My Future....

SRFC90 · 18-12-2007 12:11am #1

i want to become a pilot, preferably going through the air corps (money being the key issue in this choice!!) but with that looking highly unlikley coming straight out of 6th year, im probably better off going to college first!

looking for advice from anyone who's arsed giving it on what type of courses i should take and what to fill out on my CAO form!?

I'm thinkin something along the lines of engineering might benefit me? It's not my strong point if im being honest but if i know it'll benefit me in the long term, im more than happy to do an engineering course!

cheers in advance

WexCan · 18-12-2007 12:33am

Degree choice isn't a huge issue for most training companies/airlines though science subjects can come in useful.

Ever thought about applying to the RAF? There's one route in. You could also do a degree and apply for the likes of CTC Wings (google it) to get yourself on the path to commercial jets.

Have you got any flying experience at all so far?

damo · 18-12-2007 2:00am

Just in relation to the exams you will be doing for your commercial licence (atpls if youre considering flying for airlines), a good knowledge of physics will be a big advantage. Lots of nasty questions on meteorology, aerodynamics and gyrodynamics....oh and some thermodynamics aswell for good measure, you have been warned!!

SRFC90 · 18-12-2007 9:01pm

WexCan wrote: »

Degree choice isn't a huge issue for most training companies/airlines though science subjects can come in useful.

Ever thought about applying to the RAF? There's one route in. You could also do a degree and apply for the likes of CTC Wings (google it) to get yourself on the path to commercial jets.

Have you got any flying experience at all so far?

none as of yet, but when i was on work experience (more of an observer week) in the air corps in 4th year, i got the msg that that prefer to teach you there own way n like you to have very little or no experience!!

may still get a lesson or 2 out of my christmas money! any reccommendations??

damo wrote: »

Just in relation to the exams you will be doing for your commercial licence (atpls if youre considering flying for airlines), a good knowledge of physics will be a big advantage. Lots of nasty questions on meteorology, aerodynamics and gyrodynamics....oh and some thermodynamics aswell for good measure, you have been warned!!

at the begining of 5th year, i was advised by a pilot that engineeing comes more useful that physics (which was what i was going to do).
if i need to, i can take a few classes to help me out with it!:)

ch252 · 18-12-2007 9:50pm

SRFC90 wrote: »

none as of yet, but when i was on work experience (more of an observer week) in the air corps in 4th year, i got the msg that that prefer to teach you there own way n like you to have very little or no experience!!

Thats true, military atc terminology is completely different to normal flying, there are other differences like the recoveries from stalls and stuff like that, all the guys in the air corps I've ever talked to entered for training at their early 10's and had no flying experience.

Darragh

cp251 · 19-12-2007 2:45am

First off, there is no route into the RAF for Irish people anymore unless you are British born. That is aircrew and officers. You can enlist in a ground job though. In theory it's a possible route. Check their website.

The Air Corps is a lottery and can't be depended on. But worth a try. You might actually be what they are looking for. Like the lottery, someone actually wins the prize sometimes.

ATPL's are no real biggie. I know I passed them and the CPL writtens before that. If I can, anyone can. Pilots are not that intelligent, don't believe the hype. Virtually every other profession have tougher exams.

I would suggest that if you have no real interest in Engineering, don't do it. You will only regret it and while useful in some ways for the pilot exams. In practice it's not that relevant. Pick a course that appeals and preferably leads to a well paid career. Then you will be in a better position down the road to borrow the money you need to train as a pilot. Plus you have a fall back option when you discover that being a pilot is no longer what it was and you wish you had a proper job again.:(

Try CTC etc as well.

If you don't get the Air Corps or CTC. Then unless you can find someone to stump up the money for you. Then you can expect to be in a position to apply for a flying job sometime in your mid to late twenties. That sounds like a horrendously long time when you are 17 or 18 but it's par for the course. It can take a lot longer, believe me, I am an example of that.:o

You have the right attitude though. Good luck.

Mcfecked · 19-12-2007 4:08pm

damo wrote: »

Just in relation to the exams you will be doing for your commercial licence (atpls if youre considering flying for airlines), a good knowledge of physics will be a big advantage. Lots of nasty questions on meteorology, aerodynamics and gyrodynamics....oh and some thermodynamics aswell for good measure, you have been warned!!

