Hi, I'm 41. And I'm interested in going the commercial route. I just did a discovery flight and I was going to book my FAA medical but I got discouraged by some people online. Is this realistic for my age? I'd also have to take out a loan which is what people have been talking down to me about. Someone told me if I can't pay for the PPL in cash then don't bother. My financial situation is that my wife took over mortgage and many expenses while I became a stay at home dad during Covid. But now I have no debt and I'm working nights again and was planning on taking a loan out and training every weekday. The school near me has a loan option from start to MEI rating at $89k and I wouldn't have to start paying until I think 15 months in. Does anyone have any thoughts on this? I'm hoping I can get a monthly payment of about $600. Also my plan was to get to my CFI and then teach while logging hours. Does anyone think this is realistic?
Welcome. You've already received a lot of advice--some good, some rather dubious. And in true internet fashion, some of the advisors have turned their attention to advising other advisors regarding their advice. All in good sport, of course.
So, for what little it may be worth, here's my perspective.
Do ya feel lucky, punk? Well, do ya? Because if you don't feel lucky, you better really LOVE flying lest ye risk disillusionment (if you don't achieve Mach 2 with your hair on fire, and even flying a cargo plane full of rubber dog**** out of Hong Kong becomes an impossible dream). So, do you LOVE flying? Like, it's all you think about 24/7? You wrote that you have flown one discovery flight. That's great, but it may be premature to stake your future on just that singular experience at the controls.
Take Pinecone's sage advice regarding the medical. Don't finance anything until you have soloed, at which point you should pause for a bit of deep introspection: Do I LOVE it enough to say, truthfully and with conviction, "I do, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, yea verily amen?"
I was lucky and got hired by a major airline in 1987. Over the ensuing 36 years, I've flown with pilots from almost every background imaginable, including many for whom flying was a second career. Among those are/were dozens who started flying in their early forties, and who made it to the majors with 15-20 good years ahead of them before mandatory retirement. You could become one of those (or perhaps land a plum non-airline position), but for every one who made it there is one who didn't. A man's gotta know his limitations. If you choose to pursue flying as a career then you gotta love flying airplanes enough to justify the investment and the sacrifice in case you have to divert before reaching your intended destination.
Good luck--we're all counting on you.
