31 years, 3 months, and 12 days.

Congratulations, Don!

You’ve been with JC since the beginning and we’ve really appreciated your input and patience.

Now you really have the time to do what you really wanted to do without that pesky “work thing” being a time suck.

We know you’ll enjoy the next chapter.
 
Congrats! I’ve always enjoyed reading your posts around the forum. I look forward to reading many more. 4600 hours is incredible. That has got to be some sort of record of average hours per year for a career at UPS. I think you would be hard pressed to find someone who beats your stats!
 
Well deserved, a badass story and it all worked out in the end. I'm sure you'll equally enjoy the coming years as well in their own way.
 
I'm looking forward to my own retirement with a mixture of dread and excitement. It's tough to walk away from the job that you've always wanted, but it's always better to do it on your own terms than to wait around for an arbitrary age or a career-ending medical problem. Congratulations on a fine career, and I hope you have many healthy years to enjoy your retirement! Keep us posted...

Fearless
QX Q4 CA
 
Ok, who has the old PIC of Don with the can of Colt 45 form the waaay back NJC files? :) Congrats on another well earned Colt 45....:bounce:
 
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Congrats! I’ve always enjoyed reading your posts around the forum. I look forward to reading many more. 4600 hours is incredible. That has got to be some sort of record of average hours per year for a career at UPS. I think you would be hard pressed to find someone who beats your stats!
Yeah, I was super surprised by that. I wouldn't have known had UPS not been keeping track. The 4600 number was 98 thru 2021. I got hired in 90 and was an F/E for 4 years. Then upgraded to the right seat of the 72 until 98 but would have been senior and most of the trips were really short. I remember jumpseating on an Alaska flight once where I had to ride up front. The Capt was approaching 65 and didn't want to quit. He was doing as many extra trips as he could get. Was telling me he goes for block time. Rigs are for wussy's. Then he asked me how much I blocked a month and I guessed 20 (was doing airport standby at the time). The look on his face was priceless. He's probably dead now.
 
I'm looking forward to my own retirement with a mixture of dread and excitement. It's tough to walk away from the job that you've always wanted, but it's always better to do it on your own terms than to wait around for an arbitrary age or a career-ending medical problem. Congratulations on a fine career, and I hope you have many healthy years to enjoy your retirement! Keep us posted...

Fearless
QX Q4 CA
Yeah. It's definitely a little weirder than I thought it was going to be. I'm not sure why. I've always played down being Joe Airline Pilot. I'm pretty humble and not a type A personality (other than a keyboard commando sometimes). I'm going to miss flying big jets a little. It's hard to adjust to knowing I'll never be in the pointy end of a Boeing again. Getting back into GA is going to be a lot of fun, though.
 
Ok, who has the old PIC of Don with the can of Colt 45 form the waaay back NJC files? :) Congrats on another well earned Colt 45....:bounce:
I forgot about that. Wonder how young I looked then. I've moved up to Coors Light now...haha
 
Yesterday I did my last flight at UPS. It was supposed to be BFI-GEG-SDF but we got dinged on the ACARS over central Montana to divert to BIL for a broken Airbus. I turned 60 this month and enough in enough. I was number 138 out of over 3000 guys but it's not the job it used to be. Schedules have degraded due to more flying crammed into the same duty day. Looking forward to doing some traveling and getting back into general aviation. Looking at an LSA that I could do some instructing in and also have a Redbird desktop sim I can use for some IFR training. Also hope to do some side gig's doing some contract flying. We'll see. Want to get a motorhome and roam about the west a bit. Visit some of the places that were the better layovers and explore the pubs I wasn't able to enjoy while at work. Since 1998 I have only flown 4600 hours, which sort of blew my mind. That's a little over 200 hours a year. Can be explained by the fact I was on the 727 for the first 13 years and it always did very short legs. Also, did reserve back in the heyday when we worked 5 days a month, and the last 4 years did airport standby out of RFD where we didn't work much. Max pay, min work, has always been my motto. Takes a lot of seniority in the seat to make that happen and I did bypass upgrades for several years. I did 4 years in the F/E seat being number 2 in seniority at the end. 9 years in the right seat 72. Then went to the right seat of the 75 for 3 years and the Capt on the 75 for 15 years. I really had a charmed life and career at Brown but, again, seniority made it possible. DOH 2/19/90 and last day on the list is Monday. First pension check Tuesday. It's definitely going to be weird and an big adjustment to being an EX-airline pilot but I came much farther in the career than I figured I would. Good Lord had a hand in that. I couldn't have planned it. Happy for all the UPS pilots here who moved up a number, except for A300Capt, who is senior to me...haha.
Don! I can not believe it. First off, you don't look remotely close to 60. Second, you don't look remotely close to 60. Anyways, congrats on the retirement, maybe now we can finally go up out of sna.
 
