Retirement age- would you know when to hang it up?

[waveflyer]

BringUpTheBird and Yip will not answer this.

Assuming you aren't burnt or just ready to pack it in- you love flying, love the job- Would you be able to objectively evaluate your own abilities as you age?

Now, throw in some money pressures....

 

[Jar Jar]

No the old guys aren't even able to distinguish a runway from a taxiway, how on Earth would they be cognizant enough to realize it was time to retire?

The FAA medical checks are a joke, half these guys just walk in and get a signature for $100 and leave.

Nah, instead they will fly until someone tells them they can't. Sit in the chair, bank 5 mil bucks, and then die a year later.

 

[TMMT]

People tend to grow more bull-headed, set in their ways even if wrong, in their old age... not wiser.

 

[flyboyike]

BringUpTheBird and Yip will not answer this.

Assuming you aren't burnt or just ready to pack it in- you love flying, love the job- Would you be able to objectively evaluate your own abilities as you age?

Now, throw in some money pressures....

Seeing as in the event of "fly until you die" being passed, I will most likely still be an RJ FO on reserve sitting next to the same old decrepit fossils I'm sitting next to now (except they will be pushing 90), I can tell you there is no way I'll be doing this after 60. I'll be lucky to make it to 55 without the very sight of an airplane making me sick. Abilities won't even get a chance to be a factor. Neither will financial pressures, since I'll still be an FO. My saving grace there is that I've always lived within my means.

 

[pilotyip]

Thanks I am watching, the reality is though I can fly jets in 135 as long as I want.

 

[Bringupthebird]

Why don't you think I'd answer? The question has no validity since every other measure a pilot must meet is objective and evaluated by another party. For cognitiv ability that should be under the purview of the AME. For performance it should be under the check airman and/or FAA inspector.

But yes, I think if I am able to self-certify that I'm not sick or fatigued or drunk, I can evaluate whether or not I can continue to fly an airplane safely. If I can't and no F/O reports me, then they are negligent.

I feel that most people charged to oversee safety issues are not incompetent conspirators looking to deny F/O's their upgrade. But that's just 30 yrs of commercial flying talking.

 

[pilotyip]

How about we go back to the ability to write an ACT of 29 to prove mental agility? Good test of intelligence as a person ages. That would cut down the on the slower thinking pilots regardless of age:laugh:

 

[spitfire1500]

Heck no....I'd be riding the $ and seniority gravy train the last few years (hopefully) and if that were actually the case...I'm not going to quit $200K a year over a little health issue that my AME probably would never notice.....

 

[LearLove]

I have no objection to flying at any age as long as you pass your checks and medical.

What I do have a beef wrt age 60 is the guys that are at the top of the heap now got to move up because of all the retirements in the 70's and 80's but now they want to stay. Wonder what kind of kicking and screaming we would have gotten from the baby boomer crowd if age 65 was implemented back in 1982.

I understand situations like EAL and PAA guys who had to start all over or a guy who stayed in the military only to be rifted in the early 90's. These aren't the uber senior guys who have had a great ride. I understand why these guys need to stay until 65. I'm referring to the guy born in 1949 and hired in the late 70's at a major who upgraded by 1985 and has held every weekend and holiday off while flying a widebody since 1991. That's the guy that needs to get the f'ck out IMHO.

Put it another way - I'm not scared of engine failures, fires or some raghead trying to get into the cockpit. These things we are trained to deal with and can handle. What I am scared of is Joe Uber Senior Baby Boomer Widebody Captain or any Management (especially the ones who have compensation tied to stock options) - these are the dudes that will toss our junior butts under the buss for an extra dime.

 

[waveflyer]

For the record on this thread- I don't think I'd be good at evaluating my permanent age related mental decline.

Here's the difference Bring- we self certify for having a head cold- heck, even cancer- as temporary issues- the permanent mental decline is something That is not checked by an AME- and we all know what a joke some AMEs make it. Hell, I'm in great health and I still want the quickest in&out I can buy when it comes to my FAA medical-

The objective standards of check rides are actual real challenges- the FAA medical is not and does not test for mental decline.

As for the FO being negligent... I agree, but who is he reporting to?
A chief pilot who is in many cases part of the older seniority group who has had a relationship with that captain for years. Never mind the factthat you are charging a subordinate with evaluating the mental abilities of a superior that will be very defensive if challenged on it-

We can get into that inappropriate game + add cognitive ability tests that most of us will pay to get around, or we could just treat the flight deck as we have for decades: no captain older than 60- and align the FO position with the FE position-

Ie: you don't get kicked to the curb- you still earn a paycheck and benefits and have a great purpose and comradery in life- bid fantastic senior schedules in however many years you have left desiring to do this- and a much more natural leadership role where this captain is charged with evaluating the FO.

Occam's razor- my solution is much less of a pandoras box -