[EXPAT PROFILE] It’s a pilot’s life for me

A journey in more ways than one

He’s traveled half way around the world doing everything possible to become a commercial pilot and now Turkey is where his dream is finally starting to come true. It isn’t easy or cheap to become a commercial airline pilot (training alone has cost him 100,000 euros so far) and there are different routes you can take to become one, some longer, such as becoming a military pilot first, than others. It only took two him years to get his license, which is relatively quick.

At the tender age of 18 he passed the theoretical exam but he ended up having to leave Italy to gain the practical experience he needed. “At the time I would’ve had to wait six months for an instructor to become available to do the actual flight training with me,” he explained. “You can basically train to be a pilot anywhere; it’s up to you. After doing some research I decided to go the US (even though I didn’t know anyone there and couldn’t speak English) because the euro was stronger than the dollar, fuel was much cheaper and because it’s very important for pilots to be able to speak English. The flight to Miami was the first time I’d ever been on a plane even though I knew the theory behind flying one. I wasn’t even sure how to check in for my flight! I stayed in Miami for two years, learned how to fly small aircraft and taught myself English. After that I went to Spain, Ireland, the UK, Sweden and Denmark to get the hours I needed on both simulators and commercial aircraft. In Denmark I flew a 737 500 for the first time.”

Does he have any advice for someone wanting to become a pilot? “Above all, before you even look into training, you should take the medical exam first,” he emphasized, adding, “Then if you don’t pass it, you will save yourself a lot of time and money!” So how many companies did he apply to before getting accepted by Pegasus? “It must have been over 200. … The trouble is that when you’re just starting out you face too much competition from other pilots with more experience than you; after all that studying and investment it’s very hard to get a foot on the first rung of the ladder. You also need at least 100 flying hours under your belt. Pegasus is one of the few airlines worldwide which takes on trainee pilots and it’s also a good company to work for because it’s well-known for its high standard of training. It also offers a good starting salary. I will always have good memories of Pegasus as it’s the first company to give me the opportunity to develop professionally.”

Behind the scenes

So why didn’t Francesco save himself a lot of money and become a military pilot first? “In some ways that is a good idea because the state pays for your training and license but you’re then obliged to stay in the military for a certain period of time. In Italy it’s not such a good idea to become a military pilot if you aim to become a commercial pilot. Firstly, because you have to stay in the military for around 12 years which would then make it difficult to find a job with the commercial airlines because of your age. Secondly, in Italy there are two kinds of licenses: civil and military and it’s difficult to find a job in civil aviation with a military one. Plus you have to remember that it’s ultimately very dangerous to be a military pilot: you could get killed.”

So what is being done to make it safer in the skies in general? “With so much competition for passengers, airlines, like Pegasus for example, are very aware of safety issues,” he pointed out. “Pilots are constantly evaluated. Every year we have to do a simulator test and for four hours you deal with a wide variety of potential emergencies you could face during a normal flight. There’s also an annual ‘line’ check which takes place during a routine flight to make sure that you’re still up to your company’s standards. Every year pilots also have to pass a comprehensive medical.” But are all the evaluations useful in practice? “Whenever I’ve been in a difficult situation, I’ve surprised myself by always automatically knowing what to do,” he explained. “It’s at times like that I’ve seen the results of my training with Pegasus. It goes without saying that it’s important for pilots to stay calm in an emergency and to be able to work as part of a team. If you combine an airline’s regulations and standards and your experience as a pilot, you shouldn’t have any problems.”

At the end of the day, has it been worth all the training, traveling and investment? “It depends on the company you work for: some airlines treat pilots better than others,” he commented. “In general, it’s a great job as you get to experience things few other people do, such as watching the sunset at 41,000 feet. You could also fly different planes: if you trained to fly a Boeing, you could also fly an Airbus for example. You’d have to go on a training course for the new plane of course. Plus if you’re on board with a nice crew, you can have fun and time flies by -- some flights can be very boring. There’s one experience I’ll never forget: When you first think about becoming a pilot, you’re obsessed with the idea of flying big planes but to be able to do that, you have to start out with small ones. That really came home to me one day while landing a light aircraft at Miami International. I realized I was on a parallel approach with a 747 and it was so close that I was able to say hello to the pilot. I realized I couldn’t wait to fly a monster like that. The downside is that it’s a dangerous job -- planes are just machines which can malfunction at times. Then there’s your health; as pilots go so high on a regular basis they’re exposed to a lot of radiation. The constant tests and exams are also very stressful. Food can also be an issue as you spend a lot of time eating food which isn’t always very healthy.”

When in Rome...

As Francesco hadn’t planned to move to Turkey, what exactly did he know about the country before he arrived? “Absolutely nothing,” he underlined. “Unfortunately I don’t think that people in Italy really appreciate what a great country this is, how beautiful it is, how much history is here or how nice the people are. I had no idea that Turks would be as friendly as us Italians or that they would be so willing to help foreigners.”

“There are many similarities between Rome and the Antalya region. I lived in Rome for most of my life; that’s an amazing city. Since then I’ve done a lot of traveling and I have to say that I haven’t yet been anywhere that could compare to Rome, a city that’s over 2,000 years old but is still vibrant and alive. However, I’ve noticed a lot of similarities between my city and Antalya -- I live near the old city, Kaleiçi. I think that’s one of the reasons I like Antalya so much. I also love the wonderful view of the sea with the mountains in the background, from both the air and the ground. More specifically, it’s also a great city for pilots because we learn how to negotiate the big mountain just before the airport.”

“There is a major problem in Antalya, however, the water is too hard to cook pasta properly,” he complained. “I’ve had the same problem elsewhere in the world. There’s no point in trying to use bottled water either as it just won’t replace the water in Italy that makes Italian pasta what it is. I really like ‘kebab’ though so it’s not an insurmountable problem. When in Rome...”

He’s not the kind of person to waste a stopover in a hotel room. So far he’s visited Ankara, İstanbul, Pamukkale, Trabzon and Dalaman. As he’s from Rome he’s also visited places of historical interest like Side and Olimpos in the Antalya region. In the last 10 months he’s also managed to squeeze in a climbing trip in the Konya area.

Has he had the time and energy to learn any Turkish? “Such a busy schedule and irregular hours makes it difficult to go to classes,” he lamented. “But I have taught myself enough to make friends and go shopping. I am trying -- honest!”