How many flying hours do you have?

[Murray_NN]

Just wanted to know what is the max number of hours you heard a pilot has accumulated over their flying careers?

The recent one which I heard was an AA captain who had 29,500hrs on his log book and still had around 3 years to go...that is the highest figure I have ever come accross so far!

Anymore?

[averytdeaconharry]

David Phillips of BUA/BCAL was believed to hold an unbeatable record. He was a VC10 then 707 then DC10 Captain. After he retired in 1984 he went to fly the Shed with Connectair, which became part of Air Europe. I believe that when he was still in BCAL he had flown more than 35, 000 hours. Perhaps someone might have a contact through which this information could be checked.

[The Greaser]

Considering the fact that many companies may have to increase retirement ages to 65 and that pilots are being pushed to max hours more and more frequently someone starting in early 20's could easily rack up 30000-35000 hours in a career.

[FlapsOne]

35000 hours! That's 4 years solid - bet his butt was sore!

[Joyce Tick]

Professional train, lorry or ship drivers probably clock up 60,000 hours or more - but I guess they are not obsessed with the fact or feel the need to brag about it....

[air-hag]

yeah and no one would care anyway.

But pilots are interesting and a pilot's tally of hours is directly proportional to the size of his weinerschnitzel.

Me, I brag about my 12000 hrs constantly. It makes me a bigger man and anyone with less hours, is by definition, proportionally that much less of a man. Unless he's a woman in which case none of it counts for anything because let's face it, no one cares what a woman has flown or how many hours she has. You get bored listening to her "war-ries"... right??

15000 is more than enough. I will quit before then and live on my inheritance and IPO returns. Screw sitting on my @r$e making it flatter and fatter. Airline flying is boring and sucks. I only do it for the beer-money.

[Terror_is_firmer]

I have a total of 13 hours. All on a Piper Warrior

[mstram]

http://avweb.com/news/columns/182039-1.html

[Tandemrotor]

Doesn't matter a stuff, how many hours you have in your logbook.

It's just the next one that's important!

[Herod]

Almost agree with you Tandemrotor, but I would suggest it's the next LANDING that's important. Now, how many landings do people have ?

[Big Tudor]

Herod,

I would take it a step further and say that the landings should equal the take offs.

[hart744]

John Deakin is definitely the highest time 747 captain. He is an amazing pilot and definitely a gentleman. He is still actively flying warbirds, giving checkrides and flying his Bonanza.

[Nightrider]

air-hag, I would have loved to follow your idea, nearing the 16,000 now and still 10 years to go....
Big Tudor, does not work on shorthaul...in my case >27,000 are in the book and some 2-3,000 are not logged as I had days with about 60-80 landings.....towing, training, dropping....
:sad:

[Zoner]

As per Flight Journal August 2004 the highest time living pilot is Evelyn Bryan Johnson with 57,567 hours. Guinness says she is the highest time women and that a fellow who died a couple of years ago had more than 64,000 hours. Considering that a lot of my 20,000 hours have been spent eating, napping, and going to the blue room, I'll never be in the ballpark with these folks.

http://www.flightjournal.com

[ihoharv]

Sadly fairly recently passed away but I had the pleasure to log some Cub time with Amelia reid a few years back here in Northern California:

http://www.reidhillviewairport.com/RHVHistory/ameliareid.htm

"Amelia Reid will always be a big part of what Reid-Hillview Airport is today. Ms. Reid flew airshows starting in 1966. She was a veteran pilot with an Airline Transport Pilot Certificate.With over 40,000 flight hours, she was able to collect single and multi engine land and sea ratings, as well as glider and a type rating in a Citation CE-500. She was a Gold Seal flight instructor was rated for airplane, instrument and ground instruction. At the time of her death in 2001 she had owned and operated Amelia Reid aviation for over 40 years.

Before Ms. Reid started her flight school, she was a programming mathematician at Ames Research Center at Moffett Field. Ames Research Center is now occupied and managed by NASA. In the position of mathematician she utilized her Master's degree in mathematics which she received from San Jose State University. However when her son, Robin, was born in 1959, she quit her position at Ames. At that time Ms. Reid had been flying for years with a private pilot certificate and had 525 hours.

