part sponsored and sponsored schemes out there, Aer Lingus and BA are both currently running such schemes. The BA scheme has just opened for applicants, I believe the Aer Lingus scheme is now closed for applicants and they are currently going through the candidate selection process. Depending on your nationality then Brunei and Fly Dubai also have schemes going.

There are ex pro sports people that have gone on to successful careers in the airlines, Tony Underwood (ex England rugby) started his flying career with Easyjet and I believe he now works for Virgin. Also I recall and ex Ireland rugby player (can’t remember his name) who went on to fly for Ryan Air. If you play sport at a high level (national, international or Olympics), are well known and have a good reputation then an airline might want to employ you and make use of the PR value of employing you, I remember when Easyjet took on Tony Underwood the papers were full of the story. Probably not much PR value if you don’t have a good sporting reputation, for instance if he did his training then David Beckham would have no trouble getting an airline job but Lance Armstrong might struggle!!!!!!

To offset the financial risk you might be able to earn from your sport during flying training by continuing to play at a pro level, coaching, writing for papers, magazines etc, tv/ radio commentary or writing a book.

However as for everyone committing to flying training, there are no guarantees, it’s a huge gamble and you should never gamble what you cannot afford to lose. If you’re married and/ or have kids you will also need the support of those closest to you during your training.

Hopefully this has given you food for thought, the final decision can only be made by you and I wish you all the best in whatever you decide to do.

hello
i'm new here.
i'm 41, i'm trying to fund myself to get train for airline pilot in canada, am i way too old?
i was worked in a wrong industrial in the past, and now, i want to correct and restart myself again.

please help to advise. thanks a lot.

I was 30 when I started flight school but on a self sponsored cadetship with a guarantee of a job. That was 4 years ago. I have been flying for a regional for about 3 years now.

For older pilots it is very difficult to get an airline job. The airlines see older pilots as slower to train compared to a young 20 something. This has been said by trainers at the airline.

The jobs front is still bleak. There are plenty of jobs for captains and experienced FOs on type with 1500+ hours on airbus or boeing. Prectiaclly no regionals are hiring with some firing pilots. Expect to start on about 25K GBP at a regional at the most. This is what i started on and am still close to this. The chance of getting into BA is slim so dont go off flight training expecting to go to BA when finished. All easyjet, Ryanair etc pilots will be applying too so you will be up against stiff competition.

Ryanair is pretty much the only game in town for new cadets and expect to pay after flight school close to 40K before you are paid. A guy I know connected to recruitment in Ryanair told me 3 years ago that the unofficcially dont take guys over 30. I was 31 at the time and was told to put 30 on the application.

I traing with some guys 4 years ago who were aged in their late 30s early and mid 40s. All are still trying to get an airline job. The best option in this situation is to become an instructor but this also costs more money, about 7k+.

If you get a job expect to have to move to a different country as if you get Ryanair you will have to move to continental europe and bid to get back to the uk but there will be a lot ahead of you trying to get back also.

At the budget carriers you are a contractor. If you dont fly you dont get paid. If you get sick and cant fly you dont get paid. You will have to pay all your own expenses at some of them. Like your hotel, transport, uniform, meals, training (every 6 months) as well as pay an accountant. So while their pay seems good when these expenses are removed its not that great. You wont be entitled to any social welfare if they dont roster you over the winter either as you are technically self employed.

Training over 46
 

Hi Guys,

I am making initial enquires into a second career as a commercial pilot. However, I do have concerns about my age (46) and how this will be received in the industry and my ability to find work as a First Officer. From my reading I understand that there is officially no upper age limit (given a reasonable retirement age). I am trying to gauge what the reality would be if I went ahead with the training.

To give you some background , In February 2014 I will leave the British Army after 28 years. I am an Officer in the rank of Major and academically I have a MSc Disaster Management and I am a graduate of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom. I am a British Citizen, I have the ability to self finance and I am in very good health. Given this, I understand that I am technically able to apply. My question is, would an airline want to employ a 48 year old First Officer with no experience given this as a second career. A second question is, do you know if many have taken this route and been successful.

I am under no illusions of the career progression prospects and although not impossible, achieving Captain maybe a stretch given the 15 or so years of employability I would have in the industry. This is not my driver. My motivation is that of to fly (and of course earn a reasonable wage). This is a life ambition that I only now have the opportunity to achieve.

I was hoping someone might be able to give me some clarity on my ambition or at least your opinion in order for me to make an informed decision.

