What is the possibility of somebody with ASD to get a job as a pilot?

[Turbocks]

So for quite a while now I have been kind of obsessed with flying and aviation in general ever since I got my hands on mfs2020 and my interest started with fsx steam edition where I used it for 57 hours or so according to steam and I also downloaded several mods when using that sim to increase realism and make things look better.

On mfs2020 on steam I have 735 hours of playtime in total which shows just how obsessed I am with this sim.

I have bought several pieces of payware in this sim including both Rex weatherforce ,Rex Global runways and FS realistic for mfs2020 and several payware airports from the carribean and a ton of freeware addons that improve the realism and the experience of the sim and I had to buy a 500 gig internal ssd for my laptop that I installed myself because the sim + a ton of addons was eating up disk space on my existing 500 gig worth of ssd space.

In total I have practiced on mfs2020 for probably several months by now if not half a year or longer but I am not sure.

I usually practice in the a32nx which is a modified version of the default a320 neo in the sim designed to add or improve missing features of the default version such as systems present in the real a320 neo.

I have done ils landings multiple times in that one by following approach charts and looking at the fmc but also looking outside if possible and managing my instruments .

I also pay attention at things like speed and altitude which are very important to be doing at all times.

So in short I do know many things regarding how to fly the a32nx,how the fmc functions and what the many switches in the cockpit do.

I use simbrief for flight planning whenever possible and I use the subscription service navigraph at all times so that I have the most up to date charts and information.

Sometimes I also go on vatsim which is an online network that adds virtual atc where you can chat either using voicechat or text chat with real people that act as atc giving you instructions to follow.

Also I sometimes start reading about all kind's of aviation accidents for seemingly no reason whatsoever to learn what exactly went wrong and at what level such as pilot error or a technical malfunction.

Frequently I also watch a lot youtube videos regarding aviation and as a result it's a regular part of my youtube recommendations.

I very recently got my first apartment not too long ago and I will soon be moving in
and it will be a worthy challenge for me to tackle which could take me years to complete because of my ASD and it will not be easy but I will not allow myself to fail.

Eventually once I have settled down and I can manage my life on my own and I become more able to help myself develop strategies to not let my asd get in the away I am hoping that eventually I will be able to apply to some kind of pilot school in Sweden.

What I fear is one where they prevent people with asd from applying but I will not let that stop me for any reason and I will keep on searching until I find one.

My main goal is to eventually be able to fly one of the large airliners like the airbus a320 neo once I am capable enough and when I have gathered enough hours of experience in one of the smaller planes like a cessna.

What might stop me is if any of the larger companies like SAS have discriminatory policies in place that prevent people with ASD from applying but if that is the case then I will just stick to a smaller plane instead and be happy.

Besides aviation I will also mention briefly that I am now also interested in analysing malware on a virtual machine for example I recently looked at the source code of an infostealer malware written in .net called Agent tesla .

I have been doing that for some time and I am hoping to get a job as a malware analyst at some kind of security firm eventually.

Previously I did not have a niche as a programmer and I was looking for just that and I found out about analysing malware so I started doing that a lot during my freetime when I was not flying in the sim or caring for my aquarium fish which is also part of my obsession/special interest with all things related to aquariums and ichtyology(fish science).

 

[Aspychata]

You sound very passionate about life interests and these goals drive us every day to accomplish new things. Great you are getting an apartment. This will help you feel more independent. It maybe hard to have pets if you do start flying.

Just don't hold yourself back thinking because of this then l can't do that. This why we can't always have labels of who we are because for some strange reason we live within the label. Don't do it. You are just you, finding out what things you are learning and doing, you are a work in progress, and each day, you become better.

 

[watersprite]

I’ve spent a lot of time around pilots & several of them were on the spectrum.

 

[Nitro]

I grew up in a family of aviators, gained quite a few hours of my own but never finished my instruction due to life and other ground based (expensive) interests I was involved in.
Since then, I became medically unsuitable to further pursue it.

I'm from the USA, so I can't speak for what goes on outside of here.

