I know a lot of us aren’t flying a the moment, but if you have a second imagine something.
Imagine those long, grinding years in GA, hoping to get into a legacy carrier, the flogging about in piston twins without radars in the muck, dreaming about the flight levels.
Imagine landing that airline gig. Set. For. Life. Like winning the lotto, but over 10 years. Replacing the ****box car, buying a house, starting the family. And what a life it is.
Imagine getting into that left seat after your time and really appreciating it all, the extra money with the responsibility and finally getting to run your own show and your own ship. Those early morning walk arounds you don’t have to do anymore, the approaches to almost minima, where you feel you heart skip a few beats because you get home after 17 hours instead of diverting. Imagine the feeling of cruising through the crew only lane with the liqueur that the wife loves, knowing you’ll be home within the hour.
Imagine, getting your Commercial license over 40 years ago. Imagine the changes, NDB homing, through to LNAV/VNAV approaches. Imagine the incredulity on the faces of the new SOs when you tell them that the IRS could be off by more than 10 miles after crossing the Pacific. Imagine the silent glee when you think back to how wild the Pacific could be on a night filled with storms and how nice it is to be in your bed in a country that isn’t your own but accepted you.
Imagine the overwhelmingly amazing career, with the downside of it being a terribly fatiguing vocation. But you get to spend your retirement catching up on sleep, maybe even chase the grass roots of the industry that you once fell in love with.
Imagine having millions of dollars worth of assets and settling in a country that you haven’t lived in for decades.
Then imagine coming onto an online forum and goading thousands of stood down and unemployed pilots. Imagine how sad an unfulfilling your retirement must be if you have to spend hours a day on a low tier message board reminding everyone you used to fly in the left hand seat
Just imagine.
j3
Last edited by j3pipercub; 24th May 2020 at 13:52.