cruiseclimb

I'm at a criticle point, like many others here. I'm getting ready to leave the military (retire at 41 yrs old), and since the airline industry has changed so much over the years, it may not be what I want. I've heard of so many cool jobs, like floats in Alaska, DC-3s in the Carribean, flying NASCAR teams, Flying Dr.s in Africa, G-Vs and playing golf with the CEO... etc.. What was the coolest one you've had or heard of, and do you still think flying the line is worth it? In my case, I'll have a military retirement to help make ends meet, and currently single. Would appreciate your perspective...

Thanks,

saab2000

A former check airman from my company now works for the Dept. of natural Resources in Wisconsin and flies S/E planes around the state at low level doing DNR stuff.

He is home every night, has full benefits, enjoys flying again. Not a bad deal if you ask me!

BoilerUP

Any flying job that pays decent (doesn't have to be GREAT), has some sort of retirement, and has you home every night.

ExDeltaPilot

You've already had the coolest flying job you're ever going to have - SO - get the job that fits your life goals - could be pay, benefits, home every night, locations, everyone is different.

1Seat 1Engine

When I was a Lt. Flying F-16's at Hahn...that WAS the coolest flying job in the world. Back before the Low Fly's went away, before German re-unification.

Anyone who ever broke out of the VFR pattern to join a merge will give me an amen.

Low Fly 7 on a clear day......German beer and brats grilled at the squadron on friday afternoons, parties at Chicken Willies on the Mosel, TDY's to ZAB or "The 'Lik" or Soesterburg.

250 or 500 AGL up to 540G VFR legal throughout most of the country (except the Canadians and the Brits, who rarely got that high!). Fight's On from takeoff to land against everything in the air.

I remember being on base for an ILS at Buchel and having a CF-18 run an intercept on me to guns parameters while I was configuring! Whenever we had any extra gas we'd CAP off the end of Bitburg and roll in on the F-15's as soon as their gear was up (fair's fair and a kill's a kill!).

Nowdays, acceptable risk tolerance would never let us operate under those rules or at that pace. This probably wasn't the answer you were looking for as I think you're taking more of a historical look back. I think that even though I thought Hahn was great when I was a LT, there were probably old-craniums who thought it was too restrictive even then.

As we get older we get a view on the rules-creep that is continually taking some of the personal satisfaction out of flying. If you were young and didn't have that perspective, I think you'd find almost any flying job great.

1Seat 1Engine

Being home every night does not meet my criteria of a "great" flying job. I'm home almost every night but love getting away, especially if I get to spend a day (or week) or two in a foreign country.

You just can't please everyone!

Ftrooppilot

Contract pilot at Kwajalein Missile Range, Marshall Islands (half way between Hawaii and Australia.) Generous Monthly tax free salary, RT airfare home once per year (most Hawaiians come from Maine), free medical, furnished house, one months paid vacation per year, finest schools in world, scuba, sailing and windsurfing every day. No crime or drugs - never locked doors. Longest flight twenty-two minutes - probably six round trips a day, home every night. Lowest temp in history - 69 degrees.

DId it for nine years.

Almost all wives work (RN / Teacher / Sales /Admin)
No house payments
No car payments
No taxes
No medical expenses

How much do you have left at the end of the month ?

TheWagman

....Nice!!

Jetjok

Piloting SpaceShipOne for Burt Rutan and Paul Allen on any of the three flights that took that plane and pilot into space, and coming home to tell about it. Now that's cooooooool!

"In addition to meeting the altitude requirement to win the X-Prize, pilot Brian Binnie also broke the August 22, 1963 record by Joseph A. Walker, who flew the X-15 to an unofficial world altitude record of 354,200 feet. Brian Binnie's SpaceShipOne flight carried him all the way to 367,442 feet or 69.6 miles above the Earth's surface." Following is a link to their web site.

http://www.desertturtle.com/SpaceShipOne.html

CaptainMark

fish spotting over the delaware bay in a cessna 152 with no doors...now that was my favorite job ...