About this user
***Note...I no longer fly cargo***
The cargo life is a hard one. After a while I discovered that being on the road for 24 days of the month is not my cup of tea. I did not get fired, I quit, with the intent to become an air traffic controller. After more consideration, the idea of spending another 4 years studying surrounded by a bunch of 20 year olds no longer appealed to me, nor did the massive pay cut that the controllers took from the FAA. So I interviewed and got hired at a regional airline. This is one of the reasons that I have not posted any new material recently. I went from flying a jet made in the 1960's to flying a state of the art, glass, rvsm, brand spanking new jet. Honestly, I am so happy to be here now. Many of my past freight dog brothers have joined me in the 121 world as well. Here the crm and crew concept is actually utilized and we don't fly with broken equipment anymore, nor are we pushed by the company to fly broke ass airplanes. Life is good. Life is easy. I program the FMS and pretty much follow the pink line. I usually hand fly up to at least 15,000 feet before letting the autopilot do the rest. I will say that even though it was a rough road to get here, I am very happy that I was able to have my cargo flying experiences. It taught me how to think for myself and stay ahead of the airplane. I am glad for the experience, but I am done with all that now. The hard part of my career is over. I am saddened when I think of my fellow coworkers who were killed trying to climb the same career ladder that I have climbed. I lost 3 friends/coworkers at two different companies within an 18 month time frame. That was something that I was not prepared for. Every aspiring airman must read "Fate is the Hunter" by Ernest Gahn.
I get a lot of emails from young pilots who ask what route they ought to take. I can only really tell you what worked for me. To each his own I guess. The 121 airlines is a pretty easy environment to learn in, comparatively. But perhaps you want to test yourself, to see if you can really hack in flying single pilot cargo...Whatever ever your decision, please be careful. Having good judgment is the best skill, besides the basic stick and rudder skills. Be sure to stick to your guns and don't let the company force you to fly. Set your own personal minimums. I always flew down to mins but I never busted DH's or MDA's. Nor did I launch in freezing rain or fog. Basically, don't push the envelope. There are too many ntsb reports...don't be a statistic.