I think the best advice I can offer is for you to contact your aviation authority in the country you live in and ask them.

 

[Nitro]

I formerly used Microsoft flight sims but was drawn towards the WWII era.
Microsoft from the very beginning made extremely accurate flight sim programs.
I generally piloted a North American P-51D with the realism set to 100% in order to get the fullest flight experience.
I set the sim up to use Le Havre as my base field and often flew sorties to Paris.
Opening up (6) simultaneous 50 cals. on anything I felt like was a rush, but also set the stage as to how little ammunition was available.
1550 rounds only lasts a very short while, so in order to get a confirm, you had to let your target fill the entire gunsight before you squeezed off on it for a very brief burst.

I thought I was a hotshot pilot the day I calculated that the aircraft would fit thru the lowest part of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
I tried it and it cleared it without a crash, so I started doing it on a regular basis.
Then one day I decided to see if I could enter the base in one direction, then leave it at 90 degrees from where I entered.
It worked, but you had to have a lightning quick response to pull it off at around 400 knots.
Then I upgraded to a sim a step above the WWII Theater one.
It offered an Extra 300 aerobatic airframe and set you up to learn how to fully wring it out.
One of the first lessons was to fly it thru the base of the Eiffel Tower, inverted

 

[Nitro]

My P-51 Mustang was so realistic that you could even hear the magneto impulse couplings clackety-clack as the crankshaft came to a halt

 

[Neonatal RRT]

I would imagine it has less to do with an ASD and more with one's ability to perform.

 

[Nitro]

I would imagine it has less to do with an ASD and more with one's ability to perform.

Not exactly true.
My NT brother has been fighting to gain his medical after they discovered that he had once taken an antidepressant at the advice of his doctor.

 

[Tom]

I hate being in planes. So I joined the Air Force. No matter how many times I flew (passenger, I wouldn't even daydream about being a pilot) I still never completely got over the phobia. But I could beat it back, because I had to. I just made up a little ritual where I accepted the fact I might die a horrible death, and made my peace with God, every single time. Jumping out of planes was actually easier for me then staying in the darn things. I think part is the maintenance tech inside me. I always am visualizing everything that can go wrong.

That said I got to know many pilots and at least in the Air Force they seemed to have some common qualities. Decisive, not prone to getting upset, though they could get very serious quick. Now, not all where quite so cookie cutter the same. There were outriders in personality.

Also smart. They all were very sharp upstairs.

I don't know what it is like in the civilian world of aviation. The only guys I knew were a few crop dusters and jump plane pilots. They was more laid back, but serious enough when the situation demanded it.

Sims are good, but you can't crash and so the stress isn't the same. So I would say take it slow and when the time is right contact a flight school and say you are interested. I would try to get a trial run (you go up with trainer of course) or two before committing to the lessons and putting down real money. If you like it take lessons. If you do well enough at some point you will get to solo. If you survive that, be sure to tell us here so we can give you the virtual high five.

If the will/motivation is there, and you are built for it mentally, I see no reason why not.

Flying aside, I set my goal on a military career. It was a big challenge and long (27 years). But I wanted it and I did it.

 

[Neonatal RRT]

Not exactly true.
My NT brother has been fighting to gain his medical after they discovered that he had once taken an antidepressant at the advice of his doctor.

Sure,...absolutely, if you are on certain medications. Not everyone with an ASD is.

 

[Nitro]

Sure,...absolutely, if you are on certain medications. Not everyone with an ASD is.

Yes, we can agree on that, but very much worth mentioning considering how many might be.

 

[Aspychata]

Thanks to the people who did service at this forum.

 

[An0maly_1976]

I don't see why ASD would be an issue as long as you were able to perform the duties of the job safely. I drove 18-wheelers for five years and loved it until asthma (I now suspect was from slow-moving SPD) made elements of the work environment intolerable to me. I still virtually truck (playing American Truck Simulator) on my PC.

That being said, simulators can be very realistic, but can never 100% duplicate the actual experience. Having seen it the other way around, going to a simulator from doing the real thing professionally, I can tell you that there can be slight discrepancies from the real thing that can make a big difference for the inexperienced going from simulators to the real thing.

