Old Farts

[baylover]

I wil keep this introductory entry as short and precise as possible.
I have done everything .
32500 hours and I miss my work.
Unlike the the, "move over Captain", people, I had an excellent relationship with my crews everywhere.
I just love flying and want to keep doing so.
Firstly I am divorced twice, I have a fantastic home, I am financially secure, so to all the go away pundits you are wrong.
I will go anywhere in the world just for board and lodging, for a couple of months of flying anywhere in the world.
The rest of the time I spent fishing and crabbing.
To all who might say negatively, I say to to the young and excellent pilots, welcome to your career.
I am not trying to take your airline careers.
The DC-3, VR-HDB in the Hong Kong Science museum, I flew it as a first officer in Bush Pilots Australia as VH-MAL.
I am an old fart but to me flying is my life.

[baylover]

I have DC-9, B737, And A330.
All command time.

[Capt Scribble]

Too many moaning these days about the job, other jobs are available! But I will stay with it to the end, which will be about 48 years in all.

[framer]

You know when the end is? That would drive me nuts.

[Flap62]

baylover,

With all due respect you say you are not trying to take people's careers. By offering to fly for free can you explain to me exactly how that will not negatively effect other people?

[Flocks]

Same here ! I understand the love of flying, and in just one day of retirement you come from flying a lot to not at all, quit a big choc.

But one moment it is time to stop and let youngsters do there career.
If you are financially secure, love flying and lots of time now, go back to GA, buy or rent an acrobatic plane, fly a cirrus or Malibu if what you want if fly IFR, be an FI and share your experiences ... You can now have the chance to fly for you, and not for the other !
All the best.

[Loose rivets]

I joined the local yacht club. There was a nice 37 foot deep keel jobba that had not sold in two or more years. It was cheap.

I found that it was impossible to handle that . . . and keep dry. One had to put on a mass of clothes to maintain body heat. One needed to row a little boat to get to the big boat. One needed to pull lots of strings - most of which had names One did not know. One needed to talk on the radio without saying Roger, or Wilko, or, climbing and descending. One especially needed not to find oneself saying, descending.:ooh:

Buggah that.

Last flight in an Aerobat. Two big granddads upside down doing spinny things. Quite fun, but I'm size ten and he was size eleven. Shoulders pressed together. No, I want comfort, and not too much g. So, it didn't quite do it for me.

What then?

Well, Concorde's taken my fancy. After watching that Y-Tube the other day I concluded it would be a doddle to fly. Looking in the one at Duxford confirms this. Nothing there I couldn't handle - providing I managed the fuel as and when.

Just a matter of how I can steal one. With enough fuel. I could say Roger, and Wilko, and Queen Mike Dog as much as I liked. In fact, the more the better, t'would probably help with my defence - that and the underpants on my head and pencils up me nostrils.

God, I miss flying.

[DOVES]

Dearest baylover
I'm a little bit ahead of you.
I left the line flying, because I was obliged, about 11 years ago with 23,000 hours, 8 different airplanes and 4 carriers.
But then I didn't stop (not yet).
I began to instruct the chicks till they went alone, I did the IFR instructor.
And when it was no longer possible, due to age, I became instruct on the Ultralight aircraft.
I could not live without flying.

Once you've learned to fly, you will walk on the ground looking at the sky because it's there that you've been and is where you want to go back.
Author: Leonardo da Vinci.

[tdracer]

Baylover, keep flying if that's what makes you happy, but do it in such a way that it doesn't take a paying job away from someone else (who really needs the paycheck).
Without knowing where you're located, here are some examples from my side of the pond.
The Commemorative Air Force (aka the Confederate Air Force, before that name became politically unacceptable) has a collection of WWII vintage warbirds (and a few others) that it flies around the USA (and perhaps further) for exhibitions and airshows - and most of their pilots are unpaid volunteers. Same thing with the Collins Foundation - I went for a ride on their B-17 roughly ten years ago - the pilots were regular airline pilots who volunteered to fly the old war birds just for the joy of it.
We have a couple nice aircraft museums at Paine Field (where Boeing builds the 747, 767, 777, and majority of 787s) - and several times per year they take up a few of their vintage aircraft to 'show off' - again most of the pilots are unpaid volunteers.
Seems to me that, having been around the block a few times and knowing how those vintage aircraft work and fly, you'd be a natural.

I recently retired from Boeing after nearly 40 years as a Propulsion Engineer. Although I was already getting ready to retire, Boeing made it more attractive - they selected the 100 most senior engineers in Propulsion and made an attractive offer: Accept a voluntary layoff and we'll give you a severance payment of 26 weeks of pay, then retire. The idea was that Boeing engineering has grown rather top heavy over the years, with lots of people who've been around for 30 years or more - they need to cut headcount but if they layoff the young people, there's no one left to take over when us old farts retire. Surprisingly, almost 2/3rds of those eligible did not accept - some had good reasons, but others (some over 70 years old) who were set financially (and not exactly highly productive workers) turned it down. For every old fart who decided to stick around their cushy do nothing desk job, some young kid lost theirs.:uhoh: I shouldn't need to tell you what I think of them :mad:

[JammedStab]

With today's shortages with grounded flights in some areas, I'd say that there is no job lost.

