Commercial pilots licence

[Barefootpilot]

A word of warning to all those who are thinking about cadetships with whoever-REX Qlink, Sharp, Jetline? You cannot get a command on above 5700kg RPT without 500 hours Command under a IFR flight plan. So if you start with 150 hrs 300hrs whatever until you go away and get your command time somewhere you will be sitting in the right hand seat. 6 years as an FO on crappy money might not be the dream job.

 

If it looks to good to be true...it probably is!

 

Adam.

 

 

[moz]

Many good posts above that indicate its really a personal decision. You need to weigh it up for yourself and decide whether or not to go for it. It does seem at the moment that the time is right for someone who wants to make flying their career. Working in operations in a major Aust Airline however, I see many pilots that see their job as verrrrry mundane.......... And one piece of advice that I was given from someone at the Sydney Aerobatic School that I'll always remember is "don't stuff up a good hobby by trying to turn it into a career"............

 

 

[Guest extralite]

Has the raaf scrapped the upper age limit for pilot? It used to be 27 i think. that was based on the statistics for the success rate at pilot training. success rates declined with increasing age and so even a 27 year old pilot recruit was unusual. most are very early 20's. Interesting if they were required to ditch that upper age limit.

 

 

[Guest Flight Instructor]

Gratitude

 

It's great to read that the "veterans" are giving us the benefit of sometimes, painful and enjoyable experiences of a commercial flying career. What a great help it is, too.

 

Going back to my original post, the issue of deciding a flying career at any age boils down to one question: "Do I love flying enough?" To get a truly honest answer might take some time of self-reflection. Self-reflection should not however, be confused with procrastination, leading to a cyvle of excessive self-doubt/fear of failure and inaction that is difficult to escape from.

 

As a tertiary qualified, 44 year old Flight Dispatcher/CPL/instructor (ie wife, 4-kids) I am treating the career change as part of life's journey. So the decision to fly as a career should be a calculated risk and never a gamble. Calculated risk in my case meant much though and finally adding courage to an idea to turn a dream into reality.

 

In my humble opinion, the decision-making for some is not the issue/problem. The real problem is to deny the powerful desire within, to achieve the goal of a flying career and end up doing nothing, because of that little voice inside repeating: "too hard..impossible..what if you fail..could loose everything..blah..blah".

 

Hey, enjoy life as bet you can and be grateful that you can fly as a hobby or even better yet as a career.

 

aye,

 

FI

 

 

[Matt]

Has the raaf scrapped the upper age limit for pilot? It used to be 27 i think. that was based on the statistics for the success rate at pilot training. success rates declined with increasing age and so even a 27 year old pilot recruit was unusual. most are very early 20's. Interesting if they were required to ditch that upper age limit.

Hi Extralite,

 

The age limits for almost everything in the RAAF have recently been changed - over the past 2 years. Maximum age of pilot applicants is now 43 - the reason being they can get the 12 year return of service out of you before you reached compulsory retirement age for aircrew which was 55...this has just recently been changed to 60 so maximum age of applicant is likely to follow to 48 based on the logic.

 

What's the chances of it actually happening? I know of a few trainees in their mid-late 30's as well as an Orion Flight Engineer who is 44 and was accepted for pilot training. Most of these guys were internal applicants who have less "lifestyle" choices to make as they're already in and used to RAAF lifestyle...and poor pay

 

Cheers,

 

Matt.

 

 

[Mazda]

The RAAF isn't that good a place for people who like flying because they barely do any. The transport guys do a bit, but fast jet pilots are lucky to barely remain current, let alone operational. People who want to fly are better off in the RAF.

 

On the civilian side, there must be good opportunties in flight training now, with so many instructors going to the airlines. Wouldn't it be great to set up a really good, professional school with enthusiastic instructors, teaching good flying skills and airmanship?