Hi everyone I am a new user so please bare with me.
I am the father of a budding 16 year old ( nearly 17) who is determined to become a Heavy metal jocky ( Commercial airline pilot ) and i would be very grateful for any and all advise as to his best options to realise his dreams.
Brief history. Been in the Air Cadets for aprox 15 months, Studying for 3 A levels currently Maths, Spanish and Business studies ( Physics was not available at his college at A level stage) having nailed 9 GCSE last year.
Bright kid and regardless of this will not consider any other career..... Go figure.
As i see it he has two options as unfortunately i do not have a money tree at the bottom of the garden.
1/ Go to university for 3 years for a degree in Aeronautical Engineering and a ppl licience and then hopefully gain a sponsor for his flight training ( dont know if this is a viable option but it is what he is hoping to do !)
2/ Join the RAF and seek his wings there ( this is his second option and my first ) as it would seem to me to be the most direct and financially viable option available.
He unlike most i would presume who wish to join the RAF as pilots does not want to fly jets, he wants to be a comm pilot so wants to be trained in the heavy metal side of things.
I have suggested he contacts real world pilots by camping out at our two local airports and beg them for their advise, also writing a short letter asking the same that could be left in the pilot briefing rooms as his career advisors at his college seem to be of no use what so ever in this field.
So this is the question to any and all ( hopefully some in transit and those who have achieved this goal)
Can anyone please advise the best course of action
Best regards to you all
Andy
Well first thing you should know is to fly an airline you need the highest aviation qualification. That is the ATPL. There are many stages you need to know about, starting from the obvious
(not sure of the specific order)
PPL
IMC (enabling you to fly under instruments , £1250)
Night Rating
after 150 hours of that which by then would have costed around 15 - £20 000 max
Multi-Engine
Multi-Engine Night (check that one, i think your previous imc might get you off this)
Commercial Pilots Licence ( enables you to get paid to fly)
Instrument Rating - 4- £6000
Frozen ATPL (Air Transport Pilots Licence) To unfreeze this you need to 1500 hours which includes 250 hours P1 200 hours cross country 100 hours night 70 hours solo ref to instruments
Then Obviously not forgetting countless hours of ground school. You may ask yourself is it worth it. If your an aviation lover like myself the answer will inevitably be yes.
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Sorry forgot about the total.
Around 60 - £80 000 Obviously dependent on where you take the course and where you build your hours.. (fuel wise)
Tom
flumpchris wrote: As i see it he has two options as unfortunately i do not have a money tree at the bottom of the garden. 1/ Go to university for 3 years for a degree in Aeronautical Engineering and a ppl licience and then hopefully gain a sponsor for his flight training ( dont know if this is a viable option but it is what he is hoping to do !) 2/ Join the RAF and seek his wings there ( this is his second option and my first ) as it would seem to me to be the most direct and financially viable option available.
There are more than 2 options in fact there are tonnes! First of all money is an issue for a lot of wanabe pilots, like myself for example, but there are ways around it to make things easier if you are sure your son is 100% commited to getting there.
First of all a PPL would be a good start- you can get scholarships for these if you are lucky and somewhat determined, I got one from the Glen Stuart Flying Charity- look it up as well as GAPAN and Airleague. Also you can pay as you go here as well, which is manageble over about 18 months working in a basic retail store.
Secondly, you can study modular which means sending your son down the mines and get him to "pay and go" and do each section of the course as and when money is available, similar to the PPL.
Another way is to take out a loan which most people do nowadays unless mummy and daddy are mega rich. At the time loans are a bit tricky to get unless its secured on property but its still an option.
Another shot could be to apply to the J.N.Sommers Full ATPL Scholarship through GAPAN and this will take your son right through to the end for free!
Things you should be aware of may be that most flying schools that advertise taking cadets to ATPL stage dont mention the fact that a type rating is not included. Without a type rating you may not stand out from the crowd when it comes to recruitment,- a type rating being a specific rating for an aircraft, ie 737 type rated pilots are allowed to fly 737s. This is very expensive and most trainees dont pay for one of these, especially when there is no guarentee for a job.
RAF is another route but I understand you dont get to choose whether you fly rotary, fast jet or fixed wing, but its still an option if finance is a problem.
As for the degree its not necessary. Every penny spent on a degree could be a penny spent on flying- which after all is what he wants to do. I've said a million times that when it comes to the recruitment stage an airline wont be too fussed on what degree you have, they will be more fussed on the experience.
Another place to start (and in my opinion is the best place to start after A-levels) is by applying to the CTC Wings Cadet scheme. Providing you pass the selection process you go from zero to hero in 18 months, and get a type rating, and get a 6 month line training course with an airline on top for free, not to mention you get to live here in New zealand!
Hope that helps a bit. He has certainly chosen a tough industry to get into just like many of us, but the rewards at the end are worth it, even if its just an ambition fulfilled!
Morbz
I couldn't agree more with the above. Although I would stress it might be worthwhile giving the old RAF application ago, if nothing else it will give invaluable interview experience and if he does get through selection then he may end up flying the Tristar or VC10 (soon to be replaced by A330) and all courtesy of the tax payer.
If he really does want to just be a pilot then a degree isn't of too much benefit, although it does ultimately give a fall back career, some extra experience and could ultimately be the decider between two otherwise equal applicants for the same job. As for a degree in aero engineering, very unlikely he'll get onto an eng course without maths!
Morbz has already mentioned means of funding for a commercial course, now you have to make a tough decision and decide how much further your willing to support him. CTC wings scheme requires no upfront payments, they get their money back through a bond arrangement as far as I'm aware (Morbz will no doubt correct me if I'm wrong) which is why their placement scheme is so proactive. All other schools will want to see some cold hard cash, most of the flight schools offering integrated training have an agreement with a bank to provide a training loan, however these often require a security. Are you willing to put your house on the line?
We're presently in a very turbulent economic environment and ultimately its a bit of a gamble. I was lucky enough to leave school and embark on integrated training and upon completion quite quickly gain an airline flying job, although perhaps the metal I fly still isn't as heavy as what your son would aspire to. My integrated course was paid for by a loan secured against my parents house, so that provided me with some strong motivation to graduate and get a job, and they seem pretty please now that they're getting their money back!
tom wrote: Well first thing you should know is to fly an airline you need the highest aviation qualification. That is the ATPL. There are many stages you need to know about, starting from the obvious (not sure of the specific order) PPL IMC (enabling you to fly under instruments , £1250) Night Rating after 150 hours of that which by then would have costed around 15 - £20 000 max Multi-Engine Multi-Engine Night (check that one, i think your previous imc might get you off this) Commercial Pilots Licence ( enables you to get paid to fly) Instrument Rating - 4- £6000 Frozen ATPL (Air Transport Pilots Licence) To unfreeze this you need to 1500 hours which includes 250 hours P1 200 hours cross country 100 hours night 70 hours solo ref to instruments
Tom, you can fly an airliner on a frozen ATPL and most of the qualifications you've listed aren't required unless your going modular, even then you still don't require an IMC a Multi engine night or even a night rating. An IR qualifies you to fly at night.
The first license I ever held was a CPL ME IR (I did get the SE endorsed on it too, although its about to expire)
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