My name is Kevin and I am currently a Project Engineer in Heavy Civil construction. I wanted to start this thread in hopes to help prospective students, in similar circumstances, to make the “leap” to pursue flight training. I also wanted to document my progress through the program.
To give some background about myself, I am 35 years old and I am planning on starting training with ATP in April 2023 at the San Antonio location. I have a wife and 3 y/o as well as a mortgage. As you can imagine I struggled, like many in this forum, to make the decision to quit my job to pursue pilot training. I have had a love and passion for aviation since childhood that led me to ultimately join the Air Force but this opportunity did not lead to opportunities in aviation, but was nonetheless a great opportunity to serve and ultimately lead to me obtaining my 4-year degree in Engineering Technology. Once I had finished my degree and started working I still had the aviation bug and could not stop thinking about it. So I conducted a discovery flight at a local flight school at the time which just solidified the fact that I had a passion for aviation that I wanted to pursue. Like many, life events stalled my pursuit of these dreams but I feel like the time has come where I need to make the plunge or I will regret it for the rest of my life. I am very fortunate to have a supportive wife and family and look forward to this journey!
I am starting the studying for my written exams as I have seen that recommended multiple times throughout this forum. I will say that this forum has been very helpful and is full of great information for those of us just starting out. With that being said I appreciate everyone who has contributed with their experience and knowledge. Long post but I will keep everyone updated on my progress and journey.
Welcome to the forum, thank you for the nice introduction of yourself. The flying bug is such a fun bug.
There are others that have been through program in a similar lifestyle as you. When I was instructing with ATP, we had a student at my location that was in their 40’s and just had a newborn. One of our members here on the forum had three young children and their latest was a newborn. It is doable, it may be stressful some days, but remember that you will need to find time to yourself. However you need to find time to relax, please do.
Getting a head start on your writtens will be one of the most thankful things you will thank yourself for as you progress through the program. Though it is not a requirement to have them completed prior to entry start, I can promise you that you will be so happy you did and can’t recommend it enough. You will be so happy that you can focus primarily on learning to fly and review the material that you will be glad you got a head start.
When you get a chance, please keep us posted on your progress… I look forward to revisiting this thread months down the road.
Welcome to the forum. We’re glad you’re here and that you’ve found it helpful getting you started.
Sounds like you’re all set with your April start date and getting going on the written exams. Please feel free to touch base in the next few weeks if you have any questions before you start. We look forward to following along with your journey!
Welcome to the forum and thank you for introducing yourself to us. Also, thank you for your kind words. It sounds like you are not he right path by studying for the writtens. Please let us know how else we can help you and of course, please provide us with updates as you go through the program.
