Sure, but things improved. You asked about my age when 9/11. Will you tell my how old were you when it happened?

I’m not the one you were asking but for 9/11 I was 39. It took me until 2017 to get back. This mess is gonna last longer and thus be more decimating.

I thought flight crew was the weak link. I was wrong. It’s ATC. TO MANY SHARED SURFACES. As atc gets sick and shuts down the airspace will shutdown.

31....

filler

You’re 50 years old?!? You have the maturity level of an 18 yr old. :confused::confused:

31....

filler

good one kid. You’re about to be Furloughed have fun paying rent on your apartment

Lets ALL agree this really sucks. Looking at April schedule.... JC

I was 31 in ‘01 too. Was about to land in a Saab 340. And then took years for me to get back. If you’re in this gig because you LOVE flying you’ll be ok. It’ll come back. If you saved and/or have a successful spouse your fine. You’ll know good times again. If you’re here for the money then good f’ing riddens. You should’a picked law school.

For young folks still wanting in, do what I did in 92... Call a military officer recruiter. Many can commission you into a flight program. Unless that’s too hard for you (see last quote above).

If I was younger, I'd join the Air Force, actually I would've done it long time ago, but now it's too late for that.

I expect to make "big" money at some point? sure, otherwise what's the point. Once I buy a house for my parents, I can live a really simple life with a decent salary. But right now I sure have to pay bills, and I'm single, so just my income. But like me, a few million people out there so it is what it is.

Were you at a regional back then?

For someone who’s 37 and was about to start flight training, is my possibility of flying and making a decent living gone. Say this last at least a year or two. I’d be 40-43 trying to get on a regional, giving me say 20 years left. From your insiders perspective should I give up the dream or start flight training, build my hours and see where everything is in the next 3 years.

nobody has inside anything at this point. We are all just anonymous pilots complaining on here. I will say this. If it’s your dream and it’s something you’ll regret not attempting when your old and senile, then go for it. The rest will figure itself out.

If you love it, go for it. Become a cfi first and then pile on multi or turbine pic time. Get paid crop dusting in an Air Tractor for instance.

And marry well.

Your grandkids will talk about you long after your gone.

Thanks for the replies guys. Weighing a lot on me right now to start or not start. Had been leaning toward not starting, but unsure. Best of luck to you all through this COVID-19.

good time to get your private, commercial then just wait and see.. At a min you can tool around in a GA aircraft to feed the flying bug...

This is what I’ve been pondering. A school in my town quoted my 11k for a private that includes ground school and 44 hrs of instruction. From there I could use my GI BILL for the rest of the ratings and then possibly just fly around in a GA aircraft and wait this out. Just hate it for all you guys already there and how it pretty much came without any warning.

Everyone has different goals. My vacation home is payed for so when the music stops I’m good. Everyone needs a plan B and I learned it early on.
That’s why I get a kick out of people bashing me here. They don’t know who I am or what I have been through. Some say I live in my moms basement. I don’t get offended that’s fine. The music stopped and I have a chair that’s all that matters. These kids finally get a job at mainline and buy fancy cars and big houses acting like big shots and don’t prepare for a down turn!

The younger generation is so stuck on themselves. I don’t do Facebook but what other professionals take pictures of themselves in the cockpit? Look at me I fly a jet!

How much your private costs you depends on a lot of factors. Also, the GI bill is awesome, but the way it’s structured means it won’t just pay from private on. There are caps per year and per course that you run into. If you love flying then keep your current job and start training on the side. It’ll probably take you awhile if you’re also working full time and have a family. This will all have settled out well before you’re ready to quit your job and start this full time.

That’s what I like to hear. I have a 7Xk DoD job that I hate, but it pays the bills and wife’s a teacher so we live just fine better that a lot of people, but aren’t super rich. I can definitely do the training on the side and hope that is 4-5 years places are still hiring.

I take that back I have a few friends that are cops and love posting it o Facebook as well

In most cases Law doesn’t pay anything anymore either. Big pyramid scheme like aviation in a lot of ways... Google: “Law School is a Scam” to be enlightened.

You don’t have a an inferiority complex at all....🤔

Don’t like it move on. I made choices and it paid off move along new guy

One month ago, this decision would have been a no-brainer. I've been in the aviation industry for 20 years now (started instructing and flying corporate back in 2000), and the era from 2013 to early this month was the most incredible window of opportunity since the 1960s, when UAL hired guys with private tickets (I think) and trained them to be flight engineers. At no other point in history has it been so easy to get into 121 aviation.

