This is one of those threads that takes on a life of its own. I started flying in 1966 and did the airline thing from 1969. I set the brakes on July 30th 2004 in a B737NG and never looked back. Until, well this is where the story for me got me into the "why should I" mode.
Pres. Bush signs into law that you can now fly in the US to age 65. I used to do the ex-pat thing, why not do it again? Didn't I love the 1649 Connie, the B707 and the WW11 guys that taught me how to fly them? Wasn't Indonesia, SE Asia, ME a blast. Oh yeah it did start to get weird around 1987 but by that time I had been a Capt for several years at a rock and roll 121 operation. Flying the B727 with the HUD, transitioning to the B737NG with a stint on the B737-200 for good measure.
As I watched my airline go from a nothing outfit to a golden child in a matter of months was fun. The upgrades came fast and furious, pay raises, new equipment and then we got famous. We were now high priced workers with mgt types cursing that this would be a great business if it just weren't for these pilots and F/A's.
While it did not happen to me I watched as my peers lost their retirements, wages slashed, down grades (harder to go backwards) chapter 11's, Frank Lorenzo's coming out of the wood work. Was not unusual to have a new FE who had come from brand X because of its demise. Oh yeah he or she saw that Toro lawn machine and the patio furniture go down the drive way in the wrong direction. Sure glad I did not take that job with United.
The fact is that you will pay a very high price for the "love of flying". Ask your wife (if you still have one), how do your children fit in with this love of flying deal anyway? By the grace of God I still have great love and affection for my kids and it is the same for them. Guess what--it all got better when I quite flying.
Now I know that you can lead a horse or is it you can't make a silk purse, oh well you know what I mean. When I was younger I could not have been talked out of flying for anything. It was a quest, a journey, a whatever and God help those in my way. Well I flew for 7 airlines and have more type ratings than I need. When I retired I thought I was done with all of it but NO. I thought I had one more hurrah in me.
Started to look into ex-pat stuff overseas. What the hell the kids were grown and it would be fun to learn about another country again. This is what I found. Lots and lots of places need DEC so much that they are working them stupid. 6 days on and 1 day off. My God why would anyone do that to themselves. The answer is I would have and in a heart beat. When I as young and real driven I would have jumped at it. However I no longer have the interest and I might add the stamina to pull it off at 63 Yrs old. The reality is I cant learn much with one day off and chances are I would be tired of it very quickly and on my way home.
For those of you who love to fly, don't do the airline deal. With the automated format of all new airplanes you will finess the auto pilot (that is how they want to fly it, even more so in 3rd world countries) more often than not.
Now the question is would I do it again? Probably as I have a habit of repeating questionable behavior. Flying was what I did it was not what I was. Having said that I did enjoy the chaos of it all. Oh well, time for my nap.
