I'm new to the board. I plan on sticking around a lurking for a while and maybe posting a few things. From what I've seen so far this site has tons of useful info. To start things off I thought I'd try to get some of your advice on a few things.

First of all, I'm 23 with a B.S. in Computer Engineering from Texas A&M (3.5 GPA) and currently employed by Boeing in Long Beach, CA. I've always loved planes and I thought when I was hired to work on the C-17 it was my dream job and I was set for at least a couple of years.

Well, after a year I think the pilot bug bit hard enough for me to respond. It's always been in the back of my mind but the combination of time, $ or other ambitions always put it on the back burner. However, the more I thought about it the more I knew I would regret not at least exploring the option.

So, for the question. How should I proceed? I don't have a PPL and have only flown in a non-commercial plane once (It was a blast by the way!). Should I bother contacting a recruiter now or just try getting a PPL and see how I take to it? Boeing even pays for part of it so guess I have no excuses.

Sorry for rambling! I know this is kinda bouncing all over the place but I'm lost and any help or suggestions would be great!

You're right, no excuses. Get your PPL and find out if you really like flying. No offense, but flying on a commercial aircraft is like riding on a tour bus. Flying an initial training aircraft is more like riding a mountain bike...you feel everything.

For everything else, browse through the forums. All the answers are here.

Good Luck!

----------------

Wxpunk

Yeah dude, definitely give it a shot. If you don't like it, oh well you've lost nothing. If you don't try it, you will never know how great it really is. Good luck man, and try to make sure those C-17s keep rollin out. I look forward to being in one someday.

Definitley go for it and witness your company's latest operational asset! It's a very fine product and you will get to do some amazing things with it if you choose!

You guys do good work, our planes our smelling new and running smooth bud. Only minor LRU issues, but that's the norm with any airframe... Our running joke here is that when some AC gets tail no. #112, they start screaming and whining about being given the "OLD JET," which obviously was our first Boeing product off the line mid Dec 03. Only 8 months old, but it's hilarious since we flew aircraft older than me before... quite the change - equipment and flight characteristics are daunting!

[ 18. August 2004, 03:21: Message edited by: AirGuardian ]