Work for the over 60's

[nizwa]

Fit and experienced (12,000hr+) Fixed and Rotary. No longer allowed to operate Single Pilot PT. Any ideas where to find single pilot work - either Fixed or rotary.
Ridiculous to be cut from one's profession just because of age and not because of health.

[John Eacott]

Australia & NZ allow >60 to fly paying passengers, complex regs but essentially the medicals and check flights are required more often.

[JTV]

Old guy's suck, just retire and go fishing

[Mach E Avelli]

Nizwa, over 60 it's unlikely you would crack the Aus or NZ scene. Though not impossible if you have the right type ratings. But PNG welcomes pilots over 60, particularly those with good rotary or Twin Otter time.
PM me with details of your experience and I may be able to suggest a couple of likely prospects in that part of the world.

As for JTV's wind-up, my cohort have 30 years on you and I reckon any of us could still teach the average 38 year old a few tricks - and not just flying tricks either....... In fact, ageist comments from mere beginners (yes, if you are only 38 I am talking to YOU) actually inspire us grumpy old men to hog the seat for another few years just to p!ss you off.

[ZFT]

Old guy's suck, just retire and go fishing

don't like fishing

[captjns]

Old guy's suck, just retire and go fishing

The opinion of another angry wet behind the ears newbie:{

Don't worry junior, you'll get your chance.

[Kelly Hopper]

"Old guy's suck."

Yeah, no teeth left!

[Trossie]

Mach...In fact, ageist comments from mere beginners (yes, if you are only 38 I am talking to YOU) actually inspire us grumpy old men to hog the seat for another few years just to p!ss you off.Spot on!!

Maybe while this unfair age discrimination at the 'upper end' is maintained we should push for it to go to the other end of things and have the minimum age for holding a professional licence raised to 40? That would create the shortage that would mean that the older, more experienced and wiser pilots could be retained in jobs for longer...

[Hotel Charlie]

Jeeez....Old Farts!!
If your over 60 you've probably been doing this for at least 35 years, why don't you do something else with your lives? And before you get all excited and throw around the "wet ears" I'm an old geezer myself and can't wait to retire from this deteriorating business! If you don't like fishing do something else! Don't you have any friends?? Well, the way you talk about the guys you are blocking behind you my guess is not .... :E

[ShyTorque]

Old guy's suck, just retire and go fishing.

Yes, I'd love to retire but live on what, fish? I've just been told the ba**ards have raised my earliest pension age to 66. Mind you, the consolation is that todays's 38 year olds will soon have to go on till they are 70).

I like the idea of raising the minimum licensing age to 40. Younger guys are better suited to shelf stacking or supermarket trolley collecting and a bit of hard work might help the more mentally immature amongst us to grow up, too. Some could also learn where and when to use apostrophes. ;)

Me? I did two years of hard labour shovelling :mad: (building site labourer) before getting mine.

[GlueBall]

In USA you can fly Part135 ops (Commuter up to 9 pax) until you drop dead.

[RAT 5]

Perhaps Safari flights in the bush parks of Africa.

[smith]

RAT 5 Perhaps Safari flights in the bush parks of Africa.


No if he goes down in the jungle the meat will be too tough for the lions to eat at his age.

[nizwa]

Thanks for that, I spent 6 yrs flying in the bush in Africa. Much enjoyed it and would be happy to return if offered a job. Cannot afford to go out there on spec.

[Dan Winterland]

I plan to sail in my retirement. But as boats are expensive, I will have to work to 65 to pay for it! Besides, I'm still paying for my products of the next generation who expect everything handed to them on a plate!

[Willie Everlearn]

At 38 I doubt JTV knows much about flying either and based on the comment, I'd say he simply doesn't know what it's like to be in his 60s. But look on the bright side, his generation isn't expected to live as long as us so I doubt he'll live long enough to experience his 60s. :eek:

Me? I'm going to buy an aeroplane when I retire so I can throw rocks at it or maybe set it on fire.

[Mach E Avelli]

Well, since quitting full time work about two years ago, I have spent a total of 12 months sailing, and still managed about 300 hours of revenue flying. As most of this has been in a training role, it can hardly be impacting on some newbie's career. In fact, quite the reverse.
Besides which, the boat needs new sails. Being old does not suck at all, but sure is expensive.

