Renowned aviation enthusiast & Let’s Fly author Matthew C Martino is amongst one of the most respect household names within the aviation field and with his the extensive aviation experience the 21year old shared some of the key tips on “How To Be A Pilot”.
1. Be ready to sacrifice everything – The road to the skies is no easy path and it will probably lead you to neglecting other plans and projects you have! Most airline pilots got their license after years of no holidays, maxed out credit cards and in some cases re-mortgaged houses. There will always be a sacrifice that needs making.
2. Ensure your educationally equipped – I’m not trying to imply that airline pilots hold degrees as in most cases they don’t however they have a high aptitude in maths and physics which makes it easier for them to understand Air Law, Meteorology and other flight related modules. However having a degree or degree does make you a more suitable candidate and airlines look more favourably to such candidates.
3. Understand and decide on the route which you will take – There are various routes to earning a commercial license and you need to decide whether you will do an integrated program or a more flexible training of license by license ie: Private Pilot License, Night Rating , Instrument Rating , Commercial Pilot License & Multi Crew Course or some aircrew joined the Air Force then upon being discharged from their service they take a conversion course. Now the Air Force route also puts you in a position of advantage as you will have more experience.
4. You must know the pros and cons of the industry – Many trainee pilots tend to use reference of the sugar coated life of airline pilots and fail to recognise the actual life of a pilot which holds long hours and constant away from home. There will be times during your training as a pilot or when you’re looking for work when it will get really hard or seem impossible and without total passion in the field you could crumble. After careful research you might realise that maybe you’ll be better off as a seasonal or private pilot. After all flying is one of the best hobbies someone could have.
5. Have financial backing for this desired career path – Whoever said the best things in life are free clearly hadn’t tried to be an airline pilot. It’s been branded one of the most challenging and exciting jobs by top magazines but it still remains very costly. My advice is on money matters is as follows, it doesn’t mean you must be a millionaire however this just means you must have adequate funding ie: work, loan , family finance or pilot grant or scholarship so you can finish your training. Failure to ensure financial backing is in place can actually cause you to lose money as you might drop out of your course midway and not gain a license for certain modules, also bearing in mind that most modules and ratings are valid for 12months or so it means if you don’t get back onto your training wagon within that time you will lose that rating.
That’s all my points on “How To Be A Pilot” wishing you all the very best in the skies and happy landings!
