Comments that piss you off good.

[kingsize]

Avbug, I like your style! I don't know why everyone is giving you so much ********************.
I'm all about playing along. I've been standing near the doors at bars and had people show me their IDs, like I'm the bouncer. So, I check them out, and clear them inside! lol
Playing along is FUN, not something to take offense at.
Too many whiny people in aviation, mil and civ. Suck it up and enjoy the silly moments of life.

 

[Gorilla]

Too many whiny people in aviation, mil and civ. Suck it up and enjoy the silly moments of life.

I think you're correct, and I've also noted as the years have gone by that the older we get, the more mellow. That's just a general observation. I think the high-strung "I'm a pilot, RESPECT me!" types tend to be in their twenties.

Maybe it's because we have all worked very hard to obtain the ratings and get the job, and part of our psyche wants to be recognized for that. As the years cause the memories of the effort to fade, the demand for special recognition fades too.

 

[mcjohn]

I think the high-strung "I'm a pilot, RESPECT me!" types tend to be in their twenties.

Maybe it's because we have all worked very hard to obtain the ratings and get the job, and part of our psyche wants to be recognized for that. As the years cause the memories of the effort to fade, the demand for special recognition fades too.

This "demand for special recognition" has never even come close to evolving in my small career so far. I'm 30 yrs old. Every non-aviation friend I have picks at me for being a pilot. 50% of the time a friend introduces me to someone they say, "This is John, he flys planes." The person responds, "Oh yeah? You're a pilot?" and before I can respond my friends will say something like, "Yes, he is a pilot and he'd prefer if you call him captain."

Just an example. They get much more creative. So I'm constantly begging anyone around me to not say a word about my flying.

My point I guess, no one thinks pilots are cool. At least not where I live.

Remember, planes are cool. Not the people who fly them! Most of the people I meet in aviation tend to be a little dweebish. Like me.

 

[414Flyer]

i had to stop at walgreens one time on the way home from work to pick up some feminine "napkins" for my girlfriend,

That was your first mistake right there

 

[big_al]

people have this dream that a goal of a pilot is either to be a fighter pilot or an airline pilot. they think every wants to fly for united or aa or something. no thanks, give me a job flying right seat for polar, atlas (minus all the juvenile bickering and being laid off), kal jal cargo, etc and ill be happy.

 

[charter dog]

Hey, most of this stuff is pretty funny. Especially the stuff that was intended to be serious!

If you're a happy camper, congratulations! If not, nobody cares! Might as well just get a laugh out these things rather than get PO'd about it. But keep those PO'd comments coming, they're pretty funny.

best,

 

[jaywc7]

Is being recognized as a pilot such an important deal? What vanity.

While checking into a hotel a few years ago, a woman asked me to carry her bags. So I did. I asked my first officer to watch my bags. Somewhere before reaching the room the woman realized I wasn't a bellman, and figured out I was a pilot and began to apologize. I told her no problem at all, I was going that way. I can't imagine what the big deal might be.

In another hotel, an elderly lady approached me and asked what time the bus was leaving. I suppose the pilot thing to do would have been to put her in her place and denigrate her, but I found out what bus she was taking and the departure time, and then had a brief but pleasant chat with her friends. No need to tell her I wasn't her driver, no need to ensure that I set her straight about being a pilot. What's so all fired important about being recognized as God's gift to mankind?

One summer checking into the hotel we learned that the biggest discounts went to truckers, not government workers, not to pilots, not to corporate. We identified ourselves as truckers. They asked what kind, and we simply said, "belly dump." I'll take the room discount over the heartwarming thrill of being recognized as a "pilot."

During a layover at a crew base, I had several days with nothing to do. I went to the company hangar and began pulling shifts on the floor as a mechanic. The chief pilot wandered through the hangar giving a tour to some VIP's, and saw me. He didn't recognize me sitting on the floor covered in grease at first, but did a double take with wide eyes, followed by a look of disgust...apparently getting dirty is beneath pilots. Not respectful enough.

When I flew air ambulance, folks would ask what I did for a living, and I'd tell them I drove an ambulance. Usually no more questions asked, which was fine. Sometimes today I'll tell them I'm a mechanic, which is also true, though it's not my full time job presently. Again, usually no more questions.

If I'm in uniform and someone asks, "are you like a security gaurd, or something?" it's easier to respond "something like that." If I'm on the way home in uniform and stop at Walmart, inevitably someone will ask where the plastic dishes are, or the tool section. What makes them think walmart workers suddenly started wearing white shirts with a tie and epaulets, I dont' know, but rather than "set them straight," I find it's a whole lot easier just to point them to the right aisle.

I recently visited a home on my way from the airport where an elderly person was having some difficulty, and I was apparently mistaken for a nurses aid. The individual needed assistance with some "sanitary" duties, and rather than take a stand that I was a haughty pilot above such things, I found it was just as easy to provide the required assistance. Didn't hurt me a bit, and I couldn't care less if they thought I was a pilot or a social worker or a plumber. I get paid the same regardless of what they think, I'm perfectly secure in what I do and who I am, and I can't imagine anybody being so insecure or full of themselves that they grow concerned that they aren't being recognized as a pilot enough.

Good grief.

I can see that you're very proud of your modesty... You comment about the "vanity" of being recognized as a pilot. I'd be more concerned about the vanity of modesty among the pilots myself...

Good grief...

 

[mcjohn]

Good grief.............................................

Nice to have you around avbug!

 

[SoundBarViolatr]

Modesty is one thing. Just being flat out rude is another.

"Hey, you mind doing your job and carrying my bags for me" -- @ KADS while on my way to the jet. Pax looked at a minority in an FBO and thinks I'm a linesman. Pax was further aggravated as he boards his C90 and realizes the left seat on the Citation X next to his King Air is occupied by yours truly, as I rev a bit more than needed out of parking.

"Can you please carry my bags to the room?" -- Lady @ hotel lobby in San Antonio TX as the desk clerks scramble to tell her that I am a guest and that the concierge is the guy with the red coat, not the guy with the white shirt, four silver bars, and "CREW" all over his luggage. Come to think of it, I should've taken her bags up...she was cute.

"My son is a sailor too sunny.." -- Old lady at a restaurant in Ca. That one actually still brings a smile to my face.

"This is BS, Flight Engineer time don't count...Take that ***t off" -- Chief Pilot @ a Flight School in Concord CA that operated a Merlin for Charter. 2 months later, the Citation X I was flying quick stopped at Concord. I stopped by the Flight School to inform him "the Aviation Manager of the X outside was a Navy FE...I guess FE time does count."

 

[SkyWestCRJPilot]

On my last trip a couple of the flight attendants commented that I was too young to fly. One said, "How old are you? You don't look a day over 22." I said, "Actually I'm only 19". Then another asked the same question. I said, "well today is Bring-Your-Son-To-Work Day." They all liked that.