Retirement Age and Lifespan

[peter185]

U2 pilots and astros don't fly 18 days per month, genius.

And how exactly do you know what the ops tempo of a U2 pilot is?

100% civil and proud of it, give me a break.

 

[Gorilla]

Pressure cycles, and exposure to radiation? If it was that bad, the medical research community would be up in arms, there would be congressional hearings and people would be running from this profession.

Hahahaha! Oh Lord, that is funny. Thanks for the laugh.





Oh wait, you're serious, aren't you?

 

[tyuwerty]

Speaking from experience... Many retired airline pilots do drop dead within 5 years of their retirement date. The reason they die isn't initially poor health, it is depression caused by missing the lifestyle and the job (remember it was a much better job 25 years ago).

1 year after my Father's last flight his health started to fail with stomach and heart problems. The guy had never been seriously sick or in the hospital once his entire life. 18 months after his last flight he was hospitalized because he was not able to keep food or medicine in his stomach.

We were lucky, a Doctor caught the root cause (depression), gave him some meds for it and he got better within a few weeks. That was 10 years ago, I know 3 of his friends that were not as lucky and were dead within 5 years of their last flight.

I can't point to "statistics", but from real life experience, I can say that it does happen to "HEALTHY" pilots from the older generation.

 

[Tejas-Jet]

Believe it or not eating a ribeye steak with all the typical super fatty/salty restaurant side dishes isn't even close to healthy. It's often worse than fast food.

Sure...if you eat it every day. Like my doc says, "Nothing is bad if consumed in moderation."

I eat plenty of salads and low fat stuff. Even on the road.

 

[thepotato232]

Pick the next career progression you have in your dreams. Now, close the door on that dream for 5 extra years. But that's o.k., you love flying, right?

Hey man, I love your optimism - this ain't gonna hurt much, and besides, I love my job. That's great. You'd better.....

I'm not worried about the career progression I have in my dreams, I'm worried about the one I'm really going to have. You know, the one where I work my way up and join "The Best Airline in the World" until they go through furloughs or bankruptcy. That's when they drop me on my ass, and I start over with "Plan B" Airways. Since you're laboring under the assumption that you'll spend your entire "established" career with a single airline, I guess you haven't considered what will happen in the extremely likely event that you're not that lucky. Did you read the middle of my post, where I talked about all of the guys who had that same confidence until they had to start over with a new airline in their forties? Those guys make up the majority of the 59-year-olds you're trying so desperately to remove from your left seat. They're not $300K-a-year senior captains. They never will be, and there's a good chance neither of us will be. You shouldn't spend your career racing to a fictional job.

What are you fighting to protect, anyway? Your five-year delay argument assumes two things: That every pilot who can work to 65 actually will, and that the only reason airlines hire new pilots is due to retirement. Attrition will change at many levels in the airlines, but it won't stop. I won't spent five years flying left seat on the 1900 - I'll probably fly an extra year on the 1900, an extra year at the next job, and so on.

Age 65 will not completely freeze the industry for five years - the feds coudn't do that if they tried. And I would love the chance to spend an extra five years flying, even if I spend more time in the regionals. The fact that the overwhelming majority of the old crowd wants to keep flying should give you pause about what you'll want to do when you're one of them. What terrible things have happened to you in your career that make you so eager for retirement? I'd take a jet over a golf course any day, even in the right seat.

 

[m80drvr]

And how exactly do you know what the ops tempo of a U2 pilot is?

100% civil and proud of it, give me a break.

Okay mr military god, show us a U2 schedule that is anywhere near the radiation exposure an airline pilot would have over a 30 year career. I'm sure their "ops Tempo" (nice use of military jargon) was not that busy. Ever wonder why military guys have much less hours compared to a civilian pilot with that same years as a professional pilot? Think before you post.

How many missions does the average "astro" have, maybe three?

 

[better up here]

look potato, i'm in your age group, i think, whether 60 or 65, at our age who cares???

you know the only money that will be there in the end is the money YOU put away. invest in property, and buy yourself a barron at 60, or 65 and fly your heart out.

 

[thepotato232]

It's a question of five more years of airline flying or not. Whether you're 25 or 55, you have a say in this discussion. I care because I want to fly. Why the hell would I want to buy a Baron if I can fly... well... whatever I'm flying in the year 2044? You may not agree with me, but don't tell me I don't have a say. Especially since, as Huck already pointed out, guys in our age group are likely to be more hurt by the change than anyone else? And I know full well that there isn't going to be any pension money for us, so that's one less bit of motivation for me to keep mandatory age 60 retirement.

