Pour one out tonight…

[Boots2Wings]

One of our sister companies on the ramp lost a bird today and sadly, the pilot has gone west.

Since no one cries for a freight dog, figured the least we could do was take a moment.
Be safe out there folks.

Tailwinds all the way Captain.

 

[ASpilot2be]

RIP

 

[EIR]

Godspeed. Single pilot freight was the best job I never want to do again.

208B Crash Hayburn, ID

 

[CFIT99]

CSATW

Godspeed. Single pilot freight was the best job I never want to do again.

208B Crash Hayburn, ID

Agree, although it made me in indefinitely better pilot...I never want to do SPFrieight again.

 

[dustoff17]

RIP. Hats off to those who make these routes….

 

[MikeD]

I’d love to do single pilot freight again, just to experience the challenges again. Even night IMC in the Piper Lance or the Chief. Would be neat to go back in time, in a sense, to 29 years ago.

 

[ZapBrannigan]

I'm glad I did it. It made me a better pilot. It's the closest I've come to dying in an airplane. Never want to do it again. But I wish that every up and coming aviator had the chance to do it for 6 months or a year before going to the airlines.

 

[Boots2Wings]

I'm glad I did it. It made me a better pilot. It's the closest I've come to dying in an airplane. Never want to do it again. But I wish that every up and coming aviator had the chance to do it for 6 months or a year before going to the airlines.

decided to do it while i was youngish, so i could really learn and have some decent skills to bring to the 121 world as opposed to just be a meat servo in the right seat. 3 years on, Sim instructor, program manager, and still learning. So Its a good experience, with a chance to learn a ton and opportunities for those who want a challenge. But ill make the jump soon enough, and I know i will miss it.

 

[GypsyPilot]

I’d love to do single pilot freight again, just to experience the challenges again. Even night IMC in the Piper Lance or the Chief. Would be neat to go back in time, in a sense, to 29 years ago.

Flying single pilot 135 in a Navajo was fun at the time, but I have absolutely no desire to ever do that again. Flying a well maintained 767 with another well trained pilot is 1000x better.

 

[Boris Badenov]

I don't think I'd be sharp enough. Maybe now, definitely not in 20-whatever years when I'm thrown out of being a highly-trained systems-manager. Perversely, a lot of being good at that job (at least IMHO) was not *really* knowing how dangerous it was. Young, dumb, full of uh self-confidence etc.

 

[MikeD]

I still enjoy the excitement of aviation; I’m not one for the boring and mundane sitting and watching the autopilot do stuff. The helo flying is cool, but on the fixed wing side for me, part time in a boring ass 737 doesn’t replace what fighters back in the day and SPIFR before that, did.

 

[msmspilot]

I still enjoy the excitement of aviation; I’m not one for the boring and mundane sitting and watching the autopilot do stuff. The helo flying is cool, but on the fixed wing side for me, part time in a boring ass 737 doesn’t replace what fighters back in the day and SPIFR before that, did.

That's why I'm still SEL current. The airliners are a great career, but the GA flying is a lot more fun. I never had the opportunity to fly fighters, so I don't know what I missed.

 

[Boris Badenov]

I still enjoy the excitement of aviation; I’m not one for the boring and mundane sitting and watching the autopilot do stuff. The helo flying is cool, but on the fixed wing side for me, part time in a boring ass 737 doesn’t replace what fighters back in the day and SPIFR before that, did.

I share your sentiments. I just fear that when it's fiscally rational for me to do it again, I maybe shouldn't be doing it again. Let's see how we age, gramps. Shuffleboard for dibs?

 

[alaskadrifter]

I still enjoy the excitement of aviation; I’m not one for the boring and mundane sitting and watching the autopilot do stuff. The helo flying is cool, but on the fixed wing side for me, part time in a boring ass 737 doesn’t replace what fighters back in the day and SPIFR before that, did.

I never got to do the fighter thing, but big tire flying on my own time is what does it for me. It’s nice to not have someone telling me what to do or where to go.

 

[Roger Roger]

Flying a Chieftain single pilot IFR in southeast Alaska is the most fun flying I don’t really want to do again.

 

[GypsyPilot]

I still enjoy the excitement of aviation; I’m not one for the boring and mundane sitting and watching the autopilot do stuff. The helo flying is cool, but on the fixed wing side for me, part time in a boring ass 737 doesn’t replace what fighters back in the day and SPIFR before that, did.

I ride mountain bikes and climb mountains in my off time. It provides a fantastic way to push the edge while also having an appropriate (for me) risk management. I think it’s good for pilots to have something like that, and if you get that from airplanes still that’s cool too. I think anything like that is a hell of a lot better than sitting on the couch all day.

 

[scooter2525]

I don't think I'd be sharp enough. Maybe now, definitely not in 20-whatever years when I'm thrown out of being a highly-trained systems-manager. Perversely, a lot of being good at that job (at least IMHO) was not *really* knowing how dangerous it was. Young, dumb, full of uh self-confidence etc.

quite the inverse relationship between "fun" flying and compensation.

 

[ZapBrannigan]

These are the only photos
I have from that job. Wish everybody had a camera in their pocket back then like we do today... or maybe it's a good thing that we didn't.

 

[killbilly]

When I first joined this site and was working on my PPL, I wanted to be a Starchecker. REALLY wanted to fly those Barons and do that job. Or Flight Express....or Mitsis.

A lot of that flying went away, and it's been a number of years, and...well....I still want to do it but I've got bit more time under my belt and maybe I'm a little more risk averse. Dunno. I'd still do it. I think.

 

[Old Pete]

I a boring ass 737 doesn’t replace what fighters back in the day .

Serious question, then why do you do it?