Why don't you go to Maun or start ferrying aircraft.

[16024]

Loose Rivets wrote:

I joined the local yacht club. There was a nice 37 foot deep keel jobba that had not sold in two or more years. It was cheap.

I found that it was impossible to handle that . . . and keep dry. One had to put on a mass of clothes to maintain body heat. One needed to row a little boat to get to the big boat. One needed to pull lots of strings - most of which had names One did not know. One needed to talk on the radio without saying Roger, or Wilko, or, climbing and descending. One especially needed not to find oneself saying, descending.

Buggah that.

Last flight in an Aerobat. Two big granddads upside down doing spinny things. Quite fun, but I'm size ten and he was size eleven. Shoulders pressed together. No, I want comfort, and not too much g. So, it didn't quite do it for me.

What then?

Well, Concorde's taken my fancy. After watching that Y-Tube the other day I concluded it would be a doddle to fly. Looking in the one at Duxford confirms this. Nothing there I couldn't handle - providing I managed the fuel as and when.

Just a matter of how I can steal one. With enough fuel. I could say Roger, and Wilko, and Queen Mike Dog as much as I liked. In fact, the more the better, t'would probably help with my defence - that and the underpants on my head and pencils up me nostrils.

God, I miss flying.

Where is the "Like" button?
I'll come with you.
How hard could it be?
And what could possibly go wrong?
OP: Tried gliding?

[BluSdUp]

Dude, Get Yourself a Cessna on floats and do some fishing up in Canada.
Top of my list.
Bring someone that needs the flight time and can fillet fish!
And I bet You should make an autobiography.
Keep flying Cpt.

[The Ancient Geek]

In the UK and some other places you can get an NPPL with a self-declaration that you meet the medical standards to drive a car. This allows you to fly the smaller stuff under 2000kg so at least you can keep flying.

[Jbrownie]

32500hours...... jesus life goals.

[Mach E Avelli]

Baylover, do not even think about flying 'for board and lodging' unless it is to do humanitarian work in Africa or somewhere no one else will go.

The key to successful old-fartdom for pilots is to develop other interests earlier in life. We have to keep our minds engaged as the years advance and I am not so sure that performing repetitive tasks in an aeroplane is all that challenging for those of us with tens of thousands of hours. FWIW, after 25,000 hours of mostly short-haul in multiple types in many challenging environments I could almost do it in my sleep (and probably did on occasion). It was only management and training tasks that engaged me - line flying became rather mundane, even more so as modern navigation systems and aircraft handling qualities became less demanding of the old skills.

Semi-retirement has never been so good. Time for other interests. Time to keep much more fit than in the days of being sleep-deprived (be careful what you wish for; that next flying job could involve non-union-negotiated, horrendous conditions!). Ferry flying is not for the average, slightly intolerant, old fart either (ask me how I know).

Far better, as has been suggested, would be to pass on all your hard-earned knowledge by becoming a simulator instructor. Assuming you have a check & training background, being a FSI will guarantee that you will be in demand to the day you either become senile or croak. If you never did bother with check & training flying you could be S.O.L. for simulator work but there is always classroom instruction.

Give flying away - avoid ultra lights. Re-read 'Fate is the Hunter' for the message it conveys. At 32500 hours quit while you are ahead.

[holdingagain]

What's the qualifying age required to be an old fart. I must be close.

[Mach E Avelli]

ICAO definition of Old Fart is 65.
CASA Medical Branch definition is 45.
First Officer definition is any Captain who dares speak of not retiring 10 years early.
Management definition is any pilot malingering on a historical 'A' scale salary.

[tpad]

Hi Baylover. Please check your pm's
Cheers Tpad

[Goat Whisperer]

In Australia? Tiger contract?

Instruct! Hand some of your knowledge to the next generation, I know I benefited from instructors 40+ years my senior.

[Deltasierra010]

In Australia? Tiger contract?

Instruct! Hand some of your knowledge to the next generation, I know I benefited from instructors 40+ years my senior.

No, don't become an instructor, my experience of retired high hour commercial pilots is they don't have good instructor skills, it's hard to explain but with a zillion hours of jet time, instructing rookies in a C150 is a different ball game.

[aroa]

Someone mentioned gliding...good idea. That keeps the brain active because you have to be reading the terrain, hunting up the thermals or ridge lift to keep yourself aloft, at all times.
Its up to you and a constant challenge. Much cheaper and more enjoyable than a C 172 at $320/ hr.
Or..get a 'puddle jumper' and do some roaming around Oz or wherever you're at, to get a good close look at your homeland. There isnt anywhere in the world that is not beautiful or fascinating from the aerial perspective.
Or get a vintage resto project... very satisfying, and saves something...and then go looking at the scenery
As old farts who have been around a bit, we have seen things that others never dreamed of. I have looked down on traffic jams, office blocks and streets stuffed with people and we should be thankful that we have been in the 'age of wings'.. and can fly free above all that.
Keep at it and fly safe.