Whispering Giant
You will find, when the novelty of being a pilot in your first real job starts to wear off, what most experienced pilots know - that it isn't about the flying, it's about lifestyle.
If you are one of those pilots who is perfectly happy to forsake wife, kids, friends and family in order to fly, you will end up a (maybe) happy, but lonely, old pilot. If, on the other hand, you wake up one day and wonder what hotel you are in, and suddenly realise that you would quite like a life outside of a turboprop flight deck, you too will start to think like Flying Fiona.
I don't have a lot of time for pulling "sickies", but I do know from first-hand experience how Crewing can impose a work pattern that is almost criminally tiring. Noisy hotels, disturbed sleep patterns, endless positioning, all take their toll, but nobody could give a toss about that. "It's LEGAL! Are you refusing a duty"? I have been threatened, both by them and management, in order to get me to fly when I was really way too tired. None of them seem to understand that the preface to CAP370 states that it is expected that no pilot will ever be required to work to the limits defined in that document, but airlines regularly take the p*ss when it comes to the rules. How many of you have been told "it's legal, get on with it"?
I love flying, but I hate what the job does to my family and my health. I hate needing a day of my days off just to recover from the last few days flying - never mind actually getting some quality time with the family.
It appears that the company has accomplished a classic "divide and rule" in this case. I completely agree that this is a result of the turboprop pilots caving - there is no other sensible explanation. The jet guys have nothing to gain, and something to lose. Think about it.
Last edited by MOR; 4th July 2005 at 16:45.