Wow, a lot of you guys are starting training at a young age. I was like you guys - I felt a strong need to get my licenses young! Then 9/11 happened and thought a backup degree/career was the first step!

I am 23 and finished my Univerisity degree and post-graduate degree. Best decision I ever made! Now I can concentrate on the flying (with the help of a good credit rating) while working. If I decide I need to bail out of the flying gig, I will have the teaching to fall back on.

Mind you, all this when my parents offered to pay for my University degree AND my flight training.

Some advice for the young guys out there, get a non-aviation degree and always have a backup plan!

Cheers,

- TG

Dct_Bombi,

Not sure you live in the same world as the rest of us, but pocketing 15-20K a year? Earning 25K a year in London, paying rent, living a pretty frugal lifestyle....I'm lucky to put 5K aside a year. And at a slow rate like that, it's all the more difficult to save it when it'll take a decade to accumulate the required finance.

Of course, if your parents are paying for accomodation or fixing you up with the job connections this would be different, but I do feelthe reality for most people is that finance is nigh on impossible.

I'm 24 (25 next month). I'll be starting my PPL later this year. I'm currently doing a PhD in Applied Physics having completed my BEng degree last July. Having spoken to the people at my flight school of choice, I have been assured that going down their structured modular route, I can aim to finish my Doctorate and fATPL at roughly the same time (I'll be 27 by the time my thesis is in).

At the time, I would have loved the opportunity to go integrated at 18. Sadly, neither my parents nor I were in a financial position to pay for it. And I wasn't daft enough to ask them to re-mortgage their house. I think my dad would have politely told me to :mad: off.

Today I'm happy with my choices. Working on some really interesting Airbus and BAE projects for my PhD, and I'm looking forward to start the old flying later in the year - can't wait :)

It will be nice (if all goes to plan) at the age of 27 to have the fATPL and be Dr easyPilot.

Started flying at 15, PPL at 17 and (F)ATPL at 19. Flying BAe 146 from 20, then B737 at 23 and finally B747 at 25. Now 26 and starting to feel over the hill.....

I'm clearly the odd one out at 49 in 3 days time. I can't wait to use my life experiences!

I have decided to start flying again after a 18 year lay off. I'm ex RAF with 2000 hrs fast jet. The advantage now is that my kids are grown up and I can be a bit more selfish with my time. I have really enjoyed having lunch with my wife almost every day and being at home for tea every evening.

I understand that I'm in for a shock however I am now looking for a fresh challenge as life running my own business is becoming less rewarding.

What's the rush guys? As previously mentioned you'll be over the hill by 30!

I'll get back to the Air Law then!!

Fruitbat

i know guys that are starting at 40! it is harder though when you come to get jobs

18, will have ATPL at 19 :)

Age profiles
 

Count me in with the golden oldies. I'll be 41 next year by which time I hope to have completed fATPL. Certainly restricts my options but there are operators happy to talk safe in the knowledge that you won't skip town on them after 2-3 years training, so yes it's a big gamble, but for me well worth taking for the sheer enjoyment.
When I hear of 26 year olds feeling over the hill, that is something I can't see happening as I only have a potential 20 years flying left in me. I am packing in a career that was good to me and persuing a whole new career (which can be scary and daunting) but if I don't get a job I'll be the best qualififed private pilot down my way!

Age makes no difference ( depending on how you look at it )
 

I am 33yrs old and currently have my PPL ( Fixed ).
I have a career as a mech engineer/ engineering tradesman.
I am about to start my CPL(H) including
Instrument Rating
Mountain Flying
External Load
Commercial Pilot
Certified Flight Instructor
Certified Flight Instructor - Instrument
FAA/JAA/CAA

I guess the difference is that the "older" guys have their head switched on a bit more with life experiences ( not saying younger guys dont have them too)
As they generally tend to have a few more & tend to be a little more level headed.

Like myself , many other older pilots are paying their own flying, and are doing it in one hit , not spreading it out over several years, allowing to get into the flying ( career ) a bit quicker.

Having a second or 3rd career also allows a safety margin to fall back on incase something goes wrong ... like the aviation industrys ass falling out of it ...as it has done in the past or just difficult to get a job , at least I can earn the money to pay for my own flight time if I need to.

:ok: To anyone that decides thats what they want , Age makes no difference.

turning 23 4th of June. Starting my B738 TR June 5th. I'll let you figure out which company it is... :rolleyes:

26 here... well, 27 next week... ouch !

working in education during the day, playing gigs in clubs at the weekend (guitar) and just got myself a part time dispatcher job at EGPF.

And yes, flying during the spare time LOL Do I have any ? Well I don't sleep much I can tell you !

