TO THOSE WHO SAY I DO OR CAN NOT HIT THE SMALL CAPS BUTTON
I SAY HOGWASH .THE REALITY IS THIS
aklan air is respectable operation . when you have a contract that allows you to be profitable on a weekly basis regardless of pro gov or not
then you have predictability which is good for the pilot community.
after 7000 hrs flying all over the country you get an intuition about the good and the bad and the ugly, to quote a movie title.
up north it is a life changing and life defining aura / T hose who do not embrace it are doomed to be malcontent or pissed off.
For the most part, well said.
I find it interesting to hear about the glory days .... was there ever any?
I have buddy who, in the early 70's was involved with Gateway Aviation, YXD, during a time of incredible boom times.
At the time, I believe AC was hiring off the street, etc. Read that as "pilot shortage".
He flew a HelioCourier (sp?) for them.
He tells of Christmas dinner with his wife and 3 daughters in 1973.
In a basement appartment, serving fried balonie on an ironing board.
I myself, have lived in my parents cabin for free, heating the place with discarded "clear and bright" jet fuel samples while working as a flight instructor.
On a side note ....holy crap! that stuff is flamable! That is a story for next time. Maybe a new thread about "how poor I was when I started flying" Eh?
Anyway.
I lost my dream and relpaced it with something that I have come to value more than the glory of flying. Long periods of time when I rule my day and nobody tells me how to spend it. That being said, I have the best flying job ever now. I work in fire suppression.
I dont fly my butt off, no passengers and no de-icing. I work 5 months a year and get less than 250 hours a year. And just when I'm really sick and tired of the scene, the season ends. I work with laid back fellows who are awesome. I wear shorts and sandals to work in a "resort" area of the province.
As an earlier post mentioned, the airline Jerry Springer types on TV helped me determine that I would turn down the recent offer to work for an airline. That is just not my thing .... kudos and a hat off to those that do.
Just one more thing.
I was just a little bored in the winter .... so I went back to the oilfield for the winter. Now THERE is a shortage of workers.
I make 12 k a month on a 5 month winter contract. And for thanks at the end of the season ... a trip to Cancun for the wife and I.
Yes I thought of walking away from aviation completely ....but oilfield work is really that ....WORK! Not like fires. ;^)