Patrick Jenkins
New Member
Hello all, I'm interested in becoming a pilot in the aviation industry. I have read through some post in this forum and from what I see, the cost of this program seems to be a major issue as student loans and high interest repayments seem to be the major obstacle. My question is this. I had a background in the medical field for most of my life. I'm 44 years old now and am still in very good physical shape. 160lbs, none smoker and I drink maybe a few beers here and there. I have always dreamed of flying and always looked to the sky with much envy as a kid. I was distracted from my dreams by my father who would always say " you have to make straight A's and fly in the air force if you want to be an airline pilot." and unfortunately, I took his advice. Well, after losing my job a few years back due to massive reductions in reimbursements from Medicaid, I have not been happy with my current career field. This has left me depressed and I resigned recently from my current job, or I might say, forced to resign due to lack of incoming work. My father who had his private pilot rating, recently passed away and left me a house that is paid for and a enough money that would enable me to pay for the ATP commercial pilot fast track program. I live in Farmers Branch which is close to Addison Airport. I would hate to make a mistake with the gift my father has left me and go through this program and not be able to find a job. To me, the money is not too important. I do have two kids. One is twelve and the other is 8 and I make child support payments. They live with their mom so travel would not be an issue. What would some of the pilots recommend regarding my situation. Like I said before, I have always wanted to fly and built every model airplane as a kid also. I've been flying RC aircraft for 12 years to somewhat help with my desire to be in the air and am not just wanting to be a pilot because I think it would be a " cool thing to do". Your advice would be appreciated.