wally
When Carl Icahn took over TWA the best pilot position was early retirement.
When Carl Icahn took over TWA the best pilot position was early retirement.
The little FBO in Maine that I learned to fly at started me in a new C150 and when I came home on Christmas vacation from college it had turned into a lovely old C140. I majored in line boy and mechanics helper and student pilot at a Cessna Dealership while in college, and those were my most fun flying years and I repacked a lot of bearings and I could set plug clearance correctly without a gauge… After 20 years in the AF (I had given up on the airlines once over age 28) there was a pilot shortage and at age 41 I was immediately hired, went to training 10 times in 14 years, never made captain, never held a line and retired early and the only airplane I miss flying is the F-111, though I think the DC-10 was the best hand flying heavy. Kevin, your advice to the young pup is spot on.
At age fourteen in the mid-60’s, I was one of those kids. Athletic (barefoot water-skier), flying my uncle’s Cub solo (with permission), and teaching professors at the local college how to program their computer. Somehow I knew that I needed to choose a career in something that I was good at, but not an activity that I loved viscerally, like flying. So I chose to study computer science, in the same way that many of my cohort went into the military, their family business, or some other default option. Seventeen-year-old male brains are rarely wired to make wise choices, but it turned out okay for me; I never lost a job that I didn’t have another, better-paying one lined up within two weeks.
I’ve done pretty well. Not as well as some of my retired airline captain friends, but much better than the ones who are on their third divorce, and well enough to live quite comfortably and support my airplane and helicopter habit. We all read about the people who take their passion to great heights of success, but the vast majority of us do not.
My advice to younger versions of myself is, pick a career doing something that you enjoy doing, and will provide the time and stable resources to support the things that you are passionate about. The other way around is much harder in the long run.
Why is Chad hanging around a GA airport watching someone work on something he might well never afford? If he took the semi-cynical advice you offered to treat the job as a necessary evil and that a “life” should be about segregating yourself from that evil, he’d be home in the garage building a silverware drawer for his wife. Little airplanes would be a remotely interesting mix of oddity and annoyance.
But he’s not. He’s a bit of airport bum like most of us who secretly admit to themselves that flying for a living is a truly unique blessing of being paid to do what you love and, if you’re honest, who you are.
I’ve gotten the furlough letter and the downgrade to FO and it’s a gut punch a guy takes but his buddies will listen sympathetically about the pain.
If you reject the sweet temptation to become bitter, though, you’ll probably run outside and look up if you hear a Twin Beech fly over.
Correct. You are in charge of not just your career but your future which is a significantly more important chunk of happiness and sustainability the whatever “stick time” is being dangled before your eyes. Truly a question of balance, security, remuneration and satisfaction. Take your sweet time and choose wisely.
I think the pilot shortage would be a lot worse if there wasn’t an airliner shortage…
Kevin, your advice to Chad is spot on—flying is a privilege with inevitable ups and downs. As a flight instructor, I chose teaching for its rewards beyond a paycheck. Resilience, passion, and diversifying skills are key to thriving in aviation. Tough love like your “circle of life” lesson helps young pilots stay grounded.
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Just don’t forget to bring money… Lots of money…