Pilot Advice needed
- Thread starter jamie2497
- Start date
You need a spare 60k if you want to be an airline pilot. Unless you get sponsored. My friend has just got his air transport pilots license after sacrificing a lot and selling everything. It has paid off though, he beat all his colleagues to a pilots job with BA. It is not always the case for someone with an ATPL to walk straight into a job though. It can take a very long time to find a well paying job.
Associate
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- 31 Oct 2004
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my mate is learning to become a civil airline pilot. if your not wanting to go the RAF route it can be a very expencive process. luckily my mates parents are loaded so they are basically just paying his way through his PPL and upwards.
To be honest I dont even think its that great a career anymore. We have pilots fully rated work at our place that cannot get a job. Some have heaps of debt too. Plus it's not that interesting anymore. 30 or so years ago or more it wouldve been fantastic. Now your just a Computer monitor for when a fault comes up on eicas. Read the status message and flick the switch the book tells you.
Its only gonna get worse for the pilot and lower paid.
Its only gonna get worse for the pilot and lower paid.
I considered joining the Royal Air Force, but I won't be able to until I'm 24, by which time I'll be too old I guess. However, my younger cousin who is 14 currently, will be joining once he has completed University, so any info here will no doubt help him. Not sure what position he wants though. Being in the Red Arrows would be the ultimate job, that or working in F1 (not forgetting my chosen career path already in my profile 
).
I knew when I got the forms at 18 I should have sent them back... grrrrr.
).I knew when I got the forms at 18 I should have sent them back... grrrrr.
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From what I undertsand it is pretty difficult to get in commercially. A lot of the big airlines will not take you onto their schemes unless you have fulfilled a minimum number of flying hours.
So you even join the smaller airlines, for next to no money or get by doing private work. I know one of the women with whom I work, her eldest son has just taken on his second instructors job and is possibly looking to move into the commercial sector in the next 1 - 2 years.
Either way it will be a long road to get there, but not impossible.
So you even join the smaller airlines, for next to no money or get by doing private work. I know one of the women with whom I work, her eldest son has just taken on his second instructors job and is possibly looking to move into the commercial sector in the next 1 - 2 years.
Either way it will be a long road to get there, but not impossible.
Just last week I passed my CPL so now have a fATPL and can fly for a living. It is indeed fairly hard to get a job in an airline, but it is getting easier at the moment due to less well qualified pilots around, meaning airlines have been slowly and reluctantly lowering their requirements. Easyjet for example, who I'll be working for when Ive done my type rating, were previously wanting pilots with 1500hours, but this has reduced to 'only'! 500hours, for certain positions though. I'll be entering having only around 250hours, as Im on a cadet course and am 'sponsored' by the airline. This of course may not be the case in 2-4 years or whenever you start to apply for jobs as its a pretty cyclical process. You certainly dont need to do into the RAF etc to build up your hours to get into commercial flying as someone said, thats just wrong.
You'll probabaly want, although not necessarily need for some jobs, A-levels in Maths and Physics, as these subjects form the basis of the ATPL exams or I expect something similar for the armed forces - you need and its helps if you can understand how the aircrafts flying and how its systems work.
You'll probabaly want, although not necessarily need for some jobs, A-levels in Maths and Physics, as these subjects form the basis of the ATPL exams or I expect something similar for the armed forces - you need and its helps if you can understand how the aircrafts flying and how its systems work.
Here's some pilot advice for ya, matey!
Here's your first lesson!
Don't let anyone tell you you can't do something. Decide for yourself. The RAF's motto is Per Ardua Ad Astra - through hardship to the stars. Which basically means that unless your surname's Windsor or your father's Air Vice Marshall Fortesque Blitherington-Ponce, then, basically there's no such thing as a free lunch.
Which means if you want to fly jets (my granny wants to fly jets) you're gonna have to contemplate doing it the hard way.
Which involves a whole lotta study, reading and getting to grips with maths, science and english. It's a bit like Top Gun. Only you won't get to ride around wit the combat warfare chic on the back of your scooter of an evening. Cos you'll be too busy studying. And studying. And studying.
