What's QOL?

Job search update:

I've gotten my application into another airline, we'll see how this goes. It's a place I would be THRILLED to work at. I'm very impressed by their management style and their appreciation of their employees. I'd be taking a very considerable pay cut to go there, but I think it's worth it.

It comes down to QOL: Quality of Life.

I wish I could express to people still in flight school the important of choosing a job that will give you good QOL. Since my experience is with Embry-Riddle, this is who I'll use as an example.

When I was at ERAU, the emphasis at the school was on "flying big iron." Get out there, fly the jet. There are a huge number of aviation jobs out there. Flight instructing, banner towing, fire watch, charter flying in turbo-props, regional jet jockeying, et cetera. But it seemed that, upon leaving ERAU, "Thou must get a jet job."

There's nothing wrong with this. But, what I try to emphasize to people, is that you are NOT a failure if your first job out of flight instructing is flying propeller-driven aircraft. You are not crazy if this was your goal in the first place.

We fly because we LOVE TO FLY. No, I don't want to drive a 172 the rest of my life. I want to fly new and exciting airplane. Heck, I ADORE the A320 series. I love that jet. But I will be overjoyed to go fly a Cessna 402!! It's a great airplane. No, it's not pressurized, so I would not be cruising at FL390. But there's something about flying at 1,000 feet AGL at 180 kts over Cape Cod with the humpback whales beneath that excites me. It's romantic.

What you have to find out for yourself is what will bring you quality of life. I know a lot of people who love flying for a regional. They spend their days off jumpseating all over the world, and it works for them. I couldn't be happier that they've all found a place for themselves where they love their flying.

Other people might love the corporate life. Or the charter/135 life. Or maybe, like our much-loved "lifer" CFIs at ERAU, bringing the love of flying to their students is what makes them happiest. Maybe your calling is flying cancelled checks and body parts in the middle of the night. What I'm saying is, "do what you love." Do what is going to keep your love of flying burning.

QOL isn't about money. Flying, for those that truly love it, is never about the money. QOL, to me, is about the airplane, the destinations, the duty schedule. Feeling appreciated by your passengers (or boxes if you're a freight dawg!) or your management and flying with good people.

The airlines aren't the "end all be all." Find your niche. Find what floats your boat (or gives you lift, rather). Don't let yourself become bitter - if you find yourself losing your passion for flight, it's time to find a new job.

Stay true to your reason for flying, and make your own QOL!!

"Within all of us is a varying amount of space lint and star dust, the residue from our creation. Most are too busy to notice it, and it is stronger in some than others. It is strongest in those of us who fly and is responsible for an unconscious, subtle desire to slip into some wings and try for the elusive boundaries of our origin." (K.O. Eckland, "Footprints On Clouds")

I've been really bad....

I'm trying to resurrect this blog again. It's been a few months. Maybe I should rename it "Confessions of a Bitter Airline Pilot." Basically I've avoided writing because I've been so bitter. Getting furloughed, just as I was really starting to get into the groove of airline life, just as I had hit that point when you fly a new airplane that you "get" it, was tremendously hard on me.

It was really bad for a while...I'm living at home with my parents, and I think that if I hadn't been here I would've had a hard time avoiding drinking myself silly.

I actually did ok there for a while. For the first month or two I was absorbed with supporting my boyfriend as he was in new hire training with Cape Air in Massachusetts. But one day it just hit me. I was flying home from visiting David in Cape Cod, and left the day before he started IOE. The landing in TPA was something I would've loved...beautiful clear night, unrestricted vis, light xwind. And it just hit me as we touched down how much I desperately missed flying the bus, how much I missed the lifestyle. How much I hated having to put my liquids in a plastic bag and not being able to use the crew line. The loss of being able to chat up a flight crew without them thinking I was crazy. The pride I had being a 25 year old woman sitting in the cockpit of a jet with 150 pax behind me. I felt so empowered...and then all of a sudden, here I was, a 25 year old woman with no job prospects and no self-worth.

I don't think I felt better until around the holidays. David's the one who saved me, who got me out of this stupor I was in. I was working on my CFI so that I could flight instruct, and passed my checkride on Dec. 19th. I felt much better, had a bit of my self-esteem back.

Unfortunately, it's now a month later and I'm still unemployed. I'm trying to get my CFII but I'm having a difficult time staying motivated. I planned to have it done by now so I could be working. But I've applied to flight schools in Tampa and Ft. Myers/Naples, and no one's hiring. Most have a surplus of instructors. Same goes at Embry-Riddle. There's rumors they'll have to furlough, too. And what does a furloughed CFI do for work? McDonald's?

Everyone knows that your job plan changes every 5 minutes, but here's mine:
Keep trying to get a flying job, whether it's instructing or survey or banner towing.
I'm applying to Cape Air, but I'm below their minimums. Hopefully I'll still get an interview.
But if that doesn't happen, in May, I'll move up to either Maryland or Massachusetts with David, depending on if he's based in HYA or BWI. If it's HYA I'll try and CFI up there and work at Cape Air Ops or be a ramper, if it's BWI I'm sure I can get a ticket agent job at BWI.

All my hopes and dreams rest on Cape Air now...I'm such a Cape Air fangirl now, I want to work there so bad!!!

MochaHagotdi!!

Sitting, unfortunately not on the dock of the bay...

Day 1 of 3 of the uncompensated reserve sit.
Flew a MYR turn and a MCO turn today with another one of ACY's super-nice Captains...I need to figure out how to get to Boston easily from here. If I can, after recall I want to be based up here.

