Cubdriver

Any job that has the perceived cachet of a pilot will always enjoy an excellent supply of applicants willing to work for nearly nothing. The exception is when there is an artificial limitation on supply. For piloting the limits historically were things like the equipment and opportunity for training, which the military supplied in very low quantities, and there was regulation of the airline industry by government. Then in the last 30 years civilian flight schools developed to replace the military path, and deregulation opened the doors to airline competition. There is no shortage of pilot applicants and the industry will never be the same as in the glory days when artificial limits existed. I am sorry about this and wish it weren't so, because it means a hard for life for me designing airplane equipment. I am like SkyHigh in that when the bills are paid in ten years I will go and fly for peanuts at an airline as a hobby.