raymond g-

pic shows window to his immediate right

ReZzZ320

if a 50 year old pilot sits on the right side of a flight deck then his career progress is really slow

raymond g-

not necessarily. buddy just got right seat at 45. he was LEO for most of his
adult life but dreaming of being a pilot. so finally called it quits to pursue his
fantasy. bucked the odds within 2 yrs landed right seat.

sosh

Bad decision, with only 15 years left to work and reduced pensions how will he live after retirement at age 60?? Plus at that age I am willing to bet that he works for a commuter or perhaps an LCC which has even fewer retirement benifits. I don't know of any of the so called legacy carriers that have hired recently with so many on furlough. In addition being very junior hes the first to go if the business hic cups.

raymond g-

carry on with your dark review if you want. makes me no never mind. fact is
that he already has a pension, good investments, and enjoying his dream. you
can go on parsing nits to support whatever point you want to make but again,
he is happy and loves his job. for you, being top dawg is your standard of
measure. that's fine if it works for you. half empty.....half full....whatever.
carry on.......as you do so well.

citruspilot

OK folks heres my story. Not that I need to explain but some of your responses beg me to step out on the ledge........so here I go.........

I have been in aviation since I was 25. I didnt go to college as a young man because my folks couldnt afford it nor could I. But I still had a dream to fly airliners. I joined the airlines as a young man and worked as an agent for over 8 years with two major airlines. When I was in my early thirties I decided to get my private pilot ticket. So I worked my *** off and paid for it myself. I then bought an airplane with a partner and we leased it back to a flight school so we could build time. Thru that relationship I met an airplane dealer who offered me a job to come and sell airplanes with his small one man company. I did this 1987 and then in 1989 I became the Vice President of the company. By now we had grown to 4 full time employees. I worked with this company until 1996. Over those ten years I bought each and every one of my pilot ratings, Multi, Instrument, Multi engine instrument, then Commercial. I even paid for King Air 200 school so I could fly turboprop aircraft for demo purposes. I helped our company grow into a large corporate aircraft dealer selling multimillion dollar jets with over $20 Million of floorplanning. That company is still in business today and is regarded as one of the premier used corporate jet dealers in the country.

However in 1996 I decided to go out on my own and go back to my grassroots and sell smaller single and light twin aircraft for myself. I started my own aircraft sales company and sold aircraft until 1999 when I decided to use my ratings and finally become a pilot for a living. I flew some corporate but still had the desire to fly the big jets. In 2000 I was hired by a regional carrier to get basic airline experience. I flew with them only for 15 months. Then in 2001 I was hired by my current employer who has grown into a major carrier and is still taking delivery of new Boeing jets.

I am an F/O as someone suggested. I make a very good living and have owned many cars. I just sold a 2005 Mustang GT which I bought brand new. I had my fun with it and decided to buy this current Mercedes-Benz which I PAID CASH for late last year. I was going to sell it and move on but actually enjoyed the car so much I decided to keep it instead and sold the Mustang!

I am a senior pilot with my company and could upgrade to Captain tommorrow but enjoy my life style, schedule, and time off with my family. As our company grows I will move to the left seat as we continue to expand our schedule and jet fleet. But for now I stay put.

Now, for those of you that have no idea of what it takes to become an airline pilot I am very fortunate and proud to have come this far so late in life. I am 50 years old. It took me over 20 years to earn my wings. I am now flying large jet airliners, a dream I realized as a young child. Nobody paid for it. I worked my *** off and didnt lose sight of my dream. Now I am living my dream and doing what I love. Thats more than most people can say about their chosen careers, trust me.

I didnt need to go here, but I did.

Moral of this story, dont lose sight of your dreams!! Bottomline, I am flying jet airliners for a major airline "without" a college degree, aviation trade academy degree, or military flying experience. I took the long way around!

Jeff

sosh

Interesting career track, Similar to mine with some exceptions. Good luck and yeas as so far as your advancement with your company sometimes its better to be a senior F/O than a junior captain but keep in mind that you only have 10 yrs left, 15 if the legislation is passed so I would go for it when you can. Try and keep your hands in the sales business as its something you can do after your airline career ends and still fly some nice equipment. Try to stay with corporate equipment as is far more profitable with the same amount of effort. Perhaps our paths did cross before I retired and sold my corporate aircraft sales co. Also, you should still have enough time free from the airline to establish and operate an aircraft sales co. Good luck!!

citruspilot

Thanks sosh. You could say I have lived my life backwards but it worked for me.

In my case if I choose to upgrade now I would be in the "gray zone" as far as Captain scheduling. In and out of reserve, being a line holder, and not knowing my schedule in advance. Somewhere in the 330 range out of 450 Captains or so. As of now I am bidding 24 out of about 450 F/O's on my aircraft type. I get my first choice every month and first choice of vacations every year. Thats more important to me than the 4th stripe and all the headaches!

Thru the aircraft sales career it afforded me the opportunity to realize my life long dream. Your right about the increase to 65 rule, if that happens, and it most likely will. But I am not looking to fly airline past 60 or so. Its a crazy life. Not like it used to be back when I first dreamed of this job. Might go to 62 1/2 for social security benefits, if they still have enough money in the plan by then! So I plan on enjoying my later life and work as little as possible. I have no real retirement money worries which is fortunate for me. I planned ahead. But another million could come in handy!

Have a great day.

Jeff

zam2000

An exec VP at my previous company (L3 communication, symbol LLL) retired early, to pursuit his dream of being a pilot. Last I heard, he's flying some small jet for chatter company or something. Btw, the guy drive a crappy Toyota, live in a HUGEEEEEE mansion in SanDiego, however. Heck, he could have bought a private jet for himself, but he decide to work & have fun.

Guess what Paul Allen drives: a POS VW, and working in some start up company, try to make mortgage process easier.

From what I learn from the culture here, especially Kalifornia, broke dudes drive fancy car and talk big, and career of goofing around, while lot of "normal looking" Joe have quite a very deep pocket & respectable career.

Anyone wanna treat: in the last few years, most of the bars in Irvine, near New Century headquarter, were packed with air-head broker & AE who think they're the new player of the economy, talk & act all flashy (and every single one of them drive Porchese, BMW, or Benz). Go there today and see who've been swimming naked.

02S430

thats not that nice really

Air Marshall Eldritch

Right, you shouldn't have had to take the time to write this, but unfortunately it sometimes becomes a must.

JamE55

You've tried that line before haven't you?1 lol