Age Concern: Am I too old?
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So if 39 is not too old is 29 too young 
?? I have lost count of the number of times people in life have told me that it was not possible or I that I could not do it. Every comment like that only makes me go after it even harder!!
Nice to see some positive replys with regard to getting a start in what can sometimes seem an all but impossible industry/career.
Seems as always that success is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration...nothing `works like hard work` if you know what I mean
And remember.....
NOTHING GREAT IS EASY
?? I have lost count of the number of times people in life have told me that it was not possible or I that I could not do it. Every comment like that only makes me go after it even harder!!Nice to see some positive replys with regard to getting a start in what can sometimes seem an all but impossible industry/career.
Seems as always that success is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration...nothing `works like hard work` if you know what I mean
And remember.....
NOTHING GREAT IS EASY
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Go for it
Excellent posts
I feel much better knowing your not too old to get started in the industry I have dreamed of for so long.
I recently got my CPL via CHL in Canada although I'm from the UK.
My plan so far...
Continue working in IT for this year; saving like mad then off time building next year.
And then try and get a flying job otherwise more IT and flying partime.
Slowly slowy catchy monkey
BTW I just turned 34
I feel much better knowing your not too old to get started in the industry I have dreamed of for so long.
I recently got my CPL via CHL in Canada although I'm from the UK.
My plan so far...
Continue working in IT for this year; saving like mad then off time building next year.
And then try and get a flying job otherwise more IT and flying partime.
Slowly slowy catchy monkey
BTW I just turned 34
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Don't you really find it strange that all helo pilot wannabees (more or less) are working, or have been working within the IT-industry?
And even more so, when they start to feel unhappy with their current IT-career they instantaneously look into how to pursue a helicopter pilot career. Further down the line they even become tempted to risk things they have been working so hard for, their family, hard earned savings, the house they are living in – all for a fix idea which each day, each night grows even more and more on them and finally take over their entire mental framework. Sitting on the bus, the train or where ever they immidiately start to think in terms of them already being helicopter pilots, oh how fantastic life would be, oh how wonderfull life would be.
These mental processeses are similar to those of a small child waiting for Santa to bring him the long-awaited christmas gift.
After a while these wannabees realizes that there is a great risk of not being able to secure employment after finishing the extremely expensive training. So what do they do then? Well, they start to reason in terms of that becoming a helicopter pilot is a personal goal which they must achive in order to find happiness in life. Naturally this is only a mental technicality to justify the sheer stupidity to pursue such a goal.
Flying helicopters is great fun. In fact, few things are so “fun” to do as to fly helicopters. However, the fun in flying dosen’t increase as you pursue higher licenses such as the CPL . Working as a helo pilot - well I’m sure thats nice job - but helicopter pilots still suffer from monotonous days as a IT-officer, or a accoutant or a legal advisor surely do.
Being a helicopter pilot is not, at least not for me an calling, at least not an religious one. In fact – a few of my firends flying off-shore states that it´s not really mentally stimulating. Sex is fun, would you appreciate working as a pornstar, would you consider that as great fun after a week or so?. Or would you pay £70k to visit disneyland each day 9-5?
I think that being a professional involves the ability to view things realisticly and use good judgement. Don’t go waste all of your money just cos you’ve had a piss day at work, or just cos your manager gives you a hard time. Don’t risk yours and your dependents wellfare with such high-risk project when you know that there is such a high risk to it. Not to neglect- flying helicopters is a rather dangerous vocation- overhere where I live the fatality rate for helicopter flying is 2 for each 100 000 hours. Compare this to fixed-wing which is, if I’m not wrong, somehting like 0,006 for each 100 000 hours. When accidents happens people say – well he/she died doing something he/she loved. But the thing is - nobody loves do die.
Sorry for my ****ty english. Hope no offence taken, I do really respect those of you who really made it. It´s a hard road down there.
