After 40 years, finally getting to fly like I've always wanted to...

BrianNC

BrianNC

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I started flying in February '79, but didn't get my private until Dec. 31, 2001. So it took me 22-23 years to get my private (hang in there aspiring pilots! lol) Life got in the way, never seemed to have enough money to fly consistently, etc. Due to a lot of circumstances that I won't go in to, we are finally out of debt, my wife is a nurse and makes good money, and I just started collecting SS (just turned 62) so I have disposable income now to fly a lot more than I have at any time in my aviation life, other than when I did an accelerated instrument course less than a year after I got the private. I was hoping to be able to fly around 10 hours a month, which I've never come close to.

I joined a flying club back on March 16, and for the remainder of March I flew 5.5 hours, and in April I few 10.9. So on track so far and loving it. Working on the single commercial now and being able to do it all in the club 172 and not needing a complex is going to save me a lot of money. After that I'll do the multi commercial and even though I'm an old man maybe I can actually fly for a living, something I've always wanted to do. We'll see how that goes, but so far so good. :thumbsup:
 
Very cool, @BrianNC . You'll still need some complex time in the logbook for the Commercial, the regs still require it... they just don't require you to take the checkride in a complex aircraft anymore.
 
denverpilot said:
Very cool, @BrianNC . You'll still need some complex time in the logbook for the Commercial, the regs still require it... they just don't require you to take the checkride in a complex aircraft anymore.
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Yeah, I've taken a run at it in times past before things got in the way so I have the complex time. I have somewhere around 25 hours of complex.
 
You still have some good years,it’s not impossible to land a job whit a charter company. Good luck.
 
frfly172 said:
You still have some good years,it’s not impossible to land a job whit a charter company. Good luck.
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Something along those lines is basically what I'm looking for. We'll see. Thanks!
 
NIce. I know a guy who started working at the regional turboprop carrier I worked for later in life. He certainly never regretted it.
 
BrianNC said:
I started flying in February '79, but didn't get my private until Dec. 31, 2001. So it took me 22-23 years to get my private (hang in there aspiring pilots! lol) Life got in the way, never seemed to have enough money to fly consistently, etc. Due to a lot of circumstances that I won't go in to, we are finally out of debt, my wife is a nurse and makes good money, and I just started collecting SS (just turned 62) so I have disposable income now to fly a lot more than I have at any time in my aviation life, other than when I did an accelerated instrument course less than a year after I got the private. I was hoping to be able to fly around 10 hours a month, which I've never come close to.

I joined a flying club back on March 16, and for the remainder of March I flew 5.5 hours, and in April I few 10.9. So on track so far and loving it. Working on the single commercial now and being able to do it all in the club 172 and not needing a complex is going to save me a lot of money. After that I'll do the multi commercial and even though I'm an old man maybe I can actually fly for a living, something I've always wanted to do. We'll see how that goes, but so far so good. :thumbsup:
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That's great. A good club with good availability makes it easier. Shall we start callin you Capn'
 
Fearless Tower said:
You’re in a great place if you want to fly commercial. The 135 and part 91 corporate world is starting to feel the pain of the pilot shortage. Plenty of jobs will be available to you while the younger crowd goes 121.
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Heck, I've seen some regionals hiring 63 year olds knowing they only have 2 years to train and fly. If I had enough hours and my commercial already I would have tried to jump on that bandwagon. But you're right, all the younger crowd (and some of the older crowd) are going 121.
 
BrianNC said:
Heck, I've seen some regionals hiring 63 year olds knowing they only have 2 years to train and fly. If I had enough hours and my commercial already I would have tried to jump on that bandwagon. But you're right, all the younger crowd (and some of the older crowd) are going 121.
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A friend of mine went to a regional at 62. He stayed right seat and had fun until he was kicked out. He had more hours than most senior captains at that airline.
 
BrianNC said:
I started flying in February '79, but didn't get my private until Dec. 31, 2001. So it took me 22-23 years to get my private (hang in there aspiring pilots! lol) Life got in the way....
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Sheet. That’s nothing! ;)

I took my first lesson in 1979 as well. Took some lessons off and on until 1981 but never soloed, and then didn’t take another lesson until 2009. Life as you say. Then I finally woke up one day and decided to get back to it. Got my private in January 2010. So you beat me to it by several years.