Unfortunately I don't have a money tree in my garden so I have chosen to go the only route I can afford : the hard one. Working 2 and a half jobs is hard but I am looking forward to the dispatcher job, sure will give a good chance to see airline operations up close.

Not really bothered about an airline job. Sure them shiny big pieces of metal look good but I mainly enjoy being in the air, soak up the freedom and look down at the silly buggers stuck in a traffic jam !
Would be quite happy to drop newspapers in Orkney or transport bananas from El Salvador. Beats ferrying a bunch of chavs/neds to Ibiza ! LOL
Does it still make me a wannabe ? What do I know ? I'm just a PPL student anyway, but as they say, you got to start somewhere.

Anyway I disagree about the use of the wannabe word - surely Diego Maradona knew he was a footballer even before he started getting paid for doing it ! :-)

Last but not least....I am not ageist and I do believe in training and that practice makes you perfect no matter what the age... but if I'm sitting on a jet as a passenger, I'd be happier to know my flight deck crew are in their 30s rather than in their 20s.
40s... even better. And I am not talking about women here before you get any ideas LOL

good stuff
w.

Age 20 ATPL theory stage
 

Hi, Im 20, did my ppl when I was 18, Pushing myself to complete distance learning with Bristol, I understand it but remembering it has always been the hard thing for me, hope their brush up weeks r as good as people say :) . Hopefull then CPL with multiflight at Leeds Bradford.

Working and saving, how quick out of the frying pan?
 

I'd like to second Another Biggles and Dave Martain in asking exactly how guys are achieving fATPLs buy the age of 19 and under.

I'm just finishing a Masters degree in Physics and am 22 years old. I've got hours under my belt from the UAS and I've worked in OPS and for NATS so I'd count myself as pretty committed to aviation. I'd be expecting a salary of around £20-25k before tax when I graduate and by my calculations that is not enough to replicate Dct_Bombi's required funds to pay for training loan-free (see below*).

I'm really curious to understand how less qualified/experienced guys are able to afford it before I'd finished my first year! Not having a go at people doing it straight from school, just mystified by the mechanics of it.

*If I assume my first job pays for food, rent/mortgage, bills, commuting and simply exsisting as well as saving £5,000 then I'll need another £15,000 earned from my second job to reach a target of £20,000 saved per year (reaching £60,000 in three years). Assuming I graft for 5 days in the week extra to my 1st job (at weekends plus a few days in the week too!) and knock off 10 days for illness, exhaustion and holiday then I'm left with 250 days in the year to fill with part time work. 15,000/250=£60 per day (ignoring tax!!). Thats a full working day behind the checkout! I'm pretty sure even Sir Alan's new Apprentice would think that a little ambitous to fit in at the end of a 7am-7pm commuting day!

I am 29 currently doing my PPL, I had to put it on hold for nearly a year because I was working abroad. I am planning on funding it all from my current career, but I have a worry that I might be too old by the time I have finished.
Its something I have always wanted to do, but never hand the money to do it, until now.

Sitting in an office 9-5.30 never interested me, but its a way for me to get qualified for something that I have always wanted to do.
One day, the office window will be full of blue skies and clouds below. :)

Started flying when i was 15. Got my PPL at 18, now on a two year degree course for avaition mangement and ops with the ATPL theory included. Should be finshed next year with my (f)ATPL when i will be 21.

im just gone 21, i have cpl/me and am just about to wrap up the IR, i worked with a regional airline every summer as an aircraft engineers assistant up until i finished school. I then got myself a job as an apprentice aircraft engineer. I worked as a mech for the first year then onto avionics for a year and a half. I then left to train to be a pilot at the age of 19. to date 26 JAA exams ( atpl ppl and mech exams) completed and 8 fas exams (mech exams ). when i wrap up the pilot training im going to complete my engineers exams. sure i only have another 9 JAA and 10 million fas ones to do, but sure what the hell else is there to do have fun? nah!!


all the best

winggeek

edymonster,

Where are you doing your degree course? I'm trying to find out about all those sort of courses at the moment.

raviolis wrote;

That's the real spirit! I have the same tought daily! I have many friends who finished up a few years ago aged 19 to 23 - they completed flight training in 7 months and next straight in the airline sim. If I see them today they sound like me when I had an office job over the last couple of years. Complaining about their hours, paychecks (!?), days off etc - they have no :mad: clue what is out there in the real world and they seam already tired and ready for pension after only 10 years of being FO.

BTW I am 30 and fully ready for the big silver birds but it's a fact that I enjoy my life at my local airport, the flying and airport friends and the GA flying soo much that I sometimes doubt about the airline environment. I guess it's a balance you have to make.

