So you want to fly? If it's just a hobby, you could train for a Private Pilot's Licence (PPL). However, if you want make a living, your main options are to become a commercial pilot or to join the Air Corps.

The Air Corps accepts about 12 candidates for cadet training each year. These openings are advertised in February and March. Preliminary interviews, followed by assessment tests, are held during the summer months. Suitable candidates then go for a final interview and medical examination. The chosen few are called to the "military aerodrome" at Baldonnel, Co Dublin. to begin cadet training.

The competition for places is quite tough. The Air Corps receives 500 to 600 applications each year. However, says Commdt Andy MacIntyre, people should not be put off by the competition.

"We're not necessarily looking for the best academics. We want wellrounded people who are good communicators and are well coordinated. You could have a quite ordinary Leaving Cert and still be the best person for the job."

The fledgling cadets arrive in Baldonnel in October and are sent off for seven months' military officer training in the Curragh. Then it's back up to Baldonnel for a 15month "wings" course. The wings course combines 200 hours of flight training with ground training in 15 subjects related to aviation. At the end of this the cadet becomes a fully qualified pilot and is awarded wings and officer's commission, but must stay with the Air Corps for 12 years.

Their job is far more varied than that of the commercial pilot, says MacIntyre. "You could be flying search and rescue helicopters, the ministerial jet or be involved in maritime fisheries patrols. You could come back to the school as an instructor or go for overseas missions."

You need a Commercial Pilot's Licence (CPL) to fly a passenger plane for an airline or a cargo plane. To train, you could go privately to a flight training school, or apply to an airline to be taken on as a cadet.

You cannot currently train to become a commercial pilot here as the State has no approved flying training Organisation (FTO) and this is required by EU regulations. However you can complete the preliminary stages of your training and earn a PPL here, then train for your CPL in another EU country. Kieran O'Connor of Aerial Advertising (National Flight Centre) says this modular route is the most sensible way to go. "Not everyone who wants to fly is capable of being an airline pilot. By the time they have finished their training to be a private pilot, it will be obvious if there's a point in going on."

O'Connor says a pilot needs to be capable of lateral thinking and should be a team player. He also recommends that people get a third-level qualification before embarking on pilot training, both to have something to fall back on and from the point of view of maturity.

"You must be confident but disciplined to be a pilot. It's not daredevil stuff and it's not for your silkscarf-wearing, swashbuckling Errol Flynn types."

Getting your CPL through a private flying training organisation does not guarantee a job. O'Connor says airlines are crying out for pilots; however, he also stresses that licences go out of date if a certain amount of flying is not done each year.

The more secure route to becoming a pilot is to apply directly to an airline. Aer Lingus is the only Irish-based airline that runs a cadet training scheme. It takes on about 40 direct-entry cadets a year, but, as with the Air Corps, the number of places is far outweighed by the number of applicants, with the airline receiving 3,000 to 4,000 applications each year.

After submitting the application form, suitable candidates will be required to sit written aptitude tests. Those passing the tests then sit preliminary interviews, before going on to a final interview, personality profile and a group test with other candidates.

Part of the Aer Lingus training is conducted in either Spain, Britain or the US, because of the lack of an approved FTO here. Aer Lingus carries the cost of all training and pays cadets a nominal wage, however pilots must stay with the company for seven years, or refund part of their training costs if they leave before this time.

Capt Donal Foley says that being a pilot requires constant updating of skills and enormous dedication, but it is a rewarding career. "It's exhausting and demanding, but it's a tremendous job."