[mikedreamer787]

If you're over 60 Mr nizwa it means you're a real pilot
(and not a magenta child like cadet JTV). This means
you have pilotage skill that can be passed on. If there
isn't any instructing job that keeps your butt in the sky
then that crack about Oz over 60 is worth looking into.

Have you considered perhaps a ground instructing
job somewhere and just maintain your PPL for the
occasional loop and barrel roll? That's what I plan
to do once I hang up my spurs.

[parabellum]

the way you talk about the guys you are blocking behind you my guess is not ....

No body under 65 is blocking anybody, 65 was the original retirement age and has now been properly restored, my career was planned to 65 and todays youngsters now have the chance to do the same. I would definitely suggest a minimum of five years in the military, doing anything, before being eligible for a CPL/IR, a starting age of 25 in aviation gives them forty years to grow a pension too.

[RAT 5]

Cannot afford to go out there on spec.

Google African Safari Airways. They are linked to a hotel chain in Mombasa and they had their own a/c to fly punters from the coast to their lodges for a mixed holiday. Wilson at Nairobi is also a hub for a/c flying to the lodges, but it's very local work.

[zeddb]

I would definitely suggest a minimum of five years in the military, doing anything, before being eligible for a CPL/IR,Oh God no, the last thing this business needs is more military arses demanding instant upgrades because they think they are better than everyone else.:ugh:The ability to fly upside down and ponce about in a green or heaven forbid, red, flight suit does not imply instant suitability for command/training/management or the god given right to take over the company and stuff it with one's "mates" to the detriment of everyone else.

Also, such a requirement is no different than restricting entry to those who can afford to pay. Two wrongs do not a right make.

[Manatee737]

Oh God no, the last thing this business needs is more military arses demanding instant upgrades because they think they are better than everyone else.The ability to fly upside down and ponce about in a green or heaven forbid, red, flight suit does not imply instant suitability for command/training/management or the god given right to take over the company and stuff it with one's "mates" to the detriment of everyone else.

Also, such a requirement is no different than restricting entry to those who can afford to pay. Two wrongs do not a right make. :{

Of course it does. :p

[Tinribs]

I had the same dilema eight years ago except it was worse because you couldn't fly over France over 60, unless you held a French licence

Eastern Airways UK, Jetstream 41 gave me good flying and some pay for the five years

[parabellum]

Oh God no, the last thing this business needs is more military arses demanding instant upgrades because they think they are better than everyone else

Shame you didn't bother to read my post. I said five years in the military doing anything. No mention of flying, no mention of which service just five years in the military environment to give these youngsters a chance to mature and begin to understand that it won't always be 'me, me, me first', a chance to begin to understand chains of command and authority, that way they don't turn up in the RHS with little experience but thinking they know it all, they arrive as already a team player.

[Gulfstreamaviator]

65+, still flying on my FAA ATPL.

Just let my JAA lapse due to the 'improved' medical checks.

As handle suggests working on Gulfstreams, mostly in Middle East.

I stated flying as a hobby at 17yrs old, and 13,000 later still a hobby, and still getting paid for my hobby.

[zeddb]

Sorry parabellum, bit of a pavlovian response from me. Having suffered through one particular outfit which had been taken over by ex mil types who thought that anyone who had not followed their exact career path was in some way morally and professionally suspect I tend to react accordingly.

Mind you I'm not sure that a load of embittered ex squaddies would really fit the bill either. How about selecting people on the basis of their ability to fit in? Flying airliners does not really call for the ability to dodge missiles or SAS survival techniques as a prerequisite.

[ZFT]

How about selecting people on the basis of their ability :ok:........................

[parabellum]

Mind you I'm not sure that a load of embittered ex squaddies would really fit the bill either. How about selecting people on the basis of their ability to fit in? Flying airliners does not really call for the ability to dodge missiles or SAS survival techniques as a prerequisite.

