1. Whataresomepersonalsacrificesthatyouhavetakentobecomeacommercialpilot?

2. Whataresomefinancialsacrificesneededtobecomeacommercialpilot?

3. Whataresomefinancialbenefitsofbeingacommercialpilot?

4. Whataresomerisksofworkingwithanairline?

5. Howhasterrorismaffectedtheairlines?

6. Inyouropinion,whatwasthehardestpartofflighttraining?

7. Whataresomemajordifferencesbetweenthelifeofajuniorcaptainandseniorcaptain?

8. Howimportantissenioritywithinanairline?

9. Overall,whatisitliketoworkwithacompletelynewcrewforeachflight?

10. Howdoesitfeeltoberesponsibleforaround200livesperflight?

11. Whatisyourmostfavoritememoryofbeingapilot?

12. Dogirlsfindpilotsattractive?

1.Theprocessinbecomingaprofessionalpilotisagrind.Dependingwhereyoulearntofly,it
cantakeseveralyearstogetjustyourlicensesandratings.Themoredifficultpartisthenflying
enoughtoachievetheminimumflyingtimerequiredtobeconsideredforafirsttierflyingjob
suchasapilotwitharegionalcarrier.Mostpilotshave200hoursorsowhencompletingtheir
commerciallicenseandmultienginerating.Mostregionalsnowrequire1,500hoursforentry
levelflyingpositions.Inordertogetthetimetobeconsideredforamajorairline,ifthatsthe
goal,requiresonetobeveryflexibleandmobileinwheretheylllivetofindthoseentrylevel
jobs.

2.Learningtoflyisexpensiveenough,butentrylevelwagesatmostregionalsareconsiderably
lowerthanonewouldexpectfortheworkbeingdone.Addtothatthehighcostoflivingif
yourebasedinamajormetropolitanarea.Onceyourehiredbyamajorairlinethepaysteadily
increasestowheresettingdownrootstoaplacetocallhomebecomesmoreviable.Myadvice?
Staysingleuntilyou'reattheplaceyouwanttobe.

3.Onceemployedbyamajorairline,youllhaveagoodideawhatyourfutureincomewillbe,
soplanningforbigticketpurchaseswillbeeasierthansayworkingonaincentivebasedsalary.
Iwontlie,thepayaintbad.

4.Thebiggestriskisfurlough.Untilsuchtimeyouhaveabout20%belowyouinseniority,
Andobviouslythefinancialhealthoftheairlineitself,Alltheseniorityintheworldwonthelp
iftheairlineshutsdown.Remember,sincethebeginningofairtravelin1919,theairline
industryasawholehaslostmoremoneythanitsmade.Theindustryissettlingabitwiththe
recentmergersofNorthWestandDelta,UnitedandContinental,andAmericanandUsairways.
Thatitselfshouldhelpthestabilityoftheindustry.Alsoasthepilotseniorityatallbigthree
ages,therewillbeahiringboomforpilots.

5.9/11affectedtheairlinesinmanyways.Theeconomychanged,forcingairlinestolower
ticketpricestofillairplanes.WashingtonNationalwasclosedfornearlyamonthcausingahuge
financialstrainatUsairways.Securityhaschangedthewayairlinesdobusinessaswell.

6.Stayingcurrent.Ifyoucouldflyeverydayyourmusclememorywouldbecomequite
good.Youwouldremembermoreifyouflyeveryday.Basicflyingisafeelthing.Themore
youdoit,themoreitbecomessecondnature.Thatonlyhappenswithrepetition.Andalotof
repsclosertogetherisagoodthing.

7.Itsallaboutqualityoflife.Andeveryonehasadifferentopinionofwhatthatis.
Historically,themoreseniorpilotisonhisorhergivenequipmentwilldeterminetheflying
scheduleaswellasabetterchoiceofvacations.ButQOLisalwaysintheeyesofthebeholder.

8.Withintheairlineitself,seetheaboveanswer.Butinthecaseofamergerwithanother
airline,themorethebetter.

9.Varietyisgreat.Why?Inthecaseofflightcrews,asafirstofficeryoucanlearnalotbythe
waythecaptainconductshimself.Hisjudgement,hisinteractionwiththeothercrewmembers
andotherairlinepersonnel.Ontheflipside,whenyouflywithajerk,andtrustme,thiswill
happen,youcanlearnfromthataswell.Fromacaptainsperspective,youcanimpartyour
experiencesandwisdomonthoseyouflywith,sortoflikebeingamentor.Now,ifyourea
jerk,wellgoodluck.

10.Honestly,Idontgiveitasecondthought.IfImsafe,thenthefamilyinrow33willbeas
well.

11.FirstmemorywaswhenIputontheuniformonforthefirsttime.Iwasflyingade
HavillandTwinOtterintheVirginIslandsmaking$800amonth.Iwas20yearsold.Totally
cool.Secondmemory,flighttrainingontheTwinOttersbigbrothertheDash7.4engines,4
columnsofenginegauges,Waycool.Thirdmemory,firstflyinglegonthe727.Orlandoto
CharlottewithCaptainJohnSledge.Handflewitalltheway,toocoolforschool.Iwasan
airlinepilot!

12.Onlytheirsalary.GirlsliketheBenjamin's.