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Chances of getting on with a Major....

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BluDevAv8r said:
I don't necessarily disagree. But aside from your 110 hours in the 38, how much time down in the weeds at 500 kts were you doing in your 141? Of course, you could have been an IP in the 38...


1600+ hours in the T-38 as an IP. As far as what was "so exciting" about flying the 141? ... Can't say I was very "excited" in general, though it had its moments ... chose it to simply get the hours for the airlines and see the world.

I thought air -refueling a 141 was an exciting/challenging maneuver, however. A 4-ship of 141's on a multi-ship tanker package ... a lot of funky aerodynamics at play under the tanker (holding left yoke to "slide" to the right due to tanker wingtip vortices, approach the tanker too fast and your bow wave will lift the tanker's tail ... he compensates, you compensate, potentially dangerous PIO's between aircraft, etc...). AR was often done at night, in the weather (turbulence, leans, visual illusions to fight) with contact times (personally) as long as 40 minutes (100,000+ lb offloads).

"Tactical" approaches (gear down/partial flap) at 20,000' into Mogadishu. The thought of some idiot shooting at you from the ground was motivating for me. That airplane is operated to numerous extremely "austere" locations around the planet ... to fields that don't "officially" exist (in foreign countries) to support agencies that will deny sending you should you become embroiled in "local" trouble. No radar vectors to an ILS final was more the norm than the exception ... "if" an approach existed ... it was a "temporary" NDB signal to get you below the weather till you picked up the "smudgepots" which outlined the "runway" that didn't exist. The 141 was routinely operated into McMurdo (Antarctica) ... the "special ops" guys flew the snot out of the thing in support of their mission (very low altitude, night-vision goggle, cargo drops).

So ... on the surface, 141 flying sounds boring. Like I said before though, it had its moments and it was a tough workhorse ... not particularly pretty or fast ... but dependable and built like a DC-8.

I am still having trouble with the whole "love" of flying thing though ... I could see it perhaps in a small aircraft in a beautiful wide open environment (Montana for instance) ... but 121 conjures up nothing of the sort in my mind. Instead, I think of ungrateful and irritating passengers, endless security hassles, a litany of rules and regulations, an industry in decline, long hours droning along in an aluminum tube being exposed to radiation. It beats digging ditches, for sure ... but "love" or "passion" for 121 flying? I'll keep looking ... but after doing it for years ... fighting with UPS over a new contract for going on 32 months now ... witnessing friend's take pay cuts and watch their pension promises evaporate ... reading the almost "affectionate" posts toward SCABS some write here ... I'd say I've become jaded a bit and see this merely as a paycheck.

As always ... YMMV,

BBB
 
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waitinginline said:
I, perhaps come from a different upbringing and believe that if want to go to school after high school it's on you.




With the popularity of 529 plans, Coverdell Education IRA's, and the myriad other assortment of college savings vehicles I'd say your opinion is in the minority. The world is tough today ... much more competition for high paying jobs than when I was growing up. I believe it is MY responsibility to give my kids a leg up on that competition.

In many parts of CA ... our children will be unable to afford a home in the neighborhood in which they grew up. (Million dollar track homes are the norm in many coastal locations.) It wasn't this way when I graduated from college. At that time I was able to purchase a home on Air Force pay ... no way is that possible today. Times are changing my friend, and I believe it is MY responsibility as a parent to equip my children with the educational skills they will REQUIRE to succeed in today's world. Doing less, IMO, is akin to kicking the chick out of the nest before it can fly.

BBB
 
Big Beer Belly said:
With the popularity of 529 plans, Coverdell Education IRA's, and the myriad other assortment of college savings vehicles I'd say your opinion is in the minority. The world is tough today ... much more competition for high paying jobs than when I was growing up. I believe it is MY responsibility to give my kids a leg up on that competition.

In many parts of CA ... our children will be unable to afford a home in the neighborhood in which they grew up. (Million dollar track homes are the norm in many coastal locations.) It wasn't this way when I graduated from college. At that time I was able to purchase a home on Air Force pay ... no way is that possible today. Times are changing my friend, and I believe it is MY responsibility as a parent to equip my children with the educational skills they will REQUIRE to succeed in today's world. Doing less, IMO, is akin to kicking the chick out of the nest before it can fly.

BBB

Very well said Big Beer Belly.
 
Big Beer Belly said:
Some will be quick to accuse me of having an "attitude" of superiority for pointing out the "facts". All I am saying is that once you have experienced the performance capability of "afterburning" aircraft, you will not be so thrilled with the offerings of the civilian market ... just a fact.

It's a fact for you, not everyone. You keep mentioning not understanding the "love" for 121 flying, then in the same paragraph you slam private flying in an RV. Last time I checked, RVs are not operated under Part 121. Didja stop to think that 121 flying, because it is fairly boring, is the reason why so many airline types are building/flying RVs? To get back to the basics, the pure fun and joy of flight; that's why I'm building one. No FMC, EFIS or autopilot, just a fun little airplane. Do you just not like flying in general? Perhaps you should get a real job outside of aviation and go play golf and hang out at the country club every weekend...

Big Beer Belly said:
Everyone knows how to get around the "vision" thing ... so that''s not an excuse.