And even more so, when they start to feel unhappy with their current IT-career they instantaneously look into how to pursue a helicopter pilot career. Further down the line they even become tempted to risk things they have been working so hard for, their family, hard earned savings, the house they are living in – all for a fix idea which each day, each night grows even more and more on them and finally take over their entire mental framework. Sitting on the bus, the train or where ever they immidiately start to think in terms of them already being helicopter pilots, oh how fantastic life would be, oh how wonderfull life would be.
These mental processeses are similar to those of a small child waiting for Santa to bring him the long-awaited christmas gift.
After a while these wannabees realizes that there is a great risk of not being able to secure employment after finishing the extremely expensive training. So what do they do then? Well, they start to reason in terms of that becoming a helicopter pilot is a personal goal which they must achive in order to find happiness in life. Naturally this is only a mental technicality to justify the sheer stupidity to pursue such a goal.
Flying helicopters is great fun. In fact, few things are so “fun” to do as to fly helicopters. However, the fun in flying dosen’t increase as you pursue higher licenses such as the CPL . Working as a helo pilot - well I’m sure thats nice job - but helicopter pilots still suffer from monotonous days as a IT-officer, or a accoutant or a legal advisor surely do.
Being a helicopter pilot is not, at least not for me an calling, at least not an religious one. In fact – a few of my firends flying off-shore states that it´s not really mentally stimulating. Sex is fun, would you appreciate working as a pornstar, would you consider that as great fun after a week or so?. Or would you pay £70k to visit disneyland each day 9-5?
I think that being a professional involves the ability to view things realisticly and use good judgement. Don’t go waste all of your money just cos you’ve had a piss day at work, or just cos your manager gives you a hard time. Don’t risk yours and your dependents wellfare with such high-risk project when you know that there is such a high risk to it. Not to neglect- flying helicopters is a rather dangerous vocation- overhere where I live the fatality rate for helicopter flying is 2 for each 100 000 hours. Compare this to fixed-wing which is, if I’m not wrong, somehting like 0,006 for each 100 000 hours. When accidents happens people say – well he/she died doing something he/she loved. But the thing is - nobody loves do die.
Sorry for my ****ty english. Hope no offence taken, I do really respect those of you who really made it. It´s a hard road down there.
...well personally I was called to do this. I denied it for a long time but I am the most satisfied in the cockpit. I might own a machine one day but I will never do a job that removes me from my natural environment ie: management.
I will never stop flying until they just don't let me anymore.
To "make" it you need to be 110% obsessed with getting where you want to go. You need to expect to go without for long periods and you rarely spend a minute without thinking about when you will get your opportunity. You always must believe that it will happen or it simply won't.
Age is almost irrelevant. Want is most important. If you are 40 you still have up to 25yrs of flying in you. Take away 5 for getting going and you have 20 years to work. So what's the issue. If you favour a comfortable life, big screen TV, wants rather than needs, a fancy car and house etc.... over waking each morning to enjoy going to work then IT is for you. I recommend you avoid polluting our industry. You will only complain incessently. Not that we need to make things better but our value system is different to regular jobs. This is all about lifestyle not retirement.
No offence, but all the ex-IT guys that I have flown with don't make great pilots. The really good ones are the ex-plumbers, electricians, mechanics, draughtsmen, builders, carpenters, farmers etc and the odd ringer
These guys seem to not mind getting their hands dirty or putting up with a lot of crap to get ahead.
Just an observation from the other side.....
I will never stop flying until they just don't let me anymore.
To "make" it you need to be 110% obsessed with getting where you want to go. You need to expect to go without for long periods and you rarely spend a minute without thinking about when you will get your opportunity. You always must believe that it will happen or it simply won't.
Age is almost irrelevant. Want is most important. If you are 40 you still have up to 25yrs of flying in you. Take away 5 for getting going and you have 20 years to work. So what's the issue. If you favour a comfortable life, big screen TV, wants rather than needs, a fancy car and house etc.... over waking each morning to enjoy going to work then IT is for you. I recommend you avoid polluting our industry. You will only complain incessently. Not that we need to make things better but our value system is different to regular jobs. This is all about lifestyle not retirement.
