Pilotflying rocks, KayPam and FlyANA thank you for your replies. I've been on a block of shifts at work so could not reply sooner.

I only just realised that the administrators have moved my post into this merged thread which is ideal as I can now browse the entire thread when I get chance.

Pilotflyingrocks.
Thank you for your reply. My intent (if all goes well) is commercial passenger airline flying, at the moment I'm thinking long-haul will be my preference but can see the benefits of short-haul too. My understanding is that most have to start short-haul for take-off/landing experience.

My "local" club which is a mere 5 miles away is a microlight one, albeit with fixed wing microlights available. I will research my nearest club that offers lessons in light aircraft and visit them for an orientation and a trial lesson. The main reason I considered a microlight as a first step was because it would be cheaper per hour than a Light Aircraft to continue as a hobby if I did not progress to commercial flying, however it appears I could still buy/fly a fixed-wing microlight based on a PPL(A) licence for the "fun" aspect. If it doesn't build hours then it does seem to be wasted money at this stage.

I researched the modular vs integrated schemes, however being realistic I don't think either route is affordable for me on an effective timescale without the use of finance, for which I would likely need to utilise the cadet pilot scheme's guarantor provision. I discovered that applicants that spread their modular training over several years do not have much success applying to the larger, long-haul and higher-salaried airlines when compared to those who took integrated courses.

I'm under the impression that I should learn and hour build for leisure whilst applying to the cadet schemes.

The Class 1 medical is of course a very good idea to obtain first!

KayPam: Thanks, that's exactly what I plan to do and I'm quite looking forward to it :).

FlyANA: Thanks for your confirmation that others have followed a similar path. I am very keen to know more about the Virgin cadet scheme but I'll browse the forum some more before asking direct questions.

I've downloaded a couple of phone apps that cover PPL theory test subjects and so far the majority of what I'm reading is sinking in first time, probably because I find it genuinely interesting. Hopefully a positive sign of things to come :8.

Thanks again.

Realistics
 

Hello Pprune,

Firstly, I'm not going to blabber on about my dream, I would just like some good solid advice on what I can do with my current situation and if you do read all of this I appreciate the time taken out of your day.
I'm 19 years old (20 in august), and Im pondering picking back up the goal of flying for a major airline (and overcoming all the hurtles that come with trying to reach that point).

I hope you excuse me, but just background info on myself. I left Sydney when I was 15 ( a year after my first TIF) to come to a specialty aviation high school in Perth without my parents (which I dropped out of) after passing the entry test with only two incorrect answers of the 35 questions.

I made the choices on my own, I found the school on my own, and I taught myself the knowledge required (could have passed that test at 12) but I'm just trying to show that the determination box is ticked( and I know dropping out may sound otherwise but conflicting situations forced me to and leaving your home at 15 is not an easy task) while hopefully not sounding to obnoxious. Moving on I'm also considering doing an online degree as I do work fulltime and I'm not 100% sure but I'm getting the jist that this is acceptable by the airlines(can anyone confirm who has a job and did an online degree??) I'm currently earning 40k a year and I'm hoping this might just, just be enough to pay for hours on top of living expenses.

The biggest question which will stir up the mix is "Best flight school" now I have no care in the world for what the admins are like,or if the owner has attitude. I just want my hours and an effective instructors in a cheap( I know that won't happen) and timely manner with a school that gets students into airlines. I know as I work full time this could set me back in time but I'm committed to work as hard as possible, and I really don't care about pay or living conditions as long as I can say I've made it. By which time id probably hate it, but I can say it's fulfilled and my life has been lived how I wanted.

Cheers guys

You can get VET-FEE HELP for integrated flight training in Australia now. One of my mates left work last year to attend flight training adelaide and they are fee help approved at last check. Course overall isn't that expensive. If you earn 40k a year, have some savings, family who can spot you, or (like most young blokes back in Australia) have a fuel guzzling insurance nightmare of a car that you can sell you can probably go right on course.

Fee-HELP is under attack at the moment so talk to them early. Im not completely sure whats happening with it.

