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Advice for becoming a Pilot.
Good evening, all!
I am a 15 year old student working towards my PPL and I would appreciate some advice to achieve my ultimate ambition of becoming a medium/long haul pilot for a large airline. Currently, I am about to start flying a light aircraft(possibly a PA-28) and have started studying the 7 books. From here I would like to get an IFR rating, multi-engine rating and frozen ATPL. Are these advisable ratings to carry out and are there any other recommended? Also, does anyone have a rough estimate as to what these ratings would cost, I am aware of the PPL costs? I am also hoping to get a Class 1 medical at Gatwick before I "waste" any money. With regards to current experience, I have been flying 7 times with the RAFAC in the Grob Tutor 115E and have four hours in the back of an R44. This week, I also carried out work experience at Humberside Airport and was able to get a better picture of the industry which greatly enthused me, working with ATC, various aerospace companies and fire crews. Fortunately, I got to visit Eastern Airways which seems like a good airline to gain hours and experience, as they have employed pilots with hours as little as 200! At school, I am currently doing well studying for my GCSEs which are: Higher Maths, Triple Science, English, Spanish, Computer Science, Electronics and Geography. For my A-Levels I am hoping to take: Maths, Physics and Geography. Are these good options and will it be necessary to get a degree? Could I please have some advice as to what to do next and a good path as to becoming a commercial pilot. Preferably at a lower cost than £100,000 but I appreciate that it doesn't come cheap! Kind regards, Ellis. |
Go to Yorkshire Flight School at Breighton. They will look after you for the first part and save you some cash along the way.
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Originally Posted by jamesgrainge
(Post 10192267)
Go to Yorkshire Flight School at Breighton. They will look after you for the first part and save you some cash along the way.
I am just wondering whether it will provide that much of a benefit, as it is a 40 minute drive and I live on the same road as Sandtoft Airfield. My other nearby potential places to learn are Doncaster Sheffield airport and Humberside airport. Regards, Ellis. |
Sounds like you have the right attitude, and you've got plenty of time. If I were you I would get myself a weekend job at a flight school and see if they'll pay you in flight time. If not, then ANY weekend job and spend it hour building (plenty of ways to hour build cheaply starting from £60 with a share) By the time you're old enough to get a CPL you'll have the hours.. Along the way, you can pick up your ATPL exams, IRR, then IR (CBIR route, obviously). That'll leave you a 15 hour CPL to get and the multi time for your MEIR. Get your parents on board by promising to move out when you get a job!
If you stay focused you'll be debt free and flying a Jet while your friends are graduating with Mickey Mouse degrees and loads of debt. |
Yeah the younger you are the more appealing a career as a pilot and business case stacks up and possibly a better route than a degree but always have a back up career, who knows what can happen? Good luck!
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What’s my commercial pilot chances like
Hi everyone I’m new to this form so apologies if iv put this in the wrong place or if this question has already been asked by someone else I couldn’t find one that was close enough to my situation I’m ideally hoping to speak to commercial airline pilots who have entered the industry in a similar way to I’m hoping to or anyone with flight experience So I’ll try to explain my situation as best as I can I was born with leg problems which resulted in me having operations from the age of one and they never stopped again till about the age of 18 I’m now in my early 20s and all is thankfully well but due to my 20+ operations I missed a lot of time in school and was there for placed in the lower sets where tbh I under achieved drastically because of a few reasons one I was still missing on average 3 months a year and when I was in attendance I never put any effort in because to be blunt I was leaps ahead of the kids in my group so I never needed to what an idiot I was in fact I had teachers say I’m an under achiever and proud of it then to top it off when I reached year 11 I was diagnosed with severe dyslexia due to these reasons I left with grades ranging from cs to es and went straight into work At the age of about 20 I decided to apply to easyJet’s academy if I recall correctly but put my sisters grades on I got invited to attend an interview and to sit a few assessments but they also wanted my gcse certificates so I never went and then at the age of 22 I got a flight experience bought for me and when I went up I spoke about how I’d love to be a commercial airline pilot and that I should go for it because I’m a natural he was probably trying to sell me lessons though lol but he did point out something I read about not needing gcse as long as I had the correct license So my questions are 1 Obviously knowing I’d never get into an airlines academy if I did decide to pay the huge costs to become fully qualified what would my chances be of getting a job with my grades 2 am I even going to pass a medical with my lower leg condition even though it’s all sorted know it was club foot and was rather severe in my younger years 3 and finally iv currently got about 10 k towards flying lessons or investing into a business but that is still way short of what I need to become qualified in the field so I’d have to get a loan or some sort of finance to complete the training would that be possible Thank you all in advance |
Originally Posted by Tommyc9494
(Post 10231693)
