Hi guys - I wanted to let you know that I just launched an Insiders Newsletter, where once a week I send an email with an important aviation lesson I've learned, links to my latest content so you won't miss anything, and occasional behind the scenes content. I'm also working on a big new project that I can't announce yet, but I will be sharing more behind the scenes content with my Insiders via email along the way. You sign up (free) at airplaneacademy.com/insiders

Took me 10 years to get to the cockpit. After that 15 years of airline flying. Whoever is reading this-Give it a try!

An advice i can give to new aspiring pilots is things might not go the way you plan it. In example. You wanna knock out 2 or 3 licences in one year and instructors wont reply back to your texts, or you might have to go get surgery, or you go to school and something happen to your rental or someone took it or WEATHER.These things can get frustrating sometimes. Just relax and have fun at getting your licences

Started my PPL at 33, i finished it this weekend just before turning 35! It has been frustrating at times but now motivation is flowing back big time having the actual plane license in my hands!

As a 747 cargo pilot who has been flying for 13 years, you have to remember that the cockpit is a terrible classroom. You have to learn outside the airplane by "chair flying" and use the time in the airplane to demonstrate your skills. I agree you have to hang out with as many pilots as you can at all skill levels. Make sure your instructor provides a detailed debrief after the flight in a room not outside by the airplane or walking to the building. Not every student and instructor are a good match and don't be afraid to get another instructor. I did a lot of studying at the local FBO which meant I got to meet other pilots who were inspirational in getting over things I had trouble with. Make sure you and your instructor have a goal for the next flight.

I've started to learn how to fly because it hurts not flying.

I started aviation with gliding which is an incredibly cheap way to learn the basics of flying and managing energy. Now I am extending to powered aircrafts. Not the fastest way, but I gained a lot of valuable experiences and airtime for very little money.

your video touched my heart.... My father was a b-17 tail gunner in Europe, Crewed C-54s in the Berlin airlift, Crewed B-17's in an artic rescue unit out of Labrador and Greenland, during Korea, and ended his career in Montana with a missile unit during the Cuban Missile crises. He loved anything with wings, and I have lived my whole life at the end of the runway. As for my path, I started at 16 as a line boy at a local airport in 1966 fueling planes, follow me trucks, and opening the FBO at 4 am for $2.30 an hour and one hour of instruction a month. I flew in Wacos, stagger wings, D18, Champs, and Citabria. I rubbed shoulders with American and German fighter aces and saw Bob Hoover do a Dead Stick loop to a landing in his Shrike. After High school, to avoid the Draft I went to my local 2-year college to get a commercial pilot license. Three quarters the way through the private course the flight school went belly up with my log book behind locked doors. I Failed to complete my license in the allotted time and lost my student deferment for the draft, A-1 with a draft lottery number of 12 and they were calling #245, I joined the Air Force, I worked in Photo intelligence in the SR-71, U-2 program at Beale AFB and Hickam tracking Air defenses in north Korea, North Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Russia, and Cuba. I Worked photos of Rolling Thunder, and Linebacker, and participated in the planning of the unsuccessful POW rescue attempt at Son Tay NVN. After my stint in the AF I returned to School, Business, marriage, Home, and Children. To quote Bidden "You know the ..thing." I still live at the end of the local airport and see some of tail numbers I saw as that Snot-Nosed kid Almost 6O years ago. Of all the things that I have seen and done in my life my biggest regret is not finishing my Ticket to fly. Habu68z@Yahoo.com

My advice is for those who just want to get into flying just for private flying, no commercial aspirations...don't do it until you have the long-term finances in order. There is nothing more frustrating than not being able to fly due to finances, your skills get rusty and then when you do get to fly again, you spend your funds knocking the rust off. It can become a situation where you truly never become a better pilot and you're just throwing good money after bad. The bottom line is that flying takes a lot of money. If it's not at or near the top of your financial priorities, honestly, you're wasting your time and money.

Just got my Private last month!

Charlie! This is amazing! I'm 48 and making a 2.0 career change (Lord willing) and I am super impressed with this messaging! Keep it up! You mentioned new muscle memory...my right rudder leg is so strong I can only walk in circles. ;) What an incredible end to the story!

You know, it's funny you said that about "the right time." My family always had a saying about waiting "for the right time" to have kids; you'll never have 'em!

Appreciate it! About to start my training next year! Looking forward to this

I’m right on the edge of my commercial. The things you’re saying are what I wish I could’ve told myself months ago when I started “studying” for the written. I took a 3 year break between my instrument and when I started my commercial back up. I thought I could go through and watch some videos to have have all the information just magically come back to me. Hardest lesson I had to learn to date. Aviation truly is its own language and without repetition we forget how to speak it. Thank you for this video, it’s a wonderful reminder that everyone struggles to speak this language!

