… times are tough for pilots….

Yep, I had the impression that pilots made lots of money, until I met a few.

That’s right. All that training, years studying, money, tears and sacrifice …. I was on nothing coz it cost me more to live.

I was ‘given’ the ‘chance’ by a budget airline so I could build my hours up. Boy did they give me hours. To the minute they used me.

I would come off a flight, go to my car and sleep in it. Then be on duty a few hours later.

When you love something, others will use it against you …. and because you’re in love ….. you’ll do it 😆

I’ve seen crew asleep on the floor in weather rooms, crew changing rooms and yes …. their cars and those cars aren’t high end …. far from it.

Uniforms nice though.

I am not doubting you guys, but how has supply demand not wrecked some of these pilots making 60-100k for flying for hospitals etc?

You will find that most of those guys are ex military. Very high flight hours and very experienced.

For every one that makes the medivac …. five don’t.

There is a glut of ‘back door’ pilots. Guys that paid their own way and worked through (the best if you ask me).

However, with the new generation of craft … most training will be done ‘in house’ by the airline.

Most will have their own training academy and will hunt the uni scene for talent.

Flying has gone from a skill/art to more office admin.

60% of a flight is now monitoring, filling fuel & engine reports …. mostly performance related regarding accounts …. money saving.

I will get chewed out if atc give me a altitude change that is detrimental to fuel flow etc

I would say I’m nothing but a glorified taxi driver most of the time.

However, when on my own time and down in Africa …. that’s when I really fly.

Just like the real world …. go corporate and kiss your life goodbye till you retire …. or …. go do what you love …. get paid peanuts ….. and live like the birds.

My ex wife’s sister’s husband is a helicopter pilot in Alabama. He used to fly commercial and cargo jets, later charter flights and helicopters. He didn’t like any of that – times are tough for pilots. He got some money from his fam and bought himself a nice size helicopter. But times are tough. He sits idle most of the time and makes little money doing flying lessons, and joyriding proms and weddings and what not. This is definitely not a lucrative business as outsiders might think

Can’t imagine what he is paying to maintain it.. I would assume its a Robinson or something similar. Helicopters are basically designed to fall apart, very maintenance hungry. One of my friends I was in A&P school (Aircraft Mech School) with got his A&P then went 2 years to Embry Riddle in prescot, got his ratings and big surprise was not able to find a job.. He ended up going back to go through the instructor rating course, now he is teaching flying lessons part time for some outfit in florida for 17 an hour, his parents are paying on his 150k student loans for him.