Gloom

The Little French Girl stopped by this weekend.
She will be moving bases from Boston to Chicago as of July 1 and is
hoping to make it to the Big Show at the end of July.
During the course of our discussions, she related the pressing need for
regional airline pilots and the desperation measures some companies are
taking.

Take a look at http://airlinepilotcentral.com for the requirements the
different companies have.

Then look at the pay rates for the various companies.
And we wonder why young people don't want to be pilots?

$18/hour x 80 hours/month = $1440/month

$1440/month x 12 months/year = $17,200/year (before taxes)

Unless you are living with your parents, you're not going to make it on
your own.

Next look at the incrimental pay increases as one gains seniority each
year. Not many big step-ups, are there?

"Mxsmanic" wrote in message
...


Or a simulator. No, I'm not joking.

I find it interesting that you are the only poster here who thinks a
simulator can replace primary flight instruction.

I suspect a correlation between that belief and a complete lack of primary
flight instruction.

Jay Honeck wrote:
I do not get this argument. I would like to understand it. But why is
the little podunk airport important? 3B3 Sterling, Mass, offers very
little to the local economy, if anything. KFIT, my home base, offers
very little to the local economy, a couple of shops, a restaurant, a few
commercial flights (Part 135) per week. Are they that big a deal? KORH
is vastly underutilized, it is 30 minutes away by car. So seriously, I
do not understand the argument about saving every airport.


Just curious: How many long cross-country flights have you made with
your family?

me, none. If you remember from a bygone thread, my wife won't fly w/ me.
I fly a few times a year to BHB from KFIT and a few time around Southern
New England. 5o-75 hrs /year.

KC

I was a P28 owner that did not attend the CPA event this year, but as
many others have stated, it was because of a scheduling conflict
(wedding). There's always been something in June.

My overall opinion is that piston airplanes are just too expensive for
what they are capable of doing, including the Cirrus and Columbia
portfolio. $500,000 for a single engine airplane? $500,000???
$75,000 for a LSA that has government limitations that have nothing to
do with performance capabilities.

So - most of us opt for used airplanes, only to find out that over a
period of several years it's easy - nay - mandatory, to spend much
more on maintenance than the airplane is worth.

As a result, a lot of people who fly used airplanes are just sort of
scraping along to keep it going. All it takes is one expensive event
to cause a sale. Often it's an AD. The Arrow series had a $3000 SB
this year for many of us. Hidden damage shows up when fixing minor
problems, e.g. the poor guy who discovered spar corrosion that totaled
the plane. I know of one flier at KGYY who stopped flying when his
hangar rent went up $50 a month - that was his limit.

Having stated a problem, I have to admit that I haven't a clue how to
make a new airplane for $100,000 that carries 4 people in relaxed
comfort with reasonable noise levels at 200 knots. I assume that the
certification and litigation costs are major contributors to the
problem, but even a high end kit plane with first class avionics can
easily set you back $150K. Another part of the problem is that the
manufacturing volume isn't there to spread development costs over
millions of units.

Nathan Young wrote:
On Mon, 18 Jun 2007 13:04:15 GMT, Kevin Clarke
wrote:


AJ wrote:

...

Airports need to be viewed in the same manner. Any single airport
does not matter that much, but when viewed in aggregate, the entire
system is invaluable to our ability to quickly deliver goods/services
throughout the country.

-Nathan

Thanks, I'll buy this argument that makes sense. It is a variation on
the network effect.

KC

Kevin Clarke wrote:

me, none. If you remember from a bygone thread, my wife won't fly w/
me. I fly a few times a year to BHB from KFIT and a few time around
Southern New England. 5o-75 hrs /year.

KC

Which is why, over 20 years ago in my pre-marriage days, any fourth or fifth
date I went on included a flight with me. This had two effects. First, it
impressed the hell out of 18-22 year old girls and more importantly it
disqualified those that were either too scared to go or didn't like when
they did.

This is one of the reasons I've been married to the same lady for going on
22 years. She also thought the t-shirt I picked up that said, "My Ex Wanted
Me To Quit Flying" was funny.

Ever think of starting an FBO? You've got your motel going, why not attach an FBO to it and devote more of your time to aviation?
The answer is as follows:
Q: How do you make a small fortune in aviation?
A" Start with a large one.

Yes, but I found a great way to double your money.

Fold it in half and put it back in your pocket.

Jose
--
You can choose whom to befriend, but you cannot choose whom to love.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

On Jun 18, 2:41 am, Mxsmanic wrote:
EridanMan writes:
But in the end all I can say is screw it. Screw my generation, screw
the affluence-chasing new CEO piper... In the end all that matters is
that I can go watch the sun set from 2000 feet over the Pacific Ocean
on a whim...

In part, you illustrate the problem: Aviation is attainable for you because
you are so passionate about it that you are willing to sacrifice many other
things to have it. But most people aren't that way, and aviation is so
cripplingly expensive that anyone who doesn't have a very single-minded
interest in it--or a fat bank account--cannot see it as a practical option.
That's the real problem for GA, not any fear of flying.

However, I do agree that the fearfulness of society as a whole today is
remarkable and worrisome, the result of decades of high-tech media propaganda
cashing in on paranoia and FUD. Unfortunately, fearful people are very easily
manipulated and controlled, and tend to make only irrational decisions when
allowed to act on their own.

Sometimes, fearful Americans move to France, where they receive
coddling and can play video games all day on their computer.

"Mxsmanic" wrote in message
...
Unfortunately, fearful people are very easily
manipulated and controlled, and tend to make only irrational decisions
when
allowed to act on their own.

The voice of experience speaks!

("john smith" wrote)
The Little French Girl stopped by this weekend.
She will be moving bases from Boston to Chicago


She's getting closer...!


Paul-Mont
"Oui" "Oui"