Older pilots....
Thread Starter
Joined: Jan 2006
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From: USA
Older pilots....
I just went north of age 60 and wondered if I should bother looking for a new employer. It seems that most operators will not hire age 60 or better. I have a job, but am really bored doing the same thing for about 6 years now. I have an FAA class I medical, ATP and current in IFR operations. Have all my own hair and teeth as well. Am I wasting my time sending out resumes?
Thread Starter
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 124
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From: USA
I am enjoying life! If I retired I dont think that I would enjoy my life near as much as I do now. I enjoy the flying and meeting new people. I enjoy sitting around with fellow pilots and playing "what if" or "there I was". I think that I would go slowly insane "retired". I have enough money so that I would not starve of get thrown out of my house, but what would I do? Don't have enough to travel extensively, which I do now with the income.
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 5
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From: Bermuda
Life begins at 60
Foggy Bottom (great handle by the way)
Last year my father passed in his 98th year... enjoying his life's chosen occupation to the end (sharp, energetic, happy...)
Needless to say he was my idol/roll model. I plan on another 35 years
from now to match him ;->
I was retired at 60, and am very much enjoying short term contracts
since. You are just getting started! Blue side up or down your choice.
Cheers
Last year my father passed in his 98th year... enjoying his life's chosen occupation to the end (sharp, energetic, happy...)
Needless to say he was my idol/roll model. I plan on another 35 years
from now to match him ;->
I was retired at 60, and am very much enjoying short term contracts
since. You are just getting started! Blue side up or down your choice.
Cheers
Last edited by stevestpierre; 30th September 2011 at 16:30.
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 345
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From: Near the Mountains
To quote Billy Connolly......
"Growing old doesn't bother me at all, it's growing up that scares the !!!! out of me!"
And to quote my father......
"If a man is happy at his work, he should be left at it!"
"Growing old doesn't bother me at all, it's growing up that scares the !!!! out of me!"
And to quote my father......
"If a man is happy at his work, he should be left at it!"
Joined: May 2002
Aviation Qualifications: ATP+Mil
Posts: 18,633
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From: Downeast
Tippy....there are mornings my body would argue with you!
I got on the wrong end of a shovel the other day....in a fit of madness...and paid dearly for the mistake over the next few days. I ached in places I forgot I had!
I am reconsidering my hard nosed position on Illegal Immigration currently...and am beginning to think there may be more to the story than I have admitted in the past.
Gardening is a great pastime....especially if one has a Gardener!
Recently made the decision between a Harley and a Riding Lawn Mower....the mower won out!
I got on the wrong end of a shovel the other day....in a fit of madness...and paid dearly for the mistake over the next few days. I ached in places I forgot I had!
I am reconsidering my hard nosed position on Illegal Immigration currently...and am beginning to think there may be more to the story than I have admitted in the past.
Gardening is a great pastime....especially if one has a Gardener!
Recently made the decision between a Harley and a Riding Lawn Mower....the mower won out!
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 1,957
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From: Australia
best to not start on illegals. not surprisingly the ones most peed off about it in this country are those that did it legally. they pay for literacy tests and all sorts of things to keep legit, the rest get it handed to them on a platter. we can afford to be hard nosed about it, there is plenty of support for that.
re the thread, I am also only young at 63, Every time i translate I know where my natural habitat is, take an animal out of it's natural habitat - not a good idea.
I often think about natural habitat when I think about a story of my dear old dad, written by an american crew chief of one of their Kittyhawks in Darwin. Dad's mob had been tasked to fly a heap of worn out american aircraft south.
"I jumped on the wing and strapped his lanky frame in, he hit the prime three times, the Alison roared into life. A slow smile spread across his face under his big ginger moustache as it settled, he lifted off and disappeared in the early morning mist."
I think the crew chief was also in his natural habitat.
re the thread, I am also only young at 63, Every time i translate I know where my natural habitat is, take an animal out of it's natural habitat - not a good idea.
I often think about natural habitat when I think about a story of my dear old dad, written by an american crew chief of one of their Kittyhawks in Darwin. Dad's mob had been tasked to fly a heap of worn out american aircraft south.
"I jumped on the wing and strapped his lanky frame in, he hit the prime three times, the Alison roared into life. A slow smile spread across his face under his big ginger moustache as it settled, he lifted off and disappeared in the early morning mist."
I think the crew chief was also in his natural habitat.