As someone who is currently in the “middle” of their flight training and feeling like everything is going wrong, hearing your point of view and advice definitely brought back a spark in me that I seemed to have lost. Thank you for sharing

Great video! You are spot on with being in the middle. I remember how hard it was getting my ppl in the middle. But now I’m 60 hours shy of my commercial and I kinda have the same feeling of being in the middle. It’s hard watching all your friends have tons of free time while I’m always studying and flying. But you are right, what a blessing we have to be upset that flying is taking our free time up. I’m just trying to stay focused and get my next ratings. Love watching your videos for motivation.

It's good to follow pilots on their journey hope the best for you . Please keep that mindset!!!!

Your advice is very accurate and helpful, Charlie. A lot has changed in aviation since I started in the 50s, but much is the same. I rented a Champ for $3.00 per hour wet. I don't know what that would be in today's money, but not so much I think. I also instructed for $5,00 per hour. The airplane is just a machine, and a pretty simple one. Primacy of learning and learning plateaus were things, both civilian and military, that leaned toward rapid learning. That helped alleviate that middle ground slump you mentioned. Solo around ten hours and finishing around forty-five was common. Airlines have always been a small percentage of the total number of pilots, and most were military trained. While more expensive now, a higher percentage of non-military go on to airlines. Smaller wars, fewer military trained pilots. My local FBO has been in business all these year because he also had twenty rental houses. Maintenance was the least aviation loss for him back then. Now he trains on four airports and goes through more instructors in a year than he did all of last century. I bought a $10,000 Pawnee in 79 and struggled to make as much as my wife teaching. I flew the pipeline for $20.00 per hour but also flew 25 hours per week. Air Tractor pilots make $300.00 per hour, but that two million dollar airplane must fly all year or the pickup man comes. Like you said, Charlie, we fly because we love flying. If it's about the money and working conditions, we are in the wrong business.

The middle part, you're absolutely correct. I'm in it right now (going to start my cross country training soon). I'm so overwhelmed, but I just met a fellow student at my school. ATC is so so so intimidating in a busy class delta. Fingers crossed, hopefully it all works out! Thank you for the content.

Great stuff! I been training via sim. Learning the ATC communication and ground school stuff.

Excellent video and advice!

Dude, that initial email is so sad. I’ve been *supremely* lucky in having parents/family/friends who hear about my pursuits like aviation, fishing, etc. and go “lol that’s awesome”. Having a support system of some kind or another (family or trusted friends) is one of the most important aspects of life. I’m not a crazily social person in the grand scheme of things. I like learning about stuff and I value my “me time”…but you always need at least *someone* in your life who you can just rap to about stuff, get advice, get encouragement and appropriate criticism from, etc. Someone who doesn’t immediately go “you’re crazy” when you tell them you’ve always wanted to fly airplanes…

A damn good vidéo Charlie !! looking at IT with dreams in m'y mind

Currently debating whether to take my PPL up a notch and go commercial. Your video was timed perfectly. Very good insights into your experience.

Great advice Charlie. I spent the past two and a half years watching youtube flying videos wishing I was back in the air. I finally started back a few weeks ago after 36 years. What a great feeling being back on the controls. In hindsight, I now feel like I wasted those two years when I could have gotten back in the air sooner. To quote some sportswear company... Just do it!

As a person who is just beginning his journey to follow this dream, I remind myself of this - if I am going to take off, I will do it into headwind. If I am going to land the dream, I will land into the headwind. Thank you for your content, it is encouraging.

I'm chuckling at how appropriate this video is to my current situation. I was wondering how to prevent my portable GPS receiver from getting way too hot as it sits on my Cessna 150 dashboard. That led to me becoming more serious about 3D printing, which I've sort of been wanting to learn how to do for about a year. After a flight last Thursday when I found that the receiver was almost too hot to pick up, I decided to commit. Since then, I've been watching KZfaq videos, purchased a tutorial (book), started believing that I can actually learn how to create useful things with a printer, and yesterday, purchased a printer. It's really a case of there never being a better "right time" than today. Your video here said it perfectly.

As usual your job was awesome. Thank you. 😀😀😀

Holy shit. My name is Ryan and I've been debating becoming a pilot as a hobby in my late 30's. Are you reading my mind?

I was originally interested in flying my junior year of college. My roommate at the time was a captain for an airline and I asked a ton of questions. Fast forward to my senior year, I was working at Hawaiian Airlines and got to do the 787 sim and that really sparked my interest. Two months after graduation, I did a discovery flight and absolutely loved it. After my discovery flight, it took a year of serious debate on whether or not this is what I wanted and I realized that it was. I just started my PPL and super excited for everything to come.

