Originally Posted by HercDriver130

I am going to step in here...... I am most likely one of those 'tubby" looking guys this guy is mouthing off about. Let me say this looks can be deceiving. I am a solid 6' and weigh about 265, played JH, HS and even a couple of years of college football( more like tackling dummy) and played at weights a bit more than I weigh now. I shed ALL that weight and spent 7 years in the military... a couple of those AT their max weight...then I got waivers to go heavier... flew at about 235/240 most of my time. So..anyways, I am 49, my blood pressure is a rock stable 110/65, total Cholesterol is 175, lipids etc all normal, resting heart rate around 45. I have legs like tree trunks and can still bench probably 275 and frankly I haven't lifted weights in years. I do have a medical condition that requires a SI, but my AME hopes to have that lifted this time around, simply I know longer need the medication that was required to control my condition. Overall....pretty good genetics. I "look" like my mothers side of the family.... genetically I am like my fathers side of the family. Contrast that with my Navy Pilot brother (think Richard Geer here) Tall (6'3'), thin as a rail.... retired now, as he is a few years older than me....but has fought BP problems for 15 years, cholesterol......way north of 250....and all sorts of other nagging crap.... but he LOOKS like what the poster here would love to see in the cockpit.... he looks the picture of health but it is just not so.

My point here is don't ALWAYS judge a book by its cover....you just might be wrong. America's premier long distance runner in past years, the GREAT Jim Fixx..... champion marathoner.... DEAD at barely 50 of a heart attack while out for a morning run..........

ps....oh...even now at 49 I can still do 1.5 miles in about 14 1/2 minutes.

Originally Posted by Jetjok

Hey bud, don't get your panties in a wad over someone lumping all you fat-looking guys into one bucket. We all know it's not true and the author was just generalizing, however, that said, for the vast majority of fat-looking guys and gals here in our country, they are just that.....Fat. We're an obese population in general, and anyone wondering why their health costs keep going up, need only take a look around. And as for your being able to "run" a mile and a half in 14 & 1/2 minutes, that's 9 minute miles, which I believe my 5 year old granddaughter can do. Just kidding....sort of.. As well, we should recognize that people in our profession usually take better care of themselves than the population in general.

JJ

Originally Posted by galaxy flyer

Age 67 retirement question comes from a Dutch-German lawsuit seeking to overturn any mandatory retirement, a precursor, in my mind. Face it, mandatory retirement has been a contentious issue for decades and not just in aviation. We have 80+ doctors passing judgement on the medical fitness of pilots. I'd give it about 80% odds that there is an increase in the Age 65 rule, especially as Social Security retirement is 66, going to 67 and will be raised again.

GF

Originally Posted by lolwut

Age and abilities aside, every pilot who is at the top now got there because of the mandatory retirement age of 60. They moved up because people above them retired. We work in a seniority based system. This is how it works.

Now that they're at the top, they're doing the most selfish thing imaginable and continuing to milk the top position, claiming unforeseen hardship... all done on the backs of pilots below them. They're pausing and delaying the careers of thousands during hard economic times just to pay for the lifestyle they think they should have.

People staying to 65 and hoping for 67/70 think they're in this special group that is getting it harder than anyone has and should be able to make up for it. Guess what... pilots have had unforeseen hardships for decades. That isn't something new about this career. You aren't special. You're selfish. Retire while you still have enough years left in you to get on with your life, and collectively... get out of our seats.

Originally Posted by lolwut

Age and abilities aside, every pilot who is at the top now got there because of the mandatory retirement age of 60. They moved up because people above them retired. We work in a seniority based system. This is how it works.

Now that they're at the top, they're doing the most selfish thing imaginable and continuing to milk the top position, claiming unforeseen hardship... all done on the backs of pilots below them. They're pausing and delaying the careers of thousands during hard economic times just to pay for the lifestyle they think they should have.

People staying to 65 and hoping for 67/70 think they're in this special group that is getting it harder than anyone has and should be able to make up for it. Guess what... pilots have had unforeseen hardships for decades. That isn't something new about this career. You aren't special. You're selfish. Retire while you still have enough years left in you to get on with your life, and collectively... get out of our seats.

Originally Posted by acl65pilot

Seniority is everything and they have it and want to keep it. Makes perfect sense. I'm sure five more years at the top would be like winning the lottery.