Am I mental ?

boogieman

I think the point about spending virtually everything that you inherited on this dream job is the most valid. You’re 54 right? So only 13 years off being a pensioner: as of now have you got enough to retire on? I believe you said you rent your house rather than own it? Can you still afford the rent once you stop working? How will your wife cope financially if you die before her? I’m all for fulfilling a lifelong dream, but if it involved pissing everything up the wall in the hope of achieving it, then personally I’d be more a bit more cautious. 

Emp_Fab

You do have a point - and one that's not lost on me.  I am due another inheritance at some point, presuming my aunt doesn't change her will or have to go into expensive residential care that would necessitate the sale of her house.  So, the money aspect may not be the impassable wall it once was (with regard to having retirement funds).  I'm taking this one small step at a time, and right now, the only obstacle I'm looking at is the colour vision.  If I get through that, I'll tackle the next step and so on. 
I didn't say I was going to be a pilot.  I merely asked was I mental for considering starting down that path at my age.

Handsome_Chris

Emp_Fab said:

I didn't say I was going to be a pilot.  I merely asked was I mental for considering starting down that path at my age.

Are you looking at being a navigator (do they still have those?) instead?

Emp_Fab

No, they don't have navigators anymore.  I believe they might still have them in the military but don't quote me on that.

They have weapons officers but there aren't many vacancies for those in easyJet.

chillidoggy

Emp_Fab said:

You do have a point - and one that's not lost on me.  I am due another inheritance at some point, presuming my aunt doesn't change her will or have to go into expensive residential care that would necessitate the sale of her house.  So, the money aspect may not be the impassable wall it once was (with regard to having retirement funds).  I'm taking this one small step at a time, and right now, the only obstacle I'm looking at is the colour vision.  If I get through that, I'll tackle the next step and so on. 
I didn't say I was going to be a pilot.  I merely asked was I mental for considering starting down that path at my age.

Be careful relying on the inheritance.

Five years ago my mum-in-law became very ill and had to go into a nursing home. Man, the fees were astronomic, I think they were £500 - £600 a week. She didn't have much money, so the local council took a charge on the house. As it happened she didn't live too long after that, so the kids got the house without having to pay too much back but it doesn't take long at £24,000 a year to eat up the value of the house. Not sure if it varies from England to Wales etc, but this happened in Wales.

usedtobe

If my mum hadn’t been in care for four years, due to Alzheimer’s, my inheritance would have been around double what it was.. 

Emp_Fab

I'm not relying on anything !

Handsome_Chris

Emp_Fab said:

I'm not relying on anything !

Except your can-do attitude!

boogieman

chillidoggy said:

Emp_Fab said:

You do have a point - and one that's not lost on me.  I am due another inheritance at some point, presuming my aunt doesn't change her will or have to go into expensive residential care that would necessitate the sale of her house.  So, the money aspect may not be the impassable wall it once was (with regard to having retirement funds).  I'm taking this one small step at a time, and right now, the only obstacle I'm looking at is the colour vision.  If I get through that, I'll tackle the next step and so on. 
I didn't say I was going to be a pilot.  I merely asked was I mental for considering starting down that path at my age.

Be careful relying on the inheritance.

Five years ago my mum-in-law became very ill and had to go into a nursing home. Man, the fees were astronomic, I think they were £500 - £600 a week. She didn't have much money, so the local council took a charge on the house. As it happened she didn't live too long after that, so the kids got the house without having to pay too much back but it doesn't take long at £24,000 a year to eat up the value of the house. Not sure if it varies from England to Wales etc, but this happened in Wales.

Unfortunately £500-600 isnt anything like astronomical round our way. We were looking at getting my mum into a home recently (luckily it looks like she won’t need it, well at least for the moment). Prices round our way start at £800 a week for something fairly shite that you wouldn’t really want your relative in, unless you hated them. A decent home was £1000 a week. A really nice BUPA place was £1400 a week, with an annual increase due every April. I think we worked out that if we sold mum’s house for £400k and used all her savings and pension that all the money would be gone in 7 years. 

goldtop

Emp_Fab said:

My lifelong dream, ever since I was a child, was to be an airline pilot.  I've never wanted to be anything else,

When you were young, airline pilots were part of 'the jetset' and were also respected as professionals at the leading edge. It was a sexy job. Today, they are over-worked nobodies, with massive problems due to fatigue. Take a look at some pilot forums (Lufthansa, Ryanair), and you may change your mind.

If you want to fly, have the money and haven't even been bothered to do a PPL in this time, I'm confuddled!

(Oh, and FFS, don't judge your whole life by what might have been!)

