Be carefull you don't catch AIDS

Aviation
Indused
Divorce
Syndrome

:D

PH

advice I've heard from many old dudes I've flown with....

"If you're married, stay married......if you're single, stay single."

take that fwiw.

Where to find it!
 

You can find real love just east of Reno and west of Fallon, NV. There is one particular filly farm there called Mustang Ranch. The farm might be gone now but there are others like it. You can find love there, or places similar for about $200 or you can have alot of love for a bit more. There are no questions about how much per diem you made, when you get paid or when you are going to pick up your f-ing pile of dirty clothes. You don't even have to check in with them every night. They will listen to your sorry airline stories and even drink beer with you if you want. Now that's love! It may not be true love but at least it's love. I dropped by once with some buddies to get our newest squadron member broke in properly. We drank while he found love. Beeker (his call sigh), was giddy the rest of the night and he wanted to take his newest friend home to meet momma. Our money had run out and so had the love. So we left that night feeling like humanitarians in an inhumane world, and where true love is so very very very hard to find. We had found it, if for only 45 minutes.

Finally Sky High and I agree on something! If it flys, floats or ****s, you are better off to rent it.

Calcapt, man, that was priceless. :)

Aviation Divorce
 

Often the divorce comes after the pilot retires or gets a job closer to home. While at National Airlines there was a rash of divorces a year after the company started. The problem was that many of the pilots previously had overseas jobs that would keep them away for a month or more at a time.

Upon changing to being home a lot it became apparent that the relationship had grown apart but no one noticed since they were separated most of the time. Co-workers told me that after a few years of being gone a lot home began to feel like a strange place. Kids barely noticed that dad was home since they became adjusted to him not being an involved family member anymore.

By the time they made the change it was too late. I don't think it is a good plan to accept a job that takes you away from home for more than 4 days at a time. Unless of course you are single.

SkyHigh

Calcapt... you must be an old Navy guy who did a few Fallon Dets.... I was stationed there flying SAR for a few years with the Longhorns ... Loved It!!! You're right.. the ranch is gone.. Good times .. Best flying in the world is watching the desert go by from 10ft..

It depends on the people...My parents have been married for 35+ years. Father spent a good amount of time (20+ days a month) on the road or flying. Even in his military career - he was gone quite a bit...

Like I said - trust and respect should be the foundation not love.

-LAFF

If she can't or won't support your dream, then maybe shes not the one for you. Depending on where you go, you shouldn't be gone for more than 4 days at time. You may be gone for 5, but only on reserve. Of course it all depends on where you go.

My dad's 72, been married since he was 18, still fly's professionally. 20k hours and counting.

I have definitley noticed the trend of divorce in most of the pilots I have flown with. Although I have never been married, I think the type-A personality and arrogance of us pilots is the bigger problem than the schedules when it comes to being married. Take the advice I recieved from a production test pilot at RaytheonAircraft... "you wanna be married? Just save yourself the trouble... find a girl and buy her a house."

I thought it was funny although it doesn't reflect my thoughts on marriage or that it can't work with our chosen profession. I am really looking forward to being married someday!

Hey groovinaviator, is that a Tampico in your avatar?

[PHP][/PHP]Can I use my financing through Pilot Career Foundation on those rental fees?

I hear the only way to stay happily married is to cheat, easy for us we are away alot, agian just what I jave heard.

soon2bfo, You can start by not listening to anything Skyhigh says!!!
I have a high school sweetheart Ive been dating for 4 years this Christmas. We have been 3 1/2 hrs apart for 2 1/2 years because of college. During the summers we are still 1 hr apart. In addition to all this I play basketball and I also don't have a car. During the school year I only see her maybe for one weekend every 3-4 weeks. During the summer i see her one day a week. My girlfriend and I are actually looking forward to my regional flying days because we will see each other so much more than we do now.

Everyone told us we would be too far away during college and that it would never workout. I know we beat alot of odds but you have to follow your heart.

My advice to you is "DONT" listen to what all those haters have to say because if you do you will find yourself wondering what your life would have been like if you would have stayed with that one special girl.

I know having kids is a whole different ballgame but if you feel you have found the right girl to marry i say go for it!!