Regards,

Hi Chris

I’ll try to pass on some hopefully useful(ish) information from my perspective, I am also ex military though I was not Army and did not rise to the lofty heights of commissioned rank. I was a senior NCO aircraft engineer with the RN (try not to hold that against me). I left in January 2007 after completing 22 years service so a mere boy compared to your 28 years service.

Like you I had long harboured an ambition to fly commercially but never had the spends to complete the training, however my gratuity fixed the financial problem and the pension kept some cash coming in while I was training. I completed my PPL and night rating in Florida in Summer 2006 as my resettlement, the resettlement grant pretty much covered the cost and all I had to fund was the return air fare to Florida.

At the time the recruitment situation was buoyant, low cost airlines were recruiting hard and fast and UK flying schools were struggling to hold onto instructors as airlines kept poaching them so the signs were good for future employment. To be brutally frank if the economic and employment situations had been as harsh back then as it is now then I probably would not have bothered training.

Once I left the RN, I signed up with Bristol Groundschool for written exam study, the school were brilliant and are recognised by ELC so I was able to use an ELC grant towards the price of the course.

I started getting back into flying training with hours building in Spring 2007 and finished the instrument rating 12 months later in May 2008. Right up until the end of the instrument rating the employment prospects were looking good and the flying school I was at were losing instructors to the airlines on a regular basis. Unfortunately we started to hear rumblings of sub prime mortgages in the US, phrases like ‘credit crunch’ were being banded about and everyone with money in Northern Rock wanted to get it back again. That really started the spiral into recession, airlines like XL and many other smaller operators went bust putting hordes of pilots out of work and the good employment prospects were suddenly turned on their heads. Since then I’ve had one sim assessment and interview with an airline which I made a right pigs ear of and rightly was not offered a job.

I am still keeping the IR and medical in date while working in the military aviation world as civvy contract engineer which pays well but the work is pretty soul destroying and definitely not what I want to be doing.

I’m not sure if my age has held me back or whether other factors like the recession, airlines going bust or cutting back expansion plans and the rise of ‘Pay To Fly’ schemes have played a part. Probably a mixture of all those factors really.

If flying really is your life dream, then if you don’t attempt to realise that dream it will gnaw at you for ever. Even now when we go for our 2 weeks in the sun and turn up at the airport I still get that child like enthusiasm for the dream (sad really for a grown man). However I also get those pangs of anxiety and guilt for spending so much money and time chasing a dream that has thus far been unfulfilled and I can’t help wonder what we would have done with the money if I’d worked in engineering as soon as I left the RN. Sometimes my wife looks at houses in estate agents that are beyond our means and I always wonder whether we could have gone for it if I’d not done the training.

Do I regret doing the training or am I bitter at a dream thus far unfulfilled? Not a bit. Do I feel frustrated, impatient and angry at times? Yes, at times but thankfully I have a great family around me who snap me out of it.

Obviously if you have a spouse or partner and family then you absolutely have to be certain that they are behind you in your ambitions and that they will not be left short while you’re training and if you’re successful while you’re on a meagre wage as a junior pilot. My wife has been absolutely brilliant and has bought into the dream just as much as I have and she feels that she has been through the flying training as well.

One option worth considering is the British Airways Future Pilot Programme which I think is still accepting applications, the programme has been running for a couple of years now and I understand that they have accepted people in their 40s onto courses in the past. I also remember reading about an ex RAF Engineering Officer that got onto a Flybe cadet scheme though Flybe seem to be laying people off at the moment. The cadet schemes do not have a guaranteed job at the end of the course and the financial burden is borne squarely by the cadet but they do offer the best safety net available at the moment.

I’m not sure how much of your resettlement time and money you’ve already used but you can get your training kicked off with those resources and make full use of ELC money towards training.

One vital thing is networking, if you know serving or ex military pilots then get hold of them, they will probably be able to hook you up with contacts within the industry who will be like gold dust when you’re looking for work. If you train at a school where commercial pilots work part time as instructors or hire the aircraft for recreational flying then get to know them without stalking them.

Obviously your successful military career will furnish you with a shed load of transferrable skills that employers will understand and appreciate and while absolutely no-one in any industry (not just aviation) owes you a job, the military service will stand you in good stead.

You will also need a ‘Plan B’ ie another salary paying trade or career to fall back on to keep money coming in when you’re looking for flying work, my Plan B was engineering and that has ensured that since completing training I have recovered every penny that I spent a few times over.

