The Skinny on the Age 60 Rule

[The Prussian]

I don't want to fly airplanes any longer than I have too./quote]


Seems that maybe flying just isn't your bag.

 

[Tejas-Jet]

but I guess some pilots feel entitled to make up the rules as they see fit for their own personal benefit.

Actually, it won't be the pilots who make this change. The ICAO is already going in that direction....our congress will follow suit. OK...OK...so maybe there are a couple of former airline guys in congress right now....but it won't be their vote that makes the difference. It won't be easy to justify having foreign carriers with pilots over age 60 flying in and out of the US, while our own pilots can't do the same. Try justifying that arguement.

A solution.....? How about when this becomes law, you negoitiate with your company, to maintain age 60 as the retirement age....let the other airlines negotiate with they want.....then it's contractual.....and you'll still have your age 60 upgrades, retirements, etc. Your own pilots will decide what they want. Its the democratic way.

Tejas

 

[Clyde]

Seems that maybe flying just isn't your bag.

It's my bag. I have to work, and since I have to work, flying is the best choice. But, I'm not so much in love with airplanes that my sun rises and sets around them either.

 

[The Prussian]

I don't want to fly airplanes any longer than I have too..

Seems that maybe flying just isn't your bag.

 

[The Prussian]

Sorry about the double post..

 

[Clyde]

Sorry about the double post..

Apology accepted.

 

[FlyBoeingJets]

I don't want to fly airplanes any longer than I have too./quote]


Seems that maybe flying just isn't your bag.

Good point! But this is worse than fighting about the Wright Amendment.

Cargo pilots wanting to retire early, buy a beach house in the Carribean, kick back and live long, long lives....I wish you well.

Younger pilots wanting to get off furlough or upgrade sooner....I wish you well.

Pilots who love to fly wanting to stay at their job longer....I wish you well.

Folks trying to prove over 60 guys, as a whole, can't hack it....Good luck, you sound like DFW trying to convince the world the Wright Amendment is the eleventh commandment.


BTW, the retired military crowd is not of one mind on this issue. Not a homogenous group at all.

 

[Tejas-Jet]

Also, and I apologize for not having a source, but I heard your life expectancy in retirement is longer if you retire 5 years ahead of time as opposed to going to 60.

Life expectantcy is really based on how well you manage stress, diet, your health and ( the big one here) genetics. Very little has to with being an airline pilot.

If your great-great grand-pa died at age 50 of, lets say, hardening of the arteries....then your grand-pa dies at age 52 of the same....and then your dad goes at age 54 of the same....I would say, compare your diets to theirs, change what you need to , but genetics are not on your side here.

Likewise, if your great-great grand-ma lived to be 95 ( as mine did) and then your great grand-ma died at 93, and your grand-ma is now 96, and your ma and pa still go out and walk a brisk 2+ miles every morning while in their 70's....well, I would have to say that your life expectancy is very good.

What do you do to manage that stress? If you do nothing, then you should expect that something bad will eventually happen to you. Ride a bike....buy a treadmill ( and use it !!!) do some gardening....whatever it takes.

If your stress is coming from flying in the most technologically advanced system in the world....with Auto-pilots, V-Nav, L-Nav, auto-throttles with auto land systems, and weather radars....then you shouldn't be here in the first place.....go sell insurance....those guys make good money too.

Dr. Tejas

 

[The Prussian]

but genetics are not on your side here.

Dr. Tejas...Let's not judge Clyde by the looks of his avatar...I'll bet he's actually a pretty healthy speciman!!

 

[Clyde]

Dr. Tejas...Let's not judge Clyde by the looks of his avatar...I'll bet he's actually a pretty healthy speciman!!

Hey, looks aren't everything!

Seriously, I just want to clear some air here. I don't hate flying, and I'm afraid that some have misinterpreted that from me. All I am saying is that although this can be a good career and be very rewarding, in the end it is still just a job.

And while I do enjoy what I do, I still would like the option to retire early. Some tend to think and believe that if a pilot wants to retire earlier than 60, then there must be something wrong with that person.

I figure a person can do one of two things: first, they can do nothing but complain, or two, they can refrain from complaining and be proactive and develop a way to make their lives much easier.

While I don't have many complaints about this career, I do choose to be proactive and set a goal. I live below my means, I save money, and I want to retire from this profession sooner than later. That is my goal.