Am I too old?

P

P38

Well-Known Member
Hi guys,

I'm probably the umpteenth person to ask this, but yeah, am I too old?

A bit of background....about 8 or 9 years ago I was fairly close to pulling the trigger on one of the pilot mills (I used to post around here a bit back then). I ended up not doing it, getting married, buying a house, staying in corporate America, etc. I took the safe route, basically. Here I am nearly a decade later, getting a divorce, still in corporate America, hating it more than ever. Naturally the thoughts of flying have crept back in. Spending 8 hours a day at a job you hate for years on end is a tough proposition.

I'm 44. I have 2 kids now, will be single again soon. I own my home outright so I could conceivably fund training if I decided to sell it (it wouldn't be at a pilot mill this time). I'd have absolutely no illusions of being a captain at a major. The house is worth around 450-500k. It's also basically all I have for retirement, but that's 20 years away yet. The only real obligation I have, and it's a significant one, is geographic. I don't plan on missing watching my children (they're 6 and 9) growing up.

My thinking is get my private and possibly go from there so I do have a short term answer I guess.

But for the long term...am I too old? And is this a stupid idea?

"You are a moron" is an acceptable answer and I won't take offense to it. Thanks for any thoughts you may have.

P38
 
I guess the big question in return is, too old to do what? What is your flying dream? Interestingly enough, I would say most everything is within your reach. You may still get to the left seat of a major (you have 21 years left before 65) but you probably would not be there very long before mandatory retirement hits. To do that, you need to pull the trigger and train intensively. If you have your sights set on less time consuming goals, then you are definitely not too old.
 
I think part of your career path is going to be dictated by watching your kids grow up. You can do it, but it will be at some cost.
 
I'm in your position as well. I've been on this forum for about 9 years and didn't pull the trigger till now. I just started training at my local FBO, I'm 50 and I don't expect to make it to the majors. I'll probably be 52 by the time I finish my ratings. My plan is to go 135 in some capacity or another. I have a couple of close friends/internal recs, at a local charter and a local cargo carrier that will be a big help when it comes time to go to work and as long as I am able to keep my medical I can keep flying 135. I live in Hawaii so all my flying will be inter-island, aka close to home, so worst case I overnight in HNL, I live in Kona. My kids are 6, 11 & 13, ( yes I started that later in life as well), and I plan on being there for most if not all of my boys football and rugby games. And yes I know others poopoo the pay at these types of jobs but I'm coming from resort security so really, at worst it would be a lateral, (at least initially), move financially. So I say heck yeah, if you come in to it with a realistic plan considering your age and the industry in general you can fly for a living. In 6 years your still gonna be 50, so are you gonna work towards a dream during that time or...?
 
Do it.

Seriously.

No one is too old, and it's not a stupid idea.

No one's career is perfect, I had one fellow in my initial class at the blue jet who was 60. He's 63 now and if he pulls the trigger on the upgrade he will be in the left seat for maybe a year before retirement. His career trajectory involved hitting the reset button a few times.

I started at 26 and have had my ups and downs.

The one thing I noticed is that you will have a good journey in the career by staying focused on your goals and enjoying every step of the ride along the way. So what if you don't retire a legacy captain...

If you want to do it, do it.... (And there is nothing wrong with a flight farm if you apply yourself correctly.)
 
Thanks guys for the thoughts and for taking the time to express them.

I wanted to follow up with a question re: building time. Again, I don't want to go the puppy mill route and for now I don't want to leave Seattle anyways so am looking at local FBOs. It seems like (and granted, I haven't asked any of them this directly) that going the CFI route to build time may take a while, and there don't appear to be too many CFI jobs up in my neck o' the woods in the first place. Would purchasing my own 172 then selling it after training in it be something to consider for building time vs. instructing? Granted, this doesn't address things like ME time or the fact that teaching is a great way to facilitate my own learning (and probably a bunch of other stuff I haven't even thought of). Just thought I'd ask about that, it's not like finding aircraft to rent around here would be difficult.

Cheers all, and thank you again.
 
When I worked as a CFI it took me about 3ish years to build my time while working a full time job during the day.

I looked at buying a plane also, but financially it didn't work for me. But there are those who have gone that route.

I do agree that teaching is a great way to learn. I still apply principles from my CFI days while pushing buttons in the short bus.

I had a unique experience that I was working as a full time Loadmaster for Southern Air while getting my licenses. I did my private, instrument, and time building to Comm while in between my 'deployments.' Then while I was on the road I studied. This made going to a flight farm for the Commercial, Comm-ME, and CFI more of a option. (ie. I was very prepared and already immersed in the 121 world) So the flight farms - like American Flyers, ATP, etc. aren't bad words to me.


