Page 7 - Dear aviator...

These are also the ones who are somewhat critical of pilots who trained
using any other method;
- More recently some large airlines have activated cadet programs to train the
next generation of their own pilots. These are also hugely expensive, are
usually age restricted and are run full time on very demanding deadlines.
When I was younger and had started looking into aviation, the “money” issue was
what kept me away. Both as a kid and later as a young adult I simply could not
afford the cost of training. As heart-breaking as it was, I could not conjure money
out of thin air.
Later in life, when I perhaps could have looked into full time funded courses, I
couldn’t afford to stop earning a salary for 18-24 months.
That was when I was made aware of a fourth option:
I was fortunate enough at the time to live in Australia, where under certain
circumstances aviation training can be government funded.
In short, this means that the government will front the cash necessary for CPL
flight training (about $80,000) provided that:
a) I then repay the loan through my taxes;
b) I follow the school syllabus;
c) I perform within certain standards and complete the various study units in
accordance with the established deadlines.
Additionally, there was one school - and only one in my vicinity - which offered this
course on a part time basis: 2 three-hour evenings of classroom instruction and 2
planned flight days per week over a two-year period. These were conditions that I
could afford.
However this option was a relatively new thing and, as previously mentioned, to
this day there is no shortage of snarky comments from pilots who trained in the
more traditional way of self-funding who are very easy to quip that “your
government-funded licence doesn’t hold a candle to my self-funded licence” or “it
was better when people actually had to make a sacrifice or two to get their licence”.
I’m not one to listen to this type of talk. This should be clear… if not for the
government funding program, I would not have been able to get any type of licence
- let alone a CPL - and I alone am aware of the sacrifices that I made and that I
imposed on my family… I believe sacrifices and effort should not be calculated
exclusively on the monetary criterion.
I do appreciate, though, that when you are not directly spending your own money,
it can be easy to become complacent and not put in the appropriate effort,
especially in studying and home preparation and planning; but I believe that
speaks more to the person in general than to the kind of pilot that will come out at
the other end.
The main takeaway of this is that today there are several options for anyone to
learn to become a professional pilot; the lack of pocket money in itself is no longer a
reason not to investigate the option.

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