 

[PurpleInMEM]

Why would anyone want to do this stuff one second longer than required? I'll never figure out guys like potato. This JOB pays well, but the sacrifices made will never be offset by any "love" of flying (which I have never had).

I'd go right now if I had the money, but I don't. I'll meet any change to a regulated retirement age with resistance because I simply don't want to perform this function longer than is currently expected. I would much rather live a simpler lifestyle with less things than have to even think about being away from home for 5 more years.

How anyone that calls the act of moving a metal machine through the air 'love' escapes me.

 

[peter185]

Okay mr military god, show us a U2 schedule that is anywhere near the radiation exposure an airline pilot would have over a 30 year career. I'm sure their "ops Tempo" (nice use of military jargon) was not that busy. Ever wonder why military guys have much less hours compared to a civilian pilot with that same years as a professional pilot? Think before you post.

How many missions does the average "astro" have, maybe three?

Dude, my intentions weren't to pontificate. I was attempting to point out that he was merely speculating about the U-2 and how often they fly, yet he probably has zero U-2 experience (he is 100% civillian and proud of it). I'm not a U-2 pilot and I don't know anything about them so I am not going to speculate either.

As to my deity status.......that still isn't official yet.

Think before I post, give me a break, maybe look in the mirror.

 

[Huck]

I guess you haven't considered what will happen in the extremely likely event that you're not that lucky. Did you read the middle of my post, where I talked about all of the guys who had that same confidence until they had to start over with a new airline in their forties? Those guys make up the majority of the 59-year-olds you're trying so desperately to remove from your left seat. They're not $300K-a-year senior captains. They never will be, and there's a good chance neither of us will be. You shouldn't spend your career racing to a fictional job.

I give up. Somebody else take over. ( I'm just too tired. 30 hour day, 7.5 hours block with a two man crew in Philippine and Singaporean airspace.)

But just so you know, this ain't my first flying job, it's my fifth, and I AM one of those guys trying to start over in my forties. The concept that I am supposed to be happy about more time in the right seat ASTOUNDS me.

And if I want to fly past 60 there are plenty of corporate jobs out there. Much more enjoyable flying, too (see parenthetical, above).

 

[Clyde]

I give up. Somebody else take over. ( I'm just too tired. 30 hour day, 7.5 hours block with a two man crew in Philippine and Singaporean airspace.)

I'll give it a go for you Huck.

I have always heard about the "statistics" that try to correlate years of retirement age and age of passing. Not to say that flying isn't a hard lifestyle and tough on a person's health, but I also believe that it depends quite heavily on a person's lifestyle too.

Regardless of whether a person flies or not, we should all be setting the goal of a healthy lifestyle. That would include a healthy diet and ample exercise. Throw in a lifestyle where you transverse time zones, are awake when everyone else is sleeping, and spending your time in an environment with little humidity and close, personal contact with others, and a healthy lifestyle is more of a requirement than a good thing to do. In other words, treat this job as if it required you to be an athlete. If you drink, drink moderately. If you smoke, quit smoking. Enjoy a prime rib and baked potato once in a while.

p.s., I don't even want to think about flying past 60.

 

[Rotorheads]

Mega Ditto's to Purple in Memphis...

 

[thepotato232]

But just so you know, this ain't my first flying job, it's my fifth, and I AM one of those guys trying to start over in my forties. The concept that I am supposed to be happy about more time in the right seat ASTOUNDS me.

And if I want to fly past 60 there are plenty of corporate jobs out there. Much more enjoyable flying, too (see parenthetical, above).

As I said, you'll probably get more time in both seats. The idea that everyone's upgrade time instantly gets pushed back five years by a change to 65 is simply not true. And it's an opportunity for another five years of pay. Hear that? AN OPPORTUNITY. Not mandatory. Nobody's making you work until 65. Your pension is going to be wrecked anyway, so what's keeping you from leaving five years early? If you're that miserable, then quit. Plenty of young guys out here to fill the breach.

And since when is it that easy for a 60-year-old to waltz into a corporate job? Corporate flying is a career, not a transition into retirement. Nobody wants to hire an old airline captain with no private jet experience to fly a Gulfstream. And if corporate flying is so great, why didn't you go over to that side of the fence when you left your fourth airline job?

 

[jtmpilot]

potato...by his post is 24, if he retires in 2044... so i can see how he still thinks he will want to fly past 65... give it another 10 years and youll see it much differently man... not saying i dont enjoy my job, but i enjoy being home much much more.... looking forward to retiring at 60 and smoke a fat joint in the islands with a beer and sportfishing my life away......