First flight was Nov 2006 in an EMB-145 from STL-JAX.

Getting the airplane out of the gate was the biggest challenge it seems, but things do happen rather fast on that first flight. We had a full plane plus a jumpseater. Largest plane I had flown was a Seneca up till that point, and this was a whole new ball game, but i LOVED it.

3 years later I had upgraded to Captain, been downgraded to FO and was close to sitting reserve while commuting...gah...I opted out. My wife and I moved (oddly enough to my old base) where I took a 9-5 gig, bought a house (second one after the Captain stint) and have a kid on the way. I absolutely hate the monotony of my current job, and really miss the flying. But all the "up in the air (no pun)" shenanigans of the airline industry isn't missed one bit.