Business & Military

You are resolute in your pursuit of a flying career. Despite what the pundits have stated in their gloomy predictions about the state of the economy, no matter that there are still many qualified aviators on furlough from their airline jobs, regardless of forecasts that predict a soft job market and a slow recovery for […]

George is holding a phone in his right hand. On the other end of the phone, a pilot is telling George his woes of the day — how the weather was bad in Louisville, how lunch didn’t agree with his co-pilot, and how his wife spends too much money. Between his head and his shoulder, […]

It was about eleven at night when I pulled into Signature’s ramp at Baltimore. It had been one of those weeks in the check-hauling business; I’d battled a fair amount of poor weather all week, though in this instance it had been the low-ceiling-and-visibility variety more than the thunderstorm or icing types, which is what […]

While hanging around and working at the Sarasota-Bradenton airport (SRQ) in the mid-50s, I became aware of a small group of pilots my father called “airport bums.” It was years before I realized that was intended as a derogatory term, for they were my heroes. That was probably why Dad put me into forced labor […]

It suddenly occurred to me that I’ve never done a column on my all-time favorite airplane! How could I have so neglected my old sweetheart? My logbook reveals that I have 1,864.08 hours in this old classic, second only to the 747 time, which we won’t count because it’s a nosedragger, it burns that stinky […]

Jumpseating — the practice of bumming a ride aboard a human mailing tube headed somewhere you need to go — is one of the time-honored institutions of the airline industry. Some use their privileges to commute, others to move around on company business. But, in the right hands, it’s really more of an art. Come […]

Captains are not born; they are made, mostly from the school of hard knocks and with a copious amount of seasoning. As part of this process, being in the right place at the right time is as important as avoiding the wrong places. Along the way, the people, planes and places encountered all help give […]

“With demand for air travel at record highs and many pilots facing mandatory retirement at age 60, U.S. airlines are desperately trying to fill their cockpits.” The Wall Street Journal. I don’t know that there is a general aviation pilot alive who hasn’t toyed with the thought of applying for an airline job, if only […]

When I first started my business in 1988, I vividly remember spending several sleepless nights because I had to purchase a laser printer with a price tag of $2,000! A year or so after that I agonized over whether to buy a fax machine. After the fax machine arrived the floodgates opened. The next purchase […]

The contrast was remarkable. Formonths I had been canvassing the airline personnel departments, making phone calls andpersonal visits — with no luck. Of the dozen airlines I had been following up on weekly,none would give me the time of day. Only one had even acknowledged receipt of myapplication. But as soon as I was invited […]