Pilot Pete,
I can't say I totally disagree with your point of view, Pete, but I have heard too many times, people saying stuff like : "never fly a singles IFR at night" "never fly singles over the sea/mountain/desert/jungle" ...
You end up with the logical conclusion, that if you never fly, you never crash.
I used to tow gliders for free (another way to build hours) Most of the time, from small strips, with trees at the end of the, so-called, runway.
I especially remember an airfield in the south of France, where we were supposed to find our way in the climb, between an hotel, and high trees, with absolutely no option to land safely in case of engine failure, and of course, barely enough space for the glider ...
I 've done at least 400 Take-off in those conditions,sometimes tailwind, as there was a mountain at the end of the sole runway, always wondering, "what if"? ...
You see, you don't have necessarily to cross the atlantic to risk your life, and sometimes, rich people are just paying you for that (they were not aware I think)
Another way people risk their lives, is to fly in Africa, over the jungle ...Can be fascinating as long as you don't dive in the trees.
I think it's much more a matter of what you are expecting from life in general, and flying especially.
As far as I am concerned, I want to see many aspects of this job, Ferrying A/C over the atlantic is one of them.
I am not only considering it as a mean to build hours, but also as a career ...
Felicitations for the job at JMC
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Flying is not dangerous, crashing is
[This message has been edited by PorcoRosso (edited 03 February 2001).]