Would anyone leave a secure 110k job doing something you enjoy with many benefits to take a place on a CTC type scheme?
I'm considering doing just that. Complete with enormous loan, 18 months of no salary and then a massively reduced standard of living from that which I'm used to. Along with 9 years of loan repayments. Am I crazy? Family and friends think so. Early thirties. I won't bang on about how this has always been my dream etc... Thanks guys and good luck to all.

I would, but I would save up some dosh first so you can make the leap without the loan. You earn 110k, so this shouldn't be too hard. Oh and try and keep your toe in the water with your previous career so you've got a plan b in case it doesn't work out for you. Good luck !

Absolutely. If you have a ppl already?

Phew. Why don't you give it up if you don't like it?

Personally, and only personally, the question, would I rather work in a shop for £7.50 an hour, or would I rather fly the world for £7.50 an hour, can only be answered one way. For some of us it is more than simply a job.

Thanks for the answers guys. Good to see two totally different opinions. Council Van I was thinking more along the lines that you are. I have money and plenty of time off to go flying as I wish. Would I be happier becoming an airline pilot? Probably! But thats the million dollar question..I don't know. Every job becomes just a job doesn't it.

The fact he has even considered it must tell you someone though. Personally, if he earns that salary I would simply save up and go Modular, then even if he hates it by the end of CPL it's an experience, he has an IR so can fly anywhere (within reason) and can continue working at his current role. Not many of us can say we are in that kind of incredible position to be able to do so. I enjoy my job, I would still fly even for the current 40k I earn now given the choice. Please don't discourage people based on your perspective of a job you aren't too fond of anymore.

A tiny bit more detail.. It definitely wouldn't be £7.50 with Wizz. It's an established cadet route into a long haul airline. The pay still starts very low obviously but longer term is certainly nothing to complain about. Modular may well be the better route regarding finance and overall enjoyment. As well as burning no bridges etc.

summer weather and U.S. state
 

Hi everbody,

I’m searching for a good flight school in the US for the summer months July and August. I want to do my PPL (A). I read a lot about a few flight schools and the wise advice to go to the part of the US where less tourism is.
I just wonder which states (and maybe flight schools) you recommend because of the summer weather. I guess I have to avoid Florida. I only get 6 weeks off working to achieve my goal.

Sorry.. My post wasn't clear. I meant it's not £7.5 and it's not Wizz. It's a UK LH airline. Your view is still valid though! It's probably less than Wizz after loan repayments!

There is another thread on this where a lot of this is answered. A 30 second summary...
Local students mainly go home, guys from far afield or abroad will stay weekends.
Best to ask the school about where the training is done. You would need a very good reason to not go where they ask you to go.
If you bring packed lunch and live frugally I'd say £50 a week could be done fairly comfortably, not including lodgings. If you eat well, go out once in a while and go for a few drinks after exams, travel home etc, bump that up accordingly.
Starting salary is a bit of an unknown depends on which country you will be based in, 25-40k at a very loose guesstimate(?)
I understand bases will be assigned towards the end of the course, depending on the needs of the business.

MrWingNut. From the little you describe of your position I would personally recommend to keep your current job and use the money to fly GA as a hobby which, in my opinion, is much more fun. See how much money you would lose in loss of earnings / 'enormous loan' in the years until you get your command and can match you current salary (that is if you have the aptitude for command in the end).. think about how much amazing GA flying that could buy.

Jamesgrainge. I think you have to cut commercial pilots who have become jaded some slack. I suspect the kind of personality that pushes themselves to become a pilot be it PPL or ATPL always looks for new challenges in life. I used to see it in PPLs who would rapidly give up flying after taking their friends/families for a few local flights. Once you have achieved whatever you wanted to for many it becomes boring. Airline flying is very regimented and rightly offers little room for 'having a bit of fun' thus not particularly interesting after a fairly short period of time. I see many disinterested senior FOs awaiting command who have run out of challenges. Add onto this constant exams and airlines regularly in crisis/job uncertainty you can perhaps see why people are sometimes hesitant to recommend it to someone with a high paying, secure, enjoyable career.