Finally you might want to consider copying your post in the Military Aircrew section of PPRuNe, current and ex military pilots on there may well be able to offer you advice or maybe help hook you up with some contacts, it’s a long shot but worth a go.

Ultimately commercial flying training is a huge gamble with your time and money as the stakes. It will take you 12 to 18 months full time to complete everything, will the employment situation be better then? That’s part of the gamble and you should never stake what you cannot afford to lose.

A lot of information and much for you to consider, if you want to know more then feel free to post any questions here on open forum or PM me if you prefer and I will try to answer them for you.

A few years ago I was in your position, I made my decision now it’s your turn. Whatever you choose to do I wish you luck and hope that it all works out for the best for you.

i should be start the training next year, which before my age of 42. i'm not sure if i can get a pilot job or not, but i guess it is my only hope for the future.

what is your age now? :P

26 years, have a law degree, but want to be a commercial pilot
 

Hi all

Like the thread title, I have a law degree, but the last few years, becoming a pilot is becoming more and more profound in my mind. I read around and asked around but I was wondering what do I need to learn to be able to get started?

I mean, my mathematical skills have been not used for over 8 years and therefore I literally don't know how to calculate basic stuff. I remember I was quite ok with math when I got it before I went to university and believe with some sort of reminder course I would be able to get back on track. But of course you have math and you have math, what kind of math do I need to be able to perform well to get started in the education.

Also are there any other things I need to be able to do, like physics,...?

I live in Europe, I don't know if this is any different than in the USA or other countries?

But most importantly, is this actually still possible when I'm at this age? The main goal would be a commercial pilot.

Thanks!

Personally, a law degree will be far more useful because you can read the contract that'll be waved at you... :mad:

You'll be very surprised by the huge amount of calculations that you'll have to make in order to pass all of the CPL/ATPL test papers.

Most certainly, in the math area, a firm understanding of trigonometry is essential. As for physics, a good basic grounding is all that's required, though, if you can master both, your progress will be much quicker.

Start with a PPL course and see how you get on before you commit much funding towards the higher level stuff.

There are many ATPL question banks (on the web) that you might wish to peruse. They'll give you a good idea as to what level of math, and physics, that are required for the exams.

You need the basic, GCSE stuff. If I can make it, so can you.

*************************

I'm from Italy too, and let me start telling you that there are many times in life when one has to decide what to do, not only when you are young. So, no problem if you feel some time was wasted before, you are still in for an aviation career.
Myself, I have discovered an alternative career to piloting as Flight Dispatcher. But even that, I can confirm you that the only way of doing something in aviation is MONEY. Because, whatever path you choose, you will still need time to follow courses here and abroad (with all relative expenses); it is true you can be a pilot in a few months, but that means you must have the time to be there every day.,... in other words, you'll need MONEY. Have you got that? Fine. If you haven't, your passion for aviation will still be lingering in youtube videos.
I believe you should not be confused by the utopic or non utopic side of the matter. Leave that for later and now just concentrate on finding the bloody cash!! :eek:

Yet another one
 

Hi guys,

I'm 37, a career journalist and currently head of a big department in the BBC. But…. I've been wanting to fly since I was 10, and I've had a PPL for the last 10 years or so.

Sadly, I've let it lapse because of lack of money. But I've had a check ride in a C172 recently - and I was told I was "surprisingly alright, given lack of currency".

I'm at the stage where I think I've achieved all I'll ever achieve in my career, so a handbrake turn is needed, I believe.

So - here comes the perennial question… Am I too old? Should I bother? Incidentally, I have a 10 year old son and a mortgage. Oh, and although I've lived in the UK for 15 years now, I'm still not a UK national - I travel far too much to qualify for a British passport. I do have the full right to work anywhere I like in Britain though….

Thanks for any suggestions!

agfoxx,

At some point you will have to give up your career with the Beeb. Could you get by as freelance journo? If so, you could do that to keep some money coming in while completing modular training. After that, you could build experience as and where you can find it while still doing some writing to supplement your income.

You would appear to have the ideal back-up career to complement flying, so I'd say go for it.

***************************

The PPL is a minimum of 45 hours of training.



The CPL is a minimum of 25 hours of training, but for a combined CPL / MEP it would be 17/18 hours training in a single and 7/8 hours training in a twin.
The combined CPL / twin test will save you an examiners fee, but if you fail or partial then retaking the test in a twin will soon start to mount up.

