Hello folks........

[S.]

I would be interested in anyone's thoughts / opinions in this ng; long and
considered, or short and pithy.

I'm 47, in the UK, and was made redundant from an ICT Manager's position 20
months ago. My dilemma is this. I'm thinking of starting up my own
home-visit computer repair / training / advice consultancy, but close
relatives have said "Why don't you do what you've always wanted to do?".
I've always had natural flying ability (solo glider pilot at 19, and I was
allowed to do t/offs & landings in a Cessna 152 myself after 6 hours while
the instructor just watched), but had to stop lessons in 1979. I went for a
trial flight last year, and the instructor was astonished as to how much I
remembered.

Now that I have the means (financially), is it worth a trip to Florida to
achieve a life's ambition ? I've found a school that will take you from
scratch to an instructors certficate for USD 35,500 ; it would cost at least
double that here in the UK.

Anyone know if there is a stigma against hiring newly qualified pilots at,
say, 48 ????

Thanks,

Steve.

[Jay Honeck]

> Now that I have the means (financially), is it worth a trip to Florida to
> achieve a life's ambition ?

That question needn't be answered, but I will.

I waited till I was 35 to start flight lessons. Learning to fly changed my
life, and I now regard my first 35 years on this planet as wasted time.

Do it now, before another year passes.

> Anyone know if there is a stigma against hiring newly qualified pilots at,
> say, 48 ????

I wouldn't count on a career in aviation, but that's beside the point.
Flying is an end in itself.

Good luck...
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Adeian]

Hello S,

I don't know about getting a job with the airlines I suppose
anything is possible if you try but it's possible to work in the industry or
around airplanes. One thing for sure you'll spend the next 47 years
wondering if you could have. The other thing you have going for you is you
don't live in the USA where you would have to retire at 60.

You could do what Jay does and open a Hotel on the airfield. Call
it "Fawley Tower". :) You could start your own FBO or sub-contract freight
for Fed-ex. Anything beats being 49 and thinking "Hmm I wonder if I could
have." At the very least you'll have your PPL and be able to go just about
anywhere you want whenever you want weather permitting.

Paul Davis


"S." > wrote in message
...
>I would be interested in anyone's thoughts / opinions in this ng; long and
>considered, or short and pithy.
>
> I'm 47, in the UK, and was made redundant from an ICT Manager's position
> 20 months ago. My dilemma is this. I'm thinking of starting up my own
> home-visit computer repair / training / advice consultancy, but close
> relatives have said "Why don't you do what you've always wanted to do?".
> I've always had natural flying ability (solo glider pilot at 19, and I was
> allowed to do t/offs & landings in a Cessna 152 myself after 6 hours while
> the instructor just watched), but had to stop lessons in 1979. I went for
> a trial flight last year, and the instructor was astonished as to how much
> I remembered.
>
> Now that I have the means (financially), is it worth a trip to Florida to
> achieve a life's ambition ? I've found a school that will take you from
> scratch to an instructors certficate for USD 35,500 ; it would cost at
> least double that here in the UK.
>
> Anyone know if there is a stigma against hiring newly qualified pilots at,
> say, 48 ????
>
> Thanks,
>
> Steve.
>
>
>
>

[Blanche]

There are other schools that will do the ab initio program or even
all the way with a starting point a bit past the "Hi! this is an
airplane!" introduction. And for much less that $35K US.

Altho with the current US dollar, $35K is probably a good deal for
someone outside the US.

[Michelle P]

Steve,
I started flying when I was 29. My aviation career started four years
ago as an aircraft mechanic. I "landed" my first flying job last month
at age 42. The pay decrease for my current job from when I was in the
computer industry, 75% I couldn't be happier!
Michelle

S. wrote:

>I would be interested in anyone's thoughts / opinions in this ng; long and
>considered, or short and pithy.
>
>I'm 47, in the UK, and was made redundant from an ICT Manager's position 20
>months ago. My dilemma is this. I'm thinking of starting up my own
>home-visit computer repair / training / advice consultancy, but close
>relatives have said "Why don't you do what you've always wanted to do?".
>I've always had natural flying ability (solo glider pilot at 19, and I was
>allowed to do t/offs & landings in a Cessna 152 myself after 6 hours while
>the instructor just watched), but had to stop lessons in 1979. I went for a
>trial flight last year, and the instructor was astonished as to how much I
>remembered.
>
>Now that I have the means (financially), is it worth a trip to Florida to
>achieve a life's ambition ? I've found a school that will take you from
>scratch to an instructors certficate for USD 35,500 ; it would cost at least
>double that here in the UK.
>
>Anyone know if there is a stigma against hiring newly qualified pilots at,
>say, 48 ????
>
>Thanks,
>
>Steve.
>
>
>
>
>
>

[Colin W Kingsbury]

"S." > wrote in message
...
> I would be interested in anyone's thoughts / opinions in this ng; long
and
> considered, or short and pithy.