Good luck with whatever you choose.

tom775257 thanks for the time to write that. Appreciated!

MrWingNut, I was in the same position you are with the seemingly small but realistically huge difference that my high paying Job was not enjoyable at all so I have just left and am about to start training again after stopping years ago. I did however save up quite a lot and am fortunate enough that I will have no debt on completion. So if you are earning that much and you aren't sure (which you don't seem to be asking on here) then save up some money while doing as advised above and do some flying. I did PPL,NVFR and ME/P and before I went overseas with work and stopped training but that was all I needed to know that I wanted to do it forever. There were just no jobs at the time so I waited for a while!! Good luck whatever you do!

As for the having fun and being challenged bit, I agree with Jamesgrainge - I have no first hand experience as I am not a pilot yet - but one small note I might add on/ask about is something that I have observed with my pilot mates. There seems to be a lot of room for fulfilling those personal growth needs outside of the job isn't there?. Obviously the job has contact hour limits for safety but almost every pilot I know has a fair bit of time off and some crazy hobby that they are extremely skilled and invested in, or they are amazing parents to their kids (a fulfilling challenge I know about first hand). When I spent almost all of last year in a pretty awful desert with work without a single day off I would get emails from my pilot mates who (although they work very hard for not great airlines) sometimes forget that 8-10 days off a month is actually pretty amazing. I know that I am in no way qualified to talk and I know that these days off are necessary for work life balance and safety but sometimes I think pilots forget that most people in our developed countries are working 6 10 hour days a week for 10 days of annual leave a year and the same if not worse pay check!!

again not having a go at all! (especially as its the job I want more than anything), just observation based on conversation and research like reading that Wiz Link above. Ill just have to see how it goes in the long run!

Hello guys and happy new year! Found this amazing forum after looking for some advice with regard to a320 flare techniques, which I'm using on my study level simulator. After seeing multiple threads (and mostly those like this very one) I decided to join. I am 15 years old and I live in Greece. Being a pilot has been my dream since a very young age. My hobby is simulating real aircraft operations to the ultimate way. That's why I have invested in buying high quality simulators, which even impress real pilots. I am a top student and I have a good health but, I am looking for some advice when it comes to reaching the right seat. Money is an issue, I think is too unsafe as well to get an ATPL as soon as I finish school. So my questions are, are there cadet programms for EU citizens? Do you think it's worth it to do a job until the age of 30 and then get your ATPL? All answers and advice are welcome, thank you for reading.

Newbie Questions
 

Hi, I'm new here.

I am a very keen to seat myself on the right seat of a commercial airliner and have done a lot of research but any help is very appreciated of.

So I am a year away from completing my secondary study and I believe I have two options:

Go to University
or
Do the EasyJet MPL or BA FPP (If the chance to is there)

Which would be really appropriate?

If I should go to university:
Is it a good idea to even take an aviation course, if it is, can you suggest a good aviation course for university that I should consider (particularly in Scotland).

Thanks for any help and tips, once again its really appreciated.

The BA FPP is currently undergoing a review of how it works, so I wouldn't expect that vacancy to open anytime soon, however I would be confident of it opening whilst you are at university. The EasyJet MPL opens every autumn around the same time its a consistent guarantee; opens around the same time as the Virgin Atlantic and Qatar Airlines equivalents.


You have a lot of other options you could do your ATPL and then apply to the Jet2 Apprentice scheme or apply as a cadet to Ryanair.


University wise I don't know much about that, my best advice would be to a course you have a passion for and want to investigate further.


If you have never flown an aircraft I would suggest having a few flights from your local flight school or even go for your PPL, but you have to keep under 90 hours if I remember correctly to be eligible for the EasyJet MPL.


I would recommend getting your medical sorted, before you commit to anything.


Also, why not get Lockheed Martins Prepar3D and some study sim aircraft it will help you no end in understanding systems. Also if you get on the Vatsim network it will really improve your short term memory!