Well, from what I can tell it seems that there are pilots with marriages that are just fine, and pilots that have been divorced a lot. It looks like it comes down to how commited each party is in the marriage, and if you remain faithful. I have relatives who are doctors and lawyers, and they are never home either. At least a pilot leaves his work at the airport!:cool: Thanks for the input fellas.

Here's a piece of second hand advice -

"If you're going to be a pilot...do yourself a favor. Pick out 3 girls you absolutely hate and buy each of them a house and a car...you'll save money on the lawyers later..."

In all seriousness...I still say it depends on the person you're with and the relationship you have. Some make it, most don't. That's the way of the world. And if it makes you feel any better Soon2BFO, I have the same worry...but I'm not 30 yet so it's not a big worry.

You are correct my friend. Was VF at Miramar but the marines kicked our a$$es out. Those jarheads are so insensitive!

Girls, girls and more girls
 

Tulsa and Omaha are the only two places I don't have women waiting for me when I get off the plane. I had a gal in Omaha but found out she was a he who liked wearing womens clothes, but that's another story. I have classified ads in both newspapers running this weekend. Perhaps next week I will have a girl in EVERY town! Aaahhh, the life!

Live by these rules at an airline pilot to being happily married....

1.) NEVER leave for a trip mad at each other....
2.) See Rule #1.
3.) See Rules #1 & #2
4.) Call her at some point EVERY day to let her know that you are thinking about her
5.) Random acts of kindness. Next time you are on your way home from you trip, stop by the grocery store and pick up a $5 bouquet of flowers. For no reason! When she asks why you bought them, tell her that you missed her while away.
6.) Make your time at home count! My wife and I try to spend my days off doing things together, just as if we were dating... Bike rides, museums, etc., and we even have a two year old now! We try to "do something" at least once beween trips.
7.) BE HONEST! I read an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal last week talking about the way to prevent cheating is to disclose when you like someone, with whom you may do something you regret BEFORE you cheat. If you are flying with a flight attendant that is getting flirty and you plan on going drinking that night, tell your wife about her before you go, and it will constantly be on your mind that night so that you will not cheat.... if you do cheat, this article said to disclose the event within 24 hours! (Last Friday or Saturdays' Personal Journal, cover..)
8.) Make sure that she knows that she is first in your book. You only get limited days off, so things like drinking with the guys, golf, etc... have to get put on hold, b/c she values your time at home more than you do.
9.) Take her out to eat once in a while. She will view that you go out all the time, have drinks with the rest of the crew, eating at restaurants, etc... all the time, while she is putting another Stouffers in the microwave. Even if you are a Slam-Clicker, she has a certain standard in her mind that you do on your trips. Even if you don't want to go out to eat b/c thats all you ever get to eat on the road, remember that she doesn't and deserves a treat every now and then.
10.) If you work for a company that has long overnights (more than 24 hours) in decent places, invite her to come with. It will make your trip more bearable when you are stuck in Dayton for 36 hours, AND it will make her feel wanted.

and finally

11.) SEE RULE #1! NEVER LEAVE FOR A TRIP MAD AT EACH OTHER! You are going to be gone for 4 days. Do you really want to wonder for those 4 days if someone else is keeping your bed warm for you?

Just a few thoughts on how to make your airline marriage work. If these don't work, I highly suggest a Swiss bank account where you can start funneling your money to, so you can start saving for your divorce and still have something left after it.

haha i love this... marriage advice by airline pilots. hilarious.

heres the best advice ive ever heard from a UPS A300 driver. "Marriage is for having kids, if you dont want kids dont get married. When youre done having kids, get divorced."

haha i got a kick out of that. so shallow but sadly i like his logic. let the flaming begin :)

I think this is a topic we all have thought about, or will have to, in this career. I'm just a CFI, so I work about 12-13 hours a day, then I'm home each night. I'm 25, and already married...I found the perfect woman and decided to go for it, after dating and living together for about a year. I couldn't be happier with that decision. My wife used to be a flight attendant, so she is sort of familiar with the life, and we both discussed what the airline life would entail many times before making the big decision. She's fine with that schedule, as she's not the "clingy" type anyway. That is the way to go with it...like they said in previous posts, get everything out on the table before making any decisions on marriage. Let her know exactly what the schedule will be, let her know you'll probably have to move several times, etc.