Well, that is one extreme end of the spectrum zeddb! I was thinking of something a bit nearer the middle, no reason for the troops to be embittered! Just happy at having completed five years of character building stuff they then had the opportunity to go flying, if they are up to it!;)

[10Watt]

l would beg to differ. Flying airliners calls for all of those skills.

l hit 62 last weekend and can`t bare the thought. Conned by a German

company leasing aircraft and finished up shipwrecked - excuse the

mixed metaphor- with the wrong type rating at the wrong time at the

wrong age.

They knew when the contract was ending but didn`t tell me.

l phoned in the week following what turned out to be my last flight ever to

be told " l can`t talk to you now, l`m going out to dinner"

l finished up a few quid short of retirement still able to make anything

with wings on talk, and save the tyres.

Why are pilots so disreputable ?

[dubbleyew eight]

10watt the lifeboat is pretty full, with lots of us in it with you.
in my industry I survived for years but eventually retrenchment hit me.
decided to give my love of aviation a run.
I went on a Commercial theory course to fast track the work and passed.
Two weeks before the end of the course Ansett collapsed and the jobs market evaporated.
previous employ evaporated, aviation evaporated, everything since then has gradually evaporated.
who cares.
nothing to get morbid about.
a lot of ex atpl's build themselves a little homebuilt and fly that.

try to stay out of debt.
be kind to people around you.
never ever close your mind to a new idea.

[10Watt]

Bless.

Accounts will show that l`m notionally about 5k in the red, if l move onto

a park bench.

My ex didn`t cough when l stopped payments, l did explain why.

For me ? 12hrs a day/ 6 days a week to keep the lights on.

The German is having Sharon Osbourne clinical treatment to help him look

younger.

Am l bitter ?

No. l`ve come across this type of person before over the years.

All l need do is find something exciting. And get on with life.

[dubbleyew eight]

All l need do is find something exciting. And get on with life.

understanding the problem is half the solution.

do you have a local unemployment service?
go down and badger them for a job even if it is just for the fun of it.

[10Watt]

l did say 12hrs a day 6 days a week.

For peanuts, enough to keep the lights on but not the heating.

lt`s sometimes difficult to drag my sorry arse out of bed before dawn, but

so far so good.

W8, you are a good guy. Catch you later ?

[slowjet]

Yeah, we need more like double 8 to counsel. My mate, aged over 60 was called into the fleet office & given the Boss's Assistant who explained why the company was going to have to let him go with immediate effect. In the middle of the explanation, Office Boy's wife phones and a discussion on whether or not she wants mayonnaise on her KFC take home burger ensues. My buddy wished there was a KFC burger handy on the table as Office Boy would have wound up wearing it. That office visit terminated 40 years in the airline industry. Charming. But, he is terribly happy enjoying retirement because he has a certain optimistic & positive attitude to everything.

[nizwa]

I was too selfish about wanting to fly to become an instructor when in the services. Now, I would like to instruct and pass on my dangerous habits and dare I suggest the odd tit-bit of wisdom and experience which has allowed me to become an old and bold pilot. However, the route to become an instructor seems tortuous and expensive. It has always bothered me how the most inexperienced pilots use instructing to build up their hours. I was heading for Flight Safety at one moment but they seem undecided on their helicopter simulator future. I'm not averse to ground instructing and not too far from Oxford so perhaps I will investigate. The ideal might be to find an owner of a decent aircraft/helicopter who wants their hand-holding/reassurance as they build their experience.

[Dudley424]

My Dad is an ex RAF Bomber Pilot (WW2)
He flew Bostons with 88 Squadron and was one of the aircraft laying smoke on the Normandy Beaches on D Day.
Just recently, he was Guest of Honour at the celebrations at RAF Brize Norton, and during his visit (I was with him) he was shown around the whole station including Air Tanker training unit.
He was invited to take the right hand seat in the Voyager simulator, and after 10 minutes instruction, and familiarisation with the controls, made a perfect simulated landing back at Brize, much to the delight and applause from the instructors and on lookers..
So when I read in another thread of people moaning about ageism in the airlines, be very humbled at this.
Dudley Valentine son of F/O Leslie Valentine CdeG RAF (Rtd)

[Globally Challenged]

Oh well, that kicks the 'retirement bubble' can quite a bit down the road for all those hopefulls waiting for airlines to recruit ;-)

Amazing story though!