Need advice, one last time

[Flyingdutchman]

(D = C, must be the pepsi )

g'day!

 

[Flyingdutchman]

I am a friend of Flying dutchman, writing this under his name.
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I have been an engineer for 25 years, and my advice to Archer is consider something else than engineering (I don't know anything about flying, but reading the general thread this seems not a good option either).

Perhaps actor--especially in drama--might be something for you.

Mr G.

 

[Flyingdutchman]

MR G,

ROFLMAO

 

[Archer]

md8pilot, thank you for the most helpful and civil reply I got in this thread up to now.

I was beginning to think that there were no sensible pilots left the US.

I'll make my decision in the near future, and I'll let you know how life is in 5 years.

I'll either be telling you how life sucks getting 23 grand a year flying piston aircraft in near-suicidal IMC weather every night in a company with crappy people, hoping to get to fly a Lear jet one day...

or maybe I'll be flying Baron 58s for a nice corporate company, with nice people, decent pay, with decent work hours/schedule...with a good prospect of upgrade to turbine aircraft...

or I'll be an engineer somewhere working on air/spacecraft engines and wondering how my life would have been if I had chosen to go the professional pilot way...flying no the side...as a private pilot...wishing I could fly the Lears I would see takign off in front of me...

Archer

 

[bigD]

HHmmm... Is BigD around, I think HE likes Falcons!?!?

Yes. YES! I looooove Falcons! Just keep reminding yourself of that while I gradually work my way up to your 5000 hour minimums!!

Sorry I bailed on the conversation - work got out early, and noticed that the winds were 24G37, so I headed out to the airport to practice! It's like skiing black diamonds - the slopes are almost empty and you have tons of room! I'm so used to struggling to get a word in on CTAF....today it was so quiet, I kept thinking my radios weren't working.

Archer - I'm not sure if you're gonna find many corporate departments flying 58's....charter maybe, or Part 91...

 

[Deftone45075]

md8pilot, thank you for the most helpful and civil reply I got in this thread up to now.

I was beginning to think that there were no sensible pilots left the US.

I'll make my decision in the near future, and I'll let you know how life is in 5 years.

I'll either be telling you how life sucks getting 23 grand a year flying piston aircraft in near-suicidal IMC weather every night in a company with crappy people, hoping to get to fly a Lear jet one day...

or maybe I'll be flying Baron 58s for a nice corporate company, with nice people, decent pay, with decent work hours/schedule...with a good prospect of upgrade to turbine aircraft...

or I'll be an engineer somewhere working on air/spacecraft engines and wondering how my life would have been if I had chosen to go the professional pilot way...flying no the side...as a private pilot...wishing I could fly the Lears I would see takign off in front of me...

First of all, why would you make a comment about the sensibility of anyone on here. 90% of the people on here are currently working in the industry and are a bit further along than you. They all seem to say the same thing, so maybe, just maybe, they're right about you. It takes a lack of sense to make comments such as you have made.

In five years you will likely be nowhere near a point in yor life where you can say how your career is looking. Maybe in 10.

This wonderful Baron job you mention, in reality, is going to be the first example you gave. Don't expect to live out your career and provide for your kids college education (as you so dilligently argued previoussly) flying a Baron.

"Near suicidal IMC" - What exactly is that. If you mean a pilot who is unsure of themselves and can't make decisions (such as yourself) flying around in low weather, than I agree, it's suicidal. Otherwise Actual IMC is part of the job and training/experience will see to it that it's nowhere near suicidal.

I can only reiterate what everyone else has said: You will never have all the answers, and you need to become more decisive. Collect the fats you have, and make a decision. At this point your pretty far away from a career in aviation, not only in your training but in your attitude. Focus on your ratings and your academics. You may want the exact opposite out of life in a few years, concentrate on your training right now.

And stop remarking about all the poor attitudes on this board. If your maturity was a little more in tune with theirs, you would see they're are a lot of great people with a lot of life experience.

 

[carlos]

md8pilot, thank you for the most helpful and civil reply I got in this thread up to now.

Actually, Archer, If you would read between the lines (and sometimes you don't even have to), you would see that many of these posts are helpful, if not absolutely civil. The point made by more than one person--and it's a good, valid, and useful point throughout life--is that at some point you've got to stop collecting more information and just make a decision.

You can only analyze a finite number of possibilities. There are infinitely more other possibilities that are going to lead you down different paths than you could have ever predicted. You can't analyze them all--they just happen, and you'll have to deal with them as they come. Sure, you want to look at the obvious possibilities, decide which seems the best, and go for it. That's only rational. But it seems that you are stuck in analysis and can't make that leap to action. Once you do, though, you might just find that things work out in ways that make any extensive prior analysis a waste of time.

I think you should read this thread, again, in a different light, and see if you can pull some more good advice out of it, because I think it's there. Good luck.

 

[Flyingdutchman]

Archer,

dude, don't take this stuff too serieus.

The point is this: if you choose to become a pilot then you better be 2000% convinced about that that is really what you want.

Are you willing to e.g. go to Alaska or ND or whatever, to fly for a lousy cargo company for a pittance just to gain more hours in order to be able to have a shot at a better job later on, a job that may never materialize. Pretty much anybody on this bulletin board would be willing to take that chance to pursue their dream. But would you? Considering the current economic climate, there is a probalibty that you'll be flying a Piper Chieftain in 10 years, and nothing bigger, earning 25k/yr. I personnally would take that chance, but--again--would you?


So, think it thoroughly through before making drastic (financial) decisions.

