Originally Posted by
No Land 3
Hard in which way? My time at the regionals was some of the most fun I ever had, but my difficulties were centered around crew interactions every once in a while or holding my tongue in front of a passenger which I often failed to do.
20 years of flying a CRJ doesn't prepare you for international charter work, going to places that a typical DL/UA/AA pilot will never see. There's a ton more to learn. However, learning that stuff isn't the issue. I can tell you at 39, I am no where near as sharp as I was when I was in flight school, or even a newhire at Mesa. My experience helps make up for where my brain is starting to fail me, and it ****es me off.
Hard work as in 4+ legs per day, long days, short nights, little pay, dealing with brand new pilots on their first jet and having to play flight instructor, the whipsaw........ Speaking as an older guy (50), I don’t really see any different in ability in people my age, what I see is a difference in give a s#!t. The older pilots are mostly tired of this and don’t want to deal with another school. I think that those who have trouble, regardless of age, is more related to the individual level of effort, rather than ability. Since this is about the United CCP, the training here is extremely spoon fed. We have people come from all backgrounds and all ages. The vast majority do fine if they have a good attitude and put in the hours. Those who wash out result from a lack of personal input and effort. I’ll admit that the thought process slows as you age, but not enough to present an obstacle to completing training. Not here.