what do most freighter drivers do when they finish up??

["V"]

Hi all,

just wondering for some feedback as to where freighter pilots move on to when they decide they want to get out of the lonely old freight flying, major airlines? corporate? instruction? or just finish up all together.

:ok: in advance

[Intruder]

Why would anyone want to get out of freight flying? It has the best paying flying jobs around! As a bonus, no crabby passengers!

[FougaMagister]

..."no crabby passengers". True, but unfortunately no hosties either :{

Cheers :cool:

[BANANASBANANAS]

I flew passenger aircraft in one form or another from 1984 - 2005 and had a great time - particularly as a "singleton" on a 4 jet in the '80's. Since 2005 I have flown 744 Freighter and it's certainly a different way of life but the flying can be great fun.

Where would I go from here? Well, I have firm offers to go back to passenger flying on 744 and 757/767 and invites to interview at 2 other carriers. But if my present mob can get their act together I think I would prefer to remain on 744F. Its a stress free way of life and provided you dont mind a lot of night flying and being away from home for up to 3 weeks at a time it can be a lot of fun.

So, to answer you original question. When I eventually leave freighter flying it will hopefully be to sit on our veranda with a Long Island Iced Tea or three, sand between my toes, in the company of my family and friends and watching the sun go down over the Gulf of Thailand or the Andaman Sea while the king prawns sizzle on the Weber.

And Bob Marley playing low in the background of course.:ok: :ok: :ok:

[Boxshifter]

Flying freighters for three years now and I don't want the SLF back, no way.:=

[sapco2]

Got to agree with all the above comments!

I flew SLF on B737, MD83, B757 then B767's for 20 years - I can't say I didn't have a great time because I did - it's an ok lifestyle particularly when your a single guy. I opted out of the SLF world post 9/11 and I've been flying B757 freighters on European routes ever since.

The pilot turnover in the freight company I work for is high and I've seen a lot of newly qualified professional pilots come and go, (grass is greener and all that) but most of the experienced guys seem to know which lifestyle they prefer!

There are a lot of flying opportunities out there just now, so my advice to anyone would be "go and fly passengers first" - get the hostie thing out of your system and then join a freight outfit - you'll view the lifestyle thing more clearly!

[JW411]

I agree entirely with sapco2; get the passenger flying out of your system as soon as possible.

I did the longhaul bit with lots of stewardesses on the beach (with all the associated problems) but the SLF business finally got to me.

For the last 20 years I have been in the freight business. I have enjoyed just about every minute of it.

No hassle
Direct routings
Quiet radio frequencies
Good equipment
400 hours per year
Good pay and conditions
A hell of a lot of fun

And now I am retired on a bloody good final salary pension.

Stuff flying SLF!

[Dan Winterland]

This one went back to passenger shorthaul. Longhaul, particularly with the disrupted schedule that are common with freight operations was shortening my life.

[Taikonaut]

Funny how a lot of people think that being a cargo pilot is like a stepping stone to the more "prestige" passenger flying. How wrong they are. Cargo pilots with UPS and Fedex are amongs the highest paid pilots in the world. Average annual salary of UPS pilots in 2004 was appx. $175,000. And they have just signed a new contract, a 12 year Captain will received appx. $45K for signing bonus. Not a bad chunk of change on top the nice pay raise. And for the majority of other carriers, cargo pilots get the same payscale as the pax drivers and for some you do fly both types.

IMHO, being a freight dog is the best kept secret in aviation. No pax, no shirt, no tie (sweat shirts and pants on the a/c are the norm), no dragging bags through the terminal (yes, and since there or 2 or 3 of us, at certain port of calls, we do get limo-ed to and from airport in S-class Benz. That's right, no crew van with the noisey hosties.) and not too mention excellent catering (at certain places, we do get catered from a local restaurant and you get to pick what you want to eat. Yup, no airline food.) And the hosties are way overrated especially here in the US (longhual types).

As far as days and nights go, these days longhuals are so long that you will see both night and day in a single trip regardless of when you become airborne anyhow.

Flying pax? not me but thanks for asking.

[Stereolab]

Just left 5 years of regional airline #ell to fly MD-11 freighters...

I'm new to this line of work...but QOL is much better than I thought. Being home based is amazing, not to mention better pay and interesting flying.

[ray cosmic]

Almost 10 years of PAX flying; changed to long haul freight not too long ago.
The job is great; wouldn't want to go back.

["V"]

wow! thanks for all the info to everyone who replied!

sounds like freight is the way to go, was certainly what i was hoping to hear.

