Six years ago I was broke and laid off. After nearly 20 years of daily effort my profession left me and my family with $1300 a month of unemployment insurance and a two bedroom apartment. We were expecting our third child and did not have any health insurance anymore. After nearly two decades of sacrifice and disappointment we had little money to work with and little hope of finding another flying job.

The best thing that aviation gave me was that I never was able to become financially complacent. I was never able to live very well and always had to keep my mind working to find a way to keep afloat. When the end came I looked back over all the things I had done on the side to make money and realized that I did better during the times I was laid off from flying.

Making money means more that just a paycheck. Over the last six years I have been able to build a real estate portfoilo from my sweat and wits. Today it supports us to a level that I had dreamed of as a pilot at my goal airline. Had I been able to secure another flying job six years ago I most likely would be laid off again by now with even fewer options.

Years ago I was a FO at Horizon Air and my insurance agent confessed that he was a laid off UAL pilot. When I asked him why he never went back he laughed at me. Now I get the joke.

SKyHigh