yanecek

Hi there.
I’ve been reading pprune forum for a while, talking to people who are doing modular course and now I’m making decision whether I want to invest all my savings and do first bits (medical, ppl, hours, and ATPL theory) while working full time to make money for the rest to become commercial pilot.

My biggest concerns are:

How much time will I need to complete zero to hero while working full time?

Should I change my office IT 9-5 job to 4 on 4 off pattern job in order to have more time for learning to fly?

Is 30 years a bit old to start all that ?

I went to see Stapleford flight Centre. They sound trustworthy, got good opinions on various forums, The nearest to where I live, but still not sure there is better option ?

Thanks for any help

STLaviator

If you continue working full-time, it will definitely take you longer to complete your flight training than someone who is able to take time nearly every day to training. As to how much longer it would take, I can't say. I'm sure AOPA or EAA or someone has done a study on the subject a long time ago but I'm not sure how accurate that would be in your case since everyone learns and trains a little differently.

As far as changing your work schedule goes, I can't say what would work better. It all depends on how disciplined you are and how well you're able to make progress. The best results that I had seen as a CFI were when my students were able to train 4-5 days out of the week, if even only for 2-3 hrs at a time. Their training was also staggered so that there was not a long period each week where they weren't training. In my experience, having 4-5 days off from fight training in a row makes it more difficult to get back in the groove when coming back for your first lesson after those days off. Again, that might not affect you so much depending on your learning ability.

Thirty years old is not too old to learn to fly. I know of a few family friends who are working towards their first solo and they're in 50s and 60s just doing it because it's fun. I also know of many pilots who are in their 40s and 50s in the process of training at regional airlines, so 30 is certainly nowhere near too old.

SkyHigh

Hey the economy must be getting better if people are thinking about changing careers to aviation again.

Skyhigh

fjetter

Based on the way you wrote somethings in your original post, I'm taking it that you are a UK resident. You'll find that most people that post on here are US based and it's my understanding that it is a bit more difficult on the otherside of the pond to become a professional pilot. While not to discourage you, there may be better forums to direct your inquiry to get better insights about the practicality of the process. At the very least I encourage you to obtain a PVT license...there's nothing more freeing than being in an airplane.

Twin Wasp

Since you're talking about CAA training and a CAA license I's think you'd get better answers on pprune.

TonyWilliams

Very few on this forum have much knowledge of the JAA/UK/EASA ATPL, and even fewer have the license.

Like already said, get the private pilot license, and see if you even like flying. All the bad parts of aviation seem to be shared worldwide, so certainly take notice of those.

The good news is that in the next decade or three, the world economy in aviation should expand. That means you are more likely to be flying for a company in Dubai, or India, or China, than in Europe or UK.

Does that appeal to you?