Now, however, all bets are off. Nobody knows what the industry -- or even America -- will look like in a few years.

I will say this, though. In a later post you mentioned that you hate your job. If that's the case, then you owe it to your future self to pursue your dream. You do not want to wind up at age 60, looking back on 35 years of labor that you detested, and wondering 'what if?"

It will take time to earn your tickets -- private, instrument, commercial, multi commercial, CFI, CFI-instrument, CFI-multi, ATP (although recently the airlines have been paying for people with 1,500 hours to get their actual ATP, as long as they meet all the qualifications.). It took me five years of solid effort to earn my ratings through ATP and accumulate 1,500 hours, while working a day job, since I wasn't willing to risk quitting. (Which, for me, was fortunate, since I finished all my ratings and got my first regional interview scheduled for....wait for it...9/14/01. You can imagine how the phone call on 9/12/01 went.)

Took me 13 years from that point, to actually get into 121. By the time I'd grown disgusted enough of my white-collar office job at age 35 and decided to quit and just fly for a living, much like you now...it was....wait for it...September 2008. And we all know how that went.

So my point is, if you're 37, and you keep your job to pay the bills, it will take you 4--5 years to earn all those ratings and then accumulate the 1,500 hours you'll need for an entry-level regional job. Assuming you get your commercial in the min 250 hours, and you fly let's say 5 hours/week, you could get to your CFI in about 18 months. (It could be shorter, but weather, broken rental aircraft, and unavailable instructors will drag that time out.) Then take on as many students as you can and bang out 1,250 more hours of flight time as a CFI -- which is, by far, the hardest flying you will ever do. Vastly more challenging than 121, which is a complete cakewalk by comparison. Not from a technical perspective, but because you have to be a pilot, teacher, mentor, and cheerleader, all at the same time.

Anyhow -- that will take you a few years. In that time, perhaps the world economy will have recovered to a pre-crash level. Even if you don't go to the airlines, you'll still have a backup job (instructing) that will allow you to pursue your passion while making some money on the side. And if you do wind up at the airlines, well, a 20-year career is nothing to sneeze at. It's still vastly better than spending those two decades doing something you hate.

Go for it. In a couple months, assuming all the flight schools haven't closed, you'll probably find a screaming deal on flight training.

Great informative post and thanks for taking the time to write it. I’m hoping that where I was looking at training is still here down the road as it seems they’d be a great group of guys to learn from being prior AF and ENJPT instructors. Again, I am praying for the best to all you guys out there.

Totally worth the effort/plan described above if this is your dream/goal.

I wish we had a like button on here, thanks for the positive energy. I think we all need it after the past couple of weeks.

You've made choices that paid off? You're 50, have been in the industry for 26 years, and are still at a regional after making at least one lateral move. You should share the choices you've made so other people can avoid them.

Thanks for this hearty LOL. :D

Who do you work for again?

if one can clear 100k at a regional then it’s not a bad gig. Dude had to live through the multiple upsets in the aviation industry. Hopefully we all can fare as well as him owning property and having long term stability. Majors are not everyone’s end goal

Thank you sir :)

get (or keep) a real job and save the money - then start flying when the industry is back online in a year plus. That way you’ll have options when the next downturn arrives. Like any airplane, this business goes up, and it comes down - the main thing is to be good at the landings.

The first part of your first sentence is gonna be very tough for a lot of folks for a while. Sure, Amazon is hiring 100,000 people at, what, $15 or $20/hr? That's about it these days.

But yes. Career and income diversification is essential. Especially in this business.

Sure I’ll share with you BusBoy! If you ever start making money spend it wisely. Don’t go out and buy a Tesla and plaster your pic all over social media wearing your pilot uniform acting like a big shot. My vacation home is paid for is your apartment? This is the big shocker, it’s not everyone’s goal to work for mainline!
When did I make a lateral move? Choose your answer wisely so you don’t look stupid..

Calm down, dude. It's great your vacation home is paid for. Well done. But in my experience, those who shout the loudest about their paid-for homes and comfortable lifestyles, are usually the ones who are one paycheck away from missing rent. Those who are financially secure do not generally find themselves compelled to shout about their wealth on an anonymous online forum.

Busboy needed a little guidance. He called me out. And your experience is wrong in this case I don’t pay rent..What lateral move did I make?

Not saying you pay rent. But seriously man, maybe post *before* the third Glenlivet of the evening?

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Why don't you post where you're at now and where you came from? Again, "26 years in the industry" and still at a regional without any context paints a pretty good picture!