This statement right here just makes you sound like an arrogant ass. Nice.
 
Big Beer Belly said:
With the popularity of 529 plans, Coverdell Education IRA's, and the myriad other assortment of college savings vehicles I'd say your opinion is in the minority. The world is tough today ... much more competition for high paying jobs than when I was growing up. I believe it is MY responsibility to give my kids a leg up on that competition.

In many parts of CA ... our children will be unable to afford a home in the neighborhood in which they grew up. (Million dollar track homes are the norm in many coastal locations.) It wasn't this way when I graduated from college. At that time I was able to purchase a home on Air Force pay ... no way is that possible today. Times are changing my friend, and I believe it is MY responsibility as a parent to equip my children with the educational skills they will REQUIRE to succeed in today's world. Doing less, IMO, is akin to kicking the chick out of the nest before it can fly.

BBB


Congratulations on doing right by your family!! I applaud you for having your priorities straight in an industry filled with so many self-centered whores willing and accepting they fly for whore wages just so they can tell everyone they fly a jet Woopy Damn doo.. Family is the most important thing in this world.. I've noticed that the men who are good family men tear themselves apart inside when they have to leave their families for five to seven days at a time.. The ones who dont mind being away from home are the ones with shitty family lives, or put flying ahead of their kids.. In regards to the above gentleman asking for advice I think he should give flying a shot.. All these words about a bad industry are 100 percent correct.. Let him find this out for himself though because otherwise he may regret not giving flying a shot. Then when he comes and sees some of the self-righteous slut whores he has to fly with he will realize that becoming financially secure and buying his own plane and flying on his own terms..not someone elses terms will be the way to go.. Thats why if hes smart enough to get a Physics PHD, he'll be smart enough to get out of this industry a few years after stepping foot in it
 
In five years, they plan on having "handheld" DNA "sniffer" technology. The device will be able to sniff out a DNA sample on scene, then through the majik of secure digital data uplink, find the owner of the sample by matching it with those that are on file. Since so many parents are worried about child abductions and willfully submit their child's DNA for identification purposes, that won't be so hard to do.

Ultimately, some flight school will be able to procure these devices and use them to help eliminate the expense of advertising and mass mailings of sales literature, by simply taking it to the airport and operating the device on the glass.
 
jbDC9 said:
It's a fact for you, not everyone. You keep mentioning not understanding the "love" for 121 flying, then in the same paragraph you slam private flying in an RV. Last time I checked, RVs are not operated under Part 121. Didja stop to think that 121 flying, because it is fairly boring, is the reason why so many airline types are building/flying RVs? To get back to the basics, the pure fun and joy of flight; that's why I'm building one. No FMC, EFIS or autopilot, just a fun little airplane.


jb ... you're right ... I have been schizophrenic interchanging the two ... sorry. 121 is definitely not a thrill, IMO. All of the RV builders that I know are equipping them with full EFIS panels, GPS, the works ... doesn't sound like "pure" flying (sounds kinda like 121 type flying) is what I failed to tie together.

Sounds like the RV type of flying suits you. I'm glad you enjoy it.

The larger, more obscure point I have failed to relay is what you alluded to in the end of your post about enjoying flying. While I don't "love" flying (like some do) ... that is not a prerequisite or a requirement in my book. Providing for my family is my priority ... not being "fulfilled". In my small world, I think you can do whatever you want when you are single and responsible for only yourself ... but when you make the choice to have children, their welfare becomes your overriding priority. So, NO ... I have no intention of quitting and finding some other more "fulfilling" line of work.

Cheer up jb! This is Flightinfo after all ... lots of whacked out opinions on nearly everything.

BBB
 
And as BBB has alluded to (perhaps after reflecting) the wonderful thing about aviation is that it is so varied that there's something for everyone. Just as the auto industry has learned, there are different jobs for vehicles and they build many styles to accomplish the same task.

Regarding aviation as a career, let's keep the perspective that while it is a a major portion of a person's (and their family's) life, it's not everything. To some it is, and they are the ones that konk out a month after their 60th birthday. Flying, like any other means of feeding your family should be rewarding on many fronts. I can think of nothing worse than toiling in a job you dislike for your entire life- and so many, many people do that. Until it's proven otherwise to me, you've only got one to live with the people you love- you'd better enjoy your life to the greatest extent possible- and that does include choosing a likeable career with the compensation which provides you with a lifestyle that's agreeable with your own personality.

As far as homebuilt airplanes and their panels, mine has a pretty nice panel. Do I use all that stuff all the time? No. Is it nice to have when I need to use it? Yes. Don't forget that most pilots are gearheads- that stuff is BEAUTIFUL to look at, and since all pilots have panel-envy, it's just another way of saying mine's bigger than yours! I get just as much satisfaction of a different sort when I make a good landing. I also love the way my daughter looks when she sits there with those big headphones on and watches the world go by as we fly.

Indeed, there are so many more aspects to flying (as with everything else) that we often miss them- and many can be the most important ones of all.

As Lex Luthor once said "and there are those who can glean the secrets of the universe from a gum wrapper".....

Bottom line: stick to engineering
 

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