It hurts when they told me … gonna be over 30k to get the license. Auch !

im going to start taking classes this august im excited.

Ooo, nice Ali Abdaal reference!

I’ve had so many road blocks but I’m not very far from the checkride 🙏🙏

Amen ✝️😎, seeking what is above in both ways

Thanks for making this video. I have cmel csel, IR. CFII and ATP, or type rating are the ones left to get. I have some experience right seat in KA 200's, cj3, an pc-12 but nothing concrete just yet. I have been trying to network the best I can to no avail. So I have always thought of the CFI route as an option. This makes me more motivated to just bite the bullet and go for CFI. Yes I agree the middle is the rut to get through. MY other option I am thinking of is doing a fractional ownership deal on an airplane to time build. Aviation is a small community, lets help each other out!! Cheers fly safe ya'll.

Great video. I'm 38 and am thinking of a new career path. Your video is very motivating. It is scary to think of restarting at my age, but aeronautics has always been a passion of mine. I am at a point where I need to make a choice. Same old thing that I'm good at or becoming a pilot. (My passion) this video has helped me decide that my happiness and passion is never the wrong choice. I'm going to start ground school tomorrow. Thank you foe the inspiration.

This is something I'd love to do someday, but not while on a paramedic payroll lol. Everywhere around me up in illinois wants up around 20k just to get a ppl. Until then I'm gonna get back into flight sim, especially with the newer version coming out. Any recommendations on content or things that go hand in hand with flight sim that can help some of the pre-learning learning process until I some day win the lottery or get a lot of workmans comp ;)

I wish you had advice for the people who tried and ran into difficulty and are now plagued with indecision because of it. Like me.

Great advice! I got into it after my kids were done with college and moved out. Spent the money I was previously spending on their college on flight training and renting. You only spend $20,000 a year owning your own plane? I would love to do the math on that - I don't have "family support" for buying a plane unfortunately.

You're a fun dude. Got my private around 1972-3 because I was a skydiver and we were running out of pilots. My buddy, a Viet Nam combat veteran like myself asked why. I said we need pilots. Dr whatever her name was, is rotating back to the US. Robert said I'll do it also so we can trade off. Well, that dirty dog fell in love. Last I knew he was everything, got helicopter, jet, heck had his own FBO. Flew for the sheriff's department ( I know because they called me for a reference) You never know. Hopefully he is still going. Haven't flown since 1975, 6 kids, career, etc. But thinking about it again. Probably nuts. My wife thinks so, heck, I crashed a 172 with her on board, lol. "cheated death again, welcome to El Porvenir!"...crap, she's right.

Do I have to take ground school at flight school when I already have my written exams out of the way?

I’m a hobby pilot and will admit the middle training slump was fr

My name is Ryan and i passed my PPL check ride last week. It has been a 2 year struggle. The flight school I attended was the reason for the 2 years. I had to REFLY my 10 solo hours because my instructor at the the time did not put all of the pre-solo endorsements in my log book. Then I was forced to repay for the flight time. So much money wasted on redo's that I could have spent on fun family flying time. My advise, have more money than you think you will need to finish what you start! Just like having kids, but that is a whole different thing!

