Finally,My move to Florida was successful and tomorrow is my first real day of my career change to (hopefully sooner than later) become a real pilot at Comair Aviation Academy in Sanford, FL.I posted this a few months ago but wanted to update people that might have the same dream but haven

Congrats on the chance to train at Comair!

Hi Peter,Congratulations! glad we have helped you in contributing to your flying experience.

Very cool-keep us informed as to your progress!http://members.telocity.com/~geof43/Geofdog2.gif

Hi there Peter,Best of luck and enjoyment to you, it's alwaysnice to see that some at least can do the realthing. Take care out there.-Niels Christiansen

Peter,Out of deep personal curiosity (as one deep in the midst of his midlife crisis), can I ask how old you are? Part of me is hoping you will say 21 and the other part is hoping you will say 40. ;-) I'm 38 and employed but...Thanks for allowing me to daydream a bit!David

Guess we'll be seeing you taking off and landing at KSFB quite a bit. Watch out for the PanAm AI, I have flying to KSFB.Another bit of advice, if you have to ditch, try not landing in Lake Monroe, St. Johns River, or any other bodies of water, alligators, you know!!!:-eekSee ya in Central FL! Dang Tropical Storm Edouard is making plenty of water. At least, no high winds.

Congratulations Pete. You now have a dream job :DTake careMike

Thanks guys, I really appreciate the kind words.David, I'm 33, which is actually the average age here at the comair academy!! So there's quite a mix here, young guns right out of college and the carrer changing guys (Doctors, Lawyers, MBA's, Engineers etc.) like me.It's never to late, it just gets tougher to make that call. My flight instructor back in Ohio is now 47 and he's still planning on flying learjets out of Columbus, OH next year, if not trying for an airline job.I was dreaming about it for roughly 2-3 years until I had the guts to do it and finally I start today at 1:30pm.Cheers,Petehttp://home.neo.rr.com/zaehringer/pipersignature.jpgAthlonXP2000,AbitKX7-333(latest4in1),512MB/2700SDRAM,WinXP,DirectX8.1,Geforce3TI200(128MB)(Det.30.82),SBlive(WDM5.1.2601.0)

Sounds great Pete!!What is the program your'e enrolled in?How many hours and what types of certificates do you currently have?Just curious to know where you are starting at.Thanks for your time, and good luck!!Carl

Best of luck at KSFB, I'm sure you'll have lots of fun!>Another bit of advice, if you have to ditch, try not landing >in Lake Monroe, St. Johns River, or any other bodies of >water, alligators, you know!!!:-eek >>See ya in Central FL! Dang Tropical Storm Edouard is making >plenty of water. At least, no high winds. Boy, sure is weird to read about about my local town. Where are you from? I'm in Deltona, but fly out of KORL and KDAB.Matt

Boy it does the heart good to hear someone is going for the gold. Good Luck! I hope to follow you in the next year or two.http://ftp.avsim.com/cgi-bin/dcforum/dcboa...25b2aaaa7ec.jpg

Boy, the thought of learning something completely new (well, I have some flight experience but not much yet), especially something so technical and "hands-on" is really eating at me today. It's pretty gray outside (it was supposed to be nice - I have a lesson at 5pm) but I can't help thinking how nice it would be to climb above this overcast. A window office where it is almost always sunny (except at night!). Very cool! Congrats and I know a bunch of us would love to hear a running commentary from you periodically during your upcoming adventure!David

Geoff, I'm afraid I won't be able to come over to Michigan and get my ride in your real Debonair anytime soon ;-)Really amazing, there are actually students here that have 0, yes ZERO hours (there are at least 5 that I know of). Boy, they must really know what they want or have a rich Dad ;-). First impression was awsome and with that after a few real pilots talked and after some icecream gathering we were sent home with a big box of books.I'll report back periodically, already loving it!!!Petehttp://home.neo.rr.com/zaehringer/pipersignature.jpgAthlonXP2000,AbitKX7-333(latest4in1),512MB/2700SDRAM,WinXP,DirectX8.1,Geforce3TI200(128MB)(Det.30.82),SBlive(WDM5.1.2601.0)

Hey Pete,My wife has been "telling" me I should do the same thing. Although I don't think that she'd want to live in FLA. However, my brother lives there and works at Sanford airport. I'm 31 and making good money as a software engineer with 4 kids. I'm too scared right now because of all that's happening with the airlines going under. I'm afraid of making an expensive commitment with no payoff in the end. So for now, I'm the armchair pilot until further notice. Good luck Pete.pb4ugo