If you're looking to make spending money instead of rent, instructing
doesn't care so much about your age. The fact that you're not going to up
and fly the minute you pass your next airline interview can actually be an
advantage. I'm 29 and had two instructors both older than me. My private was
done with a part-time carpenter in his early 50s who was basically an
aviation hippie and my instrument instructor was in his mid 60s and was a
former defense engineer who got surplussed back shortly after we stopped
caring about the Soviets. He started his flying career in his early 50s and
has 12000 hours and an ATP and has done a variety of instructing, corporate
flying, and freight. So long as your health doesn't cause you problems (and
I know JAA standards are more demanding than in the US), it can be done.
Easy? Different question.

-cwk.

[S.]

"S." > wrote in message
...
>I would be interested in anyone's thoughts / opinions in this ng; long and
>considered, or short and pithy.
>

And I got them .....! Such brilliant contributions, thanks one and all.

Blanche, if you have any references that I can check out on the web for 'ab
initio' training, I'd be grateful.

Steve.

[Blanche]

S. > wrote:
>Blanche, if you have any references that I can check out on the web for 'ab
>initio' training, I'd be grateful.

Steve:

take out "blackhole" and send me an email with your real address
and I'll send them along offlist.

[jsmith]

If you don't mind jumping through all the visible and invisible TSA
hoops and spending even more money for all the security and background
checks before you can even begin your training, then yes, there are
flying jobs available.

S. wrote:
> I would be interested in anyone's thoughts / opinions in this ng; long and
> considered, or short and pithy.
> I'm 47, in the UK, and was made redundant from an ICT Manager's position 20
> months ago. My dilemma is this. I'm thinking of starting up my own
> home-visit computer repair / training / advice consultancy, but close
> relatives have said "Why don't you do what you've always wanted to do?".
> I've always had natural flying ability (solo glider pilot at 19, and I was
> allowed to do t/offs & landings in a Cessna 152 myself after 6 hours while
> the instructor just watched), but had to stop lessons in 1979. I went for a
> trial flight last year, and the instructor was astonished as to how much I
> remembered.
> Now that I have the means (financially), is it worth a trip to Florida to
> achieve a life's ambition ? I've found a school that will take you from
> scratch to an instructors certficate for USD 35,500 ; it would cost at least
> double that here in the UK.
> Anyone know if there is a stigma against hiring newly qualified pilots at,
> say, 48 ????

[S.]

"jsmith" > wrote in message
...
> If you don't mind jumping through all the visible and invisible TSA hoops
> and spending even more money for all the security and background checks
> before you can even begin your training, then yes, there are flying jobs
> available.
>

Yep, this is a consideration. At the school I was looking at, it's $350 for
foreign student registration, plus $130 for Homeland Security check.

[Paul kgyy]

There's nothing better than learning to fly. Getting a commercial job
should not be a problem if you have the hours and experience, but
getting to that point involves working many hours for very low pay.
Commercial flying for many new pilots involves long hours - picking up
cargo at 3AM, all kinds of weather. It's a superb way to build
experience but anything but easy.

[Jens Krueger]

S. > wrote:

> Yep, this is a consideration. At the school I was looking at, it's $350 for
> foreign student registration, plus $130 for Homeland Security check.

There is no reason for a charge for "foreign student registration" or
downpayment or whatever. It's a sure sign of a place that likes to rip
you off or has way to much administrative overhead to pay for.

The 130$ for the TSA is a different charge though, and should be payed
by yourself directly to the TSA. Have a look a
www.flightschoolcandidates.gov for the due process.

Unfortunately there are a lot of shady operators out there... Especially
in Florida. You might want to have a look at www.pprune.org in the
wannabe section. There's some great advice for choosing a flightschool.

And lastly, $35K for an "ab initio" training is only a marketing tool.
All schools end up charging more for some obscure reasons. My advice
would be to go for "pay as you go", it also makes it easier for you to
change schools if something goes wrong or you are not happy.