Waiting all those years before getting back to it is one of the biggest disappointments in my life. Not sure if I’ll ever fly for a living but I applaud you for considering it. I think the most I’d ever do is ferry pilot, jump pilot, etc. No real strong desire to fly passenger service.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do. :cheers:
 
This is an incredible story- congrats! It really helps me stay positive about flying for a living post-military life (mil job is not flying). I'll be in my mid-40s when I want to start my flying "career" but it seems there should still be plenty of jobs available.

Keep it up and enjoy life!
 
SkyDog58 said:
Sheet. That’s nothing! ;)

I took my first lesson in 1979 as well. Took some lessons off and on until 1981 but never soloed, and then didn’t take another lesson until 2009. Life as you say. Then I finally woke up one day and decided to get back to it. Got my private in January 2010. So you beat me to it by several years.

Waiting all those years before getting back to it is one of the biggest disappointments in my life. Not sure if I’ll ever fly for a living but I applaud you for considering it. I think the most I’d ever do is ferry pilot, jump pilot, etc. No real strong desire to fly passenger service.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do. :cheers:
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Wow. 31 years from first flight until private, and I thought my 22 was long. Hey, you finally got it. That's what counts. But I certainly understand the disappointment. I keep thinking if I'd just been consistent I could have had enough hours to fly the regionals a few years. I need too many hours to even get close to ATP minimums before I hit 65.
 
AU_James said:
This is an incredible story- congrats! It really helps me stay positive about flying for a living post-military life (mil job is not flying). I'll be in my mid-40s when I want to start my flying "career" but it seems there should still be plenty of jobs available.

Keep it up and enjoy life!
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Mid 40s? Man, you've got plenty of time for a 'career'. Heck, somebody in their mid 40s now could start from scratch and still have a long career. You'll have your choice of jobs as long as you have the hours. Stay positive for sure because you're still in a great position.
 
Brian, congratulations on getting your finances where you want them. That's always been my obstacle to flying as much as I'd like as well! This spring I said "screw it" and decided to join a flying club and spend more of my budget on flying, and less on "stuff."

Coincidentally, my first lesson was also in 1979, but I was 4 and sitting on the instructor's lap in a borrowed jump plane. He was a buddy of my dad, who also flew at that dropzone.
 
First solo 1970 in Aeronica Champ. No more flying until 2nd solo in C-150 in 2003. 33 years.

Decided to do a little instrument work and then just fly, fly, fly. I have a little over 1500 hrs now.

In my case I made some decisions related to finance and work. I'd seen severl younger pilots struggle with the cost, especially those with a family, and read about other weekend working pilots who made bad decisions about needing to get home on Monday despite the weather. In 2003 when I started again I had neither of those concerns.
 
tinerj said:
Decided to do a little instrument work and then just fly, fly, fly. I have a little over 1500 hrs now.

In my case I made some decisions related to finance and work. I'd seen severl younger pilots struggle with the cost, especially those with a family, and read about other weekend working pilots who made bad decisions about needing to get home on Monday despite the weather. In 2003 when I started again I had neither of those concerns.
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Wish I had that 1500. I'd have tried the regionals for sure.
 
Brian, you’re in Atlanta, right? Get your commercial and might be able to get you right seat in a Pilatus. I’m not in a position to guarantee you a job, but I should be able to get you an interview.
 
Dave Theisen said:
Brian, you’re in Atlanta, right? Get your commercial and might be able to get you right seat in a Pilatus. I’m not in a position to guarantee you a job, but I should be able to get you an interview.
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Yep. In Atlanta. Thanks Dave.
 
Congrats on going after it!

Life gets in the way of a lot of things all of us want to do. I ended up getting flying ingrained in my life early in my career and am fortunate enough to have a better pilot than me for a wife who's supportive of it, so it's stayed. With that said, there are plenty of things I want to do that I haven't been able to do, and that I'm expecting I'll get around to doing more of once the kids get older. One of which is build a plane, but I also have various automotive projects that I'd like to do, but won't be able to for some time. Just no time (or space) to do them at the moment.