Hi everyone I’m new to this form so apologies if iv put this in the wrong place or if this question has already been asked by someone else I couldn’t find one that was close enough to my situation I’m ideally hoping to speak to commercial airline pilots who have entered the industry in a similar way to I’m hoping to or anyone with flight experience So I’ll try to explain my situation as best as I can I was born with leg problems which resulted in me having operations from the age of one and they never stopped again till about the age of 18 I’m now in my early 20s and all is thankfully well but due to my 20+ operations I missed a lot of time in school and was there for placed in the lower sets where tbh I under achieved drastically because of a few reasons one I was still missing on average 3 months a year and when I was in attendance I never put any effort in because to be blunt I was leaps ahead of the kids in my group so I never needed to what an idiot I was in fact I had teachers say I’m an under achiever and proud of it then to top it off when I reached year 11 I was diagnosed with severe dyslexia due to these reasons I left with grades ranging from cs to es and went straight into work At the age of about 20 I decided to apply to easyJet’s academy if I recall correctly but put my sisters grades on I got invited to attend an interview and to sit a few assessments but they also wanted my gcse certificates so I never went and then at the age of 22 I got a flight experience bought for me and when I went up I spoke about how I’d love to be a commercial airline pilot and that I should go for it because I’m a natural he was probably trying to sell me lessons though lol but he did point out something I read about not needing gcse as long as I had the correct license So my questions are 1 Obviously knowing I’d never get into an airlines academy if I did decide to pay the huge costs to become fully qualified what would my chances be of getting a job with my grades 2 am I even going to pass a medical with my lower leg condition even though it’s all sorted know it was club foot and was rather severe in my younger years 3 and finally iv currently got about 10 k towards flying lessons or investing into a business but that is still way short of what I need to become qualified in the field so I’d have to get a loan or some sort of finance to complete the training would that be possible Thank you all in advance |
Originally Posted by BaronVonBarnstormer
(Post 10231743)
Before worrying about anything else book in for an assessment for your Class 1 Medical. Its pointless worrying about grades etc before knowing that your body is up to it. It is an expensive process (£500 ish) but even if you can't get a class 1, you may be able to get Class 2 which will allow you to fly on a PPL.
hi thanks for getting back to me that sounds like a great starting point for myself iv had a little read into some of them this morning and apparently they take about 4 hours and include even include lung test so could I also fail on that for smoking/slight asthma I am in the process of quitting though and say if I was to fail on the day but am able to pass a class2 would I be passed for that automatically instead or would I need to pay for another exam |
Class 1 medical seems like a massive deal for someone who hasn't done it, but actually it's not too bad. The spirometry tests aren't extensive, a simple blow in and out of breath, and you should have no problems provided your vision can be corrected to 20/20 and your hearing doesn't require any aids, you should be fine.
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In the beginning when I had no clue, I started with Class 1 medical instead of class2..... was not a big deal :D
Originally Posted by jamesgrainge
(Post 10232859)
Class 1 medical seems like a massive deal for someone who hasn't done it, but actually it's not too bad. The spirometry tests aren't extensive, a simple blow in and out of breath, and you should have no problems provided your vision can be corrected to 20/20 and your hearing doesn't require any aids, you should be fine.
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To start sooner rather than later?
Hi all,
I was hoping I could receive from guidance from anyone who may have been in a similar situation to myself or even some general pointers as they would be much appreciated. Essentially, I'm not sure if I should start my training with a decent chunk (a third) of money saved or to wait till I've saved the overwhelming majority and to then start training. I'm currently a 20 year old working in an Accountancy firm on a higher level apprenticeship. The pay is relatively decent and by the end of 2020, I should have around £20k saved and I think this will cover off a PPL, ATPL Theory and some of the Hours Building. I will continue to work whilst training and therefore able to continue to save money however, I can't help but think, I'll most likely burn through the £20k and then I may need to stop/start to save for the CPL/ME/IR and I'm assuming the lack of continuity will naturally hinder my development. However, if I wait till I'm around 26-27, I should hopefully be qualified with an ACA and consequently able to save up around £60k which will hopefully cover off the overwhelming majority of my training. One of the reasons I would like to start a PPL relatively soon is aside from my desire to do so, I've attended a cadet program assessment day in the past for Aer Lingus, they had questioned why I hadn't commenced on my flying lessons and consequently not really shown a commitment to aviation yet which was fair enough. I'm not implying this is the reason why I did not get in, as every candidate I met there was highly talented and I'm sure they picked the best ones although it was a valid point. However, I can imagine that if I did get a PPL and then decide to stop there for a few years until I had enough for an CPL/ME/IR there would be regular ongoing costs to maintain my PPL which wouldn't be efficient as I'd much rather use that money to develop further Any advice/personal anecdotes you may have would be much appreciated. |
Personally, I wanted to have everything in place, money in hand (or most of it), and a plan written down. As I learn more and more, it seems that to get to that point (if ever!!), I'll need loads of time and silly amounts of research to cover every possibility. I may come to regret this down the line but I've had enough of planning and I've decided to say "fk it!!" and step off the cliff. I want to fly and commercial was a way to do it and get paid, but I have to remember that I want to fly more than I want to get paid. In the end of all this, if I end up with an airline job, then it's a big win. If all I end up with is a PPL and an odd flight every now and again, it's still a very good win. I guess it all boils down to what you really, really want in the end.
