I get what you are saying. By the time I retire, I may not have any interest in going to school for two years, full time... So I'll be making that decision when the time comes. If I walked away from my job now (which is tempting, the way things are lately) I'd dive right into an A&P program. But it would mean walking away from insurance, retirement funds, and a steady salary.
One way or another, I want to get back into aviation. And I would love to be able to have my own plane again. A partnership would be great. I figure if I could at least know what I'm doing; do some of the work myself, I may be able to save some money. You have to understand that the only reason I walked away from aviation, 20+ years ago, was because of money. I literally dropped everything having to do with aviation, and walked away. I've thought about flying every day of those last 20 years, and I'm just now in a position in life where spending the cash on flying an hour or two per month isn't going to hurt--that is, if the FAA will ever give me my medical certificate.
So my goal here isn't to get a new job, especially to work 9-5. Mainly, it's just my ticket back into the aviation world, even if the FAA never allows me to fly again. First, I want to build the skills and knowledge to be able to work on my own plane, even if I can't do the inspections for the work myself. It's about safety and knowledge. Secondly, it would be great to have something new to be doing when I retire. And finally, if it all works out, if I could pass the exams, I would love to be able to make some money after retirement. It's mainly about having options and getting back into the aviation world.
Imagine if you had to walk away from flying tomorrow, sell your plane (I had a 150/150 Texas Taildragger) all your equipment, etc... but you thought that you could come back to it in a few years when you make enough money... ...but then 20 years passes... and then you aren't allowed back... (Someday, it will happen to you.) 20 years goes by in a flash. So the idea that I could actually become a licensed A&P by gaining experience and being allowed to take the tests was the real reason I started this thread--to see if that's even possible! Although I think about flying every day, what really got me thinking about this is when, two years ago, I went back to the airport to hire an instructor to sign me off for my PPL privileges. I'll never forget the feeling, after a few hours of instruction, of having it all come back to me on that late evening cross country when I knew I had it all dialed in. The sweet spot. Like when you have the thing trimmed out just perfectly. But in this case, I was trimmed out. My brain was firing off in ways it hadn't for all those years, my senses, and reflexes, and everything just felt like they were in the groove again. I knew I'd have to work on perfecting my landings, and I'd need to get some more instruction on some of the changes in procedures over the past 20 years, but I knew I needed to get back into flying again.... But then, the Oklahoma City office........... And I've been waiting on them for almost 2 years now.
Anyway, beginning in May of this year, I'm going to start hunting around for a shop that will let me sweep the floors, clean airplanes, and unscrew inspection panels. If I don't, I'll regret it.
