Qgar
New Member
I do the same....always have and probably always will. (Although there have been a couple of periods in my life where I wasn't able to.
) I guess aviation really is something that gets in your blood.
Why'd you become a pilot?
- Thread starter lightswitch
- Start date
I do the same....always have and probably always will. (Although there have been a couple of periods in my life where I wasn't able to.
) I guess aviation really is something that gets in your blood.
I do the same....always have and probably always will. (Although there have been a couple of periods in my life where I wasn't able to.
I guess aviation really is something that gets in your blood.
So true!
twotwowoo
New Member
I do the same....always have and probably always will. (Although there have been a couple of periods in my life where I wasn't able to.
I guess aviation really is something that gets in your blood.
I know how you feel. I tried to quit aviation a few times, and I realize I can't tear myself away. I still look up when planes fly overhead. I still love flying, even though I hate the aviation industry. I guess I was just made to fly.
jerrywhite7
Well-Known Member
this.
Crazy, that happen to me just today!!!! But yes, that I really the reason why I fly!!!!
lightswitch
New Member
Thanks for all the responses. I really enjoyed them. I think I'm just gonna go try it. Sounds like there isn't really any other way to know.
And to the last guy, I'm actually a straight female so the whole FA thing really isn't much of a draw for me.
From the responses and my experience flying as a passenger, I'm guessing almost all commercial pilots are male? I've never seen a female professional pilot before, not that I've spent a whole lot of time in airports... Does being a woman add another set of challenges?
And to the last guy, I'm actually a straight female so the whole FA thing really isn't much of a draw for me.
From the responses and my experience flying as a passenger, I'm guessing almost all commercial pilots are male? I've never seen a female professional pilot before, not that I've spent a whole lot of time in airports... Does being a woman add another set of challenges?
sdfcvoh
This is my Custom Title
Yeah! They'd get in a fight on the plane insteadHA---like any self-respecting FA would share a pilot with 7 other FAs! [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
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jerrywhite7
Well-Known Member
it makes it easier to get a job!
Guy
Well-Known Member
The best answer I can give is a sentiment expressed by Jimmy Stewart in the 1965 movie The Flight of the Phoenix. As Captain Frank Townes, he said "Time was you could take real pride, in just getting there, flying used to be fun Lou, it really was."
If I could turn back the pages on the calendar, I would do it all again. But, if I were a young person in 2010, I'd have to think long and hard about what I would do with my life.
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Crockrocket94
Well-Known Member
Honestly, I don't know.
Because I enjoyed flying and figured I would try it full time. And seriously, I just rolled with what is given and what I can do.
Because I enjoyed flying and figured I would try it full time. And seriously, I just rolled with what is given and what I can do.
Lightswitch,
Why did I become a Pilot! When I was 19, I thought about what I wanted to do with my life. I had this thought about becoming a helicopter pilot. I did some checking and found that it would cost about $20-$30K for training! BUT, I could get my fixed wing certs and add-on the rotor-wing for half that! I was then offered an aerobatics demo ride for $10! The instructor took me up in a clipped-wing Citabria for about 20 minutes and did about 5 minutes of various aerobatics! He stopped just as I was about to toss my cookies and said, "what do you think"? I said, "where do I sign"! I was hooked!
It took years to come up with the funds to pay for training, but I eventually did. During this time I was in college working on my computer science degree. I was also working full time as a ski instructor during the winter. There I was fortunate to meet and work alongside Eastern Airline pilots. What a great bunch of guys! Talking with them and being told it was the best part-time job in the world had me totaly hooked!
What transpired after that was Frank Lorenzo! This man single handedly destroyed aviation for good! Jimmy Carter, bowing to pressure to deregulate the Airlines was the second deadly blow. Since these 2 events occurred, the face of aviation changed forever.
I did eventually go to a full time aviation academy, Comair to be specific, and earned all my ratings. By this time, salaries had dropped and most operators started prostituting pilots and, unfortunately, pilots allowed it to happen, just to get the job and experience. I was told, "do what you love and the money will come later"! Well, the money never came. "They" tell you "they" can't pay because you don't have experience! Then when you do "they" tell you that business is off and don't have the money to pay you. It's always something with these operators.
So, why do I do it. First, I learned a long time ago, I wasn't cut out to spend 8-10 hours a day in a factory or cubical. I'd be climbing the walls in no time! Yes, I love to fly. I kept doing it because I loved it. I continued because I was in denial, that eventually I'd get my big break if I hung in there worked hard and got the experience I needed. Then there were all those so called statistics about 50% of the pilots reaching retirement, etc. Even today "they" are still pouring out propaganda. For example, just this week Yahoo Jobs had an article about the best paying jobs that ARE out there. Yes, "they" said Airline jobs CAN BE HAD with a starting salary of $55K!!!!! You should have read the responses from pilots!! There's a lot of BS being circulated about pilot jobs, salaries as well as openings. After 18 years as a pro-pilot, I've been unemployed as much as I've been employed and, it was only 2 years ago that I actually made $50k for the first time! That job went away when the owner of the jet filed for bancruptcy when the economy went south!