In The Beginning I created the heaven and the earth, then took it easy for a while and how now decided to get the fATPL. So that makes me about 5 billion. Hopefully should have the license by the time I hit 5 billion and 1. :E :E :E

Might aswell jump onboard...

I'm 22, have a BSc in Biology from the University of Durham and am now half way through the CTC Wings Cadet scheme.

I'd definitely recommend getting a degree 1st, you never know when your medical may let you down or the industry take a downturn. I was told by many a pilot to have the degree as a back up, so I did.

University also teaches you so much more than you could ever learn in a lecture... something which I feel can only better you as a pilot.

M330

I'm with James Tigris, Another Biggles and Dave Martin.

I'm 22 and just finishing a Masters degree in Physics. As much as I'd love to start my training now, I've decided to go into employment to try and save up for the training - but with a £15k student loan to pay off first.

That leaves me with a fair few years before I can save up the necessary cash, even with a reasonably well-paid job. So I think I'm going to be ~30 (at the earliest) by the time I can squirrel away the figure required, which does worry me slightly.

hoi,

almost 30y'rs old (young), having a bachelor degree in finance( yes yes i should have stayed at the stockmarket instead of trying to become a pilot :rolleyes:
Started 5 years ago atpl integrated and still without any job.
I would advice people after 29y considering to do a type.

grtz

You young guns..
 

You young guns out there have a considerable advantage... I'm 32 years old now and just beginning flight training. A point that is both fortunate and unfortunate at the same time is the fact that I'm already married, have kids, a big house with a bigger mortgage, and have already established myself in a different career. To put it simply, I doubt I'll ever be able to be an airline pilot, because I just can't afford to take the necessary pay-cut to "Pay my dues" before working up to the great gig in the sky. At best, I'll might be able to get a CFI and MEI and do some part time instructing at a small flight school as I charge ahead with my other career. You guys who are young and single have the future cut out for you. You can sacrifice here and there to pay the dues and work your way into that Boeing. As for me, spending 7 days a week instructing, for 1/3 the pay, and then relocating to take a first officer gig is just not possible, unless of course I politely inform the wife and kids that were going to sell the house, move to a shack, and be dirt poor for the next few years. I envy you guys; you got your whole life ahead of you, and you'll be able to live it in the air!

Holding up the average
 

35 this year and just starting my ATPL exams via DL. I've had a bit of experience in education and about 1000 hrs GA in Godzone. No wife/kids/mortgage makes a big difference (I guess) and having a partner who is willing to support me whilst I finish studying is probably more than I deserve.
I am glad that I have experienced the working environment in different areas and made (more than a few) mistakes in getting/keeping jobs and dealing with people, as an aviation career can be ruined by a bad reputation. Basically I was too young and irresponsible in my 20's and didn't really know what wanted out of life/love/work. Now I feel more 'grounded' and look forward to using my experiences to deal with a challenging work environment.
S#!t, that sounds good I think I'll copy and paste it into my next CV :p

22 years lass will eventually work my way to CPL, more interested in tailwheelers and the sorts than heading to the airlines. I´ll probably go to Oz for the training and process the speed I feel comfortable with.

How old?
 

45. Ex mil helicopter pilot, 1200+ hours, mostly twin, all turbine. Bored with current employment, although it'll provide funds to go modular.

Too old? Maybe, but hell, I could be doing this job for another 20 years and spend every minute regretting not having a go.

I'm 22. Finished my fATPL at 19. Then worked in a bank for 9 months. Followed that with a year of dispatching and then six months instructing at egbw. Now RHS 737 with big uk carrier. Glad it worked out this way, i had to work at it and that makes the achievment alot sweeter. To all young guys don't be in a rush to get straight into an airliner. The jobs i did gave me good life experience and an appreciation to all aspects of airline operations.

Ali1

How old are current wanabees?
 

30yrs old and trying to sort finances out (remortage etc.) often wonder if I'll make it! I just need to get enough money together to throw at it as I need to support my family during training if I take a serious route .
Wife and kids all very supportive. Had some 'orrible set backs in my time so in agreement with others I think the life experience does help or could you become over cynical?
Just want to escape the motor trade !I'll be more than happy to fly cargo or something.
Great Grandad was a pilot for BOAC.Trained with Imperial airways
Grandad had three ATPLs from different countries?????? Logbook shows airshows and barnstorming, flew for BA.
Me not even started yet
I will get there !!!

Do you think so?:ugh: :)

Sorry for ending up with the thread title at the top here, thought it worked like another forum!

am 34 .....but if anyone knows if you can buy a birth certificate on ebay...I'll be 22 again..he he :E

Hi all,
This one again!
Age doesn't really matter, Market conditions do. However......

