JohnBurke

No.

It's generally best to speak for yourself. Far from burned out. Been on the job a long time.

Your mixed messaging does have people scratching their heads. Can't afford a cup of coffee, but can afford a personal light turbojet. I have no money, but that's my one account...the other one has enough disposable income to buy an aircraft. Burned out, but want to play. Fat old, but no, not fat, not old. No aerobatic experience, but want an aerobatic jet. But hey, it's turbine, right? What could go wrong?

Aviation is rife with smoking holes full of the remains of those who could afford high performance equipment, but weren't really qualified to have it. The results, all too often, are unsurprisingly predictable.

It's not just a light jet...I've seen a lot of guys get into a Pitts, which will absolutely eat your lunch, given the chance, who shouldn't be there...but a Pitts is a far better place to start, with the caveat that you get adequate training.

One may be a 25,000 hour pilot, but when stepping into an unfamiliar realm, one is a one hour pilot in that discipline. The ability to survive that transition very much depends on the humility to see that.

Pilot4000

That is exactly who he sounds like.

Fat Old Tired

Sorry for any confusion or mixed messaging. Yes my normal life budget has gotten so tight with inflation and all it's terrible. Basically the other airplane fund is separate and don't include it in my retirement funds or emergency savings. I agree that despite having jet time, a plane like this is a big jump and demands respect.

Thank you for your opinion.

hydrostream

If you want something fun that'll kill you go buy a helicopter. At least your kids will have some inheritance left.

TiredSoul

I’d take a couple of training flights or even do the full training program and get the LOA and decide if you want to buy or just occasionally rent and fly.
Flying 50hrs/year and with all your fixed costs you’re probably close to hourly rental rates.

dera

Someone I know who is involved with L39's said he would budget $150k a year for 50 hours of flying.

TiredSoul

That’s what I meant, unless you can get airshows to pay for your flying you’d better be a DL Captain.

dera

Yes. That hobby is for people who have plenty of f*ck you-money. Not for someone who says "Yes my normal life budget has gotten so tight with inflation and all it's terrible."
What he should be saying is "gas should cost $20/gallon, that would fix the traffic jams".

Fat Old Tired

Like I said, the account for my airplane is "fun money" and not included in my normal everyday living expenses. For the guy who said that I have mixed messaging, it's true that I strongly dislike being an airline pilot, but I still enjoy flying airplanes. The burnout and dislike I have for airlines and many of the coworkers doesn't affect my enjoyment of flying airplanes.

tnkrdrvr

The reality is (even if you are a single, senior captain making the big bucks) you can’t afford to own and operate a mil jet trainer. Training costs, insurance costs, fuel costs, etc will eat you alive. The only way you could make it happen is if you have lots of contacts in the airshow world who would pick up the tab for your gas flying from airshow to airshow. Of course, you would already need to be confident you could get the FAA to sign off on your performance routine. With no mil or airshow background, that’s a very expensive path in a jet. Buy a Yak52, T6, T34, etc and start knocking out the experience (formation training, aerobatics, FAA waivered airspace sign offs, low level aerobatics) you will need to be successful in a jet. A SWA captain managed to afford flying a F-104 for a few years around the airshow circuit, but I’m pretty sure it ate him alive financially.