Emp_Fab

@goldtop I have never been attracted by the 'sexy job' thing.  It was never about that for me.  It was, and still is, all about the incredible machine and the view from the office window.  I've also been on pilot forums for many decades and it hasn't changed my mind.  Quite the contrary actually.

Lastly, I haven't done my PPL as becoming an ATPL has been impossible for me for all of my life, therefore why bother ?
I have no interest in General Aviation.  There was no point in getting a PPL if it could lead nowhere, which, as explained in my opening post, was the case due to my colour vision.

goldtop

Emp_Fab said:

@goldtop I have never been attracted by the 'sexy job' thing.  It was never about that for me.  It was, and still is, all about the incredible machine and the view from the office window.  I've also been on pilot forums for many decades and it hasn't changed my mind.  Quite the contrary actually.

Lastly, I haven't done my PPL as becoming an ATPL has been impossible for me for all of my life, therefore why bother ?
I have no interest in General Aviation.  There was no point in getting a PPL if it could lead nowhere, which, as explained in my opening post, was the case due to my colour vision.

Bold bit is genuinely boggling. A PPL would give the same view and with today's tech, there are phenomenal machines available to fly, no?

But if reading the tales from dangerously overworked pilots hasn't dissuaded you (were you now, at least, shocked?), I suppose nothing will.

So do it now, or kick yourself later

Emp_Fab

goldtop said:
A PPL would give the same view and with today's tech, there are phenomenal machines available to fly, no?

...and playing down the Dog & Duck is the same as playing Wembley Stadium ? 

Sadly, a PPL wouldn't cut it for me - though I'm not ruling it out if I fail with the big jets.  With a PPL, I'm not going to be cruising at 40,000ft over the Alps, flying into major international airports with all the complexities that entails or sat in what these days resembles the bridge of the Starship Enterprise.  Not to mention the fact that with a PPL, it's costing me £150 per hour to rent just a little Cessna !!

Handsome_Chris

Am I the only person thinking of Barry Seal. He made loads out of being a pilot and got the laydeez too.

PC_Dave

Handsome_Chris said:

Am I the only person thinking of Barry Seal. He made loads out of being a pilot and got the laydeez too.

I thought he did the Cilit Bang adverts?

Handsome_Chris

PC_Dave said:

Handsome_Chris said:

Am I the only person thinking of Barry Seal. He made loads out of being a pilot and got the laydeez too.

I thought he did the Cilit Bang adverts?

No, @PC_Dave . That was some fat gobshite called Barry Scott

goldtop

Emp_Fab said:

goldtop said:
A PPL would give the same view and with today's tech, there are phenomenal machines available to fly, no?

  Sadly, a PPL wouldn't cut it for me - though I'm not ruling it out if I fail with the big jets.  With a PPL, I'm not going to be cruising at 40,000ft over the Alps, flying into major international airports with all the complexities that entails or sat in what these days resembles the bridge of the Starship Enterprise.  Not to mention the fact that with a PPL, it's costing me £150 per hour to rent just a little Cessna !!

If you've got not-too-much cash, you can join a plane-owning syndicate. I was taken up by a business client who owned a 1/6 share of an Auster. A '60s mini with wings, IMHO, but still plenty of fun. I also was in a front seat for island hopping around The Falklands (no trees, nor electricity pylons = never more than a few hundred feet above ground = brilliant).

Personally, I don't see the fun in high-altitude non-aerobatic flight; 90% autopilot and 80% flying over featureless cloud cover. Worse (MHO) the personal responsibility for risk-assessment vs airline performance pressures for airline pilots are a recipe for any number of stress-related problems. B*gg*r that for a game of soldiers.

> and playing down the Dog & Duck is the same as playing Wembley Stadium ?

Well, flying a modern airliner is more like pressing the Play button on your Mac laptop at Wembley Stadium and pretending you're a musician

octatonic

Emp_Fab said:

@goldtop I have never been attracted by the 'sexy job' thing.  

You'd have been a terrible pole dancer.

EricTheWeary

Handsome_Chris said:

PC_Dave said:

Handsome_Chris said:

Am I the only person thinking of Barry Seal. He made loads out of being a pilot and got the laydeez too.

I thought he did the Cilit Bang adverts?

No, @PC_Dave . That was some fat gobshite called Barry Scott

Who was really actor Neil Burgess. 

It’s the circle of life. 

TTony

octatonic said:

Emp_Fab said:

@goldtop I have never been attracted by the 'sexy job' thing.  

You'd have been a terrible pole dancer.

Surprisingly though, he's actually quite good.