mainly crummy pairing construction.

same credit for working hard or long layovers….

I see the same thing with motocross.

Kids who aren't fast, but mom and dad spend mid 5 figures or more a year on bikes, modifications, training and traveling to every area or regional qualifier to maybe get a slot at the Amateur National Championship (actually going on this week) where they get 40th.

Airline captain income levels I can see them spending the money for junior to chase his dreams, but I see a lot of nowhere near our income levels parents mortgage the farm, raid college funds, etc.

I qualified for the National Championship twice as a teenager, on an absolute peice of crap older KX125 held together with bailing wire and duct tape but my dad couldn't afford the two weeks off from work to go, so we didn't, and an alternate took my spot.

Just qualifying on the lump o crap KX did get me a sponsored ride from Yamaha but I was, in baseball terms, a AA or AAA minor league guy who was useful in bike development because I was also the guy who made the POS I rode fast enough on a shoestring budget.

I had no prayer of being competitive at the highest level. Just too big at 6'5 /210.

My parents couldn't afford to skip work or mortgage the house. But it honestly probably wouldn't have helped if thry did.

After watching my wife's cousins (who had kids earlier) revolve their lives and finances around youth sports for 15 years, and wind up with no scholarships and nothing to show but maybe a little college play time for one of six kids, we opted out of that regime.

One of my kids loves her sports, but it didn't cost anything, screw up academics, family vacations, activities, etc.

I considered an exception for one case... girls, in certain sports, can get essentially guaranteed scholarships if they know how to play. That's due to Title 9 optics, which pushes schools to have equivalent girls teams which can be hard to staff in some sports. That's a reasonable option if you need/want a scholarship. Pro Tip: Girl's soccer is not one of those sports, if your girl has college potential in soccer, you'll know it before age ten.

United just converted 48 MAX-10 deliveries scheduled for 2026 to MAX-9s and the 737 training department was told to get ready to ramp up training. This is on top of all the other deliveries. Estimate pilot hiring for 2026 now around 2,680 pilots per the training department. Here come the unfilled Captain bids again.

But then you have to fly a guppy :eek:

Lesson 1: do not exit a runway doing 50 kts.....

Not sure if you’re doing it already, but I would recommend volunteering with HIMS. That is one way to help with your legacy resume. It demonstrates learning from your experience and growth. I’m sure you need one more thing to add to your plate, but if you’re trying to move from NK with this on your record, try to put as many arrows in your quiver as you can. Best of luck.

Hes not a real person.

I see the poll is officially 50/50. So when are you nuking that 401k to pay for your new GF's babies?

Where did you see that number? Was this recent?