rickair7777

Don't sweat it, that's a very minor niche, most people you train and fly with will not care. They understand that you earned what you have, and made a tradeoff. You're financially secure, but will never be a widebody captain at a legacy.

Many CA's (me included) look forward to flying with people closer to our peer group. Many regional lifers have plenty of money due to outside business interests which they prioritized over aviation career progression (the word "career" dripped with sarcasm for about 15 years).

Just don't fan the flames by bragging about your assets. Unless your assets are airplanes.

As has been mentioned, get strong on instruments. You will most likely have to work harder on the rote memorization stuff than 20-somethings, but it's entirely achievable for someone coming from a professional background involving intellectual work.

M20EPilot

+1 to ignore any negativity on this thread. You'll see an awful lot of chaff to sort through on this section of the forum, but there are some useful tidbits of information. My observation on this board and on the line is that much of the negativity stems from this being a difficult step early in a person's professional career. Professional experience and developing work ethic takes time, that you have likely already gone through.

I'm also a career changer although went for it young enough to make a good go of the airlines. I too owned a plane for many years and used it to build time. I was not financially secure enough to retire, but saved enough to not sweat the starting pay, and had no debt going in. This took most of the stress off.

As far as the career change goes: Perhaps the most significant adjustment will be being away from friends and family as you start out, and managing those relationships and expectations. If you don't commute, this problem will be diminished greatly. If you do commute, do so on a temporary basis. Beware crashpads. If I had to commute again I'd buy a van or a boat and stay there while overnight in base.

If anything I would say not to limit yourself: With 10 years to play with, you might be surprised at how far you can make it before the curtain is drawn at 65 (or who knows, maybe 67 by then). It will likely depend on the economy, hiring environment, and some luck... but you would likely be able to get into an LCC or perhaps even the right seat of a major by the time you retire. That would make for an awfully interesting and memorable decade. Good luck and enjoy the ride.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, attitude counts for an awful lot. In making it through training, on a trip, and in advancing the career. You likely already know this. But beware the infectious nature of the negative attitudes common in regional flying. The job of an airline pilot starts out as a sort of technical apprenticeship where knowledge, skill, and culture are ingrained. But as you progress through, the real challenges are managing people and stressful situations when something abnormal arises; those with a positive attitude tend to manage those situations better.

PS: One other idea: If you're not your own boss and have a good working relationship: Negotiate an LOA to cover you in case you do wash out of training. My management chain when I left the other career included a private pilot who had similar ambitions... he approved an LOA. I had a job in case the notorious Great Lakes training dept washed me out (they did not).

Aksleddriver

I retired from the finance world at 49, i was a pilot as a first carrer and returned, the plus side for me was the financial security by retirement brought to the table, lets face it 90% of the stress a regional pilot faces are financial related in some form, i have non. As for the bs you have to put up with as a regional pilot, lets just put it this way, in order to retire at any age around 50ish its safe to say we had to tollerate our fare share of bs. Its not that we are drinking the koolaide as a reason why we seem happier, its because we have a real world view of real bs and real work.

HighFlight

^^^^^ This. Times 10.

Rahlifer

I'm kind of surprised no one has mentioned the health aspect of the regional lifestyle. At 54, will you be able to adjust to constant disruptions to your circadian rhythm and trying to get decent rest at a wide variety of hotels? One thing about the regionals is that tend to run pilots pretty hard which does take a physical toll on you no matter how much you deny it or how many miles you log on a creaky hotel treadmill. I'm only in my mid forties but I look and sometimes feel like I'm ten to fifteen years older. Obviously no two people are alike and I'm sure there's plenty of 60 year olds that could bench press me, but I have begun to notice a lot more job related wear and tear these days.

rickair7777

Circadian disruptions in regional flying are more of a nuisance than anything else. Eat healthy, exercise, and drink in moderation and its not much off an issue. Plenty of old regional CA's. You can only be three time zones off.

There are few true red eye schedules in the regional world.

International and cargo pilots are the ones who really suffer from that..

Willard

I'm overwhelmed by the responses I'm getting. I sincerely appreciate everyone who has taken time to comment.

So true Aksleddriver. I think some of the younger guys don't see things from the perspective you describe.

A lot of the PMs I have been getting share the same sentiment. The overwhelming majority of PMs are from older guys giving me encouragement some of whom are advising me to ignore what I read at this forum. Go figure.

I hope other guys like me can benefit from this thread.

rickair7777

Young pilots (and some not so young) who have never worked a real job simply don't comprehend what it entails to succeed in the world. They don't appreciate the privilege of walking away from the airplane and then not having to worry about it for days on end.

That said don't underestimate the training and skills needed to fly airliners...white collar prowess does not translate directly to aviation, as countless doctors have discovered to their regret.

Jvw700

Skywest is big on attitude! It's easy to see why you were denied!

450knotOffice

Put me in as another supporter of your goal, Willard. I've been in this airline business for longer than most on this board (26 years), and while it has had it's challenges FOR SURE, much of your happiness is within your own mindset. If you are financially set (which it seems you are), you should be able to enjoy the job for what it is. You are in a position to never be dependent on this career, which should free you of much of the angst most experience at some point.

If you feel you can deal with being away from home maybe three to four nights per week, but can enjoy the time alone (I do) and can enjoy exploring cities and town large and small, this job can be rewarding. I see my friends "work" for a living, and I want no part of that.