Hoss,

I marvel at guys like you. Your career story reads like a fairy tale. I am sure that you can not relate or understand how an industry that has been so good to you and your generation could be so harsh to others. During the mid-1990's I was flying in rural Alaska trying desperately to get out of there and into a turbine of some kind. The recession of the early 1990's really slowed things down. Most of my graduating class from college never even got their first job.

I have a clean record. I never flunked a check ride or been fired from anyplace. I took the best jobs that were offered to me and have a file cabinet full of letters of recommendation and accolades from past employers. Every year I dutifully applied to every legacy, regional, and commutter airline that I knew of. I spent a fortune on application fees, job fairs and trade shows. I kept in contact with every pilot friend I got to know.

I do not know what the magic formula is however there are windows of opportunity that come along that seem offer easier pickings. I do not know all the details of your story but it seems to me that perhaps you hit the market at a good time. If that is the case I wish you could have some empathy for the rest of us.

You might be an expert on how to get hired in the late 1980's but I believe that my experience is more relevant to the challenges that pilots are facing now and in the future. New CFI's today have an uphill climb ahead of them. Is it their fault that fate has dealt them a harsh set of circumstances? My generation of pilots did not have it easy at all. Very few of the pilots I came up through the ranks with made it very far. When it finally appeared to be my time 9-11 came along and we were all tossed out. Are you really suggesting that it was all our fault? Do you really want to label me and my peers as losers? I can not accept that. I was there trying my best every day until it became to hard on my family to continue.

I know that I have made different choices than some here, but I can not agree that they were the wrong ones either. My career may have not worked out as I had planned but my personal life has. I don't think it was my fault but rather an industry and profession that is changing. People need to evaluate where the industry is going and if they really want to be there.

I would love to pick you up at the airport next week, share hunting stories and have lunch, however my wife and I have a baby in in the hospital right now. My wife is there with him by his bedside and I am holding things down at home with our other sons. I do not know when they will be back. Hopefully after that of you are available we could try again?


Skyhigh