So the CPL is actually more expensive per flight hour, also factor in the cost of the hour building between the PPL and CPL.

Be very careful using JAA approved schools in America, not so much an issue with the training standard, it is just some of the characters involved in running flight schools in the US have had interesting pasts.

So make sure you research the schools history, it is hasn't been unknown for a school to go bankrupt with students money and then to find the same set of people running a new school a few months later.
Quite often these JAA schools do mark up the prices for the JAA approval, so if you are going to train state side it is better to do FAA ratings and the convert them back in Europe.

A single engine CPL without the MEP/ IR will allow you to do paid instructing, if you get the FI rating. In Europe single engine GA jobs which you could do in theory without the MEP/ IR are quite rare (aerial photography, banner towing, scenic flights, para dropping).

Hi All

First of all, this is a very interesting thread and in the last hour or so reading it, I have learnt quite a lot.

I have a quick question for those with airline knowledge regarding my career move.

I have an FAA CPL/IR and I have spent the last few years based in the UK (I am a UK citizen) but flying all over the world as co-pilot in a turbo prop (MTOW over 5700 KG) I have managed to gain a couple of thousand hours doing this. Seemed like quite a good move when the aviation industry was in a really bad way a few years ago.

As the industry is sort of recovering (I am very aware things are not great yet) I have decided that at the age of 35, I should convert to an EASA license and compete some extra training. I have put aside enough hard earned cash to complete all necessary training plus some more for a type rating or whatever I may need to get an airline position.

My question is this, with my turbo prop experience even though it is not airbus time, and at my age, what are people's opinions that I may find a position with a UK airline.

Is the experience I have gained attractive to an airline, or was it a waste of time!

Many thanks for your help and advice.

BIGS, you should be able to pick up a TP job with that experience. I would hold off doing a type rating, esp jet, until you've explored the UK job market a bit first. Could be a waste of money or even go against you.

This has been a real useful thread to read. I was wondering if 25 was too old to start training but I think the answer to this is no. My decision now is to make my mind up over airplanes or helicopters.

you are exceedingly lucky you might land something but you need to be prepared for the possibility of finding an extra £30,000 or so to fund type rating and also be prepared to have travel to another country or continent to find work. ......

Correct in a fashion however Id add the following

To be clear on this point: even with a type rating and currency there is still quite a queue for these jobs.

I know of guys with ratings on B737 and A320 who cannot even break into the market half way round the world on chicken feed wages

Also there are guys out in these jobs with unfrozen licences and jet experience hours into four figures cant find a way back into the UK

Do comprehensive research on both the European marketplace and the UK marketplace. Never forget the training schools have thousands and thousands of reasons to tell you exactly what you want to hear.

OK I'll bite. I'm 34, Australian, and considering applying for a pilot programme here in Melbourne (Jetstar). Just wondering whether it's worth it. It's an enormous amount of debt to get into (AUD$130,000) and I'm not getting any younger for career prospects.

Anyone got anything to say about the programmes down here?

BIGS - great experience but how have you logged this time? Do/did you hold a type rating on your FAA CPL or was this SIC on a multi-pilot type? My point being that EASA differs significantly to the FAA in this area and as rewarding as your experience has been it may be considered inadmissible toward an EASA licence (in the event it was a single-pilot type). Additionally, employers views towards 'structured' experience in the UK vs US differs as well; US regionals tend to treat hours as hours regardless of the type of flying however it's a bit different in the UK.

I wouldn't say age was an issue for you though.

The perpetual 'Am I too old?' thread
 

Hi everyone,

I am 37 years of age, have a son and a mortgage, plenty of experience in management and customer service.

I have been fiddling about for the last 7 years achieving PPL, 150 hours and a night rating plus an 8th of the ATPL course.

Now is the time to decide to put everything at risk and go for it or forget about being a pilot and have some life long remorse!

I currently live in the UK but happy to move my family (they consent too!) anywhere in the world, as far as there is education and healthcare available.

I am planning to finance for a type rating and not bothered whether I end up flying a jet or a turboprop as far as I fly, I am all too aware of the salary difference between jet and turboprop.

So the questions is what are the odds of me getting into a commercial cockpit considering all of the above?

Am I mad? Possibly.
 

I'm 21 years old, and I've always wanted to be a pilot, ever since I was a kid. I've been gliding for several years and love that, but I've also flown a Cessna a few times and it's just so much fun, and there's nothing I'd rather do than fly for a living.
I got into the best university in the UK (or the second best, depending where your loyalties lie!) but decided to leave as I wasn't enjoying it, and couldn't see myself completing my degree and finding a job I enjoyed and which paid well. Not many people leave my university for those reasons, but I'm still young and don't want to waste time doing something I don't enjoy. Money isn't everything.

