Note before you read, I'm but a humble CFI hoping, like you, and thousands of others to make it someday.

1st, take your current plan and throw it out the window. By the time you are competitive for a regional, ASA or Eagle may not be hiring, or worse may not even be there to go to. Not likely, but stranger things have happened. At one point people though Pan Am and Eastern were too big and too good to fail.

2nd, by the time you get to a major you will have more to worry about than what you fly and where you will fly it. I promise you that a wife, girlfriend, kids, or some other important non-flying side of your life will factor into your decision. Besides, the better routes DL flies with their equipment may be senior to what your seniority will hold for several years, or worse, won't be DL routes any longer if at all.

3rd, you have a long time to get there and many, many hoops to jump through before you have to worry about what aircraft your seniority will allow you to fly out of what base. I have a hundred different favorite aircraft for various reasons but I sure as hell am not going to limit my choices when it comes to what I fly and who I fly it for. Things like pay, and potential QOL are far and away more important than what type rating I'll hold when I get there. Finish your training, then you have likely a year or two of instructing to look forward to, then, perhaps a regional or a 135 job of sorts. It is a long road, and by no means easy but it certainly can be done. That CG left seat of a 767 in FSX will look a lot different in 20 or 30yrs when you see it in real life, figuratively and literally.

Enjoy the ride and stay focused. You certainly have in mind what you want to do and if you truly can't imagine yourself doing anything else then go for it. Listen to the experience on this forum, they have a lot of good wisdom to pass on once you cut through the negativity. Stay positive and no matter what, always keep learning.

Great post ET. I'd like to add: STOP READING OUTDATED SYSTEMS MANUALS AND FIND A GIRLFRIEND. :cool:

Thanks for the advice. I collect and read manuals as a hobby. They also become quite useful for learning to fly in FSX. I don't intend to fly the 767 right away, I just want the chance to fly it once in my lifetime. Flying is all I think about, and because of that I do lack in the area of dating. But hey, at least I am happy and following my dream. I do believe that my devotion to flying will be a valuable aspect when I apply for an airline job. As for training, I've been taking lessons since I was thirteen. I have about 15 hours and am almost ready to solo.

Take care of this issue right away...flying isnt going anywhere and neither is FSX or the 172 at your flight school. Dating and getting out there and experiencing women is a great part of your adolescent years.

As for flying any airframe or in your example the 767 you can almost guarantee that if you are stubborn/patient enough.

The reason I say that is that if my dream were to fly a 747 I would only have to apply to a place that operates them and keep applying until I finally got on. Once there simply dont get violated/fired/die long enough to get the seniority to bid on the plane. You can be the most hated, worst pilot, useless employee but if they dont fire you then you will continue to accrue seniority and will eventually fly the plane of your dreams. Again, seniority is the ONLY thing that dictates what you want to fly.

The exception of course is that it takes you 20 years to get hired by Delta and then another 20 years to attain the seniority to hold 767 and then right before the bid they retire the plane.

Who knows, by the time you get there the 767 may be all but retired and you will have your sights set on the Boeing 797.

That's what I worry about the most. I hope the 767 will be around long enough. I know American Airlines received some in 2001. As for women, there is not a lot to choose from at a Catholic high school with 174 kids.

don't worry, I've been single for 24 years too :p.
love of aviation casts a big shadow, haha

One thing about aviation.... few need to be talked into it. I spend more time popping bubbles of endless enthusiasm to point out the thorns in the garden.

I totally agree.

So what makes the 767 your favorite since you've never flown it?

Well, I love the cockpit. The blend of old gauges and new crt's is very appealing to me. I also love the way the exterior looks. From flying it in FSX and as a passenger in real life, I've found that it is very stable and very quiet. It has arguably some of the best routes. It is also a fairly large plane. Finally, the 767 was the first plane I've ever been on. When I was three my family and I flew on an AA 767 from Chicago to Miami.