Future of Aviation??

[Rich H]

I expect the USAF will be certainly stable, you could always try that. It's not all about fighter jets.

[RitterKreuz]

Why fly for a hobby when you can do your hobby as a job?

There's the rub.

Once you turn your hobby into a job it ceases to be a hobby.  :-/

someone put it to me this way once...

"Lets say your favorite past time is sex. and you decide to get a job having sex. the job requires you to have sex 10 to 14 hours per day 5 days a week... the first day on the job would be great... and if you are really into it the second day on the job might be great too... but as crazy as it sounds... by the end of week one you'll have a resignation letter ready!"  ;D

[Fozzer]

Why fly for a hobby when you can do your hobby as a job?

There's the rub.

Once you turn your hobby into a job it ceases to be a hobby.

[beaky]

Why fly for a hobby when you can do your hobby as a job?

There's the rub.

Once you turn your hobby into a job it ceases to be a hobby.  :-/

someone put it to me this way once...

"Lets say your favorite past time is sex. and you decide to get a job having sex. the job requires you to have sex 10 to 14 hours per day 5 days a week... the first day on the job would be great... and if you are really into it the second day on the job might be great too... but as crazy as it sounds... by the end of week one you'll have a resignation letter ready!"  ;D

Blimey, Ritter!.. ...!

With your sort of stamina, there may be a job for you at Burbank Studios, California... [smiley=thumbsup.gif]...!

May be a (w)hole new opening?...... ... ...!

Make a change from flying aeroplanes!.. ...!

Paul... ...!

.... ....!

No, no... they shoot all that stuff in San Fernando nowadays... I should know- I've sent out so many resumes...  ;D

[RitterKreuz]

haha! well i dont know about 14 hours a day.

maybe 4 though

minutes  ;D

[Mooneypilot1993]

Cobra I think the best thing to do right now is go out and become a commercial pilot. My Dad is 49 years old and the companies he sends his resume to dont even bat an eye at his age. With the pilot shortages in the part 135 companies you could start there then work your way up till your a 737,757, or even 747 pilot. The Airlines are starting to recover so as a good friend told me and my dad" right now you guys are getting ready to ride the tidal wave(airlines start growing and hiring pilots and crew) and when the tidal wave falls(the airlines have a slow time) you would all ready have seniority and would not be on the list to be cut back or fired.

[Slotback]

Airforce?

Don't be that guy who looks back and says "Man, I wish I had done something out of the ordinary with my life...okay, back to filing papers in my 8x10 office without a window."

When you leave you're on the whole a stronger person & pretty much set for life.

If you don't think you can get in then... well... the same could be said for the people who DID get in.

[RitterKreuz]

Cobra I think the best thing to do right now is go out and become a commercial pilot. My Dad is 49 years old and the companies he sends his resume to dont even bat an eye at his age. With the pilot shortages in the part 135 companies you could start there then work your way up till your a 737,757, or even 747 pilot. The Airlines are starting to recover so as a good friend told me and my dad" right now you guys are getting ready to ride the tidal wave(airlines start growing and hiring pilots and crew)

The problem with this statement is that it will take you your entire career to "work your way up" to flying even a 737.

the airlines are not starting to "recover", at least not according to the USA today, NY times, and the thousands of furlough letters generated by various airlines in the past 60 days.

i would not expect any sort of turn around in the business until well after this coming election... even then i would fully expect the turn around to be temporary.

I hate to sound all gloom and doom about it but this is based on speaking to 55 year old airline pilots who frequent my jump seat.

these guys have lived a life the past 20- 25 years of furloughs, layoffs, and pay pay cuts... many of them are facing their 3rd or 4th furlough in as little as 20 years. that means losing your job once every 5 - 6 years.


the airlines are the dinosaur of the aviation industry, if a person is to focus on becoming a "commercial pilot" the focus needs to be placed on running cargo or flying for a company like netjets or flight options.

when the tidal wave falls(the airlines have a slow time) you would all ready have seniority and would not be on the list to be cut back or fired.

there are about 400 pilots at my company right now who were hired during one of these "booms" who would disagree with this sentiment right about now.

building seniority enough to protect your job can take years upon years to do... and keep in mind that every time you switch companies... (to get that 737 job for example) your seniority starts over all the way down at the bottom. so the 8 or 9 years of job protection you worked for don't mean jack anymore.

now might be the "best time" to get a commercial pilots license ( i have heard that line a lot in the past decade)

but it is the worst time to attempt to begin an airline career.

follow these rules:

1. Have a degree with something to fall back on
2. even when you work for an airline have a second job (it cant be flying related due to work rules - and trust me you will need the extra income)
3. attempt to gain employment with companies like netjets or flight options... do not go to the airlines.