My son, Alex, was born in 2007 and went on his first plane when he was 4 months old. Not that he remembers it. You see, we lived in the UK when he was born and we travelled back to Brisbane to ‘meet the family’, I don’t know if it was his extensive flying experience from a young age, or something else, but ever since he was very small he wanted to learn to be a pilot!
Full disclosure, my family are not rich. Nor do we have a background or indeed any family members who are connected with the aviation industry. So his (and my) journey into getting him his pilot’s licence has been a testament to his enthusiasm for flying and my determination to figure it all out with him.
Hopefully by sharing our story, we can inspire you and yours too!
Creating a love for flying
But let’s start at the beginning. When I have shared some of my videos where he is learning to fly, people have asked how I nurtured his interests and how we got to be where he his now, so I thought it best if I start at the beginning.
Living in the UK and having our family in Australia, meant we were backwards and forwards a lot between the two countries when he was little. Children under 2 fly for free, (if not using a seat of their own) so we took advantage of that in the first 2 years. Then kids under 12 are slightly discounted. We also took advantage of living in Europe and visiting different countries easily by plane!
An early interest in flying
Like lots of kids, when he was really little, he had an interest in ‘things with wheels’. This quite quickly morphed into ‘things that fly’.
To develop and nurture his interests (in anything he was interested in, not just planes) I did what most parents do and took him out and about to places where he could see, touch and feel those things. Whenever we were at festivals or fairs, he always chose the aeroplane rides!
Friends also noticed and encouraged his interests. Here is my friend, John, playing ‘planes’ with him on the driveway in 2012, when he was 5.
For his 15th birthday I bought him a flight in a simulator – just for fun! 🙂
Lots of flights over the years
As I said above, we have travelled quite extensively. Not because we are rich (I wish!), but because that is what we prioritise to do with our money. He has always been a great travel buddy too, so it has been easy to travel with him. In 2019, just before the pandemic, we took a year and travelled around the world together. I wrote about that here.
Plane spotting
Whenever we could, we booked the ‘airport hotel with a runway view’. Here are a couple of pictures of him geeking out watching (and photographing) the planes. If you want to do this, you just need to Google it and lots of options come up! Who knew!??
So where do you actually start with learning to fly?
Right, so from my research I have learnt that there is not ‘one’ right way to learn to fly or get a pilots licence. So all I can really share is what we have done and also what others have told me.
The first thing we did as soon as he turned 14 was get him up into the sky to actually fly a plane. We did this at Archerfield. You need to be 14, so it was his birthday present from me. From memory it was about $250. He got 30 minutes up in the sky and he actually got to fly the plane. He didn’t take off or land. (Which I was happy about!)
He absolutely loved it and his passion for wanting to be a pilot has really has taken off (pun intended) since then!
How much does it cost to learn to be a pilot (and how did you afford it)?
Right, so let’s get down to the business end of the article. I have learnt that pilots licences come in ‘stages’. And there are three and they are (hooooooboy) expensive!!
- Recreational Pilots Licence (RPL)
- Private Pilots Licence (PPL)
- Commercial Pilots Licence (CPL)
At the moment he is getting through his RPL. Once he has this he can command a single-engine aircraft with a maximum weight of 1,500 kg. The weight and and the type of plane he is flying determines how many people he can take on a flight with him. He can only fly within a 25-nautical mile boundary from the departure airport.Â
I researched the places he could learn to fly in Brisbane and we landed on (yes, pun intended again!) Redcliffe Aero Club. They seem to have a good reputation and I appreciated that when I called I was taken seriously (yes, he is 16, no I don’t think that will be a problem!)
He has about 4 lessons left to finish. He started in November 2023 and I had hoped that he could have done all the lessons in his 10 weeks school holidays between Year 11 and Year 12. Bahahahaha…. how foolish I was!
It has taken far longer than I hoped because of things like plane availability, weather (can’t fly in windy weather with beginners!), Alex’s availability (around school and work) and instructor illness.
So far he has spent ~ $21, 000. Their website says it should cost around $14, 000 (+ aero club membership, text books and exams costs etc) but that page hasn’t been updated since 2020 and fuel prices have gone way up since then… I reckon it will be around $25, 000 by the time he has finished. It will cost more if you don’t grasp things immediately and need to repeat some lessons (which he has!) Each lesson is around $500 for around 1 hour.
How did you afford that?
OK. I know y’all want to know how a 16/17 year old affords $25, 000, so here is the truth. He has paid for it all himself. He has worked in one way or other and saved since he was 9 years old. I have just been the taxi service to the airport and back.
When he was little and I took Families Magazine to fetes and festivals he came with me and ran a ‘fingernail painting business’. He has grown and sold plants on Facebook marketplace since 2013.
When he was 14, he got a job at McDonald’s and has been there ever since, around his school. He works weekends mostly, while he goes to school and studies during the week for his ATAR exams.
He also runs a website called Get Out with Kids and has that monetised with ads and affiliates.
He has an accountant and has done his taxes since he was 14!
How can MY child learn to fly?
OK… so, as I said, there are many ways to becoming a pilot! There is no single right way and there seems to be lots of options. I guess it depends on how old your child is and when they start to show interest. As well as how much money you have to invest. You just need to choose the one that is ‘most’ right for you.
What we did decide early on, is that studying a Degree in Aviation at University was not the path for him. This was because he wants to study something STEM but not specifically aviation to give him another ‘string to his bow’, so to speak.
So for high school you could check out Aviation State High School. They have built up a strong, mutually beneficial partnerships with various Universities, flying schools (including helicopter and fixed wing), and some of the major players; QANTAS, Virgin Australia, Nauru Airlines Corporation, Boeing, Airbus, Airwork Helicopters, QANTAS Pilot Academy, Brisbane Airport Corporation and Menzies Aviation.
Some high schools in Queensland offer Aerospace as a subject through Aerospace Gateway to Industry Schools Program from years 10-12. Check their website for a full list of schools!
Joining the RAAF is also an option after high school. From what I hear from people who have been in the RAAF, you often need a university degree to be accepted.
So, what’s next after his Recreational Pilots Licence?
Right now he is finalising his studies for Year 12. After that he is taking a gap year and working full time then travelling in Europe. In 2026 he will go to university to study either (he thinks) Physics or Aerospace Engineering. But ultimately he wants to be a Commercial Pilot, so he is looking into options after his university studies.
He might go to the Toowoomba Flight Training School. They sometimes offer scholarships.
He also is looking into learning to fly with British Airways and their Florida (USA) program
I will keep this updated
If you want to keep across his progress, feel free to save this article as I will update as he learns to be a pilot.
It has been so cool to watch his journey. Well done Alex!!