Wanting something to do as a part time job she decided to utilize her teacher's credential which she had received when she obtained her Bachelor's degree at Kearney State Teachers College in Kearney, Nebraska. On obtaining her commercial and flight instructor's rating she started teaching flying part time in 1960 at Reid-Hillview Airport for flying clubs and owners of aircraft. Her services were so much in demand that she had to buy her own airplane, a Taylorcraft L2, to teach her students. Her fleet grew from this one Taylorcraft to over 25 planes. The school to this day still issues pilot ratings from private, commercial, instrument, multi-engine, and aerobatic training. Ms. Reid's specialty was teach aerobatics and taildraggers.

During her years of flying airshows, Ms. Reid performed in various airplanes such as the Citabria 7KCAS, Decathlon 8KCAB, Pitts biplane, and a Cessna 150 Aerobat, which is a stock factory airplane with a Continental 100 HP engine and no fuel inverted system. The crowd attention getter was always her butterfly sequence which was a series of swooping diving and climbing turns with 40 degrees of flaps performed at low level near the runway.

Her son, Robin, is following in his mother's footsteps. He received all of his ratings from his mother up through his Airline Transport Pilot. Robin along with his wife Marici still own and manage Amelia Reid Aviation continuing the long history of Reid's at Reid-Hillview Airport."

[itchy kitchin]

terror is firmer,

BIG respect! Those 13 hours will be etched in your memory forever. Unlike your 3,429th, which will probably fade into obscurity.

Moi? I have 300ish and no type rating (G'iiz a job?)

regards from the kitchin

[Caractacus]

'Flash' Phillips retired from Air Europe Express with 30702 flying hours. Post 65 years he did a bit more flying for the airline positioning aircraft on non revenue flights.

A real Gent

[JackOffallTrades]

Zzzzzzzzzz......

:zzz: :zzz: :zzz:

It only takes so long before feeling that counting hours is pointless. When going for an ATPL or something it feels like an achievement sure. Does it matter if you have 5000 or 15000.

Its what you do in those hours thats interesting.

What do people put in the remarks collum?

Would like to her about some of these comments.

[SchoonerBoy]

Good point JacOffallTrades.

For me as an instructor I just include the student's name and the exercise flown.

Anyone else?



P.S. What is the actual reason for logging takeoffs and landings SEPARATELY?

[phoenix son]

I bet most of you can match my TT so far, a BIG FAT ZERO...
It's nice to jumpseat once in a while but that'll do for me, I'm quite happy doing my bit on the ground and leaving the flying to the guys who want to/can afford to/could afford to until they got an ATPL/etc...

PHX

[JackOffallTrades]

Phoenix Son,

Thats a shame, you don`t know what you are missing. How do manage to get a J/S ride these days? I can only assume that you are airline staff or atc etc...

Go have a trial lesson, you`ll love it!:ok: :D

If you do get hooked there are ways around the money thing. I think we all had that problem to start with (except military or the very rich). Many pilots spend years paying off training loans, but I think its worth it.

[phoenix son]

JOaT,

Yes, I work for an airline, my last jumpseat ride was a familiarisation flight. Although I just don't feel the bug bite when I'm up there, I would love to try for a PPL, a friend has a fATPL and instructs to earn a few quid on the side so that's not a problem! I bet you are right, I'd probably get hooked and spend all my hard-earned(?) on it, but then why not....That's what it's there for!

PHX

[woodpecker]

Retired after 35 years in BEA/BA.

Number of hours? Not a clue, but I now sleep in a bed every night....

[Tarnished]

4,500 hours, 50 ish types, 2 more take offs than landings - never can get the log book to balance

[Faire d'income]

....can you make a statment like this and not get punched:He is still actively flying warbirds, giving checkrides and flying his Bonanza.

[JackOffallTrades]

Thats nice!

Jealous?

I am too!

[itsresidualmate]

Some tribes believe that when they kill an animal, they inherit that animal’s attributes.

As an engineer, if I dispatch a pilot to the Pearly Gates by my, er, clumsyness, do I get his hours?!

[B Sousa]

He who dies with the most hours Wins!!!!!!

[windy1]

how about we enquire of Pruners:

"how many hours have you got that YOU paid for?

[InTheAir]

Suppose your 35,000th hour is easy to achieve especially when you seem to be getting paid more and more to achieve them. Me, I'm still at the "I pay for my hours" stage. :{ :{ :{

[Tarnished]

Windy1

What point are you trying to get to by asking how many hours have YOU paid for?

Sour grapes at those who get sponsorship.

Miffed at those who do it for a living

Or just plain pissed off that you have paid for all of yours

No such thing as a free lunch old chap, we all have to pay in some way or other.

T

[windy1]

tarnished

none of those - just interested to see the numbers offered