Hello I never made it to ATPL but it always amazes me that RW NG drivers can remember all this stuff, its an incredible amount of detail to remember, was the line training very stressful and how long does it take before you are comfortable and can handle emergency situations, I dont know if I could ever remember all this stuff absolute best of the best i guess, suppose you need to be rather intellegent Wayne

Well, you have to study a lot... But know that in the actual airplane it's not as hard as in our simulator. First, you are in a real cockpit. Second, you have a couple years experience and started with simpler airplanes moving on to more complex ones. Third, most of the load is shared between a PF and an PNF. And the most important thing, in real life you only fly one type, have studied it, and spend long years flying it. I remember pilots training in Emirates while they were doing their Type ratings on the 77W or the a340/330. They didn't have a life, they had a lot of books though. They also said that the simulator sessions were very stressful and the load was very high as "normal operation" is the last thing they will do there. ...imagine 15 years of flying only the 737.

There is logic and flow to all the procedures. That helps people memorise. That plus many hours of ground school training and then constant repetition every flight. If it was a collection of random actions it would be very difficult to remember. Kevin Hall

I maybe could have achieved this many years ago but dont think I could put up with the stress now, must be great but to do this everyday although I imagine the check rides are stressful and full on Wayne

Hard work and dedication! If I could do this for a living I would be in heaven! (and it would be worth all of the hard work and dedication!)

yes I agree would be totally awesome to do that everyday Waynei must admit the PMDG 737 NGX gives us a very good example of what it is like to fly an airliner, very rewarding to go through all the planning then shut down to cold and dark at the destination Wayne

Hard work and dedication! If I could do this for a living I would be in heaven! (and it would be worth all of the hard work and dedication!)

I know that feeling cause i've had it since i was very young. But be warned, professional aviation is rotten and not what it used to be. Spending 80.000 bucks for initial training is a very risky bet, and once you are done training you'll always find a guy who has more money and pays for getting the job (20.000 for a 6 months right seat, thanks ryanair) or has enough to afford to no work for a whole year while flying a 5.000 buck shared flight time package in Florida, to then get his parents to pay for a 20.000 bucks type rating. Or after finishing flight training having your flight school talk you into also getting an instructor rating to only realize that MOST of the people you've trained with also went for the instructor rating. Knowing that former entry jobs are now more impossible to get than ever, like crop dusting or fire fighter jobs, skydiving pilots or even dragging banners flying above beaches... Then the only chance you have is to go with your little logbook to try and get a job somewhere in Africa, flying an airplane that just woulnd't even meet lawnmower regulations in Europe, taking off from runways on which local people take naps on. ...aviation is not what it used to be.

yes I know what your saying, I spent a lot and for various reasons ended in another profession. Too old now and every time I see a jet fly by I want to be flying it but I am just beyond it now, I totally understand where you are coming from I am too old and too jaded now to pursue it, but I love it still Wayne

Exactly. After years of vocation and training, im at a point in which I'm starting to think I'll just not make it. I have a totally different job which I love and has very nice career oportunities (I work in advertising). But yeah, it's tough man. 15 years, and I got sooooo close at one point. I could just keep on trying, but i think it is responsible not to. The problem is that when you give your life to pilot training, either you end up as a pilot, or you end up working at McDonalds, cause the training is only good for flying. A 40 year old trained pilot with no pilot job is the same as a 40 year old guy who just didn't study anything. So, that is why the bet is risky. WIth the money i've spent on pilot training, i could have easily started my own company or I could have paid for medschool TWICE! This is a very honest and realistic recommendation to the younger simmers. Go and become pilots BUT:. If you have the slightest doubt that you will not be able to go on and on for years seeing your school mates get successful at other more boring jobs, and that you might not have enough money to pay and pay and then pay for more training as the market dictates (and it will)... study something else too, and take pilot training easy. Don't waste your life on a career that has nothing to do with what it was in the 90s (80s).

damn the maths

buy the PMDG and enjoy Wayne

damn the maths

Well, actually you're in a good position. In India, Singapore, Dubai, Lebanon and many other asian countries, if you hold the countries passport, you have chances of entering an airline through their cadet pilot programmes. In Dubai for instance, people with UAE passports have a chance to get fully paid training from ground training up to a 777s seat. I tried to get contacts to get myself in, but it really was impossible. Also, Etihad has a cadet pilot program, but you need a sponsor for some 100.000€ (or more, i can't remember). I tried and I even went to the selection process but i didn't make it in the last stages of the selection. I think that's because they wanted people with zerio training. In India there's also opportunities like that.

I have great respect for the guys that are there as I know what they have gone through to get there, I have seen some people where the doors just seemed to open and they fell the right way where as for me it was like the universe was against me, perhaps I am just not intelligent enough or dont have the mental aptitude for such activity, either way I enjoy the odd joy flight and flying the pmdg 737 as realistically as possible Wayne

Well, actually you're in a good position. In India, Singapore, Dubai, Lebanon and many other asian countries, if you hold the countries passport, you have chances of entering an airline through their cadet pilot programmes. In Dubai for instance, people with UAE passports have a chance to get fully paid training from ground training up to a 777s seat. I tried to get contacts to get myself in, but it really was impossible. Also, Etihad has a cadet pilot program, but you need a sponsor for some 100.000€ (or more, i can't remember). I tried and I even went to the selection process but i didn't make it in the last stages of selections. I think that's because they wanted people with zerio training.

Oh but it's the age hahaha , Let's c I have some ground training which I did a few years back just barely remember anything :), wow that's a whooping sponsorship amount. And plus there is a different commitment now but whenever I can I will try for it. gracias.

You have to be really above average to get a cadetship, its ridiculous the hoops you have to jump through. I am an average person and think i could have been a really good airline pilot but I never would have passed the aptitude testing as there is people much smarter abd some also have lots of money to position themself, thats life the rich the poor, the smart and the not so smart Wayne