No offence, but all the ex-IT guys that I have flown with don't make great pilots. The really good ones are the ex-plumbers, electricians, mechanics, draughtsmen, builders, carpenters, farmers etc and the odd ringer
These guys seem to not mind getting their hands dirty or putting up with a lot of crap to get ahead.
Just an observation from the other side.....
Hovering AND talking
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Simon10,
Your comments are all very well coming from somebody who aready works as a helicopter pilot - would you do anything else? Would you like me to retrain you to become a Chartered Accountant? No? Oh, I am surprised.
Possibly the reason that there a quite a few potential pilots coming from the IT industry is that IT pays quite well so these chaps can afford it and also flexible enough that they can always fall back on another skill if they don't have any flying work.
Sure, flying has its ups and downs and good days and bad days; I have had this conversation with quite a few commercial helicopter pilots. To quote my instructor
".... but it still does it for me"
Says it all really when I know of NO professional pilot who would give it up and start another career.
Cheers
Whirlygig
Your comments are all very well coming from somebody who aready works as a helicopter pilot - would you do anything else? Would you like me to retrain you to become a Chartered Accountant? No? Oh, I am surprised.
Possibly the reason that there a quite a few potential pilots coming from the IT industry is that IT pays quite well so these chaps can afford it and also flexible enough that they can always fall back on another skill if they don't have any flying work.
Sure, flying has its ups and downs and good days and bad days; I have had this conversation with quite a few commercial helicopter pilots. To quote my instructor
".... but it still does it for me"
Says it all really when I know of NO professional pilot who would give it up and start another career.
Cheers
Whirlygig
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So you see the words IT and seize on the opportunity to attack
Fact of life people in IT do get paid good money and have flexible lifestyles that allow them to take time off to train.
You can’t judge a book by its cover
I have wanted to be a Heli pilot since I was very young, I was not aware of the available paths to get trained and didn’t have rich parents to pay for like I saw in my training; their the pilots I’d be worried about 20 year olds who think their indestructible.
Just because person is in IT doesn’t mean he was their all his life.
I myself am a time served Electro Mechanical Engineer. Four year apprenticeship papers and qualifications the lot.
After finishing I thought long and hard about my chosen path and thought no that’s not for me. So off to Uni I went then afterwards I fell into the IT field as so many people do.
All I’m doing is working to achieve my goal and IT has allowed me to do it. And not at the expense of “family, hard earned savings, the house they are living in”. And why shouldn’t I. After all I do have a fall back job if I need it.
Simon10 - seems you thought long and hard about this and maybe you should take a good look at yourself and ask are you happy doing what your doing.
I haven’t made many posts to this forum but if this caliber of the response then I’m off
flying that is 
Fact of life people in IT do get paid good money and have flexible lifestyles that allow them to take time off to train.
You can’t judge a book by its cover
I have wanted to be a Heli pilot since I was very young, I was not aware of the available paths to get trained and didn’t have rich parents to pay for like I saw in my training; their the pilots I’d be worried about 20 year olds who think their indestructible.
Just because person is in IT doesn’t mean he was their all his life.
I myself am a time served Electro Mechanical Engineer. Four year apprenticeship papers and qualifications the lot.
After finishing I thought long and hard about my chosen path and thought no that’s not for me. So off to Uni I went then afterwards I fell into the IT field as so many people do.
All I’m doing is working to achieve my goal and IT has allowed me to do it. And not at the expense of “family, hard earned savings, the house they are living in”. And why shouldn’t I. After all I do have a fall back job if I need it.
Simon10 - seems you thought long and hard about this and maybe you should take a good look at yourself and ask are you happy doing what your doing.
