I find it strange that there are people out there who are not pilots for a living but possess the qualifications to fly a plane and/or helicopter. I think that the majority of those people are very rich. Maybe if we were all rich we'd all have flying qualifications.
Here's my hastily constructed list of some famous people who can apparently legally fly something:
- John Travolta
- Harrisson Ford
- Dr. Phil
- Angelina Jolie
- Ben Affleck
- Clint Eastwood
- Morgan Freeman
- Dennis Quaid
- Tom Cruise
- Jay Leno
- Prince Charles
- Fergie
- George Bush (both W. and Snr.)
I somehow had the idea in my head that it's not easy to get a pilot's license of any kind. But maybe you do just need a lot of money. Or maybe I'm underestimating the capabilities of the people on that list... maybe.
My Dad has always wanted to be able to fly a helicopter. So for his 50th, Mum got him a helicopter flying lesson. The instructor said it would cost about $50,000 to get all the lessons and air time you would need to become a qualified helicopter pilot. Then you either need enough to buy or constantly rent a helicopter to keep your skills up. <- This is not a requisite to keeping licensed, but why do it if you're not going to utilise the skills even occasionally?
ReplyDeleteSo, in short, you need money and a lot of time :)