Another thing I've considered is the saving part --- knowing myself, if I had a good chunk of money saved up, I'm sure to have some odd side project that will take up my time and money, thus leading me further and further away from my goal in both time and resources. By closing my eyes and taking the plunge, I've committed myself to this.... any money saved MUST go to flying or else I'll lose my skills and would have to fly some more to keep up. Any money saved MUST go to more lessons to get better. I wager once I've had a good taste of flight, it'll draw me in more and more and it'll just happen. Lastly, I have to be in it to win it. I could save up for 5 years and do all my training in one go, but who knows what opportunities I missed on those 5 years? I'd rather start now and be in it and be ready and available for opportunities that arise. Who knows, one of those opportunities just might be a solution to my financial problem! Not saying you should follow what I'm saying, just putting my thoughts to words here and trying to convince myself that I've not gone bonkers!! |
Now is the time to get into the industry. Every year you wait will make your pilot career a year shorter, which equates to £100k+ in today's money. I'd go and check your credit score.
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I recently spoke to a Channex skipper after my flight who recommended that I do whatever it takes to get that licence and get a job. He was very direct with me which I massively appreciated. He basically said its all fun and games mostly right now but when the market takes a downturn and you can't get a job you'll be wishing you took that small bank loan to cover the rest of your training. Can't say I disagree, he seemed like a very wise man with plenty of experience under his belt. I believe he was a training captain so he knew a lot about the types of guys coming through the door.
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Career change, qualifications advice?
Hi guys just after a bit of advice from people in a similar situation so myself and would like to know what they did. Basically I’m 26 qualified heating and gas engineer looking at a career change to become a pilot, started my ppl recently. I have been looking into modular course requirements which from different schools are conflicting. So I have maths and English c gcse and other subjects but a d in science ( didn’t think I needed it at the time is never studied for it!!) I also have heating nvq level 2 and 3 and gas qualifications. My concern is the science. I went to the pilot road show yesterday and was told different things from different schools 2 said doesn’t matter won’t affect you and couple others said I need to redo it as it will affect my chances with an employer. After some thoughts I am planning to redo it anyway as I thing it hopefully will be good prep for what’s to come, when I’ve looked at courses things seemed to have changed I cannot find gcse science for adults easily mostly I see science biology or science physics? The phsyics is what I’m thinking of doing, do you think this will be sufficient instead of my gcse science d? Thanks in advance sorry for the long post Jason |
Training
Originally Posted by Jason0918
(Post 10301491)
Hi guys just after a bit of advice from people in a similar situation so myself and would like to know what they did. Basically I’m 26 qualified heating and gas engineer looking at a career change to become a pilot, started my ppl recently. I have been looking into modular course requirements which from different schools are conflicting. So I have maths and English c gcse and other subjects but a d in science ( didn’t think I needed it at the time is never studied for it!!) I also have heating nvq level 2 and 3 and gas qualifications. My concern is the science. I went to the pilot road show yesterday and was told different things from different schools 2 said doesn’t matter won’t affect you and couple others said I need to redo it as it will affect my chances with an employer. After some thoughts I am planning to redo it anyway as I thing it hopefully will be good prep for what’s to come, when I’ve looked at courses things seemed to have changed I cannot find gcse science for adults easily mostly I see science biology or science physics? The phsyics is what I’m thinking of doing, do you think this will be sufficient instead of my gcse science d? Thanks in advance sorry for the long post Jason |
sorry I just deleted the last message in inbox to make space, you can try again thanks You can’t use the Private Messaging system, add url links or images until you have an established posting history |
CAE Madrid atpl or FTA shoreham integrated?
I currently have a space with cae for their Madrid atpl whitetail training, however it's expensive and I would have to pay for my living costs abroad. FTA shoreham on the other hand is more local and I could easily commute, stay at home plus it's cheaper. Does anyone know why it's cheaper? Would I be missing out or getting a worse training? Harder to get work afterwards?
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I found this recent YouTube channel set up by a chap who used to fly for Easyjet and more recently as a Captain with BA.
His channel is dedicated to providing advice to wannabes but more importantly the guy has given up his career as an airline pilot and his channel explains why he took this decision and tracks the next chapter in his career development. The following clip contains up to date information to help anyone flirting with the idea of pursuing a career as an airline pilot: |
but more importantly the guy has given up his career as an airline pilot |
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