To all the Captains out there!
 

Im just curious how you pilots out there got to where u are now?
would love to hear your experience.
how you built your hours to get that left seat position on that Airbus or Boeing or whatever equipment your on.

I was a Captain in my first job. Left seat and all :E

hahaha good one. and i was a captain when i took my first intro flight, left seat and all

Language skills. Make sure you're capable of being able to spell and write it correctly without recourse to unqualified attempts at bettering the Pittman system. This way you'll make the mail delivery address legible enough for delivery of your application for employment.

Lots of blood sweat and tears went into my Flying career..... As it did in 70% of my ilk.

Not to mention a lot of dollars......

A determination to succeed and never give up......

A determination to succeed and never give up......
competition must be very hard.

how would you stand out of the pack?
a uniform with shiny new wings just doesn't cut it does it.

Patience and persistence.

I worked on stations, did scenic work, FIFO regionals, a little instructing and I'm flying the Airbus.

Only regret is not enjoying the journey and the moment and always focusing on the next step.

I wish phones had cameras when I was starting out. I just don't seem to have enough pictures of the journey.

well said, i guess i shall try and live in the NOW and think about tomorrow, tomorrow.

while also setting long term goals.

Slept my way to the top....

connections?
who you know in the industry also counts i guess

I really think Haughtney did. Would explain his funny walk and why he is stuck on the Boeing.

Legible?

Kaz

So that's why Haughtney got the job and I didn't?

At least I don't walk funny.

To reply to you Dreamed2fly,


I will plagiarise a post from ACMS and Green Goblin as they mentioned some important points in there.

ACMS: a determination to succeed and never give up.

Green Goblin: patience and persistence


Read these two excerpts over and over again.


Most of us when starting our flying career looked for the ways to jump a few rungs on the ladder and climb up in the world of big shiny jets quickly.
There were some who managed to do it.....but most (myself included) didn't.
Personally, I have stepped up on pretty much every bloody rung above me, was never able to take two at a time. But along the way I have flown some very interesting operations and had some amazing flying experiences, and met some great mates. Now....I'm right where I want to be. Sitting in a hotel in hk, about to turn on the telly and hoping beyond all hope that the hbo channel has a good movie on it. :8

I never got a cadetship, never had a Dad who was a senior pilot etc etc.....
Very, very possible to achieve.....if.....you keep reading those two quotes mentioned above.

It's good that you are asking questions, looking for different ways to jump ahead; there's nothing wrong with that.
But also make plans to go the traditional way.
If you sit at home, send out resumes and wait for the magic call, you probably have about a 10% chance of succeeding in your career. But if you make plans to go the traditional route (instructing, flying up north etc), whilst also trying to jump rungs on the ladder then you probably have a 90% chance of succeeding in your career.

And above all else, keep reading those two quotes I nicked from the guys above.


Eternity.

Every time a captain gets their first command, everyone in all of the jobs he or she used to hold moves one step closer to their goal. So we were all struggling for that first job, that first twin job, that first regional job, the way you are now.

The big difference is this: there have never in Australia's history been more employed jet captains than there are now, so some of these jobs were created by growth not just attrition.

Keep your head up and bash that head against the wall longer than the blokes/blokettes who give up easier and you'll most likely make it.

But do enjoy the ride along the way. That's important.

Eternity-----loved the comment about HBO, so true hoping for a good movie to be on!!

I actually achieved that the other night in India and watched a good movie I hadn't seen before!! Wow what luck at 4 am......

9 Years GA, 10 years FO, age 40 with first command 727. Seemed normal time span to me. American Legacy carriers now around 15 years. Qantas the same or worse. The Ansett collapse created Commands in five years, people need to realise that this is not normal for the industry.
The Green Goblin has it in a nutshell.....be patient and be persistent. Enjoy the journey, thinking back, I think it beats the destination.

yea eternity you just hit the sweet spot
thanks for the experiences you've shared with me
helps me understand where i am now and where i may be in 20 years time

i'll keep chasing the dream


dreamed2fly.

Don't forget, that while the most visible side of aviation is flying an airliner, it is also not the be-all and end-all. Don't pigeonhole yourself towards that one very specific type of flying without knowing what else exists. Keep an open mind as you travel around and talk to people and find out about the myriad other types of flying that exist. Some of them may even appeal more than flying an airliner. You just never know.

yea i guess so like flying a corporate jet full with 7 figure pay and with celebrities and girls in the cabin