For James, the path to becoming a pilot was anything but conventional. A childhood fascination with flight led to early ambitions of joining the RAF, dreams that were grounded by severe motion sickness. Instead, James became a teacher and embraced a career abroad, finding fulfillment in travel, even if he wasn’t in the cockpit. However, the COVID-19 pandemic reshaped his trajectory, offering an unexpected opportunity to pursue a long-held passion for rotary aviation.
My journey to becoming a pilot probably starts as most others do, with a fascination with flight from a young age. Despite joining the Air Training Corps as a teenager, severe motion sickness dashed my dreams of becoming a fighter pilot in the RAF. Instead, I became a teacher and decided to work abroad, content with travelling, even if I wasn’t the one flying the plane.
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Becoming a pilot is not easy, and takes a lot of dedication, support and a little luck to make it a reality. My lucky break was the COVID 19 pandemic. When the world shut down, so did my prospects as an international school teacher. I abandoned my Masters in Educational Leadership and got a chance to start again. I opted to pursue rotary aviation, to the surprise of my family. I hoped that I wouldn’t suffer the same sickness in a helicopter, given the better field of view and generally less G force experienced when maneuvering. I can not overstate my delight when I had my first experience flight in a Robinson R22 helicopter, and got to fully enjoy the thrill of flight without any sickness for the first time in my life.
It has taken me three years to go from that first flight, to gaining 150 hours in my logbook, an average of roughly 1 hour a week. I am now about to start my CPL practical course at Redhill in Surrey, with the hopes of getting my first pilot job early next year. It is possible to get to this point much faster than I have, the “integrated” approach getting you to CPL in just one year! If you are in a position to set aside an entire year and have the means to fund the course, then it is an excellent way to get into rotary aviation very quickly. Be sure to do your due diligence and look into every aspect of what it will take, and cost. The financial hurdle is probably the largest, with almost zero scholarships or funding available for aspiring helicopter pilots.
A piece of great advice I was given was to do an experience flight in a helicopter before anything else. See if you’ve “got the bug”. Next, get a Class 1 medical before investing any more money, as that is an essential prerequisite to gaining your commercial licence. Then do your research on local flight schools, visit each that is within a sensible commute (or that you are willing to relocate to) and get a good feel of the instructors, aircraft and facilities they offer. You will be investing a large sum of money into your training, so it is vital that you do your research and find a flight school that is right for you.
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I hope that these insights are useful in your journey. Flying a helicopter is it’s own reward, if it is money you are after, then commercial airlines is definitely the more sensible route to take. For those who have always dreamt of flying, nothing will stand in the way of making it a reality.
