Originally Posted by
ocskyguy
At the risk of stating the obvious, there are compelling reasons on both sides of this discussion. But, you cannot discount the few of us, such as brother Maxjet, who actually like our jobs and would like to keep the fun going as long as we can.
Some of us work our asses off to stay fit and able to fly. And, quite frankly, at 61 I will hold my cardio capacity and mental acuity against the 40 year old of your choice. I would be wholeheartedly in favor of a physical standard for a Class I that includes cognitive function testing. FYI, in the original drafts for extending 60 to 65, ALPA, IPA, APA and the IBT all came out against a "jump the bar" standard for the Class I, since the less fit of their brethren would not be able to keep up with us old bastards.
Being a career freight dog, I knew long ago that there would be no retirement provided for me. So, made my own. Could walk away anytime I want to. Just don't want to.
And, "management" has indicated that if I spend more than 14 days straight at home, I might just wake up with a cleaver in my forehead...
Nobody is suggesting to take away your CFI... give back to the younger generation. There are 135 companies that would value your experience if you need to stay in a turbine A/C. Why should I be forced to wait yet another 5 years to move to a major (not seeing my family growing up thanks to stagnation at the regionals) because you want to die going through the water cannons rather than spend time with your family?