What If?

ClearedForOption said:
Counterfactuals is always a fun game to play...

I had CJO's/Class Dates at Omni, AzulNorte, and Cathay Pacific at the same time... what if I had gone to CX? Well... I know the answer to that one, but did I miss out on crazy adventures all over the world?

When I was furloughed from Mesa, I ended up using my retraining $ to get a CE-500 type, vs the 737 which was $1000 more at the time and a few weeks in Dallas vs driving to VNY. Would that have helped me get on at SWA vs. Azul? Would Azul even looked at me with the 73 on my cert?

5 min after I passed my upgrade LOE a old friend reminded me that her mom had Fred Smith on speed dial because she was a senior sales something at Purple? Did I want her to make the call?

What if I hadn't completely torpedoed my Compass interview in '10? By being way to frickin excited about getting off furlough and the flow?

The list goes on and on...

I've had a great career, and maybe it wasn't exactly what I had hoped, I've still had a great ride so far. And sitting TOS, driving to work, and bidding reserve are pretty great.

(Can't change the past or the TVA will be along shortly to incinerate your timeline.)
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If you went to Cathay you’d be at Atlas now.
 
Screaming_Emu said:
If you went to Cathay you’d be at Atlas now.
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I watched a pretty Atlas 76 takeoff just in front of my flight at the hold short, today at NUW. I am now remembering a thought I had at the time, which is why do heavies wait so long to raise the gear? It seems like everyone in NB land wants to raise the handle at the first upward movement of the IVSI needle (before the VSI counter even registers)......is there an aerodynamic reason for the difference? Momentary much more increased drag count as the gear swings and doors open at a low altitude or something? Just kinda struck me as a contrast to what I'm used to. They were easily at pattern altitude before they brought them up, and I have seen this a lot everywhere else too.
 
Screaming_Emu said:
If you went to Cathay you’d be at Atlas now.
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True... but I missed that particular ship a bunch throughout my career. I was a civilian LoadMaster at Southern Air pre 9/11 and so many of those guys knew me from the D.O. on down, cheered my career on, and the timing of me coming back to fly there - - well, the timing just never worked out. (Heck, I even went on a short bender with the president of the company and a CA that was eventually fired in AMS, but that's a story for IRL...) Not being able to do what you do is one of the small regrets that I carry around.
 
///AMG said:
I watched a pretty Atlas 76 takeoff just in front of my flight at the hold short, today at NUW. I am now remembering a thought I had at the time, which is why do heavies wait so long to raise the gear? It seems like everyone in NB land wants to raise the handle at the first upward movement of the IVSI needle (before the VSI counter even registers)......is there an aerodynamic reason for the difference? Momentary much more increased drag count as the gear swings and doors open at a low altitude or something? Just kinda struck me as a contrast to what I'm used to. They were easily at pattern altitude before they brought them up, and I have seen this a lot everywhere else too.
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Nope. For us on the 747 it’s positive rate, gear up like everyone else. The only theory I had was that when you’re heavy that needle takes a bit longer to move, but they were only going to SEA so I doubt that was the case. No weird brake temp MEL either.
 
Screaming_Emu said:
Nope. For us on the 747 it’s positive rate, gear up like everyone else. The only theory I had was that when you’re heavy that needle takes a bit longer to move, but they were only going to SEA so I doubt that was the case. No weird brake temp MEL either.
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Other explanation is maybe those big girls just take longer to visually get moving after the handle is moved, than say something smaller, esp a 73 or 320 that has a very straightforward retract process
 
Screaming_Emu said:
Trust us. It’s not hard to call you a pessimist. You seem absolutely miserable.
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I guess I’m sorry I take a conservative outlook in our industry, which is well known to bite us. But please don’t confuse being conservative in our career field with being “a miserable person.” I’m actually quite content at my shop. :)
 
Cherokee_Cruiser said:
I could. But I’m a max 12 yr guy and at these rates, it’s over 450k.

As a 22 yr old with a BSE degree, I started at 55k. This day and age with crazy inflation and supply of jobs, maybe 80-100k? Get a masters and maybe 120-140k?

Nothing comes close. My brother is a family practice doctor and I make more, and that’s considering his 12 yr schooling post high school.


