Getting Started as a Pilot

A lot of what we cover in our articles is aimed at young people who have already decided on becoming a pilot and have started down the road. Many have significant numbers of flight hours under their belts, others are cooling their heels in school as they wait to stretch their wings and fly the nest, others fall in between and are beginning their theory and PPL lessons.

But there is another group that also needs attention. Those young people who have only recently come to aviation - either out of curiosity and are exploring options or those, like John, who have had an epiphany and know they MUST become pilots. The question uttered by both is - How do I start on this journey?

As J.R.R Tolkien wrote in ‘The Hobbit’ -

It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out of your door," … "You step into the Road, and if you don't keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to.

We’d like to introduce to you, Captain Jeremy Burfoot, ex A380 Captain for Qantas. Jeremy is one of our mentors and has had a remarkable career (which is still honking along, BTW). He is also a published author of aviation related books. His humour rip roars throughout the books and it is the only time I have ever seen John laugh out loud whilst reading books!

Today, Jeremy gives the advice those just starting out need to know. What will be your first steps out the door?

Captain Jeremy Burfoot

Getting Started

If you are someone who dreams of a career as a pilot, you are not alone. The idea of doing something fun and getting paid for it is quite attractive. But where do you start? It’s a tough industry to get into because it is so popular. And most pathways require a huge cash investment upfront with no guarantee of a job when you have finished your training.

So, the first thing to consider is whether you are actually suited to being a pilot before you make that huge investment in cash and energy. A trip to an aviation doctor for a medical would be my first port of call. They will identify whether there is anything medically that would preclude you becoming successful.

Then you need to ask yourself, “How badly do I want this?” Have you always wanted to be a pilot? Do you look up every time an aircraft flies overhead? Can you identify what type of aircraft it is? Have you built model aircraft? Have you ever been to an airshow? The reason I’m asking these questions is because, if you aren’t almost obsessed with it, then you probably don’t have the required energy to get you through the process.

Lastly, I’d find someone experienced in the industry and have a sit-down chat with them. Older industry pilots know the personality traits of good pilots and will be able to either encourage you, or subtly try and talk you out of it. You don’t have to follow their advice of course, but it’s useful all the same, even if it just serves to make you more determined to do it.

The Pathways

The most obvious pathway is the air force because they pay you while they train you for free. The downsides to this are that, because it’s free, everyone wants to join the air force, so competition is high. The air force doesn’t employ that many pilots so that reduces your chances from the start. Another thing to consider is how long you would be locked in before you could leave and go to the airlines. Sometimes this can be quite a few years. Of course, if you are happy with a lifetime career in the air force, then that’s not an issue.

The rest of the options require you to fork out a lot of money to pay for your training. This can be on an ad hoc basis with a flying school, or you can sign up for a full course through to commercial pilot’s license, instrument rating and instructor rating.

Some universities offer full aviation degrees as well as the pilot’s licenses. Some of them even claim to have agreements with the airlines whereby the airlines supposedly give a higher consideration to graduates of those institutions. If I owned a flying school, I would want that endorsement as well, but the reality is that you will still have to go through the exact same recruitment process with the airline as everyone else and whether they like you or not has nothing to do with where you were trained.

Another option is an airline’s cadet scheme. These are competitive to get into but are usually just as expensive as a flying school. The benefit of a cadet scheme is that the airline will have access to your training records and reports, so if you do well, you will likely get a job with the airline after completing the course.

Conversing with a trusty friend in London

Logging Some Hours

If you do your training with a normal flying school or university, you will be spat out the end with a license and maybe 250 hours of flying. Most airlines have minimum flying hour requirements before they will employ a pilot. That might be 1,000 hours, for example.

So how do you get these hours? One way is by instructing new students. Another is to volunteer to work for free doing things like glider towing or dropping skydivers. You can look for a job in general aviation, but these are difficult to come by because everyone is looking for the same jobs. Many general aviation jobs also have minimum flying hour requirements to employ pilots. These requirements vary depending on how dangerous the job is and how desperate, or not, the industry is for pilots at the time. When the airlines are employing pilots, they will suck pilots out of the general aviation jobs and create vacancies.

If you are the adventurous type, you can go to places in the world where no one else is prepared to go. Examples are outback Australia or Papua New Guinea or Indonesia. Companies in these areas usually struggle to find pilots so their requirements are lower, and they have more turnover, hence more vacancies. The downside is that the flying will be more dangerous, and the living conditions will be less than desirable. But the flying will be exciting, and that tough experience will likely be valued by the major airlines more than sitting next to someone as an instructor and watching then fly.

What Are The Two Hardest Things Pilots Ever Do?

That’s simple. Getting your first flying job and getting your first airline flying job.

Once you have achieved those two then you are off to the races, but please remember, there will still be a lot of work keeping your standards up and with promotions and aircraft type changes.

Of course, not everyone wants to fly for an airline and there are many great jobs outside the airlines like air ambulance and customs flights etc. These generally don’t pay as well but probably have a more stable lifestyle than airline flying.

The Future

There are already some things on aircraft where the computers do a better job than the pilots. Low visibility landings are an example. The computers do it better because they process inputs better and are not susceptible to human errors like vertigo and visual recognition mistakes. The autopilot also tends to fly the aircraft better than the pilots, provided it’s given the correct directions by the pilots.

With all the recent talk about reducing minimum pilot numbers on the flightdeck down to one, this is something to bear in mind when deciding on a career. The industry isn’t ready for it yet, but with recent advances in AI (Artificial intelligence), it will happen. Read Mo Gawdat’s excellent book, ‘Scary Smart’ and you will know what I mean. It’s only a matter of time, but it will require some major changes in the way aircraft computer systems are setup. Ultimately, I doubt we will get to the point in your lifetime where there are no pilots on a flight. At a minimum, one systems operator will always be required.

Good luck

If you choose to pursue a career as a pilot, you will find it tough but rewarding. I can’t recommend it highly enough. Chase your dreams.

Thanks Jeremy.

We have two links for you. The first takes you through to Jeremy’s website - https://jeremyburfoot.com/

There, you can find his books, find out more about him, mentoring, and other aviation resources.

If this article has proved useful in sorting out your next steps, and you’d like more info - check out our informative brochure - https://static1.squarespace.com/static/62fd70fe9ce738099628ad0d/t/655c1d5bdbe1e2301cfe0480/1700535682402/PFS_A4_BROCHURE_2023.pdf