Now I have a full-time job as a postman which I love. I don't see myself as defined by my job, I enjoy getting to know my community and take each day as it comes, and it's fun. For unskilled work, it pays very well and also we all got awarded free shares in Royal Mail which will be worth a few grand in three years when we can sell them.

I've worked out that if I save money frantically for 4 years, and only spend the bare minimum, I'll have enough money by the time I'm 26 to quit my job (or take a career break for a couple of years, which is like quitting but your job is guaranteed at the end of it) and do modular 0-ATPL training, and still have some left over for resits and landing fees. That would put me in the same position as I am now financially, but with an ATPL (f).

I'd then carry on working with Royal Mail and gradually fund hour building / keep current until I find any flying job in any location, and then do that to gain hours and eventually work my way up the chain. Maybe by then the market will be better and it won't take so long, maybe it won't be and it'll take years and years, but I won't have lost anything anyway.

How does that sound? Come on, how crazy am I?

Am i too old!!
 

Hi everyone,

I have a an mid level accounts jobs and am 41 now with excellent health required for flying.
I have extra cash and am single. I would like to shift from my current profession to be a pilot as i have been interested since many years and do have some basic knowledge as much as an enthusiast would have.
If i were to achieve fATPL, what would be the chances of a person of my age getting work in any commercial airline to private jet airline.
I'm a British resident and would be getting my ATPL from Far East, so technically I would be looking for work around far east and where ever my license is eligible.

Any advise would be highly appreciated.

Thanks.

Hi everyone,

I really need someone to be blunt and honest with me here.
In 2008 I joined NATS and trained to become an ATCO, almost validated and then for personal reasons had to give it up which broke my heart as I loved it.
I'm in a decent job just now earning a good wage but really miss the aviation side of things. I have never flown an aircraft but I'm earning enough money to start learning.
Realistically, is it worth my while, at the age of 32, to a) start training to become a pilot and b) expect a fruitful career as a commercial airline pilot?

As mentioned previously, I really miss the ATC side of things but now my life has settled down a bit, I'm considering getting my PPL and taking it from there.

All opinions welcome!

There seem to be a lot of people on this thread describing their situations but nobody has offered any opinions in return. :confused:

So, here are my thoughts. Take them with a pinch of salt, but I was 30 when I decided to abandon my previous career and I'm now in my late thirties and a captain flying the 737 around Europe. When I look back on all the twists and turns I can see where I got lucky, where my hard work paid off, and where I ws just in the right place at the right time. But times have changed.

1967kev - Changing career is a huge call. If you're settled, think long and hard. If it's ATC you missed, seriously look at that option, but why not get a PPL to scratch that itch? Flying little planes around the countryside is some of the most fun you can have in aviation. If you get the PPL, check our the job market again, but still don't think the employment prospects merit the commercial training, you still have a PPL!

Momminz - Health is a small part of it. Most people can get a Class I medical. As you get older the initial commercial flight training becomes much harder for the majority of pilots. The old saying about teaching an old dog new tricks has some basis in reality! I know. It took me longer than my sim buddies to reach the same level of competency as those in their early twenties who found it far easier and are therefore perceived by airlines as a lower training risk. That said, age brings maturity, which is a quality that serves you very well in a commercial flying job. Your problem will be the hordes of youngsters who will be looking for the same 'first break'. Risky but possible.

ysbrydtawel - I changed career to start flying because I did NOT love my job. If you love being a postman, stick to that, cultivate that career, and in the meantime get a PPL to satisfy your flying desires. With a PPL and the right attitude, and age on your side, you will be able to gauge the employment market in a couple of years time. If things look up and your PPL revealed a hidden aptitude, then go for it - but remember: the airlines are mainly recruiting through the integrated courses and your PPL could be wasted if you are later forced to embark on one of those massively over-priced schemes.

Captainloulou - Arrgh. Tricky one. Put it this way and remember it's just one opinion: At 30, with financial security and no kids, I was prepared to take the risk of being unemployed for a number of years. Now, with kids, a mortgage and a lot to lose, I wouldn't enter the commercial flying market if I had the same decision to make. At my current age and seeing so many friends from my ATPL studies who never got flying jobs, I realise I am very lucky. But if you have a carefully crafted plan and family support, a bit of luck, and the right aptitude for commercial flying, you could make it work.

