Hi PlotPlot,
Yes.
1990 - Finished my flying training. Went looking for GA jobs, spoke to a guy flying in the Torres Straights that had been flying the same C206 for 4 years, was about to go on the Islander, '89 happened, he was stuck on the C206 as all progress stopped. He did at least another 2 years on the single before moving up. At the time there was 1 parachute operator in CNS, in a C182, the pilot had been "working" for him for 2 years, ON THE DOLE. (He is now a NB Capt in Aus) I was driving a tour bus along with other jobs. I met heaps of "pilots" working in bars.
1993 - I got disillusioned, went overseas looking for work, and it was even harder than finding work in Australia. Did a bunch of other jobs for 3 years, (Ski Fields, Fish Factory, Landscaping, Bars, Private Yachts) had a heap of fun, but it didn't stop me from wanting to come home and fly aeroplanes.
1996 - I came home, (I was 25yo) spent a bunch of money getting my CPL/IR current, started chasing the work, was doing ok, having fun. Most importantly, I was gaining experience. Started studying again, finished my ATPL subjects, did an Aviation Degree, tried to get myself in the best position I could to be employed. Things started to move pretty quickly, Turbine jobs, Regionals etc,
VB started up, Even QF were employing!!! Apparently there was a pilot shortage. Us guys in the bush struggled to get any traction with the "J Curve" regionals, (watched all the 2 year instructors get the QLink, Hazo's/Kendall jobs) but the FNQ/NT/WA operators were employing, then 2001 happened.
May 2001 - FlightWest ceased operation.
September 2001 - Kendalls, Hazo's and Ansett ceased operation
It took about 9 months for things to start moving again, REX was borne out of Kendall/Hazo's,
VB expanded rapidly, Impulse became Q Link(2001) then Jetstar(2004)
2002-2003. We all moved up the ladder, some quickly (
VB/QF, REX, Eastern, Sunstate etc), some just one rung at a time, JetCraft/MacAir/PelAir/RFDS. It was very hard watching some pilots jump straight into QF/
VB etc, when you couldn't get a look in, but, that's life really. Maybe it was ME?
Had some great times, flew turbines, moved into a Jet, did some international flying, made some great friends, met a girl, cracked $60k/year, life was good.
2007 - Got a job in a "J Curve" city, on a shiny Jet, good money, not too much work, quick command, life was good for 2 years.
2009 - GFC - Company went bust, UnEmployed, lost a bunch of money in entitlements, but worst still, I HAD NO JOB. Worldwide, no one was employing due to the GFC. Was 5 months out of work, paid to do a SIM to keep current, finally found a job overseas. Left my girlfriend at home and moved to a 3rd world country I new nothing about to fly to places I had never heard of.
Dec 2009 - Company went Bust, UnEmployed again!!! Luckily, things in Australia were looking up,
April 2010 - Got a job back home, moved to big "J Curve City", enjoyed life, got married, had kids.
2010 - 2014 - Domestic Narrow Body ops
2014-2018 - WideBody International
2018- March 2020 - Narrow Body Capt
March 2020 - Current - JobKeeper Recipient/Landscape Gardener's assistant.
So, there is my 30 year Resume of experience in the aviation industry. So YES, I lived through '89, 2001, 2007 and COVID, and all the other crap in between. There have been some good times and bad times, many ups, but just as many downs.
I can assure you though, the 3 years I did back in the '90's were I didn't fly, not a day went past when I didn't think about flying and how I was going to get back in an aeroplane.
Also, maybe if I had persevered in the early '90's, not taken a break, I may have been in a few thousand hours better off for the employment boom that happened in the mid to late '90's? I may have got a Regional/Airline Gig and subsequently been 5-10 years ahead of where I am currently? I lost a lot of sleep over that for many years, now I just accept that as part of my life.
I've worked for "the worst operator in GA", and I've worked for Ok operators, some were even "good", but, I always got paid. Sometimes it wasn't as good as it should have been, sometimes the aircraft weren't as good as they could have been, but they were legal to fly.
I feel for you, there doesn't look like there is much of a future right now, but if you decide to take a break now and want to come back to it, you may miss an opportunity when the music starts again. Also, due to Covid, regular jobs are a bit thin on the ground in the big cities. I have spoken to Pilots/Flight Attendants that are having a really hard time getting any decent long term jobs, and I certainly don't recommend Landscaping!!
Well done for reaching out for advice, as I mentioned in my last post #60, there are a number of avenues you could pursue for assistance, please consider these as I am confident they will help you get through these tough times.
It is sad that you are still banging around in some of the same airframes that were "old" when I was in GA, but you have to put your trust in the engineers to keep them serviceable, and yourself to make sure the defects are reported and rectified. This is one of the most important lessons you can learn, because that same the pressure is still there in the airlines.
Good luck to you with your decision. PM me if you like, I'm free all day (my landscaping boss has gone on holidays ;-0)