I've done everything from flight instructing, cargo piloting, Alaska bush pilot, corporate pilot and of late, on-demand-charter. All have thier good and bad points. Cargo is fairly stable but grueling! Bush piloting is very risky and the natives treat you like dirt! On demand charter has one of the worst QOL as you are on-call 24/7/365, at least I was with the last operator and you are basically nothing more than a glorified taxi driver. Corporate flying can be the best of aviation jobs, depending on the owner and/or the company. If you have a better personalty and tell better jokes than the owner, you could lose your job. If the owner's teen-age daughter develops a crush on you, you're out of a job. If the owner one day decides he/she doesn't like you anymore, you're history. If the company isn't doing well, the aviation dept will be cut! It's a great gig but precarious at best.
The thing is, flying, especially high performance aircraft is like a drug. Once it gets under your skin, it's hard to fight it! After 18 years of doing this I'm finally wising up and looking to start some sort of business. If I had it to do all over again I would do what I advise other pilot wanna-be's to do. Take the money you would have spent on flying lessons, take some business/entrepreneurial courses, start a business and when finances allow, buy a nice plane and fly for pleasure!
On a final note, "Capt Sully" was recently quoted as saying that he wouldn't recommend his own son get into aviation! What does that tell you!?
Why did I become a Pilot! When I was 19, I thought about what I wanted to do with my life. I had this thought about becoming a helicopter pilot. I did some checking and found that it would cost about $20-$30K for training! BUT, I could get my fixed wing certs and add-on the rotor-wing for half that! I was then offered an aerobatics demo ride for $10! The instructor took me up in a clipped-wing Citabria for about 20 minutes and did about 5 minutes of various aerobatics! He stopped just as I was about to toss my cookies and said, "what do you think"? I said, "where do I sign"! I was hooked!
It took years to come up with the funds to pay for training, but I eventually did. During this time I was in college working on my computer science degree. I was also working full time as a ski instructor during the winter. There I was fortunate to meet and work alongside Eastern Airline pilots. What a great bunch of guys! Talking with them and being told it was the best part-time job in the world had me totaly hooked!
What transpired after that was Frank Lorenzo! This man single handedly destroyed aviation for good! Jimmy Carter, bowing to pressure to deregulate the Airlines was the second deadly blow. Since these 2 events occurred, the face of aviation changed forever.
I did eventually go to a full time aviation academy, Comair to be specific, and earned all my ratings. By this time, salaries had dropped and most operators started prostituting pilots and, unfortunately, pilots allowed it to happen, just to get the job and experience. I was told, "do what you love and the money will come later"! Well, the money never came. "They" tell you "they" can't pay because you don't have experience! Then when you do "they" tell you that business is off and don't have the money to pay you. It's always something with these operators.
So, why do I do it. First, I learned a long time ago, I wasn't cut out to spend 8-10 hours a day in a factory or cubical. I'd be climbing the walls in no time! Yes, I love to fly. I kept doing it because I loved it. I continued because I was in denial, that eventually I'd get my big break if I hung in there worked hard and got the experience I needed. Then there were all those so called statistics about 50% of the pilots reaching retirement, etc. Even today "they" are still pouring out propaganda. For example, just this week Yahoo Jobs had an article about the best paying jobs that ARE out there. Yes, "they" said Airline jobs CAN BE HAD with a starting salary of $55K!!!!! You should have read the responses from pilots!! There's a lot of BS being circulated about pilot jobs, salaries as well as openings. After 18 years as a pro-pilot, I've been unemployed as much as I've been employed and, it was only 2 years ago that I actually made $50k for the first time! That job went away when the owner of the jet filed for bancruptcy when the economy went south!
I've done everything from flight instructing, cargo piloting, Alaska bush pilot, corporate pilot and of late, on-demand-charter. All have thier good and bad points. Cargo is fairly stable but grueling! Bush piloting is very risky and the natives treat you like dirt! On demand charter has one of the worst QOL as you are on-call 24/7/365, at least I was with the last operator and you are basically nothing more than a glorified taxi driver. Corporate flying can be the best of aviation jobs, depending on the owner and/or the company. If you have a better personalty and tell better jokes than the owner, you could lose your job. If the owner's teen-age daughter develops a crush on you, you're out of a job. If the owner one day decides he/she doesn't like you anymore, you're history. If the company isn't doing well, the aviation dept will be cut! It's a great gig but precarious at best.
