Russell D |
5th April 2011 09:03 AM |
I agree with Mick about the kids saving up money, but then again, $120K is pretty well out of range of what a kid can save. And if they did probably try to save that amount from working full-time straight out of high school, it would probably take them a good 4-5 years minimum to save up such an amount. That would mean they would already be around about 23y.o. by the time they even start their flying training (or in this case, a cadet program).
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And what is wrong with just going to a flying school, getting a licence, then going up north to fly around in General Aviation for a few years first? It's a hell of a lot cheaper and it gives you some life experience (not to mention aviation experience) before you get let loose into an airline.
Everybody expects the top jobs to be handed to them on platters these days without doing any bloody work to get there!
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I agree once again, and the life experience and aviation experience can make a world of a difference in making someone a better pilot especially when faced with difficult situations like Captain Richard Champion de Crespigny.
But there's quite a lot of social (and family) pressure these days that when you finish high school, you need to get into a stable career as quickly as possible. For example, I found myself caught in a discussion with some uni friends just the other day, and it was almost unanimous that one should be fully established in their career, married, and about to have a family before you turn 30 years old. Personally, I find that a bit unrealistic, but that's just the word on the street.
So I guess that might explain why people find cadet programs attractive, since you could spend many years in GA with no guarantees of getting into the major airlines.
But yes, personally I believe cadet programs aren't worth the invaluable experience gained going through the GA pathway. Then again, cadet programs seem to be becoming all to common in aviation worldwide.
Cheers
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