I haven’t made many posts to this forum but if this caliber of the response then I’m off
flying that is
I've spent all my married life, plus a bit more, trying to get a commercial licence on helicopters. At one point it didn't seem to be working, but all the holes in the cheeses have lined up and it seems (fingers crossed) to be working.
All those years, my missus - and latterly my son - have put up with me spending unheard of amounts of cash, spending weekends, holiday time and evenings flying, pretending to fly, or revising for exams.
I too work in IT, but I feel it's time to give something back to my family. That's why I choose to work in IT and fly (for money) every other weekend or so. Ten years ago it may have been different, but this way I get both cakes AND eat them.
All those years, my missus - and latterly my son - have put up with me spending unheard of amounts of cash, spending weekends, holiday time and evenings flying, pretending to fly, or revising for exams.
I too work in IT, but I feel it's time to give something back to my family. That's why I choose to work in IT and fly (for money) every other weekend or so. Ten years ago it may have been different, but this way I get both cakes AND eat them.
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what the?!?!!?
So, what are newcomers (or as you described them `wannabes`) to do?? Spend the next 30 years of their lives stuck behind a desk??
Not this little black duck. Some of as DO feel as though this is a worthy thing to follow. If not for anything alse other than the challenge and personal satisfaction. Thats part of the reason for me...why else then would I be six weeks away from leaving my 4 days on 4 days off mining job that pays $100k+ and bores me almost to tears???
I realise that in the end a job is a job like any other....nothing more than an agreement between two people, one to sell the labour (ie employee) and one to retail that labour (ie employer), and like any business trancaction not all parties can be happy all the time.
But it blows me away to think that there are pilots out there who....are bored with their jobs, and consider it like ony other job. How sad...
I wonder if those of us out there who were trained in the military are more likely to feel this way?? Kind of like `oh well ho-hum easy come easy go`. Anyone out there have any ideas on this one??
ps - simon10 I think you need to buy a copy of the `karma-sutra`
Not this little black duck. Some of as DO feel as though this is a worthy thing to follow. If not for anything alse other than the challenge and personal satisfaction. Thats part of the reason for me...why else then would I be six weeks away from leaving my 4 days on 4 days off mining job that pays $100k+ and bores me almost to tears???
I realise that in the end a job is a job like any other....nothing more than an agreement between two people, one to sell the labour (ie employee) and one to retail that labour (ie employer), and like any business trancaction not all parties can be happy all the time.
But it blows me away to think that there are pilots out there who....are bored with their jobs, and consider it like ony other job. How sad...
I wonder if those of us out there who were trained in the military are more likely to feel this way?? Kind of like `oh well ho-hum easy come easy go`. Anyone out there have any ideas on this one??
ps - simon10 I think you need to buy a copy of the `karma-sutra`
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How old is too old?
For a public transport helicopter? FW operators use the young age of the fleet as a selling point but this does not seem to be the case in the helicopter world. Why not?
Hompy:
Your premise is not necessarily correct. If one were to observe the request for tender for the larger oil companies in the North Sea (UK, Norway etc), one would see that newer aircraft meeting the latest certification standards are being preferred for contract renewal - even though they are more expensive to contract.
The main driver for this change is the calculated cost of the life of an oil company employee; if it can be established that the additional contract cost will be less than the (probable) loss of life due to the lower certification standard, the decision is made (I might add a really difficult and complicated calculation that has to take into account the consequence of each and every improvement between the certification standard of an existing helicopter and that of the proposed).
That this is not true for all oil companies is left for you to ponder.
For scheduled airlines, there is a significant benefit in operating the latest more efficient aircraft as their costs are more related to operation than capital expenditure.
Your premise is not necessarily correct. If one were to observe the request for tender for the larger oil companies in the North Sea (UK, Norway etc), one would see that newer aircraft meeting the latest certification standards are being preferred for contract renewal - even though they are more expensive to contract.
