Leaving the Airlines for something simpler.
 

OK so after flying Busses and Boeings around the world with many different nationalities and a growing discontent at working conditions and lifestyle in particular I have a curiosity.

There must be those among us that have left the " Big" boys and pursued a simpler life. The thought of cranking a King Air to 45 degrees of bank in a mountain valley , or God forbid a momentry sink rate more than 1000 feet per minute on approach , or perhaps bug + 15 on a 4000m runway without having to do the paperwork , kinda gives me a hard on !

If you know of any true stories of those that have left the "big boys" for a better , less stressfull quality of life then please share with us. Especially if you are able to make a living. Salaries , disposable income , where you live etc. There must be so much more you can do with this qualification. Perhaps its a mid life crisis , perhaps a search for reality.

Example ( and I may be way off and a dreamer so feel free to correct me or put me in touch with reality)

"King Air 200 Medivac and ad hoc charter Captain , Based in Utopia , Married to Mary Lou , 2 kids , dog. Nice home , enough time to ride my bike with Mary Lou , walk the dog and do a little surfing .Enough money to pay the morgage ( and look after Mary Lou). Kids are being schooled. Not quite enough for their university education . Mary Lou is a teacher so this helps. Average 40 hours a month , proper pention and great medical cover. AM CONTENT "

or
" Beaver float plane pilot British Columbia. Its my PLane , My own bussiness . Mainly seasonal , flying fisherman and hunters to lodges etc. Its seasonal , but instruct out of season. Have a great time shagging the occassional tourist ( last ones name was mary lou). Have a dog that I get to walk when I am not playing golf. Sure I am not rich but get by "

or
"777 captain , lost the plot !!! "

Hit me.

A340 Captain....Lost the plot.
 

DC3 freighter in the Virgin Islands. Uniform....Blue jeans, tee shirt and flip flops. Not having to do any loading, all flights below 3,000 feet with the window open.:O

Does your airline have online applications??:}

FourGolds, I totally agree. Twenty eight years flying airliners and I could leave it tomorrow if I could get a buzz. I am not married to Mary Lou (Mine's called Gina) but I do have two Labs and a paid for house.

The closest I got to what you are talking about was to fly a floatplane in Scotland last year. Total freedom, challenging flying and a fabulous buzz of being a novice with much to learn about floats and mountain flying, and that with 22,000 hours! Of course there's no money in instructing but if I can just get the jet set jobbie pension fund to stretch I feel it may be the route to happiness for me.

As you say though. Give me a poky GA type and a departure from a Norwegian Fjiord and I'd be a pig in brown smelly stuff.

Wannabe's?.....wake up to reality. There is no utopia above FL200.

Fourgolds,

Wonderfully written opening to what could be a great thread. Will be checking back often. Good luck with the Mid Life Crisis. Am I too young and inexperienced for mine yet? (31)Hoping it comes soon and like a thunder bolt :E

I just retired two years ago. Don´t miss working at all. I do what I want.
I miss flying, though, so I´m thinking of buying a new C-182 floatplane
to base it in the Caribbean and go there in the winter to fly when I want
and to where I want. :ok:

take your floatplane to alaska...
caribbean makes more sense with a sailboat.
good luck anyway...!

Float Plane Scotland
 

One of the guys I knew,after 20 years in the airline as a widebody capt has recently started his own floatplane business out of Glasgow flying to Loch Lomand and beyond-and they need pilots!

Dont know what the Ts & Cs are like though,certainly no flip flops but there may well be kilt and a wetsuit thrown in.

Great job-IMHO-providing you havent got a wife/husband and kids to look after.

Cheers-IC

Living the dream
 

Divorced. No kids. No debts. No overhead. Homeless. Flush with cash. Call it: Long haul utopia. ;)

Just been reading an article in this months Airliner World about Air Whitsunday, a company that fly Caravans and Beavers on floats around the Great Barrier Reef. Ferrying pax to various islands, sightseeing flights etc. Made my mind up straight awaty that as soon as the debts are paid, the mortgage is gone I'm off! Sounded like the most perfect job in the world, great little plane, summer all year round, not the most expensive cost of living. Wonderful!!:)

Maybe AirSea Lines might suit you?

