I’ve written before about how, as the holder of a commercial pilot’s licence, I have to undertake a competency flight test with an examiner if I wish to earn money from flying. Over the last few years, however, my battle with anorexia has meant that I haven’t flown much, and what little flying I have done, has been entirely private and purely for fun. In fact, I haven’t undertaken a paid commercial flying job since I took the Churchill Dog balloon for a walk in 2012 to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, and with anorexia still popping in and out of my life as it chooses, I don’t see this changing anytime soon. I was, however, forced into needing a flight test. The reason? I’d moved house!
In the UK, a commercial pilot’s licence can have restrictions and limitations placed upon it, based on the type of flying you wish to do and the size of balloon you wish to fly. I hold an ‘Unrestricted Commercial Licence – Rated for Group A Balloons’ which means that, with the aforementioned flight test, I can fly “fare paying passengers” in a balloon up to 105,000 cubic feet (essentially taking 4 passengers at a time). As I’ve only been flying privately, however, I don’t require the flight test. I can just jump in a balloon and fly. Read more