Call me a pessimist, but I’m a believer in make hay while the sun shines. I still can’t believe this will last. Wages - across everything - along with costs of mostly everything - all seem too high.
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nothing lasts, but it is still way cheaper than other 1st world countries (with the exception of healthcare and higher education)

FTR..my wife hires analysts all the time (lots of high turnover when you have a MA/PHD in Data Analytics/AI/Game theory). starting pay used to be 40-50K ten years ago with 5+ years of experience...now she has 23 Y/o candidates fresh out of grad school demanding 150K with 4 weeks of vacation on day 1 or walking out...and they get it! Same thing with out industry....I'm not better, I didn't necessarily improve myself, I didn't get an MBA, a CKA letter or CP on my resume...I just have a skill that's in high demand FULL STOP.
 
DE727UPS said:
I got turned down by Continental in 89 after the second interview. Getting that letter in the mail was pretty devastating as I had a friend there from Riddle who was helping me. Haven't followed it closely but I guess I'd have been furloughed a time or two and ended being pretty senior at United by now.

The other one was in the mid-80's I had saved up some money spotting fish and had a friend who introduced me to his buddy at Hawaiian. They would hire lower total time FE's for the DC8 who didn't have heavy time if you had the full FE ticket. I was probably at 1800 hours total around then with a wet ATP and CFII. Mostly single engine Cessna. I decided to go to Chrysler Aviation at Van Nuys for their part 91 FE course in the 727. Got the ticket. Friend supposedly walked in my resume at Hawaiian. Never heard a word. I was 25 but never been to the islands. Perhaps I should have visited.

Never kick yourself over what could have been. We make the best decisions we can at the time with the information available to us. I'm 62 and retired from Brown two years ago. Had I stayed a couple more years I could have got a years pay to retire last November. Might have been a good move but who knew. During Covid, it wasn't a fun job, and the future was uncertain. The schedules had been getting worse over the last couple years, even with my high seniority. Still, had I known Covid was about done and would get a years pay to retire early, I probably would have stuck it out. Who knew.

Anyway Zap, the Gods of the aviation career are fickle. You're doing fine now. And you're only 50. That's not that old.
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Thanks for telling your story. Mines is similar only a lot more recent and I ended up at the same place you did of course. I still feel crappy about it sometimes but it’s nice to be reminded that some experiences are just a part of life.
 
///AMG said:
I watched a pretty Atlas 76 takeoff just in front of my flight at the hold short, today at NUW. I am now remembering a thought I had at the time, which is why do heavies wait so long to raise the gear? It seems like everyone in NB land wants to raise the handle at the first upward movement of the IVSI needle (before the VSI counter even registers)......is there an aerodynamic reason for the difference? Momentary much more increased drag count as the gear swings and doors open at a low altitude or something? Just kinda struck me as a contrast to what I'm used to. They were easily at pattern altitude before they brought them up, and I have seen this a lot everywhere else too.
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Might’ve been the FO’s leg and the captain had “T Rex arms” so it took a bit longer to reach the gear handle. I’m amazed at how wide that flight deck is sometimes.
 
Cherokee_Cruiser said:
For guys like @luke3 saying if it gets bad, you’re out. What are you going to go do? Legacy CA making 300k-650k+ so what can you do that even remotely comes close to replacing that income?


Now I love my job. Absolutely do. I’m a nerd about it. After every flight, on the 737 I flick the fuel switch to used, and compare that to the flight plan to see how we did. Like I said, I’m a nerd in love with my job.


But I gotta be honest. Even if I hated my job, how can I quit? There is NOTHING else that would come close to what I make here.
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It isn’t about the money (sounds cheesy I know) especially when it comes to my generation and younger. There seems to be an emphasis on valuing family time/life. I’m guessing they’d do what they can to make it. I don’t work with many people my age or younger anymore but the people that I do know here at brown don’t seem to live outside of their means so I’d imagine they’d be ok if they had to take a pay cut for a career change.
 
phill1174 said:
It isn’t about the money (sounds cheesy I know) especially when it comes to my generation and younger. There seems to be an emphasis on valuing family time/life. I’m guessing they’d do what they can to make it. I don’t work with many people my age or younger anymore but the people that I do know here at brown don’t seem to live outside of their means so I’d imagine they’d be ok if they had to take a pay cut for a career change.
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Sorry, but this sounds like someone who has money. To walk away from money, and spend time on family/life, you need money to pull that off. Ain’t nothing free and bills only add up as the family gets older.
 
Cherokee_Cruiser said:
I guess I’m sorry I take a conservative outlook in our industry, which is well known to bite us. But please don’t confuse being conservative in our career field with being “a miserable person.” I’m actually quite content at my shop. :)
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