Hello everybody,
I’m new to this forum and want to thank you all for your very informative posts. I have been reading many of them already and learned alot. Nevertheless, there are some questions left which I would like to ask at the end of this post.
First, I’d like to introduce myself: I am a 43 years old German citizen, working at a German university as a senior lecturer in linguistics. With all of you I share the fascination for flying and aviation. I started gliding when I was 15, then turned to paragliding when I was 17. In 2008, I completed training in powered paragliding and at the moment I’m working on my PPL(A)-license at a flying club in Germany.
So, what do I want here? My wish to become a professional pilot is very old, but because of various reasons it never came this far. When I started gliding in 1990 I did this as a preparation for becoming a pilot later. I loved it but just before my first solo my FI sent me to an AME in order to get my medical. So, I went there and surprisingly the AME refused to give me a medical because he thought that something is wrong with my heart. I was devastated and gave up about gliding and the idea of becoming a pilot. Two years later I started paragliding instead (here you don’t need a medical). In the following years, I was doing lots of sports and ran even a few marathons. I never had any heart problems and so I asked myself: Was this doctor perhaps wrong about my heart? I went to a cardiologist, told him my story and asked him to check my cardio vascular system thoroughly. Result: He couldn’t find anything strange, nothing. I was 32 then and immediately thought about giving it another try with an aviation career, although I already had started my career in academia. So, I went to an AME, everything was (of course) fine with my heart. But now my eyes where suddenly the problem. I learned that I hardly have any stereo vision which according to EASA-regulations is a knock-out criterion for a class I medical. Disappointed again I returned to university and linguistics - more or less motivated. As my income got better during the following years I could afford to go into PPL-training at a local flying club. As a student pilot, I needed a class II medical. When I went to the AME to get it I found out that the guy is also a FAA-certified AME. I got curious and asked him to check me for a FAA class I medical. He did and I got the medical without any problem. He even said that I could also get a class I medical for Canada. Wow!!!
This was about 1 year ago. Since then my wish to become a professional pilot is alive again and I’m thinking about giving it a try in the US or in Canada. My current contract at university will still last for 1-1,5 years, after that I could do the cut and go for it. Until then I will have saved up about 90.000 USD, I will have my (European) PPL completed, and I could start pilot training either in the US or in Canada. As I love to share what fascinates me, I would also be very interested in becoming a FI. I’m aware that there are two major problems here: 1) Meanwhile I’m quite old, 2) I’m neither a Canadian nor a US citizen and would have to get a residence and working permit for one of the two countries, which will not be easy.
So, after having written almost a novel, here are finally my questions:
- Do you think that I have a chance to succeed with my plan?
- At my place, would you rather give it a try in the US or in Canada?
- Until I leave Europe in 1-1,5 years, should I already go for flight training as often as I can here or should I rather save the money and do all the training and hour building in the US/Canada?
Thanks a lot for your help, and sorry for my bumpy English. It will become better once I have been in an English-speaking environment for a while.
Chris