Rubbish! Very basic maths is needed, if you can mess around with an equation you're in business. In regard to physics, never attended a physics class before I started my ATPLs and was no problem. Please don't take this as "I'm utterly fantastically intelligent and I can do anything", not the case. Once you can put your mind to something that you have a passion for it will be no problem! Don't get me wrong the ATPLs are very tough, more so because of the sheer mass of information that you have to take in over a short time. My performance in the Leaving Cert was disgraceful as i did not apply myself, however i got first time passes in my ATPLs with an average in the high 90s because of the volume of work i put in, not because of my prior knowledge of physics. Hard work and determination and a decent head on your shoulders and you'll be fine.

WexCan · 19-12-2007 5:21pm

Very true, and also important to remember that a degree is by no means a prerequisite for a career as a pilot, though it can help in selection and as a fallback measure.

Yakult · 19-12-2007 6:22pm

Im in the same position as TS.

Tho, Im in 5th year so I have another year to go tho. But Im definally aiming to become a Commercial pilot. Just the cost.

I was wondering, is their any grants you can get to help fund it?

Also, do grades matter or is it just the case they will just be very helpful in the exams etc.

WexCan · 19-12-2007 6:32pm

Don't know of any grants to pay for training.

Problem is, there are so many people *willing* to pay so much money to become a pilot that airlines have realised that they don't need to pay for training any more.

Good grades matter to varying degrees, whatever you do. Aviation can be such an uncertain industry that it's always good to have something to fall back on.

damo · 19-12-2007 7:29pm

Mcfecked wrote: »

Rubbish! Very basic maths is needed, if you can mess around with an equation you're in business. In regard to physics, never attended a physics class before I started my ATPLs and was no problem. Please don't take this as "I'm utterly fantastically intelligent and I can do anything", not the case. Once you can put your mind to something that you have a passion for it will be no problem! Don't get me wrong the ATPLs are very tough, more so because of the sheer mass of information that you have to take in over a short time. My performance in the Leaving Cert was disgraceful as i did not apply myself, however i got first time passes in my ATPLs with an average in the high 90s because of the volume of work i put in, not because of my prior knowledge of physics. Hard work and determination and a decent head on your shoulders and you'll be fine.

How is what i said rubbish? Im just letting him know the ATPLs are full of physics. To pass them you have to put in lots of work and do you not agree that having a good prior knowledge of physics would be an advantage? Ive got 10 first time passes so far (doing the last 4 in jan). I had to work harder on the physics in exams such as meteorology (hardest of the 14 in my opinion) and principles of flight than i did on the maths in exams like performance and mass and balance.

I showed some of the physcis to a mate of mine who's doing physics in trinity and he obviously understood it alot better than i did initially.....therefore my reasoning is that if you have a good grounding in physics it will help you alot when studying for some of the harder atpl exams.

Thanks for taking a dump on my post though, really appreciate it!

SRFC90 · 19-12-2007 11:28pm

cheers for the responses guys, really do appreciate 'em!!!:)

so the general concencious is that i do need physics........but i dont??

:D:confused:

wouldn't have any qualms bout taken it up somewhere if it means it'll help me a bit! (there's a line you can use again

hahaha)

with the engineering, if i go DIT and quit after a year to go to the air corps (in my dreams!!:rolleyes:) i dont get any certificate- therefore pending my time there as useless!!!!
if i go to ITT, i get a degree at the end of every year which makes more sense!!
havn really looked at any other courses to see what i'd like!!

cp251 cheers for the advice!:) sounds like your in the proffession yourself or something similar!?? ive looked at the CTC but aint that in New Zealand or am i confused!!!

:D id rather stay close to home, england being the furthest i go if i had a choice!!

cp251 · 20-12-2007 3:20pm

You really don't need physics. But it won't do you any harm at all. Like I said, pick something you like and do that.

