Taking off: (some) concerns and first steps

As you probably already know by now, I'm trying to become an airline pilot. I won't lie to you... it's one hell of a difficult path, especially considering I'm not 20 years old anymore. That's not necessarily an obstacle, but the truth is I started chasing my dream a bit late. However, I now have the energy, the desire, the motivation, and most importantly, the determination. So, it's now or never!

That said, I want to share some of the concerns that cross my mind, ideas that I hope will make this journey easier for me (and for you if, like me, you're embarking on this path), and some of the steps I plan to take.

What concerns?

As I mentioned in my second post (and my first on this topic), I am facing a considerable challenge, and whether I succeed depends on several factors, some of which are beyond my control. Now, what are those?

• Medical examinations (Class 1 and 2)
• Training duration
• Airline hiring policies (regarding my age)

Medical examinations

You might be a natural born pilot and be the most skilled at the controls, having simulated landings a thousand times in challenging airports like Madeira or Paro. You may even be capable of handling any modern jet aircraft (from Airbus, Boeing, Bombardier, Cessna, Dassault, McDonnell Douglas, and other manufacturers) with your eyes closed. But to become a pilot, you need an aeronautical medical certificate that has specific requirements depending on the license.

Class 2

This medical certificate is required to obtain (and maintain) a PPL (Private Pilot Licence) and is valid for five years if you're under 40, and two years if you're older. It includes a general physical exam, hearing and vision tests, blood and urine analysis, cardiovascular evaluation, and a complete medical history review. To obtain it, you must be of legal age and not have medical conditions that would prevent you from flying (e.g., severe heart disease or epilepsy).

Class 1

This is the medical certificate required for obtaining (and maintaining) a CPL (Commercial Pilot Licence) or an ATPL (Airline Transport Pilot Licence). It is valid for one year if you're under 40 and for six months if you're older.

For first-time applicants, the examination is extensive, including a full physical exam, medical history review, biometric assessment (height, weight, waist circumference, and blood pressure), urine analysis, full blood test, cardiovascular evaluation, vision tests (near, mid, and far vision with or without correction, refractive analysis, eye movement and binocular vision, visual field, color vision test, and ophthalmoscopy), lung function evaluation, ear, nose, and throat exam, hearing test, and tympanometry.

Once you've passed the initial examination, subsequent renewals involve a simpler check-up (or rather, less extensive) compared to the initial one, with differences mainly in the electrocardiogram and ophthalmology and ENT examinations.

At this point, I should say that I am in full possession of my mental faculties and, while I'm not an elite athlete or a marine, my physical condition is quite decent. My vision isn't perfect, though: I have mild myopia in one eye and mild astigmatism in the other and wear glasses for computer use (about 35-40 cm distance, considered near vision). Although I rarely use them, and this isn't a disqualifying condition, my first concern is the uncertainty of whether I'll pass the medical examination without issues.

Okay... I admit this is more of an irrational fear than a real concern, but hey... I'm nervous! :P

Training duration

One reason I decided to create my crowdfunding campaign is to minimize the time needed to become an airline pilot. There are two training paths: integrated and modular. The integrated course covers all theory (I'll detail the subjects in a future post on aviation) and practical training in one go, culminating in a frozen ATPL (you need roughly 1,500 flight hours to unfreeze it).

With the modular path, you first complete the PPL module, covering a reduced portion of the syllabus and practical training. After that, you move on to the CPL module, and once you pass the theory and practical exams, you then proceed to the ATPL module.

The modular course is almost certainly the path I'll have to take since, at the moment, I can only finance (barely) and plan for the PPL module. If I had the necessary support, I could enroll in the integrated course (which I'd prefer) and complete my training in roughly two years. However, for now, this is my reality, and I have to work with it. That's my second concern: the uncertainty of whether I'll be able to complete my training in time.

Airline hiring policies (regarding my age)

I haven't done an extensive review to say definitively whether this is a widespread issue or varies by airline. So far, I've found one airline (which I won't name) that, officially and as per its regulations, does not accept applications from inexperienced pilots over 40. That's quite discouraging, but it's not a reason to give up. I've exchanged emails with several pilots, and none have indicated that my age would be an issue. So, for now, and pending further information, it seems age isn't a strict limitation across all airlines.

Could regulations change to include such limitations? Yes, of course... and that could exclude me. The risk exists. But as of today, it doesn't seem to be a universal issue. The current age limit is for the maximum (65 years), not the minimum. That's my third (and final) concern: the uncertainty of whether I'll be able to secure a job after obtaining my license.

Ideas

Besides being an aspiring pilot, I'm also an IT professional, which, as Magnar Nordal pointed out when I wrote to him (he's one of the pilots I reached out to—his YouTube channel is fantastic, especially his ATR aircraft tutorials), gives me a unique advantage in certain areas.

I work in artificial intelligence (AI), and this powerful tool provides a unique opportunity to develop a platform to enhance and test my aviation knowledge. From summaries of specific subjects to AI-generated exam question banks (both multiple-choice and written) and many other ideas (which I'll share later if you stick around), I have a tool that will help me achieve my goal faster than traditional learning methods.

What steps will I take?

I want to become a pilot, but I don't want to achieve it as-is. I want to get there after accomplishing a series of goals that, I believe, will make me a better professional (or at least a more well-rounded one). Ideally:

• I want to master the theoretical knowledge up to ATPL level and pass my exams with a 90%+ score.
• I want to be proficient in operational procedures for various aircraft, including Airbus (A320, A321, A330, A350), ATR (72-600), Boeing (737, 777), and private aircraft from Bombardier, Cessna, and Dassault.
• I want to reach the ATPL certification with, at least, relative fluency in the six ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) official languages: Arabic, Chinese, Spanish¹, French, English², and Russian.

Yes, you read that right... and no, I haven't gone crazy (even if it seems like it) nor am I suffering from the Dunning-Kruger syndrome (in case you thought so... I can see you!). I am very clear that I want to become an airline pilot and I have already taken some firm steps in that direction:

• I have been studying languages ​​such as French, Italian, German and Portuguese for a little over a year and a half, daily, up to a total of twelve languages ​​(among which are included almost all those I mentioned before) (I will tell you how I do it later if you join me)
• A little over a month ago I bought my first specific book (although it's kind of a summary book) on the ATPL: EASA ATPL Handbook, by Hédi Ben Farhat (paperback)
• Apart from the book, I have been studying for almost six months some key concepts in different subjects such as Communications, Air Law, Meteorology and Principles of Flight (both for airplanes and helicopters) through different sources such as the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) manuals (which are free to access), some blogs and websites dedicated to the world of aviation and, of course, Wikipedia
• A little over a week ago I bought the flight simulator that I'm going to use at home to complement the theoretical part (X-Plane 12, which I can complement with its professional version if you give me a hand)
• A few months ago I designed the first version of some of the prompts for the set of exam questions, both for the multiple choice exams and for the written exams
• I have also started to develop a web application to take advantage of that set of exam questions with the possibility of generating new sets of questions on the fly
• I have outlined the EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency) ATPL syllabus in order to condition the prompts and, thus, make summaries or questions about a specific learning objective or, more generally, about a specific chapter of any of the subjects using the web application mentioned in the previous point

I could go on even further, but I'm not trying to bore you: just letting you know that I've already set things in motion. So, this is the path I've chosen. If you want to see how it unfolds, stay tuned :)

See you in the next entry!