And not to discourage you, but I might also add that I asked around about this, when I was thinking of learning to fly. Depending on how far you plan to go with it, flight school is pretty expensive, especially if you have your sights set on commercial jets. I would recommend doing what I did in preparing for getting my Class A CDL (big rig license). Do some serious reconnaissance work, making connections with professional pilots finding out what, if any, differences there are from MSFS to the real thing, and it helps to be able to ask professionals what it's really like. Surely there are forums for pilots -- I know there are for truckers.

 

[BobMarmaduke]

I imagine being an airline pilot as being the leader of a military mission. I also imagine that you have to overnight in different locations. I would expect that you have to be able to endure whatever you would conceivably ask others to endure. If there is in fact no aspect of leadership under pressure under adverse conditions, that is scary.

 

[Magna]

I still never completely got over the phobia. But I could beat it back, because I had to. I just made up a little ritual where I accepted the fact I might die a horrible death, and made my peace with God, every single time.

This is exactly the mindset I've had when I've flown on planes. Basically acknowledging that flying on a plane is accepting the fact that I've decided to engage in an activity in which I'm literally helpless and have zero control over my fate unless/until I get off the plane after a successful landing. As such, I'm willingly walking onto a plane of which the possibility even if rare is that I might die on that flight.

 

[Tom]

This is exactly the mindset I've had when I've flown on planes. Basically acknowledging that flying on a plane is accepting the fact that I've decided to engage in an activity in which I'm literally helpless and have zero control over my fate unless/until I get off the plane after a successful landing. As such, I'm willingly walking onto a plane of which the possibility even if rare is that I might die on that flight.

 

[BobMarmaduke]

The same can be said of automobiles and most definitely motorcycles. It can be said of bungee jumping and sky diving.

 

[Wulven]

Always wanted to be a pilot. But, never been flying. Wasn't sure my body could handle it. My mind is another matter. No medication. But short memory and difficulty remembering words. Can definitely learn the process of flying as far as steering, control panels, throttle, and instruments are concerned. Also slightly less vision in my left eye. 19/20. Monocle wolf.

 

[Wulven]

I formerly used Microsoft flight sims but was drawn towards the WWII era.
Microsoft from the very beginning made extremely accurate flight sim programs.
I generally piloted a North American P-51D with the realism set to 100% in order to get the fullest flight experience.
I set the sim up to use Le Havre as my base field and often flew sorties to Paris.
Opening up (6) simultaneous 50 cals. on anything I felt like was a rush, but also set the stage as to how little ammunition was available.
1550 rounds only lasts a very short while, so in order to get a confirm, you had to let your target fill the entire gunsight before you squeezed off on it for a very brief burst.

I thought I was a hotshot pilot the day I calculated that the aircraft would fit thru the lowest part of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
I tried it and it cleared it without a crash, so I started doing it on a regular basis.
Then one day I decided to see if I could enter the base in one direction, then leave it at 90 degrees from where I entered.
It worked, but you had to have a lightning quick response to pull it off at around 400 knots.
Then I upgraded to a sim a step above the WWII Theater one.
It offered an Extra 300 aerobatic airframe and set you up to learn how to fully wring it out.
One of the first lessons was to fly it thru the base of the Eiffel Tower, inverted

Sounds awesome!!

 

[An0maly_1976]

Always wanted to be a pilot. But, never been flying. Wasn't sure my body could handle it. My mind is another matter. No medication. But short memory and difficulty remembering words. Can definitely learn the process of flying as far as steering, control panels, throttle, and instruments are concerned. Also slightly less vision in my left eye. 19/20. Monocle wolf.

Which reminds me... Is it possible for SPD or ASD to cause what might seem like air sickness when it's really SPD making you sick from the sensory issues? I ask because I was extremely sick for three days after my first commercial flight... No sooner had I recovered than we had to come back home, whereupon I was again extremely sick for three days. Haven't dared to air travel since. Have also had trouble keeping sea sickness at bay as well.