The thing is, flying, especially high performance aircraft is like a drug. Once it gets under your skin, it's hard to fight it! After 18 years of doing this I'm finally wising up and looking to start some sort of business. If I had it to do all over again I would do what I advise other pilot wanna-be's to do. Take the money you would have spent on flying lessons, take some business/entrepreneurial courses, start a business and when finances allow, buy a nice plane and fly for pleasure!
On a final note, "Capt Sully" was recently quoted as saying that he wouldn't recommend his own son get into aviation! What does that tell you!?
Firebird2XC
Well-Known Member
:yeahthat:
This statement was evident in my own life years ago. Not to mention my father- he was a career aviator that lost his medical late in the game. He'd made 747 Captain by 46... good luck and timing on his part in his career path.
Watching him lose his wings was like watching part of him die.
I know it'd be the same for me.
Some people are teachers, or plumbers, or whatever- they're trained, and it's what they do.
Pilots are born. Some of them just figure it out at different times than others.
CaptBill
Well-Known Member
HA---like any self-respecting FA would share a pilot with 7 other FAs! [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
[/FONT]
There aren't many of us pilots left that can keep up with 8 FAs. Besides me, there might be one or two here on JC, and I know one guy who commutes out of Nebraska that runs triathlons, he might have a shot at it. Wait, I do know this shy and unassuming guy that lives in Florida who could do it, and maybe even 2 or 3 more. I can't reveal his name but it rhymes with Spartan and he flies 747s. :bandit:
As I age, I find that limiting myself to no more than 5 leaves me energy to hit the gym and a little time to sleep for a few hours before show time.
FlyChicaga
Vintage Restoration
I am very proud of being a pilot. It is something I have wanted to do since I was a little kid. I've always been fascinated with anything that flies. It was only fitting I would pursue this as a career.
The downside is that I always dreamed of a brotherhood of aviators, strong-willed, great stick-and-rudder types, who are unwavering even in the most dire of circumstances. A group of pilots, all with their khaki pants and brown leather jackets, who relied on one another. Similar to the relationships between aviators in World War II. I am sure there are professional pilot jobs out there that fit this description, but I have not found it yet. Certainly not in the airlines.
Personally, I look forward to the day when I can purchase my own single-engine prop, like a Cub, or even an old Cessna 172. I can go fly on my days off, with my family, without a uniform. I can hang out in my hangar and talk shop with fellow friends at the airport. I mean, the view from 37,000 feet is definitely enjoyable. However, I personally enjoy the low-level stuff myself.
Once I get myself a little more stable financially, I plan on getting my glider license (my first solo was in a glider), my seaplane rating, and my helicopter license. I'll be a more well-rounded pilot, and I'll do some CFIing on the side to pass along my love of aviation to others... and hopefully stress to them the importance of stick-and-rudder, seat-of-the-pants flying.
I feel flying is something I was born to do, like you said Charlie. But I also feel it's in my blood to follow another path as well. So I'm left to do both. I'll just have to be like two of my mentors, MikeD and Dale, who have done everything they've ever wanted to do career-wise.
Firebird2XC
Well-Known Member
You shoulda joined the Air Force for that crap.
Do you rub one out while you watch 'Flyboys'? Good grief.
Dude- we might not look like some band of teamed-up superheroes, but I really believe that if one of us was really in a jacked situation, the rest of us would readily rally to help, even if only in some small way for some.
We're family. We're not a cool, comic book superpowered family. Actually we're kind of a dysfunctional, drinks-too-much-and-starts-fights-at-Thanksgiving family, but we're still a family.
I return you to your masturbatory lament about French men in tight leather that happen to also be pilots. Enjoy.
irate:
Plane Trouble
Well-Known Member
When I was a kid was not interested in sports... I played in creeks and climbed trees and scuba dived... I was always interested in airplanes, I was just fascinated by the realm of flight...
I really enjoy the natural sciences and geography, yet another good reason to be a pilot. You get to experience geography like no other career. I have an intense interest in the natural world:
"The machine does not isolate us from the great problems of nature but plunges us more deeply into them."
- Antoine de Saint Exupéry 1939
If I wasn't so interested in the natural world, I wouldn't probably be as interested in aeronautics.
I enjoy going different places and seeing different things. Before I fly a trip if I know I may have to sit in the pilot lounge all day, I will check and see what's around the local area (museums, lakes, etc...) and hopefully be able to borrow the crew car and go check some stuff out.
I took anthropology courses in college and I think exploration is part of the human spirit and flying is one of man-kinds greatest extensions of this spirit. We wouldn't have space flight without a solid foundation in aviation.
I enjoy the view out the window and the science behind how it all works. Even though I use the term miracle to describe it I know that its a beautiful product of the human intellect. I enjoy aerodynamics and aviation science.