I'll be moving on into the industry in about 6 months, and I explained to my wife I can either fly cargo at night and be home in the daytime every day (and asleep for half of that time) with weekends off, or be flying roughly 4 days on 3 days off with a regional, and I don't plan on commuting...I'd rather move to the domicile so I can spend more time with her. If you can find someone who has similar interests and can tolerate that kind of schedule, she's a keeper :) The only limiting factor as some have said before is that you may not be able to get that dream job immediately; you've got to factor your wife/family into every career decision you make. I'd rather go somewhere where I can stay for a long time, as opposed to somewhere where I can upgrade ASAP and move from base to base.

The main problem I'm seeing for myself in the future is that we want to have kids eventually, and she wants to work in the airport business as well...somebody's got to stay at home and take care of the kids. Now the good thing about the airline schedule is you know you'll be home for several days in a row in between trips, so you can take on the responsibilities when you're home. Again though, the key is to sort of plan these things out, and make sure you're very open about every career decision or disagreements on scheduling. That's just my example, but just to give you an idea of how it is being a married pilot. Five years down the road, hopefully my outlook on this will not change;)

-Brock

Kids
 

Things change a lot when you have kids. What works today might not play well when you add a few small people.

SkyHigh

Dont commute. I tried doing that for 10 months,ended up becoming a victim of AIDS (see previous post by someone in the thread).

For the first time EVER, i completely agree with sky high!!!

I personally think that anyone who is starting a career as an airline pilot with kid(s) or and a wife is seriously risking hurting their family.

I also personally think that marriage and kids are highly overrated. Just check out my bible...... nomarriage.com

Some will thank me later

How true
 

This is so true. After my kids showed up things changed. I put all of them up for adoption and no one would take them. I even offered them up to the pharmaceutical companies for drug experiments and even they wouldn't take them. Beware: They are easy to get and very difficult to get rid of.

DHS needs to contact you, could you post your address and phone number please.

OK, here it is!!!
 

calcapt
c/o The Love Ranch
P.O. Box 69
Las Vegas, NV 90210

1-888-543-4968 (1-888-kid-4you)

Uh, Calcapt, darling....90210 is Beverly Hills, CA, isn't it??!!

P.S. If you can find someone who wants 3 teenagers, including identical twin girls -- please (and I mean PLEASE) let me know.... :p

Now that's funny right therrrre, i don't care who ya are

CalCapt: What squadron and when?:cool:

Soon2bFO
Pay no attention to Calcapt's rec to visit the Mustang Ranch outside of Reno. I would have expected much better from him. Quite frankly, I am disappointed. You will soon be an airline pilot and there are morals, codes of conduct, expectations, and ethics for you to follow. And you will be able to exercise all of these options in a place called Pattaya, Thailand. Anyone can get to Reno for God's sake.

You are either VERY new to the forum or you have NO sense of humor....Don't you realize Calcapt was a pimp on an older thread (see "Pilot Pickup") -- and since he's ALWAYS protected his "ladies," it's my turn now. How's THAT, Calcapt?! What is it I've seen written on these threads, "lighten up, Francis!"? :D :rolleyes:

VF1 / VF2 - USS Ranger 1982-1989

Shore tours:
AIRPAC - Aide: VAdm Service.
COMFIT - Various gopher jobs w/ RAdm Cassidy, RAdm Newman and RAdm Red Best

Fighter Weapons School 1985.

I tried to join the ministry but was banned from the flock. I tried to be an astronaut but was rejected. I tried to be a lawyer but couldn't pass the bar. I tried to be a bull rider but had no boots. I settled on becoming a non conforming ireverant airline pilot because I had failed at everything else. I struggle to remember how to fly, much less maintain codes of conduct, ethics and morals. Your expectations of me exceed my abilities - Sorry!

You got me!
 

I keep getting my two houses mixed up - sorry!:p

I will shop the girls around but don't hold your breath!