skydog
New Member
The short answer is, No, it's not too late for a flying career.
That said, at your age, you are probably going to have to alter your expectations a bit. You are starting at an age at which most airline pilots get hired at a major airline. When the airlines were hiring, the average major airline pilot was in the mid-30's when hired. To get to the left seat of one of the aircraft you mentioned takes 25 or more years seniority AFTER you get hired. You don't have that much time, and the majors aren't even hiring. I think it is perfectly feasible that you could retire as a Captain on a 737 or its future equivalent, but I wouldn't count on the airframes you mentioned.
Flying is expensive. Accept that reality now. However there are things you can do to limit your personal costs, the most significant of which is DON'T TAKE OUT A LOAN. Save your money. Pay as you go. The neat thing about flying training is that there are several natural pauses built into it. Save your money. Earn your private pilot's license. Build some flight time, including cross country time. Save your money. Get your instrument rating. Build some more flight time. Save your money. Get your commercial pilot certificate. See a trend here? Don't think of flight training as a long expensive process, but rather has a series of steps. First your private, then instrument, then commercial, and so forth and so on.
Once you get your commercial, you now have choices in the direction you can go. You can attempt to get a job towing banners, flying skydivers, or doing pipeline patrol. None of these are verly likely, but possible. You can get a Flight Instructor-airplane certificate and get a job as an instructor (most likely chance of success), or get a commercial-multiengine rating and attempt to get a job (almost impossible).
As far as the number of times you should fly: When pursuing a rating or certification, I say as many times as you can, as often as you can, and still be prepared for the lesson. For every lesson you fly you should be prepared to spend a few hours in preparation and study. There is no reason you can't get a given certificate or rating within a month of beginning, if you have the ability and resources to study, prepare, and fly every day. You're trying to build a mental database as well as physical skills. The more often you can fly and study, the quicker you will retain those skills.
Get involved: join a local flying club, your local EAA chapter, the civil air patrol, whatever you can find. Getting involved is the hands-down best opportunity for incidental learning, networking opportunities, and professional advocacy. If your going to become a professional in this field, then you might as well start right now.
Finally, I just want to remark on a comment you made. "Yes it's a long road but it's the journey that is worth it." That sounds good to say, but the reaility is that you won't know if it was "worth it" until the day you quit flying. There are lots of people who, despite their skills or abilities, never made anything of their careers. I know one fellow who lost his medical just as he was getting to the point of being able to fly for a regional. If that happens to you, will you consider it "worth it?" Given your age, this is a relevant question. After age 50, the ranks of pilots begin to thin out. I read once that only about 40% made it to the (then) retirement age of 60.
My point here is tell you to put away any romantic notions you have about this career. Put away the leather jacket and silk scarf. This is a business. Its purpose is to make money. As a pilot, you have a role in that purpose. You should start learning how the business of aviation operates. You also have a responsibility to your professional community. If you're not prepared to accept these roles, if this is just one big flight of fancy for you, than get your private pilot license and have fun on weekends, but do something else professionally.