I would try and explain all this to my wife, but she'd probably stare me down as it would be over her head. Some people were born to taste the "magic" and some weren't.
As far as these air quality studies are concerned: Consider how much time you'd ACTUALLY spend around and airport, most aviating isn't on the ground at an airport - thats only a fraction of your time, unless you are in corporate and sit in lounges all day... But you are inside, and usually not at KORD, or LAX, or ATL... Second, air quality inside probably isn't great but its probably better than an industrial zone... Third "they" are working on it everyday!
The environment is big right now... Going "Green" is a big deal. Going "Green" will be like quitting smoking, the idea is becoming more popular everyday.
http://www.faa.gov/library/reports/media/congrept_aviation_envirn.pdf
http://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/policy_guidance/envir_policy/media/aeprimer.pdf
I really enjoy the natural sciences and geography, yet another good reason to be a pilot. You get to experience geography like no other career. I have an intense interest in the natural world:
"The machine does not isolate us from the great problems of nature but plunges us more deeply into them."
- Antoine de Saint Exupéry 1939
If I wasn't so interested in the natural world, I wouldn't probably be as interested in aeronautics.
I enjoy going different places and seeing different things. Before I fly a trip if I know I may have to sit in the pilot lounge all day, I will check and see what's around the local area (museums, lakes, etc...) and hopefully be able to borrow the crew car and go check some stuff out.
I took anthropology courses in college and I think exploration is part of the human spirit and flying is one of man-kinds greatest extensions of this spirit. We wouldn't have space flight without a solid foundation in aviation.
I enjoy the view out the window and the science behind how it all works. Even though I use the term miracle to describe it I know that its a beautiful product of the human intellect. I enjoy aerodynamics and aviation science.
I would try and explain all this to my wife, but she'd probably stare me down as it would be over her head. Some people were born to taste the "magic" and some weren't.
As far as these air quality studies are concerned: Consider how much time you'd ACTUALLY spend around and airport, most aviating isn't on the ground at an airport - thats only a fraction of your time, unless you are in corporate and sit in lounges all day... But you are inside, and usually not at KORD, or LAX, or ATL... Second, air quality inside probably isn't great but its probably better than an industrial zone... Third "they" are working on it everyday!
The environment is big right now... Going "Green" is a big deal. Going "Green" will be like quitting smoking, the idea is becoming more popular everyday.
http://www.faa.gov/library/reports/media/congrept_aviation_envirn.pdf
http://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/policy_guidance/envir_policy/media/aeprimer.pdf
Low&Slow
Ancora imparo
I have always been a pilot, I just haven't always been a certificated pilot.
I have wanted to fly since as far back as I can remember (~1972-ish). Maybe some people are just born with that desire, while others aren't, or maybe it's a nature vs nurture thing, I don't really know which it is. Maybe it's a little of both nature and nurture.
I didn't become a certificated pilot for any particular reason except that I wanted to. I wanted to spend more time around airplanes, and learn more about them, learning how to fly them was a natural progression. I was fortunate that I grew up on Air Force bases around the world, that my dad flew airplanes in the USAF, and that I was always surrounded by airplanes 24/7.
I have always (and still do) loved to hear them, see them, watch them, read about them, build models of them, draw them, fly them, pretend I'm flying them, fly in them, think about them, dream about them, talk about them, etc. When I taught myself to airbrush, airplanes and pilots were by far the most frequent subject. My first airbrush painting was of a pilot flying an F-15. I have never painted with a hairy brush before, but I am currently trying to teach myself how to paint with one and guess what my first painting is (it's a work in progress)...an airplane, of course.
I have always loved airplanes and flying. Can't imagine living without airplanes and flying in my life.
I have wanted to fly since as far back as I can remember (~1972-ish). Maybe some people are just born with that desire, while others aren't, or maybe it's a nature vs nurture thing, I don't really know which it is. Maybe it's a little of both nature and nurture.
I didn't become a certificated pilot for any particular reason except that I wanted to. I wanted to spend more time around airplanes, and learn more about them, learning how to fly them was a natural progression. I was fortunate that I grew up on Air Force bases around the world, that my dad flew airplanes in the USAF, and that I was always surrounded by airplanes 24/7.
I have always (and still do) loved to hear them, see them, watch them, read about them, build models of them, draw them, fly them, pretend I'm flying them, fly in them, think about them, dream about them, talk about them, etc. When I taught myself to airbrush, airplanes and pilots were by far the most frequent subject. My first airbrush painting was of a pilot flying an F-15. I have never painted with a hairy brush before, but I am currently trying to teach myself how to paint with one and guess what my first painting is (it's a work in progress)...an airplane, of course.
I have always loved airplanes and flying. Can't imagine living without airplanes and flying in my life.