Never too Old to Start ???
 

Call me crazy but I'm 57, retired, and looking to fly commercially. I have a decent pension so I can take the weak pay for a couple of years so I'm planning on upgrading my ratings & give it a shot. I currently have a PPL, SEL, IFR with 420TT. I have my class 1 medical and a TSA security check. I don't have a degree but I'm hoping a 30 year career at a major pharmaceutical co. will help offset that. Going the CFI route for a year is my choice of last resort. Hopefully a regional will give me a look once I have my hours & ratings upgraded (based on the age 60 to 65 change). If not then I may consider Gulfstream although most here seem to hate them for the PFT. It may be my best chance to actually fly and after a year or 2, I could move to 135 and fly until I can't. Still in the planning stage so all thoughts and suggestions are welcome...... and you can call me gramps if it makes you fell better !!;)

go for it! if youre doing it just for the fun of it youll love it. just remember dont bring your fellow pilots down in the process who DO need the money (being an open time "*****"). good luck to you and enjoy!

Personally, I think you have a much better shot doing either corporate or part 135. Age 60 will not change within 3 years. Last I heard was 2011 timeframe. The FAA has their hands full right now, and it is a government agency. I don't think there is much of a shot of getting hired at a regional. Your best bet would be to get a job flying something like a King Air. Maybe night frieght.
Good luck.

I had a late 50s guy in class with me at Eagle in Nov. So you can get hired. Don't go to gulfstream, its a rotten place from the best accounts.

Unlike ryane, I think the FAA will get the age 65 thing done before Bush is out of office. If not, it could be stalled for quite a while longer as the new adminstrator "studies" it.

Having said all that, think about the lifestyle you're getting into. Nobody on these boards complains about flying, just about how we're treated by the airlines we work for.

Four day trips with minimum rest overnights, 2-3 hour sits at airports with no crew rooms, eating airport food, sitting reserve, schlepping a 35# flight kit everywhere. There's a lot of downside to the job.

The upside is the people you fly with, and some really nice views.

Either way he is onto a good thing because he has nothing to lose and plenty to gain.

What hits people like me who really want to fly but cannot take the low pay is that we can make so much elsewhere. We cannot take an 85% paycut to go join a regional. 23 year olds and retirees do not have this dilemma which makes them prime candidates for low paying, fun, enriching, and for the younger ones hopefully lucrative flying when their number comes up.

Thanks for the comments .... I think the age will change by 2009 but it still may be too late for me as it will be a risk for any regional to invest in me. I've thought about 135 but I'm too far from the 1200TT (I'm at 420). The problem I'm struggling with is which way to go with my additional ratings. If the regionals were a decent possibility, then comm ME and more time and ATP training would be the way to go but thats alot to invest when nothing is guaranteed. It seems the smart route would be to get my CFII just in case so I could build time toward the 135. I certainly don't like the thought that I'd be screwing someone out of a paying job.

Agree that you will probably be better off trying part 135 (SIC doesn't require 1200TT) or preferrably part 91 flying. You may be a bit late to the regional game unless the age 65 takes effect within a year or so (which is a possibility but not a probability). I'd imagine you'd enjoy a part 91 job most but a decent 135 job could be fun as well. I don't think you'd enjoy being a junior reserve pilot at a regional, it's a lot of hassle and downside for the upside of flying (that you seem to be able to afford privately) and 70-100 hours of flying each month is too much if you're just out to enjoy yourself.

I'd not worry about an ATP, that's a-ways off anyway. Go to a quickie Comm-MEL school where you can get max multi and your ticket asap, then add the CFIIME if you can't network into something right off the bat. Use your social skills and network starting today. There are decent jobs out there for resourceful, connected low-timers with enthusiasm.


Good luck!

at eagle i had an fo who was hired at 56. and that was before the 65 rule, which will be in effect(maybe) before you turn 60. go for it.:)

You gotto change that avatar !!!!! I can't concentrate on your comments !!!! I think you said go for it ???

;)

Tuckster is right, HMP, you're driving me nuts too ;-) Go for it LoL...

And for YOU, Tuckster, GO FOR IT. Get some recency of experience in a twin and get in there. As much as this job sucks as a newbie Regional-FO, if you love Flying you have NOTHING to lose. I complain a bit too much myself, but I Love every damn second at work. LOVE it.

Go for it man. We're with ya.

There was a guy in my class who was 55. He is a physician just doing it for fun. Met another guy during a lunch break who was in the RJ class, he was also 55. Go do it!

Thanks ya'll are really pumping me up. My plan is to do an IFR refresher, then go get my Comm ME and maybe build my ME time to 30 hrs. Has anybody seen Pinnacle's CAE jump start course ???

With the way regionals are hiring and it will proably get even more frantic, you should have no problem.

I'll make a deal with you - I'll trade you my airline job for your old pharmaceutical job!

moose i bet youd come crawling back if you did that :)

...dragging a big bag of money.

I agree with the above. Go to the quickie school to get your comm/mel. Use the time there to network and to get that foot-in-the-door at a regional.

Part 135 flying isn't as easy to step into as 121 (my opinion ... no flames necessary). Part 135 companies, for the most part, aren't setting up job fairs around the country or touring flight schools looking for FOs.

Anyway, Part 135 is alot like GA on steroids and is not necessarily as glamerous as 121. I fly in and out of different airports (often times very small ones) dodging Cessna 172s and the weather every day. I don't get to go to the big terminal where small children and soccer moms admire my uniform either. :( I spend the day pacing the floor of the fbo waiting on my pax to come back from meetings and there are no FAs to chat with. Although, I have seen a couple of nice-looking lady NetJet FOs at CRW. All things considered, I love to fly!

I say .. Go for it and no time like the present! :D

Tuckster - I agree with these guys. Go do what makes you happy.

I left Comair in 2004 to take care of my father who had terminal cancer. After he passed, there weren't many places to look for a good flying job. I owned a business for a couple of years, sold it, and now work for a medical company. I miss flying too much, and am starting my job search again - even though a regional job will be an 80% pay cut. But life is short and if flying is what you got to do, then do it. The rest will take care of itself.

A guy in my interview class at eagle was in the same boat, nice pension and a desire to be an airline pilot. He got the job and was in the class behind me and is an FO in the emb now. He went to Gulfstream simply to speed the process up for getting the time and everything. If the age 60 thing goes through or not its still a good way to do something fun for a few years.