Tomorrow I've been assigned a RSW turn...show time isn't until 1150, which is nice. No open time left for the 3rd, so I probably won't work unless someone calls in sick. So hopefully that means I can sleep in, go over to Smithville and pick up that stuffed white buffalo, go on down to Ocean City and go to one of our ground crew guy's shop that he owns with his wife and then head on over to the airport to catch a flight home.

I have to be out of my house on Sunday, which means Thursday is packing/throwing stuff out day, Friday/Saturday are moving days (hoping to get everything done Friday) and cleaning days to get the house ready.

Then I think I'm going to hang out in Daytona for a few days to help David pack up for his move, then go home to get my life in order. Hopefully get David to come back with me for a couple days. I want to spend every second I can with him before he leaves for "the north."

Other than that I need to get started on my CFI as soon as practicable and sit around and wait for a phone call from Spirit. Or news that they've closed shop, whichever comes first.

3 days down, I to go...

Back at the hotel after a long day of flying...numerous personal crises led to me not going to sleep until 11pm. Up at 4am, flew from 0600 to 1500, blah. I'm exhausted!!!

The trips were uneventful...best weather I've seen at MCO in a long time, but shittastic turbulence between SAV and ILM. Moderate chop from 240 up to around 380...so basically no escaping.

And to top it all off my flight home doesn't operate tomorrow, so I have to get on the last flight to FLL, then catch the last flight from FLL to MCO. I'll get home sometime around midnight. I really really hope I get a nap at some point tomorrow.

Just another day in NJ

Flew a FLL turn this morning with a nice captain. Actually, it was a good all-around crew. Some of the nicest F/As, too. It was pretty uneventful, which is how you typically want flights to go :) Good omen of the day: a cricket chilling out on our nose during the walk-around!! Got back around noon and have done....jack since then. Kind of depressing, not going to lie. I was going to go somewhere but I wasn't really feeling up to it. But on the plus side I did get a lot done on David's scarf, I'm finally on the last ball! My goal is to get it done before the end of the month. Then work on something for my sister's birthday.In the meantime I'm trying to watch a couple episodes of The Venture Bros. but the hotel internet goes from being perfectly normal to obscenely slow. The next 3 days entail the oh-so-exciting ACY-MYR-ACY-MCO-ACY...at least I'm back with Captain of the month, so I can relax a little and get back in a groove. I'm going to try and go to sleep now, but it's hard when it's still light outside.

It's not a huge conspiracy, just a little one.

It's interesting how much I've learned about the airline industry in these 6 months, even more interesting how much more there is to learn.

Here's how the chain of events is working right now:
Spirit decides to furlough 45 pilots starting 8/1, and another 80 starting 9/1 (including yours truly).
The initial furlough results in a huge amount of open time being available.
95% of the pilot base refuse to pick up said open time (5% remain whores!), since logic maintains that if you don't have enough pilots to cover all your time, maybe you should hire more!

I love how this works...hopefully it'll lead to us getting recalled sooner.

I heard a rumor that they're offering 400% pay to people who pick up open time; while I'd be tempted, I'd still be taking work away from furloughed pilots. Don't be a whore!

I'm in ACY now for a 4 day starting tomorrow morning. I traded my 30th for tomorrow so that another FO could go on a church trip. He's obnoxiously into religion but at least hasn't tried to "save" me yet, so I'll give him credit for that.

So I work tomorrow through the 18th (which happens to be my 25 birthday, yay me!), then the 23rd/24th and the 31st (which I'm going to try and get rid of). Thank goodness I have a lot of days off.

Which, speaking of, I need to do something nice for Dave. He's been putting up with so much lately, and he's been under a huge amount of stress, too, that I feel like I should do something for him. I mean, I bought him a card to send him tomorrow, but that's not really enough...must think of cute stuff to do for him. I'd get him a model kit he wants but the kid HAS everything he wants (well, that I can afford). Anyone have any ideas?

Too bad I can't find some super-rare Martin stuff in an antique shop - he'd love that.

I also need to find some time to go to Houston, while trying to find time to go to Tampa and pack up all my stuff in my room there to make room for all my stuff I'm moving from the Creek. Ah crazy time!!!

Yay I turn 25 on Monday!! Maybe I should contact ATC with "Good morning Washington Center, Spiritwings 347, level 360, and it's my birthday today!"

Finding it hard to write..

I really want to update this more, but find it hard to get motivated since I know I'm probably the only one reading it. I've found twitter is pretty easy for I guess what you could call mini-blogging. I try to post something with twitter when something interesting happens. I always intend to write an update about it at some point, but never do...

...mostly at the moment I'm having a hard time feeling anything but depressed, anxious or angry. My birthday is less than a week and I can't even get excited. All I think is "ok, wow, I finally can rent a cheap rental car, which'll help me save money this month." I have 7 more days of flying left this month, and all I want is to get a new job. Dave's leaving for Cape Air in October and I'm afraid I'll never see him again. I'm stressed out about moving out of the house. I can't even enjoy playing WiiSports right now. Having days off is great but I just feel like I'm in Dave's way, because he has work and things to do but I know he wants to hang out with me. I don't have a routine when I'm home and that bothers me. I feel like I need to get some sort of part time job so I have that to do on my days off, but what do I do? I want it to be something drama free (i.e. no retail, preferably no people at all) and something where I can set my own hours. Oh, and preferably make some extra cash.

basically I'm feeling very lost right now...like I'm drifting around with nothing to anchor myself to.