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"I enjoy an inadvertent typo. Hand gliding sounds interesting, did you mean to type gland hiding instead?"

If I could turn back time I would not have followed this club since 1980 and done something like gliding or hand gliding. Would love to fly in a typhoon. Camped beside Conningsby for a few days trying to figure out how to nick one.

"A mates son trained abroad to become a commercial airline pilot but when he came back to UK he applied for lots of jobs and got nothing. Too many pilots and not enough positions apparently, this was mid 2000s. Sells cars now, he said short haul pilots for budget airlines don't earn anywhere as much as more prestigious long haul international airline pilots. Private jets seem a growth area? Helicopter licence and jobs could be another way if like flying. No idea of current demand."

"I learnt to fly (Chipmunks) with the RAF as a university undergraduate in the 70s. Absolutely fascinating and challenging , but way too expensive for me to keep up when I was building a career. A cheaper compromise is gliding, which I have done more recently and which actually requires more skill. But our weather is more of a problem if you don't have an engine to keep you up."

"Bruce Dickinson, of iron Maiden fame, is also a commercial pilot and has flown the 757, 747 (including the -400) and I think the 737. Possibly others too."

Far Cough 1:26 Thu Nov 2 Wouldn't be at all surprised about Travolta. Have you seen his house/airport? https://www.traveller365.com/articles/ThisisJohnTravoltasimpressivehousewithaprivateairportUnbelievable

Harrison Ford has a pilots licence but it didn't stop him from trying to land on a taxiway. I believe John Travolta has a commercial licence to fly a Boeing 747?

"Lenny, have you ever been in a... in a Turkish prison?"

Dick DASTARDLY

Mike Oxsaw 7:31 Thu Nov 2 I used to go to RAF Benson. Must be 40-odd years ago now. I was always amazed at how casual the RAF pilots were. Especially when they asked us to keep an eye out for other planes as we were on free formation and could potentially crash into each other!

"No idea what the market place is like today, though; I suspect similarly flooded following post-Covid airline fleet downsizing. Actually, a shortage of commercial pilots. Training new pilots, stopped in covid. Airlines downsized, those pilots laid off lost their ratings and sought alternative employment . Those factors combined with a post covid demand for air travel, has resulted in a shortage of pilots"

Coffee 12:17 Thu Nov 2 :-) Gary Newman also has a pilots license.

"Mike Oxsaw 7:31 Thu Nov 2 For as long as I remember pilots have always said that, yet there’s still pilots everywhere"

Blackbushe airport does lessons Leonard .

"I used to love flying a Chipmunk when I was in the Air Cadets and one of the myriad of ""What to do next"" thoughts that came into my head when I took redundancy from BT in 1992 was to finally go for my ppl that I missed out on back when I was 16/7. I was in the middle of an OU IT course at the time and we has a rudimentary 64k dial-up course chat-room. One of my fellow students was a former professional pilot and suggested that it was not the best idea on account of the marketplace currently being awash with fully qualified pilots, and basic research did in fact suggest this, so I ditched the idea without so much as a ""Brace! Brace! Brace!"". No idea what the market place is like today, though; I suspect similarly flooded following post-Covid airline fleet downsizing."

He's a Professional.

Martin Shaw has a pilots license.

"Best off doing it in Bulgaria where it’s cheaper and the weather more likely to be good. It’s a rich man’s game (obvious I know) - it’s not the license that is the big expenditure it’s maintaining it, keeping hours up etc. It was always my ambition to have my ppl by the time I was 40, am 42 and still waiting for take off Tally ho"

"Go for it. Call a local flying school and ask if they do try-out flights. Most, if not all, do. Tell them you're considering doing a PPL and you wanted to check it out. Clear take off. p"

Fixed wing or rotary?

FOOL! This was begging for the perfect SPLATT!

FOOL! This was begging for the perfect SPLATT!

"Speak to HAMAS , apparently they do a para gliding course ."