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 376
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From: Durham, NC USA
Golf and Grand Kids are Not That Bad
Foggy Bottom, you can pass the best of physicals and check rides but are you the best the industry deserves. You have to look at the complete picture. Is transitioning from NVGs to the cockpit instruments as natural as it once was? Does arthritis inhibit your egress after 2.5 hours in the seat? Are your reaction times at 2:00AM as good a they once were? It is the little things that pile up after a certain age. Each one alone is not an issue but the sum total should not be ignored. Take a good look in the mirror. The reflection is in real time.
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 555
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From: Western USA
With the exception of one airline I worked for 1977-1986 (out of five total), I'm having the best time ever since I retired from the airlines. Life is supposed to be enjoyed, so why quit?
Desert185 (1944 vintage)
"Life is being on the wire. Everything else is just waiting." -Karl Wallenda
Desert185 (1944 vintage)
"Life is being on the wire. Everything else is just waiting." -Karl Wallenda
Joined: May 2002
Aviation Qualifications: ATP+Mil
Posts: 18,633
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From: Downeast
Funny how one needs artificial aids over time....Army Dentists caused me to need a bridge for a missing tooth, Chinooks took my hearing....use hearing aids now...and when I go to bed with my 24 year old girlfriend... I have to wear ear plugs and a nose clip along with that other safety device.
Lordy....I just hate the smell of burning rubber and the whining of a sniveling Woman!
Lordy....I just hate the smell of burning rubber and the whining of a sniveling Woman!
Thread Starter
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 124
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From: USA
I will be happy to admit that my reflexes are not those of a 40 year old, but the 40 year olds are not those of an 18 year old either. I believe that my decision making skills are just as sound, if not better then they were when I was 40. Not to brag, but if a particularly difficult missions comes down the line I am usually the one asked to do it. I routinely put in 7-8 hour days and have no problem getting in and out of the cockpit or climbing up on the roof. I am no superman, but am a good pilot who just happens to be 60 years old instead of 40.
Joined: Jun 1999
Posts: 320
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From: Cornwall
Good for you Foggy. If there was a job around for me I would still fly. 45 years flying is a long time but I know I could still fly. Problem is the CAA bins you at 65 so no joy there.
Had the pleasure, yesterday, to be shown around G-LAWX when it popped in to Withybush (EGFE I think) for fuel. I have always been a Sikorsky man (S61N, S76 and I guess if you count Whirlwind and Wessex under licence) although majority of my flying time was on AS332L's. The VIP S92 was a joy to behold. How the other half lives
John
Had the pleasure, yesterday, to be shown around G-LAWX when it popped in to Withybush (EGFE I think) for fuel. I have always been a Sikorsky man (S61N, S76 and I guess if you count Whirlwind and Wessex under licence) although majority of my flying time was on AS332L's. The VIP S92 was a joy to behold. How the other half lives
John
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 5,174
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From: UK
No stamina, Tip Cap. You should be an obstinate Ba@@@@rd like me. When my CAA licence age expired I got an Australian Licence when I was 65. Later on I got a Chimese ATPL(H) when I was aged 66. I was probably, almost certainly, the oldest commercial pilot in China. Not bad out of 1.3 billion.
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 458
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From: Kings Caple, Ross-on-Wye.orPiccots End. Hertfordshire
AD
Well ... this COF is 80 next year and still happily flying. Two PPL(H) courses completed this year and a little over 100 hours flown. Mainly due to the writing, I've been able to fly the ... B429, Gazelle, EC 135, (Police ASU & Hermes version) 119 Koala, R66, Enstrom 480 and the delightful Cabri G2. The nice thing is ... as has been said here already ... I'm getting more enjoyment from rotary flying now than in the previous 60 years and 14,000 hours. Yup I did say sixty! Also hoping to have a go at the WHC in Russia next year. Mind you, I'm a youngster compared to Wing Co Ken Wallis who is well into the 90s and hoping to break his own airspeed records shortly. We're all as young as the woman we feel you know! Dennis K
PS. Last month managed to pass the stress ECG and the 'over 70s' COF's Gatwick Class One medical.
PS. Last month managed to pass the stress ECG and the 'over 70s' COF's Gatwick Class One medical.
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 1,957
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From: Australia
My dad worked quite happily into his sixties and passed away peacefuly - at least he didn't die screaming like his passengers
BTW have you studied up on this gentleman much?
Duane Edgar Graveline.
Swallowing statins as a hobby whilst doing SP oldie work would be like a bit of a risk methinks. Any inexplicable CFIT, that's the first place I would look. In fact it crossed my mind again just recently.