Apology

Mr_Creepy

Well-Known Member
For reasons unknown I have let myself get upset at people on this board, who I should really just ignore.

I would like to apologize to those of you who's respect is earned. I don't know why I lost my temper. To let one small minded person get my goat is one thing, but to blow up about it is another. It's not an adult thing to do, very immature.

I really have no reason to be upset lately either, as everything is going absolutely fantastic around here! I couldn't ask for more blessings than we've had in the last year or so. So why am I upset? I don't know!!!!

I started off on a bad foot with some of you, as I have presented the seemier, grungier, less attractive underbelly of being an airline pilot.

Would you believe I really want to help people? Some people are destined to be pilots, and will enjoy all the good and bad experiences. There are others, however, who will try to make the career switch and either fall short or find out late in the game that its not for them.

If I supply information from a different point of view, I hope to help people make their career decisions.

One thing I have heard several of you say, and I agree on, is that flight schools paint a rosy picture of the future where it may not be. That's my biggest beef with the industry right now. These big schools are pumping out pilots all full of piss and vinegar, ready to jump in a 747 and hit the sky. 6 months later they are flying right seat of a 152 around the patch, or maybe if they hit the jackpot, banging through thunderstorms in the dead of night in a 210 loaded with cancelled checks.

What keeps them going? "The Promise"

The promise that there is a major airline job waiting out there.

The promise that they will be making six figures before you know it.

The promise that they will retire millionaires.

The promise that they will only work 10 days a month and have a terrific amount of free time.

The promise (insert your dream here)

Nothing wrong with having a dream! Dreams make the world move on. Maybe I should leave them alone if they are happy.

At any rate, I'm sorry for the temper. Hope I didn't act like too much of a jerk.
 
JT,
Hey man we all loose are temper and around a bunch of an opinonized, very political statements it happens...Dont sweat it. I think most people really know you try to be positive about an airline carear (or atleast I think you do) but just like any job there are negatives to it...
 
I wouldn't apologise for telling the truth about the dark side of flight training and the airline biz. Someone needs to counter the lies and deceptions that some flight schools make in their brochures and advertisements. I just hope folks find this site before they pluck down big wads of cash, up front, for flight training.

JT...that being said, the dream that never worked out for you has quite come true for me....and I honestly have a hard time discouraging folks from pursuing it. Maybe if I was in your shoes I'd have the same attitude you have...but I'm not in your shoes and neither are a lot of guys who happen to be happy with where they are in aviaiton.

What I can't figure out is how you defend people like the folks who ran ATA....
 
Aww, there there John,
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maybe you have a change in hormones? LOL. Just teasing ya. While I do think it's important to be honest with people and tell them how you see it, even if that means no rainbows and kittens, it's also important to know when to stop and let someone be with there opinion because a lot of people are so set that they won't see it your way and it's useless to keep at it. When you feel like you aren't going to get anywhere
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with someone, you have to just say, ok, be that way, and move on. You and I didn't exactly start out on the right foot cause you made me feel like we shouldn't even think of a flying career when you didn't know anything about us. I could tell you had a little mission in your head to "protect" people, but sometimes people have to learn on their own. If we always took everyone else's word for it, we'd never learn and grow and try new things and new ways of doing things. I have since though seen that you were only trying to help us, and others, and while it may not have come out that way in the first place, it is far more appreciated then those who just pick apart posts to find any inconsistencies they can just to sit there and argue all day. Maybe if you just presented your story a little softer when telling it, it wouldn't come across as bad as it did, KWIM? Maybe now we can all just get a long!
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very good points!!!

rainbows and kittens are all well and good - but not always reality... of course, i'd prefer rainbows and kittens all the time cuz they're just pretty, cute and cuddly!!

but i gotta ask - where are you getting your new emoticons TheWife??? they're kewl!
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john_tenney

Oh no! You are not going to get off that easy, I suggest, the punishment for your blunder, is to buy everybody in the room
a "6" pack of the beer of their choosing!

No worries mate, it happens to us all.
 
What about the Mormons? We get Sprite instead of beer!!
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Kristie I get the emoticons from bestsmileys.com They have some pretty good ones.
 
Tenney:
I appreciate every insight, opinion, and thought that you have posted regarding the airline industry. I don't want anything sugar coated and would prefer to hear the ugly stuff first so that I know what to expect. I respect you very much. I could pick your brain for hours on end. No apologies. thanks JT.
-junior
 
I've read your posts and you do seem somewhat negative about people entering aviation careers. However if they read your perspectives section on the site they'll see what you said. That you'd do it all over again! Heck I even plan on attending one of your seminars when I'm at the right hours! I live in FL as well, Orlando isn't but a 1hr flight!
 
There seems to be a misconception here.

I am very glad I made the career choices I made. I will always treasure the years of 1987 till now, as my flying years. Flying is in me, and in my blood. I am never going to be against aviation!

My own airline career was a lot harder than I thought it would be, but that makes it worth that much more. I kind of wish I had listened more to the "old experts" when I was training, I would have been expecting more of the reality and less of the dream.

Some people on this board have flown with me. Certainly some knew me at American Eagle, Mesa or Midway. I was the guy who was laughing, telling jokes in the crew room, pulling pranks, etc. I was not the complaining type.

My negative experiences are actually from witnessing other would-be airline pilots get disappointed.

While I'm past the point of my life where line pilot is attractive, I would never trade in the memories.

When I say I regret leaving engineering, it's usually when I am staring at a pile of bills
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Engineering paid very well, and engineering firms are enormously better at treating employees like humans!

But airline flying? I used to tell (shocked) people how little I made. I loved the expression on their faces! No one believed that I made $14-15k as an airline pilot for American Eagle. I'd leave them with this phrase, "The pay is low, the hours are long, but the view from the office is awesome!"
 
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When I say I regret leaving engineering, it's usually when I am staring at a pile of bills

[/ QUOTE ]
You can say that again (though not as far as engineering in concerned).
 
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