After which you'll be a complete whizz and able to expound the principles of advanced aerodynamics, the idiosynchrasies of high-speed stalls under varying load factors, and the nuances of procedural navigation under IFR conditions culminating in non-aligned 0/0 Cat III ILS approaches to Luton Airport...
End of first lesson!!!
Here's your first lesson!
Don't let anyone tell you you can't do something. Decide for yourself. The RAF's motto is Per Ardua Ad Astra - through hardship to the stars. Which basically means that unless your surname's Windsor or your father's Air Vice Marshall Fortesque Blitherington-Ponce, then, basically there's no such thing as a free lunch.
Which means if you want to fly jets (my granny wants to fly jets) you're gonna have to contemplate doing it the hard way.
Which involves a whole lotta study, reading and getting to grips with maths, science and english. It's a bit like Top Gun. Only you won't get to ride around wit the combat warfare chic on the back of your scooter of an evening. Cos you'll be too busy studying. And studying. And studying.
After which you'll be a complete whizz and able to expound the principles of advanced aerodynamics, the idiosynchrasies of high-speed stalls under varying load factors, and the nuances of procedural navigation under IFR conditions culminating in non-aligned 0/0 Cat III ILS approaches to Luton Airport...
End of first lesson!!!
Associate
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- 7 Jun 2006
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- 357
RAF is hard to get into mate, with all the cuuts at the moment, better off trying with the navy
The RAF take on in the region of 100 pilots per year (if I remember correctly) which is more than the Navy. Joining the Navy as a Pilot isn't some sort of magic get-around, some Navy recruiters when posed with "I want to be a Pilot", say "well join the RAF".
I'm interested in joining the RAF and have had a talk with the careers office etc. One of the best bets if your going into uni or are at uni now is to join the university air core. About 60% of new pilots are from the UAC (you also get paid and learn to play with planes each weekend).
The navy is innundated with pilot requests at the moment and i was told that before you even get an interview etc with the navy blokes you need to get through an interview with an outside contractor (there are that many applicants)
If your interested in flying choppers and a small amount of planes have a think of the army air core too.
If you want to do it go for it! If you dont get in you'll have to find something else or fall back on what you were doing previously but if you do, well the skies the limit!
The navy is innundated with pilot requests at the moment and i was told that before you even get an interview etc with the navy blokes you need to get through an interview with an outside contractor (there are that many applicants)
If your interested in flying choppers and a small amount of planes have a think of the army air core too.
If you want to do it go for it! If you dont get in you'll have to find something else or fall back on what you were doing previously but if you do, well the skies the limit!
Its something i only dream of doing, but did consider a few years back. You need to be within height regulations and last i heard need perfect vision, any colour blindness and forget it, same goes for if you wear glasses, albeit that was 4 years ago.
My dad mate in the US now flies for Delta, last i heard in 777s. He started out in the USAF, because as said going any other way you either need to have a lot of spare cash, or need to be sponsored.
Im still considering the RAF as a career, but as a pilot is just a distant dream now.
My dad mate in the US now flies for Delta, last i heard in 777s. He started out in the USAF, because as said going any other way you either need to have a lot of spare cash, or need to be sponsored.
Im still considering the RAF as a career, but as a pilot is just a distant dream now.
Yep, spot onNozzer said:
If you've ever had asthma, ever, you can't be RAF of Navy aircrew, as I found out through AFCO after pinning my hopes and dreams from a young age on becoming a military pilot. Doh
If you want to fly commercially, be prepared to invest atleast £50k at the very minimum. Since 9/11 old fashioned sponsorships have vanished.
Can't see me doing much flying other than PPL stuff
But anyway, good luck
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This saturday is the Queen's Official birthday, and a flypast is going to take place during Trooping The Colour that will be shown on BBC (with the following aircraft in this order)
It's meant to be at 1300, during the Trooping the Colour programme, just a heads up to all you people who said 'I'm interested in the RAF' etc
It's meant to be at 1300, during the Trooping the Colour programme, just a heads up to all you people who said 'I'm interested in the RAF' etc
