How old is too old?

How old is too old to start your pilot training❓

On my course was a guy between the ages of 45-50 who had spent many years working in IT so that he could save the money to pay for flight training without having any debt. I also know someone who dropped out of my university course to start an integrated course as soon as possible and a parachute drop pilot who got into private commercial flying at 58, happily retired now over 65!

I began flying gliders at 14 but didn’t actually start my Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL) until the age of 27, eventually qualifying at 28 and I didn’t fly a jet aircraft until I was 30.

Steph on her first commercial airline flight, age 28.

There isn’t any right or wrong age. However, if you’re paying for yourself as you go I recommend starting the PPL and hour building as soon as possible and keeping up the momentum to get the early hours in your logbook. Additionally, you might find it takes you 15-20 years to get the funds together to get through the final CPL IR without running out of time, so starting around 18 (even if only on minimum wage like I had) gives you a fighting chance of getting either a commercial flying job before the age of 40 or enough hours and experience to be in with a fighting chance of achieving a scholarship.

There are many scholarships and ‘Ops with a PPL type-job’ that come and go over the years but I believe the main factor that sets apart those who achieve them is the absolute grit and determination to make it regardless of whether an external factor is helping or not, the desire to get the aircraft out and go flying at any opportunity, the drive to keep armchair flying and studying to keep the logged hours as low as possible and the will to find a way when it seems absolutely impossible. If you have a few years of flying, solid resilience to keep going to the flying club regularly around work and volunteering, and the determination to keep studying over many years I’d strongly urge you to apply for every scholarship out there!
(Let me know if you need help with an application!)

If you are beginner PPL /low hour do everything you can to squeeze in every type of flying in every kind of aircraft you can find, as many airfields as possible, and as many paid, volunteer and flying opportunities as possible. Once you finally make it to the flight deck of a commercial airliner you will find yourself on long flights wishing you had taken those opportunities (even if low paid jobs) simply for the experiences or the chances you could have had, to have some great stories to talk about. More importantly though, to truly appreciate the absolute joy of doing a seemily simple job and to be grateful for the effort and the fab views knowing you worked your butt off to pass the flying exams and to achieve the end goal in minimal hours/ min cost.

In my opinion, it’s a race to cram in as many opportunities as possible before you start, not a race to be as young as possible; however I’m happy to be proven otherwise!

#pilottraining #modular #fly