Ultimate Salute to the freight dog

[Kaman]

My freight career was brief, but I enjoyed every second of it...

 

[capt. megadeth]

I would rather be flying freight in my old T-Prop than taking a pay cut and flying with an F/O who is talking about how excited he is to attend his 6 month Embry Riddle reunion, and how prepared he was with his degree and 257.8 hours of 172 time to come fly this airplane, and how he just gets tons of chicks because he flies airplanes for a living.

That's funny

 

[328jetdriver]

Don't forget how cargo pilots brag on how brave and masterly skilled they are for flying through anything and everything. Gimme a break, we go through the same crap as you guys, except that we have people to worry about. Next time one of you guys make it through level 5 & 6 TS, Let us know. It would be a great story.

 

[icefr8dawg]

Naa, it's not ego. We're just unique and are happy to find this forum to share the holy s**t I can't believe I'm doing this moments with our simmiliar occoupation bretheran. C'mon, where else can you get home open a beer and write about your night where the cloud you were in exploded in fire because a cylinder departed it's engine?

As an aside I've hung out with both the airline pilot and freight dog crowd and the freight stories are by far the best.

As for the fighting words.... Go ask any senior airline, frax, 135 or corp pilot about the value of sitting next to a guy (or gal) who can do all the checklist and crm stuff plus not freak out when the abnormal occurs because he's been there and dealt with it to get the job done.

 

[I Sharted]

When you're filling out previous employers on a job app and 5 out of 6 are out of business.

 

[illinipilot]

Don't forget how cargo pilots brag on how brave and masterly skilled they are for flying through anything and everything. Gimme a break, we go through the same crap as you guys, except that we have people to worry about. Next time one of you guys make it through level 5 & 6 TS, Let us know. It would be a great story.

You are absolutly correct. I mean I was thinking about it last night as I cruising at FL180 in my 1972 Barron, well above the moderate icing that was forcast below ten thousand feet in upstate NY, we do have the same job. At 2:30 a.m., the weather dipped down below minimums for a little while at UCA, no worries, my first officer (you know, one of those quality PFT'ers that Flordia seems to turn out so efficently) already had all of the required charts out and folded and it was a snap finding "victor 2" and while he entered the hold, I contacted dispatch, called approach, and checked the weather, and ran through the checklist, beautiful CRM if you ask me. I still wasn't worried about the weather, we had plenty of fuel, warmth (everyone knows how well those 'ole suckytrol heaters work during the wintertime), weren't picking up any icing (remember we're at FL180), and a working auto-pilot (seems like they work everytime.... it's awesome!).

"Justin, RVR is 1800." Frank told me (that's the controller who works that area during the week, of course there are no callsigns at 3 in the morning), "and a lear jet just went around reporting severe windshear on final." That got my attention but since my first officer was flying I didn't think much about it, he must've seen these conditions before, somewhere in his tens of hours. So we press on. The landing was uneventful, after shutting down I walk into the terminal, I know I should help unload the cargo, but hey! that's what all of the rampers and flight attendents are for. Besides it's cold... well below my personal minimums, and I want to see the looks on everyones face as I stroll the terminal with my pilot uniform.

I can't wait to be a real pilot.

 

[belchfire]

My freight career was brief, but I enjoyed every second of it...

Must have been really brief!!! I had a lot of fun, lot of grief and
hope to someday get back into it with a bigger check.

 

[T-Gates]

Don't forget how cargo pilots brag on how brave andmasterly skilled they are for flying through anything and everything.Gimme a break, we go through the same crap as you guys, except that wehave people to worry about. Next time one of you guys make it throughlevel 5 & 6 TS, Let us know. It would be a great story.

I love the "we have people to worry about" excuse....

I'm sorry.... ALL HAIL THE MIGHTY REGIONAL PILOT!!!!

You do hard things, we do hard things....like I said, it's only moronsthat take us freight dogs seriously and think we're stroking our egos.It's all in good fun.

 

[Juan Trippe]

I heard that the passenger flying pilots usually learn how to fly smoother than the cargo ones. Is that true? How do they get those skills?

 

[qmaster3]

I heard that the passenger flying pilots usually learn how to fly smoother than the cargo ones. Is that true? How do they get those skills?

....nobody tells on the cargo guys.

 

[jaybird]

Don't forget how cargo pilots brag on how brave and masterly skilled they are for flying through anything and everything. Gimme a break, we go through the same crap as you guys, except that we have people to worry about. Next time one of you guys make it through level 5 & 6 TS, Let us know. It would be a great story.

It's the way non-freight pilots handle the wx. Several CA's I've flown get very uneasy around thunderstorms.

One guy I flew with made a complete 180 to avoid red on the radar. It was in the Mid-west in Dec. so you know it couldn't be that convective. Oh yeah, plenty of other aircraft had been through the same line, including our company aircraft.

I'm not saying all non freight pilots are bad pilots or can't handle situations, but when the sh!t hits the fan, I know who I wan't next to me.

 

[TIGV]

Heh heh

Don't forget how cargo pilots brag on how brave and masterly skilled they are for flying through anything and everything. Gimme a break, we go through the same crap as you guys, except that we have people to worry about. Next time one of you guys make it through level 5 & 6 TS, Let us know. It would be a great story.

Not sure what kinda FR8-Doggin' you got under your belt young man but I gotta tell ya, I used to fly pax for Uncle Hulas an' let me say If I woulda taken that ol' Junkstream through half the sh it I've seen while haulin' boxes I woulda been cleaning gallons of puke and shart-juice outta my machine after the flight, also never sat in a pax hauler's flight deck and smelt that acrid stench of jet fuel, fear, sweat and pure balls waft out the pilot seat cushion, it's a smell synonymous with freight flying, you can't wash it out.

It's just a different kinda flying is all, just my opinion but I'd rather have an Ex Freight-Dog flying with me an I don't care what seat he or she sits in.