I just want to say that being a pilot is not something to take lightly. Getting your first license will be one of the hardest things you'll ever do. One does not simply get a license to become a pilot, they have to adapt the personality of a pilot. The will, the drive, the confidence, the frustrations of failure or setbacks, the education and intuition, etc it's a lot of commitment and if all you see is "10k to get a private pilot license is a lot of money", then just give up. You don't just stop flying when you get a rating. I didn't stop flying when I got my private pilot certificate. Flying will cost a lot of money and cost you a lot of time. It's a major commitment. If you want to learn how to fly, you better know how to budget. Start with 10k before you do anything and every month after, start putting money into that account. That is your private pilot/flight fund.If you can't do another flight, you do not fly and this fund is only added in after bills/debts/etc are paid off. Hopefuly you can add atleast 500 a month into it..With some luck, you will get your private within 10k. If it took you longer to get anything, the money you add will hopefully be able to cover it. If you managed to drain it completely within 6 months to a year, give it up, you're either being taken advantage of by the school/flight instructors or you have no business being in a plane. More than likely the problem is the cfi/flight school, but there are people who really shouldn't be behind an aircraft. it is better to waste 15k realizing you have no talent for flying than to keep trying to make it work and go into debt due to it. Finally, I will almost guarantee if you are not in a family that is interested in aviation, you will have zero support. You will have to be your own motivator to continue or give up flying.Trust me when I say, there will be a lot of times when you'll think of quitting and there is nothing wrong with that. However, do not go to your circle of friends/family for support, you will not receive any. Instead, look at the aviation community for support. They'll the ones who know what you're going through and they're your best motivators to keep you moving through the rough patches. Also, don't forget the reasons you took up aviation in the first place. It is very easy to get lost in trying to obtain ratings without realizing you don't have the skills for them. Be sure to take a step back every now and then and reassess your goals and reasonings. To give an example, I took up gliding for two reasons. To understand stick and rudder since tail wheel aircraft training planes seemingly don't exist and to learn how to react on power failures during takeoff by simulating rope breaks at 200 feet. I spent maybe a couple summers off and on and tried to get my add on. Failed my checkride mainly due to not completely understanding how he actually wanted me to do the landings because...it's kind of dumb and because I didn't treat gliding the way it was meant to be treated because I wasn't giving it the respect it deserved. I didn't learn gliding to be a glider pilot, I learned gliding for a few potential ideas and I forgot about the main reason I did it in the first place. So have clear goals, have checkpoints to those goals and every now and then, reassess your position you currently are to those goals. Keep that in mind and you'll do fine.Don't be afraid to branch out, but don't forget the main reason you did it.

Appreciated the excuse counter vs. the wisdom score...apparently you married as well as I did! Getting ready to start back up with a small 50th birthday investment - I haven't flown in 20 years, and I had 46 hours at that point. I have the excuses of 6 kids, recently under-employed, and was previously flying under special issuance. But I'm still gonna get started. Hopefully selling the motorcycle will help wrap it up!

I’m split on making the decision to do it now or wait. If I go now in mid 40s I might be able to still make a 20 year second career out of flying. If I wait 5-7 more years my finances should be good that even if I don’t get a great position in aviation it won’t matter. The risk will be substantially less at that point without a mortgage or any debt. Won’t probably ever fly for a major if I wait until I’m 50 though. May not fly for a major even if I start now. I could take the slow roll path and get started but spread it out. Seems like that might be a waste of money though as others here have said.

i am actually in contact with an airfield to do a discovery flight in a glider.

I always want to fly cargo in a 1943 Douglas C47 Skytrain .... am i too late for that at 68 ?

Love the scripture! Great video

Money. Only money is the thing standing in my way. And my country's air force is shit and the planes aren't in condition I don't know what to do😭😭

im 4 months in flight training/ about 40hrs flight with instructor.. i havnt even done my solo flight yet and thinking i might should give it up.. worried i might just be wasting time and money.

Maximum age 48 can start for pilot training

I love thst he a man of god

I'd love to be polit. I have plenty of people in my corner.The problem is funds. Every time I attempt to save up, life happens.

Have you ever thought of working for an airline

As a christian and interest in aviation , this video def came across in good timing 😁

Do not rest your hand on the prop and do not run around with your finger on the trigger unless you are wanting the to go off.

Blá! The return of that will come!

Like a comment below points out if you are strictly into playing for fun and to be a GA pilot you may want to wait until you have your time AND money in order. Personally I tried to start and stop over 20 years because one was lacking in my life consistently. If you want to be a commercial pilot for a MAJOR start young and DO NOT STOP, sell a kidney if you need to keep flying. I built up hours, I finally got an interview with a major (one of the top 3 U.S. airlines) in my late 40's and it was the worst experience in my life. Walking into the interview with the HR person and Captain they looked at me as if I had one arm and one eye. Within the first 5 minutes, it was apparent they wanted nothing to do with an older pilot that couldn't give them 30+ years in the seat. It was the most unprofessional interview I've ever been a part of and I've hired hundreds of people in my professional life. Sure I can fly for mid-majors, corporate, be a CFI etc.. but I've seen majors are most likely out of reach as an older pilot.

Flight training has become so expensive over the years, there are alot of people who wanna become pilots but can't because of financial restrictions..

It’s certificated flight instructor not certified.

Bro the biggest hater on anyone aviation journey and the biggest discouragement is “ MONEY “ 💰

Unless you are under 40 with a college degree, forget it. There is no pilot shortage, just ask Delta and Southwest. It is extremely competitive for the few jobs that exist. You need a ridiculous amount of hours to get a job, good luck!

How old is too old to learn to fly ?

Somewhat cheesy, but great advice. Even an old hog as me had something to take home from this. Thanks, Mr.

And how exactly do you think bible verses are going to help atheist and nonbeliever pilots who don’t give a shit about the bible? People need rational secular advice.

Down voted because of religion. No thanks