The only piece of advice I would give you is follow the shortest path to your first 121 job. Along with working as hard as you can along the way to be as prepared as possible in the fundamentals.

Anyhoo, I'm at the front of the line for my LAX parking pass.
 
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I am with you. I am 35, married with two kids. I have been working as a Paramedic for 9 years; medical field for 18 years. I've reached a fork in the road in my career, and a decision had to be made. Since I have my Private already, my wife and I decided to go for the career change into aviation. It's going to be tough, but we're ready for the challenge. All I can say is focus on your goal, and don't lose sight of it. That's what we're doing. Good luck to you!
 
mstockholm said:
I am with you. I am 35, married with two kids. I have been working as a Paramedic for 9 years; medical field for 18 years. I've reached a fork in the road in my career, and a decision had to be made. Since I have my Private already, my wife and I decided to go for the career change into aviation. It's going to be tough, but we're ready for the challenge. All I can say is focus on your goal, and don't lose sight of it. That's what we're doing. Good luck to you!
Click to expand...

How do you plan to pay for flight training, savings, loan, mixture of both, etc.? The reason I ask is because I'm at a similar crossroad in my life.
 
mstockholm said:
I am with you. I am 35, married with two kids. I have been working as a Paramedic for 9 years; medical field for 18 years. I've reached a fork in the road in my career, and a decision had to be made. Since I have my Private already, my wife and I decided to go for the career change into aviation. It's going to be tough, but we're ready for the challenge. All I can say is focus on your goal, and don't lose sight of it. That's what we're doing. Good luck to you!
Click to expand...

Aren't you aupposed to be studying?

Funny, as I was reading this thread I was thinking about your situation. Then as I kept reading, you posted.

Dont forget to check the dates on some of these threads, as this guy posted this last summer.

Anyhow, lots of info here, just keep on digging.

Good to see you back around.
 
IslandFlyer said:
Aren't you aupposed to be studying?

Funny, as I was reading this thread I was thinking about your situation. Then as I kept reading, you posted.

Dont forget to check the dates on some of these threads, as this guy posted this last summer.

Anyhow, lots of info here, just keep on digging.

Good to see you back around.
Click to expand...
I
IslandFlyer said:
Aren't you aupposed to be studying?

Funny, as I was reading this thread I was thinking about your situation. Then as I kept reading, you posted.

Dont forget to check the dates on some of these threads, as this guy posted this last summer.

Anyhow, lots of info here, just keep on digging.

Good to see you back around.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I missed that one. Lol.
 
NoSoup4U said:
How do you plan to pay for flight training, savings, loan, mixture of both, etc.? The reason I ask is because I'm at a similar crossroad in my life.
Click to expand...


So far, my wife and I have been planning to use what's left of my GI Bill then we'll most likely have to take a loan out to cover the rest. Also, not something I want to do, or like to do, but I haven't ruled out begging and borrowing if necessary. I think it'll be a last resort, but I don't doubt it will be worth it in the end. It's a big leap of faith, but we're going to stick with it.
 
Good for you! I truly wish you the best of luck. I have been wanting to switch careers for some time now and being in my 30's, I'm not getting any younger. Ha-ha. I would like to make the transition too, but lack of funds has really made it rough to do. I'll find a way to make it happen over time. Have fun and it's fantastic that your family is on board with the decision as well. That will mean a lot.
 
The advice given so far is spot on. I am in the same boat as you to an extent. A few things to consider and your mileage may vary as well.
  • Your are never to old for anything ever - keep in mind though as a pilot you will need medical certs so stay healthy. As you get older things happen.
  • You are your own worst enemy, there may be days during training where you think you don't want it anymore. Step back and do a good evaluation. Don't make a decision you will regret later ( like me ).
  • Pay as you go avoid debt if at all possible!
  • Enjoy the ride!
  • Frequent this site and ask questions!
  • Good luck!
  • Also , frequent the daily pic/pictures from the road forum...very inspiring IMHO
 
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Never say never. I'll save my personal story for another post, but I can tell you I personally know several guys who are 50+ pursuing their dream of flying professionally and they just completed CRJ ground school for a large regional. One only started flying a few years ago, bought an older Mooney cheap and built time quickly. Another classmate was a younger guy guy that went the puppy mill route. While not my first choice, it got him all the ratings and time he needed to be part of that class in less than two years (including a year-plus of instructing.) It's a whole different world out there today than it was five years ago...even two years ago. Grab the brass ring when it's going by.
 
A 60 year old lady while graduating from law school was asked: "Why would you ever start law school in your fifties?" Her response was: "I was going to be 60 years old either way, and I was either going to be a 60 year old lawyer or a 60 year old lady wishing she was."

You only get to live life and pursue dreams once. The question should be "why wouldn't I?"
 
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