Many people have a fascination for flying, airplanes and the sharp blue yonder. Like these individuals, if you have a dream of flying in the sky, you have only two choices:
- become horrendously rich and employ someone who will fly you to wherever it is you wish to go or
- enrole in a Pilot School and obtain a pilot license. The second option is somewhat cheaper.
If you have a pilot license, it is possible to embark upon a career as a pilot, flying with family and friends on weekends, piloting your own airplane on business trips, competing in aerobatics competitions, assisting with search and rescue and other humanitarian missions.... The options are many. So put on your reading glasses and prepare yourself to learn how to fly... Just don't go too near the sun, or your wings might just melt.
- Medical examination. All applicants must undergo a basic medical examination, testifying that they pass the medical requirements to safely control an aircraft.
- Language. Every applicant must have the ability to speak, read and comprehend English, which is the language of aviation training and learning internationally.
- Age. It is stipulated by the FAA that you have to be 16 or over to fly and 17 or over to obtain a pilot license. No upper limit exists, so long as you are sufficiently healthy and fit for the passing of the medical examination mentioned above.
- Time. It will take rather a lot. A private pilot license needs at least 40 hours' flying time, although the majority of student pilots require something between 60 and 80 hours prior to their final destination of flying. Extra time must be spent in contact with the ground studying to prepare for the written test of FAA. The amount of time spent training will depend partly on your wish to study part- or full-time.
For commercial pilot license flight training programs, Airline Cadets Australia; the leading Australian Pilot School, offering a "guaranteed employment" flight training programs within Australia.