Good luck!

g'day!

 

[Archer]

"Near suicidal IMC" - What exactly is that. If you mean a pilot who is unsure of themselves and can't make decisions (such as yourself) flying around in low weather, than I agree, it's suicidal. Otherwise Actual IMC is part of the job and training/experience will see to it that it's nowhere near suicidal.

I can only reiterate what everyone else has said: You will never have all the answers, and you need to become more decisive. Collect the fats you have, and make a decision. At this point your pretty far away from a career in aviation, not only in your training but in your attitude. Focus on your ratings and your academics. You may want the exact opposite out of life in a few years, concentrate on your training right now.

And stop remarking about all the poor attitudes on this board. If your maturity was a little more in tune with theirs, you would see they're are a lot of great people with a lot of life experience.

Deftone, by "near suicidal IMC", I mean the flight conditions that check airmen, overnight delivery flights etc have to deal with with small planes without the the nice toys that jet aircraft have. 210s and Piper Lances and Barons...yes they are very nice airplanes...but not for hard core IMC. I'm not speaking from experience, but from logic here. Places, which I would be interested in flying for, such as Airnet and Ram Air Freight...but which make my question the risks that pilots have to take in order to deliver a buch of bags or boxes at all costs by a certain time. Now, if you are going to come back at me with "that's what pilots do, and that's what you have to accept, because all pilots do so" don't. Because it's not hard to compare the safety of a Citation X and an old Piper Lancer in turbulence, icing, thuderstorms and IMC.

About your advice, thanx, I agree. I should concentrate on academics and flight ratings right now...but all I'm doing is getting information along the way...so that the day the decision time comes...i don't go into whatever, blindly.

And as for the attitudes of the people on this board, I'm trying to say, without offending anyone, that I didn't like many of them, how they easily made fun of me. I'm 20 years old, I'm not a kid. I'm studying rocket science, and most probably lived in more places, speak more languages, been exposed to more cultures, and seen more of the world than more than two thirds of you at least. So don't easily judge my maturity. My responses might have been squeezed out of me, as no one seems to be on my side. I've never liked the idea of making fun of somone. I never did, and never will. I think it degrades humans. It's like an insult to whoever you are making fun of. That's why I've been having trouble seeing how mature you all are.

Archer,

dude, don't take this stuff too serieus.

The point is this: if you choose to become a pilot then you better be 2000% convinced about that that is really what you want.

Are you willing to e.g. go to Alaska or ND or whatever, to fly for a lousy cargo company for a pittance just to gain more hours in order to be able to have a shot at a better job later on, a job that may never materialize. Pretty much anybody on this bulletin board would be willing to take that chance to pursue their dream. But would you? Considering the current economic climate, there is a probalibty that you'll be flying a Piper Chieftain in 10 years, and nothing bigger, earning 25k/yr. I personnally would take that chance, but--again--would you?


So, think it thoroughly through before making drastic (financial) decisions.

Good luck!

g'day!

Flyingdutchman, another helpful post.

I'm just trying to clear things up. There is a lot of experience and knoweldge in this community, and I don't want to throw it out of the window.

I understand that becoming a pilot seems to translate to (in today's market) accepting a miserable salary, accepting crappy schedules, high work loads, little benefits, possibly old equipment, no insurance of keeping your job, no promise of upgrade and promotion among other things.

Well...it seems extremely depressing then, to be a pilot. And yet, here an there, I hear of jobs offering 100,000 to CL604 Captains...or GIV Captains...etc...

so it seems there is hope, but almost a lifelong struggle to get there...going through instrcuing, crappy 135, crappy 91, back to crappy 135 back to crappy 91...intermediate 91...until you finally, after eons, end up getting what you want (maybe, if you are lucky).

So obviously I'm questioning whether I want to live such a miserable life. That's some pretty insane amount of love you got to have for flying...

and I got it...I just try to look right and left...for there is more than one path in life...

Archer

 

[Deftone45075]

Deftone, by "near suicidal IMC", I mean the flight conditions that check airmen, overnight delivery flights etc have to deal with with small planes without the the nice toys that jet aircraft have. 210s and Piper Lances and Barons...yes they are very nice airplanes...but not for hard core IMC. I'm not speaking from experience, but from logic here. Places, which I would be interested in flying for, such as Airnet and Ram Air Freight...but which make my question the risks that pilots have to take in order to deliver a buch of bags or boxes at all costs by a certain time. Now, if you are going to come back at me with "that's what pilots do, and that's what you have to accept, because all pilots do so" don't. Because it's not hard to compare the safety of a Citation X and an old Piper Lancer in turbulence, icing, thuderstorms and IMC.

Hmmm, well the airplane I fly, albeit a lot bigger than a Baron, is not necessarily any better. In fact the Baron is probably more nicely equipped. However I still wouldn't call it "near suicidal" when we're flying IMC, and weather is at mins. You'll hear stories from a lot of check haulers, but remember they can be slightly embelished. The fact is, if you know how to look at weather reports and avoid icing, than your not going to be in a "near suicidal" situation.

As far as your Citation X coment....it's apples and oranges to a degree. Yes, it's a more stable plane, with much better equipment, and a fantastic autopilot. Heck, you can have the airplane shoot the approach for you. However there is a lot more going on in that cockpit for the crew to worry about than there is in a light twin, so it's sort of a trade off. Danger often comes right from the pilot, not the airplane. 747's have gone down during an approach in IMC because of crew mis-communication, while 172's and Baron's were making it in.