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Thread: Any pilots?

  1. #1

    Any pilots?

    Are there any pilots (mean airplane, but boat pilot's probably make more money hahah)...private or commerical? Just curious to see if anyboy flies. I have my private and about 100hours...joined a club down at school 2 years ago and will be working instrument ticket this year.

  2. #2

    Re: Any pilots?

    i put flying on hold about 12 years ago.. cant' do it all :-( commercial/instrument/multi with about 1300 hours... used to have an Aztec when i lived on St Barths in the Carib.
    Pascal
    Miami, FL
    1970 53 MY #325 Cummins 6CTAs
    2014 26' gaff rigged sloop
    2007 Sandbarhopper 13
    12' Westphal Cat boat

  3. #3

    Re: Any pilots?

    Commercial Helicopter...

    (Never trust an aircraft that can't land in it's own length)

  4. #4

    Re: Any pilots?

    Commercial B756 driver also former Army Aviator

  5. #5

    Re: Any pilots?

    Quote Originally Posted by Pascal View Post
    used to have an Aztec when i lived on St Barths in the Carib.
    St Barths with the crazy runway that you can't go around on lest you run into a mountain? A friend flew down there a few months ago for vacation and said he had to pick up an instructor to learn how to land there. His twin comanche was down so he took the clubs cardinal RG lol ballzy

  6. #6

    Re: Any pilots?

    crazy yes... but you can go around when landing eastbound coming in over the hill facing the prevailing winds. the problem is stopping before you end up on the beach or in the water :-) rwy is 2000' long and slightly dowhill... no go around is when winds are calm and you come in from the sea, facing the 100' hill on the other side...

    it gets interesting when the winds shift a little to the north, you get some fairly strong downdrafts on final... strong as in full-power-not-to-sink-below-the-hill in a not so underpowered Aztec :-)

    yes, you need a special runway rating to land there, i got mine in a Cardinal... some planes are not well suited to that airport... barons, senecas for instance are not ideal... the aztec on the other hand was great... on a good day (and knowing we were going to change the tires and pads soon anyway) i could get the taxiway 2/3 down the rwy. :-) pulling the flaps up while flaring to save 100' was pretty standard.
    Pascal
    Miami, FL
    1970 53 MY #325 Cummins 6CTAs
    2014 26' gaff rigged sloop
    2007 Sandbarhopper 13
    12' Westphal Cat boat

  7. #7

    Re: Any pilots?

    I have commercial, with multi eng. & instr. ratings with about 750 hours. I haven't been current in about 8 - 9 years.(marriage, kids, divorce, etc.) Maybe soon I can afford it again.
    Mike.

  8. #8

    Re: Any pilots?

    ATP/CFII/MEI land and sea with types in Challengers and Gulfstreams, currently flying a G-IVSP for a rich guy. Plans for a G-550 next year. I own a Cherokee 180 which carries us to the Bahamas, we keep the boat there for the summer. And MikeP, helicopters don't fly, they beat the air into submission!

  9. #9

    Re: Any pilots?

    I looked into trying to go coast guard to fly helo's because they are badasses, but the commitment is 11 years! I just don't like the idea of being told where I'm going to live for 11 years.

  10. #10

    Cool Re: Any pilots?

    ATP, SA-227, YS-11, L-188, DC-9, MD-80. 17,000 hours plus. It's been good to me, but not easy. I'm not sure what it's going to look like as a career in the future. Post bankruptcy, the airline industry has turned the clock back on costs, and wages and benefits are down about 15 to 30 percent. Some have lost all of their pensions, and are now left with the PGB pension limits.

    As a career...with a four year degree and about 35K worth of flight training expect to make 30 to 40K for a few years. After 8 or 10 years you should be making 75 to 85K. If you're lucky enough to stay with the same employer over 25 years, you may earn 150K or more. But understand that along the way you'll be on reserve without a schedule, then when you get off reserve you fly the least desirable trips; nights, weekends, and holidays. Plan on missing birthdays, anniversaries, your kids growing up, and oh yeah....ticking off the wife with your absences while leaving it all up to her.

    In short, if you're asking whether flying is a financially lucrative career, the answer is no. If you're asking if it's a stable career, I think that the pilot who spends 25 to 35 years in this career will see termoil: strikes, furloughs, mergers. If you're not passionate about flying, if you're not willing to struggle to get all the ratings and training, if you're not willing to fly the redeyes for a few years.....it's probably not for you.

    Find something that you're passionate about, that you enjoy and want to put your life's work into. No matter what that is...it won't seem so much like work as an interesting and rewarding way to make a living! For me, it was flying an airplane! As a career, it opened more doors, allowed me to see and do more in life than most folks.

    When I was 22 and just out of college, I got a job as a first officer (co-pilot) on a four engine Lockheed Electra, flying tourists aournd Canada, the US, the Carribean, Bahamas, and Central America. (I had 2300 hours total flying time at that point, in nothing larger than a King Air.) If you're in good health and have a family history of good health, and you can think clearly and briskly under pressure, the rest is hard work.

    Like I say, it hasn't been easy, and I haven't made a pile of money. But after 36 years of flying, I still get a thrill when I push the thrust levers up, or smoothly tackle a difficult approach and landing.

    Best of luck to you as you graduate.

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