SocialD

Every consultant I know (not all defense guys), spends more time on airliners and in hotels than I do as an airline guy. On the upside, you'll get to rock your polo/khaki/loafer/lanyard getup, hanging out in squadron bars all over the US. With a 20 year pension, I would opt for the sim job and do real estate on the side. You can continue to relive the glory days of when you used to be a fighter pilot, but still have a nice supplemental income. As long as there is a sim in your desired location, sim jobs seem super chill, with good work hours and decent money. Supplementing it with real estate is a smart choice in case the sims go away or if there is any amount of lengthy downtime (ref. Burlington sims). It seems like most sim facilities have part time options, being able to transition to part time would be nice if the real estate side took off.

Does anyone watch NFL for any other reason, than to keep up with fantasy football league? The whole league is a fucking joke.

This! I've flown with a decent amount of guys that have side jobs. Most of them started/built their side gig when they were widebody first officers. Working 9-12 days/month, for a full months pay, lends itself well to pursing side gigs. Many of them would drop a trip or two a month, but kept the job as an "insurance policy." One went to Wharton and worked for McKinsey while he was furloughed. I've seen lawyers, business consultants, auditors, CPA, CFP/CFA, defense contractors and a few other random business owners. One of our 747 Captains is even an Executive for Flight Safety International.

You own a plane because it's what you love to do and don't mind spending your hard earned cash on it. With the right airport community, you're also getting into a community filled with great people. There's always someone hanging around to BS with, go fly with, that knows how to fix something you need fixed, or someone willing to share flight time in each others planes. I've spent many a cookout by the hangar, drinking beer and talking shop...good times. But what you're ultimately paying for, is the convenience and the ability to stroll out to the hangar and go fly, anytime you want. You don't worry about availability, hours of operation, taking it out of town for a week, or dropping into a local grass strip. If you're worrying about pinching pennies and running a CBA on it, then renting will save you lots of headaches. Also, for insurance reasons, I don't think any FBO would let you instruct in their planes.

Great topic, always love hearing stories from other opportunities. I looked at many avenues before going down the airline path. What I found is that my friends that make good money (> $200K/yr) in the business world, work WAY, WAY too damn hard and spend more time on airliners than I do. The GS world is great for being home most nights, not having to keep a medical and stability...you can be a total shitbag and it's still nearly impossible to get fired. However, for the days worked, even GS-14 step 10 isn't anything to write home about. In the end it came down to days off vs income. Now with the days off, I'm looking at possible business opportunities. Best of luck with whatever you decide...keep us updated. To quote an old timer at the local airpatch, that owned several businesses over the years, "If there is a gold rush, sell shovels." Then he hopped into his Stearman, which happens to fit nicely into the hangar with his Baron. One of his companies built ball bearings...

This is why I hope our contract never allows us the ability to sell back or work over our vacation.

Ya I'm not sure your TAG would have your back if you were a total shit bag, especially if your TAG is Army. On top of that I would think the TAG would have to sign off on such a non-vol...checking into that. We habe people on base being activated for 6 months all the time. They're just not pilots...medical, TMO, Comm, etc... They're just usually volunteers because many of these guys want orders and don't really go tdy or deploy much. Have you talked with them about the activation? Was this a direct activation or just that someone in the squadron needed to go? My ACIP/AO date is the day I started pilot training.

As a part time 11F who flies for the airlines, I still enjoy the hell out of flying gliders and light GA. Low, slow, tailwheel, grass strips, fly-ins and fly-in camping trips...great times. The wing kit for a plane I'm building should be showing up in 4-6 weeks. Some people have the bug for all flying and others just enjoy the tactical part of our jobs...to each their own.

Do tell... This! Although, we pretty much have zero dudes staying past 20. The few that do are either leadership or only have 20 due to their enlisted time...I would look for the latter to bail at first sign of the above happening.

Man we fought that for years. Let me guess, he's using the statement about when you PCS to the PLEAD? When I PCS'd home from Luke our comptroller said the same thing. He actually said to me that every other guard unit that gave their guys DLA (12 units that I counted) was wrong and that he was right.... Many of us fought it up to the point where the next step was the IG. Every other base was giving guys their DLA. Finally a new FM took over and agreed with us and they backpayed about 8 of us...with one dude missing the statute of limitations by a few months. The point we emphasized with the new comptroller is that we were staying on orders for almost 2 years for seasoning. Best of luck, I wish I could offer more, but we only got it because a new FM interpreted it differently.

ANG [/thread]

SOS is all about how much work you're willing to put into it. That being said, my SOS comprised of flipping feverishly through quizlet cards for a few hours before taking each of the three tests, while I was deployed...worst few hours of my life! ACSC in-correspondence is making me take a better look at the numbers for O-4 vs O-5 retirement.

Well some of us were saved...there is now a "micro-generation" called Xennials (1977-1983). So I've got that going for me...which is nice, so I can continue to put down Millennials. https://www.sfgate.com/living/article/xennials-millennials-generation-x-definition-age-11250741.php

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/top-us-general-says-no-change-to-military-transgender-policy-until-leaders-issue-guidance/article/2629863

I knew before I even showed up to UPT that I was going to try to be an airline pilot. I didn't announce it to the world, but if asked, I didn't hide it. If they didn't like my answer, fuck'em, my long term goals were none of their business. WRT the best pilots...whatever. All I know is that, as an airline guy, I'm more appropriately compensated in $$$ and time off. The rest, no one cares about but you.

