I am sorry to have to disagree with you. Aviation is different from all real jobs and professions. It is closer to acting, writing or music. Most do not get beyond the minor leagues. Few even get that far. Aviation takes a considerable amount of sacrifice over other professions just to be able to fill out an application. There are far more hopefuls than spots at the majors and the costs and sacrifices required demand a significant return.

I am not here for my losses alone. Moreover I am here to carry the flag for all my friends, co-workers and classmates who were cut down like cannon fodder. All with lost dreams and wasted lives.

It is true that a few make it to the majors. Even they however often pay a price that is much higher than they were ever prepared to. The military alone trains around 11,000 pilots per year. The FAA issues far more commercial pilot licenses per year. In the last 17 years there have been a tiny handful of lucky individuals who got on at the majors and most of them have been furloughed over the past five years. When you add the numbers up it is staggering.

SkyHigh

As with smoking not everyone succumbs to it a few lucky ones are killed in car accidents.

 

The only coin you and SkyHigh are on opposite sides of is the one about being able to say something that actually makes sense.

 

Actually, Skyhigh probably has the best advice for anyone on here. We should all appreciate his word

 

Wow Skyhigh...you must be flattered to have your own thread. Impressive. Anyhow...I think some are forgeting the purpose of the forum...to gather information. In the quest of gathering information, you run into information that you differ with. That is just the nature of the beast. Skyhigh just happens to be the other side of the double edged sword. To those who disagree with Skyhigh...you never know...others might disagree with your opinion also. Lastly...having a thread about another individual making comments on other threads is ridiculous. If you can't be man or woman enough to take others opinions...leave the forum...you don't belong here. To those with abstract opinions and to those daring enough to state their true feelings...I applaud you...take a bow.

 

http://www.airlinepilotforums.com/sh...highlight=give

Every couple months somebody has to let loose. I've gained more respect for SkyHigh since I first began visiting this site. My only criticism about his posts are that he seems to believe that nobody "makes it". Over 1000 people have been hired at CAL in the last year and a half. United and NWA could very well be hiring by the end of next year. Not everybody who wants to be major airline pilot will make it. If you start late or make poor decisions, there is a good chance you won't have the career you want, but doesn't this hold true in most professions? Nobody is owed a major job just because they get their commercial ticket.

Skyhigh, from what I understand you knowlingly took a risk to fly at an unproven airline and it didn't work out (I'm sorry if this isn't exactly the case and I'm sure you will correct me if so). It seems you made a poor choice. I guess I would be a little more sympathetic to your cause if you had actually taken the conventional route that you constantly bash.

That being said, I see you in a different and more positive light than I did when I first signed up here. I think you write well, refrain from succombing to name calling or other juvenile tactics and your counterpoints are an asset here.

 

Luck is where persistence meets opportunity....don't EVER give up and you WILL make a major

 

I don't think going to National was a poor choice. Compared to what? They could have been the next SWA story. You think the Morris Air guys that ended up SWA made a poor choice? How about the IPEX guys that are the top 100 at UPS? Both of those were third tier jobs at one time but ended up being great choices.

In hindsight, you can say it was a poor choice cause it didn't work out, but luck of the draw is really what it's about.

"Luck is where persistence meets opportunity....don't EVER give up and you WILL make a major"

I kinda see your point but the problem is, it's like saying "don't ever give up and someday you'll get hired at UPS". It just isn't so. Plus, Coex is a major, that isn't what most people had in mind as a pilot career. There are no guarantees in this business.

I think Skyhigh's point of view is something every newbie should take the time to understand. Understand where he's coming from and how he got there. It's something the big academy marketers don't want you to see.

The people who use personal attacks towards Skyhigh have no business doing so. You only stoop to that level when you have no argument.

 

Don't forget about the New York Air guys that now sit ontop of the CAL list. Going to a startup can be very benificial to a career, but it can completely backfire. This scenario is basically the definition of risk. Often the more there is to gain the more you can lose. This decision didn't work out well for SkyHigh. The signs and information available might have pointed toward a great career with National, but it backfired. He wanted a career at a major and he didn't get it, he made the wrong choice. This isn't necesarily a reflection on Sky's decision making abilities, but unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how SkyHigh looks at it) in hindsight it was a "poor" decision.

I agree 100%

 

narrowing your options to UPS only is a little unrealistic, but when you expand those options to UPS, fedex, 6 legacies, and SWA...it is realistic

 

I think that I speak for many others......COEX is NOT a major. Maybe economically, but not in the sense that one should see one. When I was a kid I didn't dream of flying an RJ for COEX.lol