Good luck - have fun with it! I think flying professionally is something that all pilots should do for some period of time.
 
What an inspiring story! Thank you for sharing this. And good luck!
 
Dave Theisen said:
Brian, you’re in Atlanta, right? Get your commercial and might be able to get you right seat in a Pilatus. I’m not in a position to guarantee you a job, but I should be able to get you an interview.
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Got any of those opportunities in AZ? ha
 
Ted DuPuis said:
Congrats on going after it!

Life gets in the way of a lot of things all of us want to do. I ended up getting flying ingrained in my life early in my career and am fortunate enough to have a better pilot than me for a wife who's supportive of it, so it's stayed. With that said, there are plenty of things I want to do that I haven't been able to do, and that I'm expecting I'll get around to doing more of once the kids get older. One of which is build a plane, but I also have various automotive projects that I'd like to do, but won't be able to for some time. Just no time (or space) to do them at the moment.

Good luck - have fun with it! I think flying professionally is something that all pilots should do for some period of time.
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Thanks for the encouragement @Ted DuPuis!
 
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I started back in 71 but only took 5 years to private. I had dreams of flying commercially but got serious about personal flying. When I told a boss in NYC that I needed to make more so I could fly, he told me I needed to get married to a second income. I did better than that... she practically forced me to go out and buy my first (sail)plane!

I sit here looking out at my hangar’s shop window where that lovely woman is bent over her mosaics, having moved my plane building equipment aside. The RV10 is in the middle of its condition inspection but I’m watching TV and having a beer. I’ve long since given up any hope or desire to fly professionally but my dream is to fly that Pilatus! You have a much better shot at it than I ever will... Well F**king Done!

Well Done!

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
 
BrianNC said:
Wow. 31 years from first flight until private, and I thought my 22 was long. Hey, you finally got it. That's what counts. But I certainly understand the disappointment. I keep thinking if I'd just been consistent I could have had enough hours to fly the regionals a few years. I need too many hours to even get close to ATP minimums before I hit 65.
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Gotch both beat. Had 42 hrs when I was 16-17 in 1980-81. Got my PPL in 2014. Perseverance!!
 
denverpilot said:
What if you got your Private before your teenage years were over? ;)
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Spoiled brats! I hate rich kids!! Should be illegal! :mad:

In actuality, I think it is great that some folks are able to do that though I will also admit to some envy. But the truth is that while it wasn’t possible for me to do it as a teen due to family financial circumstances, I only have myself to blame for it taking as long as it did. I’m just happy that I finally did it. :)
 
When I started flying a few years ago, i never thought I would consider flying for pay. Today I find myself in a position where it is possible, but certainly not necessary. I have 500 hours, about 100 ME, most of my flying has been real world business travel. I am self employed an have the flexibility to fly a couple of days a week, I can easily work sitting in an FBO. It also appears that the promised pilot shortage is actually here and it is going to be a problem for many years to come. I plan to get my commercial this summer, not sure that I will look too hard for paid flying, but won't turn it down if I stumble into it. It is fun to consider that this might be a real option.

Jim
 
Dave Theisen said:
But flying for the man still beats a heck of a lot of other jobs. :)
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I was in an FBO and one of the pilots (relatively young kid) of a jet was taking care of the owners dogs. I jokingly ask him if this is what he signed up for and he said no. I said it still beats working for a living, with a large smile he said yes it does!
 
SkyDog58 said:
Spoiled brats! I hate rich kids!! Should be illegal! :mad:

In actuality, I think it is great that some folks are able to do that though I will also admit to some envy. But the truth is that while it wasn’t possible for me to do it as a teen due to family financial circumstances, I only have myself to blame for it taking as long as it did. I’m just happy that I finally did it. :)
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LOL... I held down three jobs while I did it. At 19. Family didn’t pay for chit...

But it wasn’t until two years ago I decided to do the Comm/CFI stuff. :)
 
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