MrWalk

Hello, All. I happened on this awesome forum searching for info on the present state of the industry and was quickly impressed with the range and depth of experience here and the willingness of many members to share information and guidance. In short, I am almost 40 and at that point in my life where, looking at what I've done and what I've got to look forward to, I am reconsidering what my life is about and what I want to spend whatever is left of it doing.

I am a pilot. As others here have said, for me flying is one of the very few things that I can do well that I also enjoy deep down, in a meaningful way. It is also, for me, the best one of those things I can make a "living" from doing. (For those that are busy laughing at that statement, look into Scuba diving, sailing, or drumming for a living. You have worse pay, harder entry, and longer odds, in that order - and they aren't flying.)

I grew up in Myrtle Beach, SC, amid the banner tows, helicopter rides, and the rattling windows from the F-4s out of MBAFB breaking the sound barrier off the coast. Just before I started high school, my Dad took me out to an FBO and hired my first small plane flight. From liftoff, I was hooked. I started flying lessons soon thereafter and, not feeling like going to college and there being no money at home for me to do so (my parents were life-long educators), I decided to enlist in the AF. My plan was to finish flight training and college while enlisted, go bootstrap and fly fighters. Haha. Yeah, right. I was a top-notch avionics puke on heavy aircraft, took a heavy class load, and completed my PPL as well. But college demands were great (aeronautical engineering), bootstrap was a long shot, and I got married (dumb mistake number one).

Concentrating on flying, I separated from the AF thinking I would "fast track" my training by leaving such a demanding technical military career (dumb mistake number two). With a wife to support, and a crappy job I found it to be impossible to finance training. Why didn't I listen to my CFI buddy who, upon learning that I was getting married, told me that would happen? I took an avionics job with a defense contractor and resumed flying. I couldn't afford to break out, then had a son, and met the end of Plan 1.

For those still reading at this point, enter plan 2. I took the family out to see the Thunderbirds and found two unexpected things. First, my old AF 1SG was now the 1SG of the Thunderbirds, and second, the Army's parachute team was jumping out of a fixed-wing Fokker flown by Army pilots. I knew the Army flew fixed-wing AC, hell I fixed their weather radar at Beech Aerospace, but it had never dawned on this Chuck Yeager lovin' AF guy to fly for the Army. You had to come in flying sling-wings and then transition. No problem. I studied, aced the skills test, and put my Warrant Officer Flight Training candidate packet together. They called, I went to Ft. Rucker and found that I was no longer 20/20. The ex-AF flight surgeon there gave me a break, retested me, and let me pass. Then I got washed in the very beginning of the program with the eye exam. The guy even told me I wasn't as bad as 20/25 - just slightly off - and thought I could waive it. Nope. Death Nell for Plan 2.

I went on into the Army based on my computer knowledge and enjoyed tooling all around Europe as an Information Management Officer (computer weenie). I remarried, translated that experience into a fairly successful career as a computer guy, and moved here to the Charlotte area. When 9/11 hit, I got back into flying and soon also lost my gig with a dot-com and started serious training again. I was reminded how hard it was to make it in aviation while flying with those young CFIs and some furloughed USAir CAs. Then I got a job with one of the top 5 banks in the nation, stopped flying again, and here I sit: big house, paid for cars, two wonderful kids at home, and miserable as hell. I hate it.

Now I'm trying to formulate plan 3.

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"Laughing out loud in fear and hope, I've got a des-per-ate plan!" -NP

subicpilot

Another Rush fan...gotta like it!

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"But enough about me, let's talk about flying for a while..."