I am in the profession as you say. Much to my surprise as I thought it had passed me by. They say 'Never give up'. Well I didn't and now when I fill in forms which ask for your job description. I write pilot. I still really enjoy that. Not airliners, not yet, maybe never.:)

IRLConor · 20-12-2007 4:16pm

SRFC90 wrote: »

with the engineering, if i go DIT and quit after a year to go to the air corps (in my dreams!!:rolleyes:) i dont get any certificate- therefore spending my time there as useless!!!!
if i go to ITT, i get a degree at the end of every year which makes more sense!!
havn really looked at any other courses to see what i'd like!!

Don't worry about the piece of paper. If you apply yourself to the course and strive to learn as much as you can then you win either way, you either get high grades in your degree course or you learn lots before going into the Air Corps. If you make it into the Air Corps then afterwards very few people will care about your time in college. Just like no-one cares what I got in my leaving cert now that I have a degree. (And interest in my degree is waning as I rack up industry experience.)

When you're looking at degree courses try to find out the exact details of what the course entails. Try and find people who are doing the course and talk to them, it'll really make a difference. The prospectus that the college produces may not bear any resemblance to the actual course in question.

Make sure that any college you think of choosing has good extra-curricular activities, I'm sure any interviewer worth his/her salt in the Air Corps will want to know that you got involved. If the clubs/societies/facilities don't tempt you then you're going to find it harder to tick that box (and you'll have a lot less fun).

As for physics, I'd say learn as much of it as you can stand anyway. If you're interested in technical stuff in general then it's useful stuff to know, bits of it will keep cropping up over and over again.

WexCan · 21-12-2007 3:19am

IRLConor wrote: »

As for physics, I'd say learn as much of it as you can stand anyway. If you're interested in technical stuff in general then it's useful stuff to know, bits of it will keep cropping up over and over again.

Definitely agreed. Pick something that interests you and if you pick up some useful bits on the way, great. If not, there's always time to learn. If you think certain areas are lacking, do some studying and make sure you're confident.

cianclarke · 22-12-2007 1:35pm

I see that engineering is a good route, I'm studying computer science (in 2nd year) - would my degree be of any use if I'm approaching an airline for sponsorship for pilot training? Could I get sponsorship?
If not, would the air corps be more interested in me with a degree? Does the height restriction still apply, when I was looking at them a few years ago I remember being too tall (6' 3).

SRFC90 · 22-12-2007 4:48pm

cianclarke wrote: »

I see that engineering is a good route, I'm studying computer science (in 2nd year) - would my degree be of any use if I'm approaching an airline for sponsorship for pilot training? Could I get sponsorship?
If not, would the air corps be more interested in me with a degree? Does the height restriction still apply, when I was looking at them a few years ago I remember being too tall (6' 3).

from what i remember (2 years ago!!) it was 5' 9 - 6' 2?? i think!!:(

and from what ive been told, degree's aren't essential but won't do ya any harm!

cp251 · 22-12-2007 5:47pm

You won't get sponsorship Cian, nobody is sponsoring anymore. Indeed the likes of Ryanair and Aer Arann expect you to pay for the type rating. Cityjet have a scheme but you pay for it. Use your degree to get a good job to earn pots of money in order to pay for you training. Other than that the airlines could care less about degrees. They are only interested in the pilot exams. Except for Aer Lingus, who look at everything. They haven't really moved with the times though.

You are probably too tall for the Air Corps. It's to do with the ejection seats. Apparently taller guys can leave their kneecaps behind in the event of an ejection.:eek:

cianclarke · 22-12-2007 5:50pm

Too tall for the air corps and too poor for self-sponsored! Guess I'll have to wait and see how I fare out a few years out of uni. Thanks!

WexCan · 23-12-2007 3:07am

http://www.ctcwings.co.uk/

Worth looking into in the future.

cp251 · 23-12-2007 6:31pm

cianclarke wrote: »

Too tall for the air corps and too poor for self-sponsored! Guess I'll have to wait and see how I fare out a few years out of uni. Thanks!

Welcome to the club Cian;) It can be done, it just takes longer than you think. The best way is to go to college, get a seriously well paid job and use that to borrow heavily. It can take years............... but it can be done.:)

Oilrig · 24-12-2007 2:30am

Pick a college course that can be relied on as a bail out, eg do a BComm, & accountancy as a bail out.

As has been stated, you don't need a degree in engineering or physics to be a pilot.

Good luck.

My Future....

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