If I were a bettin man, I would guess hydroplaning mixed with winds. There were some wicked downpours/storms rolling through the Dayton area that day. Either way we'll know when the SIB/AIB are released. Glad no-one was seriously hurt. I cant find it now, but there is a video floating around somewhere, showing the jet in two peices on a flatbed. They cut it between the two cockpits.

If you're all about "the fight" then you should probably hang up the g-suit and roll to your nearest Reaper squadron. You're "in the fight" on almost every sortie. Heck you'd probably employ more weapons (against the enemy) doing that than you could ever imagine in a fighter. I still get to fly my 6 sorties/month in my Viper, as a part-timer. Although, it's quickly becoming not worth it. If they actually deployed us to go fight and not sit on our asses on TSP after TSP, I might agree with you. I wouldn't even mind the massive pay cut I take to go on orders. But the only fighting we seem to do anymore is fighting one self (USAF) inflicted road block after another just to get anything done.

Spend your reserve days building a plane that you then get to fly. That's my plan. Tailwheel, doors off, 500 feet, relatively slow, basic panel, flying in and out of grass strips...that's real flying anyway.

Word. To add to Buddy spikes post... Commuting to reserve is SHITTY! It was slightly better at my current employer over my last, but still shitty. Often times you have to show up the day prior, sometimes not make it home the last day. Some blocks, you only have 2 days off between reserve days, which make it worthless to commute home. 12 days a month OFF (at home) would have been amazing. Thankfully there is a bunch of movement right now and most won't have to deal with that for too long. Buddy Spike is right, it's not all rainbows and unicorns. "Work" is a relative term. You will be on call 17ish days a month...how many times you actually go to work is a different story. It's mostly from watching squadron mates schedules who are fairly junior WB FOs. They sit reserve at their house within range of short call. Some months you win and others you lose. However, from watching their schedules and schedules of other junior WB FOs, it can be quite lucrative IF you live in base. I'm just switching to WB FO, so I'll let you know next spring.

Don't commute....live in base (within short call range), bid WB FO asap, profit! And by profit I mean spend lots of time at home. 12 days of actual work, would be a heavy month! Hell, in the winter 12 days in 2-3 months would be a lot. Seriously though...don't commute. Not commuting is like a whole different job.

This! I'm really digging the airline gig and I'm glad I jumped early. However, the above can't be emphasized enough. Right now, if you think you're going to the airlines anyway, the earlier, the better. Being at the front of the wave is a good hedge against any black swan events. In 10 years I might think it's wise to hang on for the pension...time will tell. I was over 10 years away from an AGR retirement so, for me, it was an easy decision to jump. If you're within 5 years, it's a no brainer...the tough spot is the guys between 10 and 15 YOS. Although even if I had been there, I still would have jumped. This year, my total compensation between the two gigs will more than double my O-4 AGR pay (16 yr, w/o dependents) and I'll work about the same. Taxes take a cut of that but I'm still up, plus my rental properties and a good tax man help. Flying with a captain now who was held back in the AF for almost a year. The difference...his buddies were hired into the right seat of the 757 on the A scale and he was hired into second officer on the 727 on the B scale. His buddies have also been WB captains for years while he is still unable to hold WB captain. His (forced) delay has cost him home hundreds of thousands of dollars and untold QOL (wrt to schedules). It's all a crapshoot, goodluck to us all.

This! If I show up to the base, I'm getting paid. If I work all day, it's two pay cards. Getting paid has never been in my thought process when deciding whether to take a jet or not. If it's a particularly bad month wrt to mx or wx cnx...well some months you just don't get your sorties.

As has already been stated, I'm sure PA had him wear the hat. But honestly, how is it any less gay than the stupid ass bi-fold hats we wear now? Bring on the the squadron baseball hats!

In my 11F community (same communtity as I referenced above) BMC is 5 sorties/month. Normal RAP is 6/month with some optipns for 3 month look back. Hot pits, tankers and double turns are the name of the game for part timers. 4, maybe 5 days a month, + a 1 week SIM trip/ yr, and occasional TDYs are more than enough. Some months you get RAP, some months not. It's all part of being/dealing with part timers. Most of my squadrons part timers would quit if leadership mandated 7 days a month. That's unsustainable for guys with other jobs, even airline guys...especially when they hit 3rd year or captain pay and take massive pay cuts to drill.

There were major airline furloughs in the early 90s and obviously the early 2000s. Also, there were a few airlines that went away during this timeframe. Lot's of stories of guys going back on AD in the early-mid 90s and not long after 9/11 after being furloughed. The early 2000 furloughs were particularly bad and the military reaped the benefits. The ARC was flooded with guys wanting days & dollars. For 15 years lesdership had free reign to abuse their resources. Now that the pendulum has swung the other way, it seems some leadership is taking a while to recage their brains. I saw a post on Facebook where one fighter squadron is requiring SEVEN (7) days a month from their pilots, with one of them being a no fly/queep day! WTF! I'm not even sure how they have all the paydays to make that happen. I'm guessing they mostly fill their vacancies with AD guys who think it's not a bad deal (I'm sure it's way better than AD). Then they become part timers with other jobs and realize how ridiculous 7 days/month for a part timer is and they look for other ways to finish their 20. Anyway, it seems their leadership is doing just as xaarman says...