[Ignition Override]

I jumpseated last night on a Fedex DC-10 from MSP.

One of the pilots claimed that a study revealed interesting things about a pilot's lifespan. Naturally some factors are controlled by pilots, such as exercize, diet, how often, with high seniority allowing some to avoid certain schedules etc.

He claimed that many pilots who fly all night for a career until age 60 die within a few years of retirement, but pilots who quit at age 57 have a much higher chance of living years longer, if I heard correctly.

How about after flying transoceanic legs during day and night for many years?

[l8starter]

I'm a E145 driver 4 BACON,and like a lot of people now considering my future !
From what I've read,freight appears to be a quite popular choice,especially with regards to 'fun' flying and/or lifestyle;especially if longhaul,would that be correct ?

What I would like to know,as someone with nearly 6000 hours,all on medium types or less and pushing 50 is,would I be considered (I know of an 'older' guy who went for an interview with GSS,and it seemed to be an issue(so why interview him?)),and if I am still marketable then who else,apart from GSS and Cargolux who I know have been hiring,should I be considering ? And also,since I would be giving up my command,would I ever have another chance of command,or would it be right-hand seat forever ? Big decisions are on the horizon,and as we all only have one chance in life,I would like to weigh up the options;and any thoughts from you guys in the freight world would be very welcome !

[Croqueteer]

:hmm: Mostly correct, but be under no illusion, it will knacker your health. You are working irregular hours, with no fixed sleep pattern. I did 11 years, which has given me a first class pension, but also gave me two spells in hospital, (Private of course!) and I finally gave up and finished with another 5yrs of SLF at about half the salery, but felt much better for it. Certainly worth doing for about 10 years.

[saffron]

flew total of seven years night freight,great fun but very hard on one's body,got out to fly with easyjet for five years ago,900 hours a year instead of 400,not much of a solution!six months ago offered a command on a Gulfstream G550,2 weeks on 2 weeks off out of Moscow,300 hours a year mostly day flying,fantastic!

[freightdriver]

Started my flying career on the Twin Otter flying both Pax and Cargo, got my 1st break on the jets flying Cargo on the 737-200 for 2 years. And for the last 3 years flying 737-200 for a pax airline and due for an upgrade very soon (Sim ck done) Missed the freightdriving lifestyle terribly so does my family....so I will be sending my CVs out soon to NCA IN SFO or CX Cargo based in the US....:)

[DOJETDRIVER]

Sorry for the ignorance, but what does SLF stand for?

[Kougarok]

I think it's self loading freight.

[merlinxx]

Many moons ago SLC was the term used both in Europe, North America, Sand Pit & South Dark Continent. Anyone got any idea when it changed to SLF?

[CMN]

I think it was when they named this forum 'Freight Dogs' and not 'Cargo hounds'.

:confused:

[Buster Hyman]

what do most freighter drivers do when they finish up??
Have a smoke?:confused:

[merlinxx]

Thks now it's back to bed on pallet one and sod the cobalt hazmat!!!!

[Shenlin]

Marley playing in the backround , god i hope i run into you someday . i haul cargo on a small cessna caravan but i join ya for a beer or two when the day comes ...... As for me i love the freight flying, even on the old van , the hours are tought the weather is a challenge ,but at the end of the day , handbombing an approach to minimus in half a mile , (as chosen ,because yes the autopilot can do it as well ) i get home and think , that was a fun day wasn't it :-)
where will i go from here ? on a jet i hope even so it has not happened , it might some day , if not its ok , still better than being locked up in an office all day ......

[Roadtrip]

Like the Pax airlines, the freight airlines run from good to unbelievably bad. The good ones like FEDEX and UPS are well run, pay good, and have union contracts. The bad ones, like the scumbag 747 outfits in the states pay poorly, no retirement, 20 workdays per month often extended, lots of DH that you're barely paid for, marginal equipement, and treated like scum by management.

So can flying freight be good? Yes. Can it be really really bad? Yes.

[trashhauler]

Freight dogs quite often get a bad rap. I flew for TWA, JAS, and Saudi Arabian Airlines as well as Polar. So I think I can say without reservations that a very large portion of the dogs flying the back side of the clock are some of the best aviators in the business. Their combined resumes are filled with exploits that the schedules "glory boys" cannot match. We and a large group of furloughed US Air drivers and they will attest to the fun and challenging flying of freight. I am out of the cockpit now but still have a ton of fond memories of the flights. comradary, flights with dispatch, and the company, and would not change it for the world.