The main driver for this change is the calculated cost of the life of an oil company employee; if it can be established that the additional contract cost will be less than the (probable) loss of life due to the lower certification standard, the decision is made (I might add a really difficult and complicated calculation that has to take into account the consequence of each and every improvement between the certification standard of an existing helicopter and that of the proposed).
That this is not true for all oil companies is left for you to ponder.
For scheduled airlines, there is a significant benefit in operating the latest more efficient aircraft as their costs are more related to operation than capital expenditure.
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Am I too old to start?
Some advice please. I am 37yo from Oz and have been out of flying for about four years now. Am thinking of getting back into it but changing to helos. I have over 2000 fixed wing hours plus an ATPL.
Given todays climate do I stand a realistic chance of cracking it into a well paid job, especially in Oz. I hear places like the Middle East are short of drivers, do they hire low time pilots for example?
Given todays climate do I stand a realistic chance of cracking it into a well paid job, especially in Oz. I hear places like the Middle East are short of drivers, do they hire low time pilots for example?
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Dont take this the wrong way: You proabaly too old.
Your are far in your F/w career. Gut it out. Figure 5-7 years to make what you are doing now, OZ is tough from what I hear. Tons of Ozzie's other aournd the world beacuse of shortage of paying work in OZ. SOme one recently told me a SPIFR capt is making 80K oz. PNG jobs 83K oz, but want mtn, production ll and bush time.
good luck
rb
I bet other have different opinions, let em fly
Your are far in your F/w career. Gut it out. Figure 5-7 years to make what you are doing now, OZ is tough from what I hear. Tons of Ozzie's other aournd the world beacuse of shortage of paying work in OZ. SOme one recently told me a SPIFR capt is making 80K oz. PNG jobs 83K oz, but want mtn, production ll and bush time.
good luck
rb
I bet other have different opinions, let em fly
There is an old saying which goes - "The best time to plant a tree was forty years ago, the second best time is today."
Don't know what it means but I thought I'd pass it on.
Don't know what it means but I thought I'd pass it on.
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Hey man,
why dont you have a look here under the "am I too old" bit
Frequently asked questions : training and job prospects
regards
CF
why dont you have a look here under the "am I too old" bit
Frequently asked questions : training and job prospects
regards
CF
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Pilots are like wine, they get better with age.
Being older you may have some gray hair. I have heard passengers say how they like gray hair!
At one flight school a new women student, about age 32 refused to fly with a 23 year old instructor, she said he was too young.
Don't lose your dream!
At one flight school a new women student, about age 32 refused to fly with a 23 year old instructor, she said he was too young.
Don't lose your dream!
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I dunno flametree but...
...I'm 32 and jumping into helicopter flying with both feet. Making a ton of money in my current desk job but bored to death -- it just isn't worth it anymore. And I know a handful of folks doing the exact same thing, in about the same age group. So I say just grasp the nettle of life and do it. -1B 
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Flametree:
The fact that you all ready have 2K hours would certainly be a plus, especially with the IFR.
I have flown with older guys starting out (40+) and it was a real struggle for them, BUT; I flew with this one guy from OZ who was a former rescue tech and didn't start flying until he was 45, he was awesome, so in short, the stock aviation answer applies; it depends.
The fact that you all ready have 2K hours would certainly be a plus, especially with the IFR.
I have flown with older guys starting out (40+) and it was a real struggle for them, BUT; I flew with this one guy from OZ who was a former rescue tech and didn't start flying until he was 45, he was awesome, so in short, the stock aviation answer applies; it depends.
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It's the "well paid" job you ask about that gives me doubts. Sure, you'll get a job. Instructors are always needed, especially if you're flexible and willing to travel. I suspect ditto in Oz for cattle mustering...though I know absolutely nothing about it. Some of those posting love helicopter flying, and are happy to scrimp and scrape for some sort of living so long as they can work to the sweet sound of rotor blades turning. But you want to be paid well! I would say...it depends, and you'll need lots of luck.