Overall, most people seem to be saying that money is not their motivation. Good, because you will not earn a great deal as a commercial pilot. Unless you buy a £100k lottery ticket into a cadet scheme you might do quite well, but for the majority commercial flying is quickly becoming a paid hobby!

Should I or Should I not?
 

I realise that I am setting myself up to get a bit of abuse here as it is a long running and tiring question but to be honest no one that i can see has came up with a real definative answer.
I am 45, ran the family business for the last 20 years (wishing I had taken the pilot route when I was younger) passed all my ATPL's with 95% av 1st time passes.
Last Summer I started my CPL (decided to do CPL before my MEP/IR) but one of the major contracts my business had ended due to the company going down finacially and I pulled out of my CPL to stabalise the business, which I have done. As I have said before, I wish I had trained in my early 20's as flying is something since the age I could speak have been intrigued with.
So the question is Am I told old and should forget my lifelong dream or should I carry on as "Life is Too Short and all that"? I do know there are a few bitter pilots out there!!

Way tooooooooooooo old
 

Hello, I posted a reply in the Spectators Balcony the other day to someone who was worried that he was too old at 24 to start flying!!

The answer to your Q flyingsnapper is that only you can answer it.

I met a pilot last week at London City Airport who didn't start ab initio training until he was 49. He was a captain four years later.

Experience I would guess is a good thing to bring into the industry in such a responsible job, but if you don't have airline contacts, then I would go through an FTO that has really good contacts to maximise your chances.

Otherwise you're playing a poker game ...

Thank you CaptainCriticalAngle, that does give me a little to think about (and some hope) and yes I do agree with the contacts as like every job really "who you know" can be very importatnt or an alternative is "what you know about who you know!"

"CaptainCriticalAngle" - "go through an FTO that has really good contacts"

RED ALARM BELLS should go of when somebody writes such BS! :ugh: :ugh:

The truth is with no connections it will not be easy, but do not believe the FTO's will give a flying toss about you after handing them over £100.000, is extremely naive!

Starting now at 45, your chances are probably going to be very small to get an airline job. Of course depends on various factors, are you willing to go anywhere, and work for peanuts, even then it is very hard.

Family, children, house ... are you good to work for many years with little or no rewards, free time etc.

Big questions, with not enough facts to decide, but your odds are against you, not impossible, but not so positive outlook if you want an honest answer.

Negative
 

Truckflyer, it's just as well that 49 year old didn't come to you for advice when commencing his ab initio training.

He wouldn't be a captain now ... but stuck in his old job and unhappy.

You only live once. Someone who is 45 could make a great pilot and someone who is 21 a useless one and vice versa.

Not denying that can't be a good pilot smarty!!!

That is not the issue, however the odds of getting a job is closer to 0.01%, that is the reality and truth!
Apply the BA program when available, and if get in, good chance, other training will most likely be money lost!

Oh, why? Experience, I know so many, who don't even have age as an issue not getting jobs! Age will not put you first for sure!

Try if you willing to accept the real odds of not getting a job!

The other thing to remember is the following. It is important.

If you beat the odds and get a job, you will be offered terms and conditions that will make you question the sense of your £100,000 investment.

If you're a mature candidate you are likely to have a reasonable career, hence you must also build into the equation your lost income for the training years.

That £100,000 cost has now grown to £200,000.

Still feeling lucky? Still married?

MikeHotel has hit the nail on the head there.
But money is only half the issue - people established in professions tend to know their worth, and the total lack of respect afforded to pilots at the moment is unbelievable, almost laughable. And it will only get worse due to the growing trend to take cadets over experience.
Having qualified a few years ago (aged 33) I turned down an interview on the basis that I would not (and could not) work in the conditions being offered, not even for 12 months as a stepping stone. It was offensive.

Note : I originally said "people established in other professions" but that implied that "Pilot" is a profession, and it isn't any more :-)

Grass roots to Cpl ?
 

Having read some of the threads on here it has boosted my confidence a little, my story is as follows;

I've always known i wanted to fly from midway through high school, 21 years after leaving and a load of different jobs, i've never been happy in anything ive tried. Im 36 now, have 3 kids and a shared mortgage.

What i wanted to ask is if anybody knows of any kind of adult sponsorship/ similar where i could train for a career in aviation. I'm not too bothered about making captain, i just want to fly.

looking forward to hearing replies.