True, but when you have A LOT of money, as well as time on your hands, I imagine it's slightly easier.

I'm going to see them in Auckland in February, can't wait. My brother works for AZ, hope he gets some cool pics of Ed Force One.

Bruce made some friends in the industry which helpled him land his first job if I remember correctly. 737 or A320 charter job I think.

Saw them in L.A. earlier this year. Good as ever. Almost makes me want to plan out a South American trip to see them again.

hours equals experience
 

The more you fly, the more opportunity to be exposed to situations that develop you as a professional pilot.

Would you want a loved one being operated on by a surgeon with a few hours experience or someone that's a seasoned veteran? Probably not, you want the best you can get.

Would you want a lawyer that has a few months experience or one with years of experience?

In our business, we equate hours (like years) with experience. The more you have, the better you'll be.

Not like knowing somebody to get a job is this career is anything new. I think it was 73 job.

I wanted to go to that show but couldn't make it. I also would have liked to seen them on he Rock in Rio, the DVD is pretty good.

No doubt, networking can pay off.

"The 9" God i throw up a little in my mouth every time i hear someone say that, do you turn your epaulets backwards too? Yea yea it may be the same size as a DC9 but it will never be the same, you still get payed a fraction of what an NWA or other past legacy operator paid. I dunno just seems like a slap in the face to all the pilots who really flew THE one and only 9. Which I do not fly nor will I probably ever get too.

I used to argue this same thing when I was a low timer. The old argument that "you need experience to get the job, but need the job to get the experience" can be very frustrating at that point. Pilots in my hire class came in with all sorts of backgrounds, from 4000+ hr corporate and freight drivers to 400 hr CFIs. We're all exposed to different things during those hours, but in general what it comes down to is the more time you are flying, the more practice you have at your hard-earned skills, and the more chance you will encounter something out of the ordinary that will require you to test those skills. That being said, we all basically started at square one once we began airline training, and it was just a matter of how well we learned what we were taught. After training, it was just a matter of once again getting comfortable with the airplane and all sorts of normal and abnormal situations, which again showed me the value of experience. Recently I retrained on a different airplane, so now the process starts again.

I think the big picture will be clearer once you've been flying heavies internationally.

AL

If the industry stays as it is, that will happen about a year before I retire!:D

this is the crux of it, and it is exactly what I have told many of my flying friends for years when asked what I felt the difference in military trained and civilian trained guys is........

As for experience..... learn everyday!!! With only about 3500 hours I consider myself relatively low time. though I have many different flying experiences across those hours. From military and combat airdrop to part 91, 135 and 121 hours..... Learn until you leave the business. Make the most of every opportunity,.