I remember jumpseating on an Alaska flight once where I had to ride up front. The Capt was approaching 65 and didn't want to quit. He was doing as many extra trips as he could get.
These are the a-holes who pick up premium trips in the middle of negotiations while the company violates the contract :rolleyes:
"Oh but it helps the company". Guess they got their pensions and the hell with the rest of us...

Glad you made WAY more money and enjoyed more nights at home than them!
 
These are the a-holes who pick up premium trips in the middle of negotiations while the company violates the contract :rolleyes:
"Oh but it helps the company". Guess they got their pensions and the hell with the rest of us...

Glad you made WAY more money and enjoyed more nights at home than them!

I got news for you, everyone is picking up premium. Not just premium, people are picking up regular straight pay open time. The CA side gets gobbled up fast, all bases.
 
These are the a-holes who pick up premium trips in the middle of negotiations while the company violates the contract :rolleyes:
"Oh but it helps the company". Guess they got their pensions and the hell with the rest of us...

Glad you made WAY more money and enjoyed more nights at home than them!
HAHA. I got turned down by Horizon once, probably about 85. Years later I had another interview but didn't show for it as I went to fly Convair's, instead, which was a much better job. I would have loved to fly for Alaska but couldn't get an interview. Have a very good friend who retired out of there during the covid buyout and routinely says I was better off at UPS, which I agree with wholeheartedly.
Don! I can not believe it. First off, you don't look remotely close to 60. Second, you don't look remotely close to 60. Anyways, congrats on the retirement, maybe now we can finally go up out of sna.

Thanks. I'll be down in SC by Saturday and will be spending a week or so there getting the condo ready. I will be pretty busy but if you want to get together at Pizza Port or Schwack (I can stagger across PCH from there) that would be cool.
 
Don! I can not believe it. First off, you don't look remotely close to 60. Second, you don't look remotely close to 60. Anyways, congrats on the retirement, maybe now we can finally go up out of sna.

Thanks. I will be down in SC on Saturday and will be staying about a week to get the condo set up to rent. I will be pretty busy but if you want to get together at Pizza Port or Schwack (right across from my condo) that would be cool. No flying this trip but I'll be back Nov thru March and want to get active in GA again.
 
Thanks to all for the kind words and acknowledgement. Waco, I'm looking at one called the Sport Cruiser. I like the economics and the looks. Hard to believe what a wimp I've become since my teens when I would fly a 152 at night over the Cascades and not think twice about it. But my next plane is going to have a parachute. Also, looking for something I can do a little instruction in.

Hey Don - that Sport Cruiser looks really nice. Looked at it and the specs, etc. The only pricing I saw put it in the same area (plus/minus options) as the Texas Colt I had in my link - which also has a chute. The Sport Cruiser looks really nice though, but just for negotiation sake you may take a look at this - if for no other reason than to hammer whoever is trying to sell you the Sport Cruiser in negotiation. Just a thought my friend! Texas Aircraft
 
Hey Don - that Sport Cruiser looks really nice. Looked at it and the specs, etc. The only pricing I saw put it in the same area (plus/minus options) as the Texas Colt I had in my link - which also has a chute. The Sport Cruiser looks really nice though, but just for negotiation sake you may take a look at this - if for no other reason than to hammer whoever is trying to sell you the Sport Cruiser in negotiation. Just a thought my friend! Texas Aircraft
Yeah, I looked at the Texas Aircraft website and was really impressed. Did see some good reviews on it on youtube. Thinking a high wing would be better than a low wing if I ever wanted to spot fish or do any sort of aerial observation work with it. Started looking at the Vashon Ranger, as well. That one doesn't have a chute option and BRS doesn't have an STC on it yet. I'm probably a year away from buying so will see keep an eye on any changes with the new LSA rules about to be adopted. Really would rather buy used but both these aircraft are pretty new designs so not going to be much out there.
 
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