Becoming a pilot

monosharp

Hey all,

I've search the forum and the net but I can't seem to find a good guide about the process involved.

- Do you need a University degree ?
- How much does it cost ?

I was looking at this atlanticair in Cork. Can you get a job with a commercial airline after completing their course ?

If anyone has a link to a good guide it would be very much appreciated.

Thanks.

Delta Kilo

1) No, you don't need a university degree to become a pilot. Some airlines see it as an advantage, others don't. You are probably better off having a degree or other skill to fall back on if the flying doesn't work out or you fail a medical or something.

2) That is the golden question and the only honest answer is a hell of a lot of money. You wan't to budget around €80,000-€100,000, depending on where you decide to train. The cheapest option is not always the best option as you may find it difficult to gain emloyment when you qualify.

If you want a decent chance of getting into the likes of Aer Lingus or BA, then you need to look at some of the other schools in Europe such as Oxford Aviation Academy or Flight Training Europe, Jerez to give yourself the best chance. Thats not to say there is anything wrong with Atlantic Air in Cork, I'm sure many of their graduates have gone on to fly for the Airlines, just look at all the options outside of Ireland aswell.

If you don't mind working for smaller airlines or becoming an instructor for a while, or flying for the likes of Ryanair, then you are best off going modular. Its cheaper and you don't have to do it all in one go. Word of warning: Ryanair and some other airlines will make YOU pay for your line training with them which is ca. €30,000, so make sure you budget for this aswell.

The License requirements can be found if you search the forum or the internet.

Don't rush into it anyways. The aviation industry is in pieces at the minute with the economic downturn. Few, if any, airlines are recruiting pilots at the minute. There are many skilled pilots, and many more low hour new graduates with big debts without employment. Add to that the expense of having to keep your licenses and medicals up to date, it can be a painful experience.

What I would recommend is do loads of research, go to open days at the various schools and see which one you are happiest with. Ignore the hype from the schools about shortages of pilots etc, they are there to get your money, so pick wisely.

Then, go on a trial flight at a small flying club to see if you like it. If you still like it go and do the first class medical (€600:eek:). The industry will come back again in time, it is about timing and being in the right place at the right time.

It all comes down to money, determination, luck, patience, money, wise decisions, luck, timing, money and did I mention luck?

EDIT: pprune.com has a wannabe pilot section that you should have a look at. Beware there are a lot of dreamers on it though!

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If you don't mind working for smaller airlines or becoming an instructor for a while, or flying for the likes of Ryanair, then you are best off going modular.

I imagine Ryanair prefer integrated pilots just like the other major airlines.

Skatedude

First things first, get your eyesight tested first, comercial aviation requires a strict eyetest which covers additional things then a normal eyetest.
I have perfect clarity and applied to airlingus years ago, they did an aptitude test, medical then send you for an eyetest which i failed for something i've never heard of an that was it.
The eyetest can be done by a number of opticians, but make sure you tell them you want to become a pilot so they test for all the parameters.


heres some info based on the FAA
http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/avs/offices/aam/ame/guide/standards/

thesweeney

Ryanair dont prefer intergrated, they take a huge amount of modular pilots.

I have my frozen atpl. My two cents : Get your class one medical first from the mater private in dublin. If you pass it then look at the different options.
What option you pick will depend on you personal circumstances. Can you travel to do your license? Do you want to do then quickly? How much have you to spend?

Intergrated is by far more expensive, around the 90k+ mark. In the likes of Oxford that doesnt include housing and living expensives for the almost 2 yrs.

The way the economic climate is my advice would be to do your ppl here in ireland. Atlantic in cork is a fantastic school and will really teach you the basics well from the start. (I didnt train in Atlantic, but if I had to go do it all again that is where I would go.)
I know a guy who did the ppl in 5 months during winter in ****ty weather here in Ireland, so how fast you get it done depends on you/aircraft availablity/weather. Some people it has taken up to 14+ months.

There are no pilot jobs now, and unlikely to be any within the next yr or more. My opinion. So your in no rush to get onto the market. Have a look on pprune, and really research all the different options. Modular v intergrated is a big debate. I had the choice to go intergrated and was given a place in a top integrated school but decided to save 25k and go modular. I figured this would pay for a type rating if needed (likes of Ryanair). But again its all personal choice and what works for you. Any questions send me a pm if you want.