This from someone wo started flying at the age of 33. Now, five years
later, I'm flying a Falcon Jet. Sure, it was a long way and there were a
lot of obstacles to overcome, but I would do it again in a heartbeat!

Cheers,
Jens

--
I don't accept any emails right now. Usenet replys only.

[S.]

"Jens Krueger" > wrote in message
...

>
>> Yep, this is a consideration. At the school I was looking at, it's $350
>> for
>> foreign student registration, plus $130 for Homeland Security check.
>
> There is no reason for a charge for "foreign student registration" or
> downpayment or whatever. It's a sure sign of a place that likes to rip
> you off or has way to much administrative overhead to pay for.

Exactly as I thought ! I know my capabilities, and I' sure that extra hours
etc are added in, etc.....

> The 130$ for the TSA is a different charge though, and should be payed
> by yourself directly to the TSA. Have a look a
> www.flightschoolcandidates.gov for the due process.
>
> Unfortunately there are a lot of shady operators out there... Especially
> in Florida. You might want to have a look at www.pprune.org in the
> wannabe section. There's some great advice for choosing a flightschool.
>
> And lastly, $35K for an "ab initio" training is only a marketing tool.
> All schools end up charging more for some obscure reasons. My advice
> would be to go for "pay as you go", it also makes it easier for you to
> change schools if something goes wrong or you are not happy.
>
> This from someone wo started flying at the age of 33. Now, five years
> later, I'm flying a Falcon Jet. Sure, it was a long way and there were a
> lot of obstacles to overcome, but I would do it again in a heartbeat!
>
Brilliant ! Thanks for this post Jens, it's wise and informative. I am
extremely fired up by this idea at the moment, I have wanted to fly (as a
living) since I was 7 or 8. I will not let age and hard study stop me......

I am currently considering The Professional Course here (your comments would
be welcome!) :-

http://www.flyaaa.com/courses.html



Steve.

[S.]

"Paul kgyy" > wrote in message
oups.com...
>
> There's nothing better than learning to fly. Getting a commercial job
> should not be a problem if you have the hours and experience, but
> getting to that point involves working many hours for very low pay.
> Commercial flying for many new pilots involves long hours - picking up
> cargo at 3AM, all kinds of weather. It's a superb way to build
> experience but anything but easy.
>
And character building (!). As you say, there's nothing better......


Thanks Paul.

[Jens Krueger]

S. > wrote:

> > This from someone wo started flying at the age of 33. Now, five years
> > later, I'm flying a Falcon Jet. Sure, it was a long way and there were a
> > lot of obstacles to overcome, but I would do it again in a heartbeat!
> >
> Brilliant ! Thanks for this post Jens, it's wise and informative. I am
> extremely fired up by this idea at the moment, I have wanted to fly (as a
> living) since I was 7 or 8. I will not let age and hard study stop me......

Well, then go for it! The sky's the limit! :-)

> I am currently considering The Professional Course here (your comments would
> be welcome!) :-
>
> http://www.flyaaa.com/courses.html

Well, like I said in my other post, I don't like the fact, that I'm
bound to one school. Where I got my intial ratings, there were five
schools to choose from. And that's just at one airport. That's the good
thing about Florida: Lots of schools to choose from.

I wouldn't get to fired up about those all-in-one places. For one, you
can get probably the same for less money yourself, remember, those
packages are based on average customers plus you WILL pay more, that's
in the system. Second, the freedom of being able to go to another place,
if you're not happy is priceless. The internet is full of stories from
student pilots who had to stick it out with bad schools/Instructors
because they couldn't get their deposits or downpayments back.

I, for instance, did my private with one school, then for the hour
building I shopped around the airport and found a real good deal at
another place. For some time I was in a hotel (long-term rates can be
quite good), and then I moved in with one of the instructors when his
roommate found a job elsewhere. That saved me a lot on accomodation. The
IFR then I did with another School, and so on. Once you're started
you'll meet so many different people and get so much insight how this
whole thing works, you'll be happy to have the freedom of not being
bound to one place.

I guess for you the first big decision is to go either the JAA or the
FAA way, depending on the visa situation. If you want to instruct in
England afterwards, you're pretty much set on the JAA.

If you like some more info, you can email me. In my reply-address
replace the muelltonne (Which is german for trashcan ;-) with jens, so
it's my first name at jjk dot cc

Cheers,
Jens

--
I don't accept any emails right now. Usenet replys only.