My advice would be go to Uni first then decide.
I have a fATPL (finished this summer). I am now waiting for my chance. In the meantime I have had job interviews for "graduate" jobs circa £30,000.
I am 35, so no spring chicken. If I was say, 20 without a degree, I would now be looking at jobs that pay less than half of that. Most airlines look for how much flying you do (in the last 12 months), FlyBE is one, they ask for at least 50hours. It's ok getting the fATPL but you need to keep the skill level up. I think most 20ish people will probably be heavily in debt thus all extra money going towards that and not flying. Therefore, decreasing your chance of getting a job, apart from life experience as discussed before, keeping the skill level up is the hardest part.
If you are 18 and undecided about Uni/ATPL. I would choose Uni, it's not just a case of keeping the skill level up but some airlines now expect you to have a degree due to the degenerating standard of secondary school qualifications.
BenAek - your imaturity in your post shines through like a gold coin in cow dung! You will find it particularly difficult to get employment after dropping your A level's. It comes across that you are not willing to take the boring/hard stuff and would rather quit. Flying, unfortunately, has a lot of repetitive/boring stuff that must be completed for a safe and efficient flight. I would return to college and do the A levels. Like I said before due to the standard of education in secondary schools GCSE are worthless and A's are going that way too. If I was an employer whom had to decide between say GCSE/A Level/ Degree (we're talking about low houred pilots) , 9 out of 10 would interview the graduate first then go down the list. I'm sorry but that's how the world is. Please prove me wrong

Happy landings
Orvil

I'm 32, after my degree i went into the RAF for 6 years come out and now have the finances to do what i've always wanted....Got my PPL with night, and currently just started my ATPL's.....fly for an hour every week (have 102 at the moment)

Hey all. I am coming up to the age of 19. I started my PPL when I was 17 at Aeros In Gloucester. I am going into the army next month. My life long dream is to become an airline pilot. Once I am in the forces I am going to study for my fATPL at a discounted rate then come out of the army at the age of 23 and hopefully be employed with an airline. My other option is to stay in the army and after 4 years go for helicopter pilot selection and fly the apache. Then when I eventually leave the army I will just have to do conversion courses. All the options are there.

Thts wot i wanted to do - e-mail me if you can pleease mate [email protected] thnx

Hi guys,

18. Currently in full time training with the aim of completing my fATPL at the age of 19!
Currently working away at the ground school!!

Do i regret not going to Uni, nope not really! You work harder then all your mates at Uni, but then again nothing in life is easy! And well by the time there in their third year you could be happily flying around the skies!
Also i would be spending 3yrs wishing i were doing what i am doing now so why wait any longer!

Ok, 37 years old, just recently completed IR(H). Have CPL(H) and FI(H). Just secured my first salaried position as co-pilot offshore. Having to sell house. Move to different part of the country. Wife has to give up her job of 9 years. One child. No money anymore. Oh, and take a pay cut of 50% from my last job. Would I do it all again? Hell yes!!

Life is too short to not give it a go!:ok: :ok:

Im 15(16 in 2 months) Just in Transition year leaving cert in 2 years :{ currently training for my ppl and hope to have my my f/atpl by my 19th.

BenAek.
Your post has just proved my point. Good luck.

wannabe
 

Hi im 18 and i left school forever this year :{ !! oh well. got my GCSE's and A levels and am now sitting the exams for the ppl to hopefully go to america to get my ppl, night rating, imc and multi engine rating. Cant wait :ok:

Hi Guys,

I'm 41 and previously worked as a lawyer from the bottom at age 16, studied part-time as a mature student and then spent almost every cent I had on flying training from the age of 27. Used to work all week in the office and then take the bus/train/bus out to the airport every weekend to do my hour of flying. Took 2 years to get my PPL then about 1 year for CPL. Did weekend surveillance flying ( as a volunteer ) for a further couple of years whilst paying for my Instructor rating.

Left the law and trained international airline cadets for a while, worked part-time jobs washing aircraft, cleaning etc just to stay involved. Returned to law to pay for multi training and instrument training approvals, eventually got offered a job where I'd dropped a resume in a year before and built my multi time up, did some charter and started with one airline briefly before my current one came along 4 odd years ago and now I'm waiting for a command ( slow process where I work ).

This is entirely different to how I imagined the dream but the rich experience I have had along the way and the friendships I have formed could not be swapped for any amount of money or perceived prestige.

I would still love to fly a jet but must say it is tricky getting through the cull when you're over 40. I feel 25 but the application doesn't take that into account.

So for anyone considering a career change then consider going for it. It probably won't pan out anything like you imagine but there will be no risk of regrets in your room at the nursing home.....

Enjoy.

GUARD:)