Also there is a flyer show in Dublin, I think its September 14th or there abouts google it. All the schools will be there.
But I stress go with your eyes open all the schools will tell you that its perfect timing that by the time your trained there will be a huge shortage of pilots and the recession will be over blah blah blah...dont let them suck you in! Absolute bul****e. Major Airlines will be hit this winter, minor ones will go bust. Its going to be worse than last winter. Massive amount of unemployed pilots on the market looking for jobs. These guys all have more experience and more hours than the likes of me or you when you finish.

Still dont want to put a bummer on you, its still a class career you just have to keep positive and hang in there. When it happens it will happen!

P.S Sorry for lack of caps or any spelling mistakes....writing this in a rush!

diverdriver

I imagine Ryanair prefer integrated pilots just like the other major airlines.

They don't, that's what the integrated schools would like you to believe. They have a well established recruitment method in which they choose the most suitable candidates via their interview and sim check and then make money from them by charging them for their training. MOL himself actually own some simulators, thus he personally makes money from training new pilots.


BA does and so does Aer Lingus but that's just them. But you can join both later once you have a few years under your belt.

PPRuNe is the place to go. Read this first: http://www.pprune.org/professional-pilot-training-includes-ground-studies/131649-archive-reference-threads-posting-guidelines-read-before-you-post-question.html

There may be dreamers on it, but hey we were all dreamers once.

I was looking at this atlanticair in Cork. Can you get a job with a commercial airline after completing their course ?

Yes,you can but not at the moment given the current downturn. This may not apply to you but one of the misunderstandings newbies have about pilot training in flight schools is that they are training to be 'airline pilots'. You're not. You are training to be a commercial pilot and thus entitled to accept payment for flying. That's all. Training to be an airline pilot is additional to the above and as pointed out Ryanair also Aer Arann and others make you pay for it yourself. I think Ryanair's training takes three months. Some more expensive flight schools have some airline training aspects to their course but you still have get through the airline's course.

There are pilot jobs other than airlines too. Usually not so well paid but always more interesting and fun.

pclancy

Skatedude wrote: »

First things first, get your eyesight tested first, commercial aviation requires a strict eye test which covers additional things then a normal eye test.
I have perfect clarity and applied to airlingus years ago, they did an aptitude test, medical then send you for an eyetest which i failed for something i've never heard of an that was it.
The eyetest can be done by a number of opticians, but make sure you tell them you want to become a pilot so they test for all the parameters.

I can't emphasise this point enough. I couldnt even pass my Class 2 medical to fly private planes so before you even think about flying for money, check out the eyeballs.

Monosharp there's also some excellent info in this thread here which might be of use. Some great advice on this thread though so i might combine them all eventually.

monosharp

hey guys cheers for the replies.

I'll tell you my situation.

Got a degree in IT, really want a change of career.

My eyes aren't the best but I'm thinking of getting laser surgery. My eyesight is perfect with glasses/contacts.

Regarding the medical, is there anything which automatically disqualifies you ?

diverdriver

There are a lot of things that automatically disqualify you. But unless you have a known medical issue, like diabetes or some form of ongoing condition. It's unlikely to happen. The big ones as ever are hearing and eyesight. Colour blindness is a big one. Don't get laser surgery until you are sure it will be approved.

If you don't want to commit everything go to an approved aeromedical Doctor and have an examination. Get yourelf a class 2 anyway. He or she will advise you better than any of us as to what is required for a class 1. There is a list on the IAA website.

donkey balls

my advise having been through the class 1 and failing it on the eye test is just go and do the medical you never know what they might find wrong with you.

thats what hapened to me i have been doing medicals for jobs over the years and not once did they coment on my eye sight test.

i was denied the class 1 but issued with a class 2 medical as my sight fell into that catagory the doc gave a prescription for glasses i wore them for about 8 months went back and was issued my class 1 with conditions(shall wear corrective lenses&carry a spare set).

as for laser surgery i was advised that it would not work for me so im stuck with the glasses for life.

the aeromed in the mater private can be contacted on 017976615 best of luck

yaeger

Word of caution, Laser or lasik surgery is a big no no, it used to and most likely still will disqualify you for getting a class one medical, and even if the class one limit has been lifted most company airline medicals have not lifted the restriction so say no to laser...
As well as a load of stuff like colour blindness tests etc etc and others the basic limits for vision corrected are -+3:00 dioptres, if your vision is outside these limits then your in some bother. If you feel your vision is dodgy, instead of paying for the full medical go ring the optician in ranelagh and he can do an eye test to the same standards so go check it out, i think kevin tempany is his name.