I'd love to work for them. I'd just sail my boat down there and be a floater for them, ready to move from base to base just whenever they liked...

Unfortunately they haven't even replied to my emails so not sure if they really are recruiting.

Just how many times do you think I've been to Corfu in the last 28 years!!:rolleyes:

And you want me go there in retirement????:{

Looks a nice operation though. Sadly I suspect it's for Greek Nationals only.

AirSeaLines has problems getting experienced EU Floatplane Captain so has a deal with the Hellenic CAA that there will be no work permit problem for their Canadian Skippers if they recruit exclusively Greek FO's....

I've jump in the RHs of one of their aircraft for a quick trip between islands.... Trust me, you would sell a kidney for a job...total bliss

If you are looking for a flying job in shorts, check this out:

Twin Otter Float

Guys I did the Twin Otter Float gig for 3 years and now I punch buttons on the mcp, my only advice is…… its not all its cracked up to be.

Between the exhilaration of landing in crystal clear lagoons on a sunny day and reversing up the beach, tying the plane to a palm tree and being greeted with the customary “paradise cocktail”………… (ok it was not like this all the time)

It was some of the highest risk assessment flying I have ever done and that includes PNG and Angola!

Between speedboats, sailboats, windsurfers, swimmers, snorkelers, sand bars, reefs, sunken stuff and general junk in the water always where you want to land. Add in swell, constant crosswind, no airports, no handling, no approaches, no traffic services, plenty of traffic, air tragic controllers that truly were……

Then there is sitting on the dock waiting for the storm to pass, 47 kts indicated airspeed one engine running to keep it straight while tied to the dock, swimming out to the plane at “O dark thirty” because no one can find the boat driver….. then spending the rest of the day wet…….. pushing last light, mixing the swell with the wind, the reef and of course the only place to land directly into the sun for the “Golden Approach” feeling you retina’s burn like your on planet crematoria.


Ok you got the picture.

Plenty want it, not many make it, you really need the hands and feet, which unfortunately most guys I know up here in the “levels” have forgotten how to use.

Its not for those who are not willing to put in 100% day in day out. Full Stop. I don’t really think it is a retirement gig.

But hey.

You only live once……. Go for it! Best fun you can have with your clothes on :}

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z...lum5x5/HUM.jpg

Twobags. What a great post and what a great photograph. Of course you are right, nothing in commercial aviation is perfect (Unless you're the boss!)

Your post reminded me of my time before the jet airlines where I would haul Bandits and Twotters around Scotland and Scandivia in the late Seventies in weather conditions and commercial pressure that I would not want to experience again.

The difference to us oldies this time round is that if we're told to 'fly or die' or told to 'fly or walk' we can choose. Once retired from our Boeings the boss can go suck his thumb if we don't want to go into that cloud cover or fly with that dodgy engine. That's the big difference from being twenty to sixty.

I can't wait..........mind you my bosses are afraid of me now so I must be well on the way to making the grade as a grumpy old retiree.

;)

Agreed, great post TWOTBAGS.

However, excuse my hignorance, but...

"...where you want to land. Add in swell, constant crosswind..."

...in a float-plane???

Last of the problems I'd have expected!!:confused:

Indie Cent

I'm not an expert - I don't think I'm even a competent amateur - but I presume landing options are limited due all manner of factors, especially in a lagoon, and most landings are somewhere near parallel to the beach / shore, which is invariably perpendicular to prevailing winds. I might be wrong but I suspect that might be the reason for the crosswinds.

Sorry if that sounds like an egg sucking response - not intended to offend - just a guess at the reasoning for twobags statement

Sounds like the guy that resigned from here about 3 weeks ago. But he's still working his notice period so...you might wish giving a bell to the office! ;)

Best luck

PZ :ok:

British Antarctic Survey were advertising for a Twotter pilot recently. Good money and T&C, but I guess you've got to like the environment!

Twotbags Were you complaining or boasting with your post? Sounds like an ideal job to most of us the way you describe it!