Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Which job to take?

Our SIL is a pilot who recently retired from the Border Patrol. He's qualified on a bunch of different planes and helicopters. He's been working for a charter business jet company flying this beast. He says it's totally boring. The plane is like a Tesla with auto pilot. He has to be aware of everything going on and be ready to take over at all times, but the plane flies itself. He doesn't fly it at all, just sit and watch it have the fun. How do you stay awake on long flights like that? He said he just spent 6 hours in a simulator that was a real yawner.

He just got a verbal job offer from a firefighting company flying souped up tanker jets. That one wouldn't be boring. He applied to fly helicopters but the offer is for jets. It's flying at high speed at very low altitudes while dumping retardant. I don't know what model of plane he'd be flying there but he said things happen so fast that you have to have a good grip on the seat with your cheeks. I've seen videos of Boeing 747 tankers but I don't know what they're using now.

Boring and safe.

I have know too many incidents of accidents with firefighting planes and smoke jumpers.

Boring and safe - use the money for thrills at your own acceptable pace/time and frequency.

I have a friend I went to school with, his family has a couple air tractor crop dusters…. He naturally took over the business….. people always say “wow, that must be exiting to fly every day” he always says after awhile it just becomes a job.

My C-130 unit had MAFFS mission. Dropping retardant. Pilots said it was much more challenging than flying in Iraq/Afghanistan. Was lost a plane and 4 good friends in Idaho. Safe and boring would sound good to them now.

There are old fire fighters, and there bold firefighters. However, there are very few old, bold firefighters... Betting the same applies to fire suppression pilots as well...

All fun and games until you crash one into a hillside..

I sure as hell wouldn't recommend it.....but some one has to do it.

Did he have enough time to qualify for helicopters?


Most feds or vets dont.

Your Friend is flying a bombardier challenger 300, safe/boring …reliable aircraft! corporate flying can be boring, tell him to hand fly it more often :-)

Snakeskin wtf you been upto?? Me just chilling found some tortilla chips this morning. They moved me to the pit. Where all the garbage trucks go to dump the trash. So funny story how I snagged this bag. The garbage bag ripped when it came out of garbage truck. I’m sitting watching and that’s when I spied this bag of chips, I was like Yahtzee!!! Ok not a funny story but you get it.. Anyhow snake talk to you later!

You find a half eaten jar or queezo and you got it made.

Snake you read my mind.. god willing

Sorta off topic. I had to go to an office building Wednesday. These people were there. They sit in padded chairs. There's heating and air conditioning. Cold and hot potable water. There was no dust. It was quiet. No traffic at all. Didn't see anything that could fall, rip, shred, burn, blind, mame, mangle, explode, suffocate... Boring looked pretty darn swell if you can stomach it.

I'd go for the boring flying Tesla. I'm sure the pay is good and it requires almost no effort. It would be like having a Govt. job!

OK... you said "retired". You also said retired from a Federal position..... meaning a pretty good pension usually. Assuming he has saved money along the way, tell him to enjoy his retirement and hunt and fish more.

Having said that, every fly boy I 've ever known has serious "issues" when they can't/don't fly any more.

But WTF do I know!?

Don't influence him in any way. Let him and his personality choose his job. And if your daughter asks, tell her to back off and support his decision, let the man be the man. Quite a few men don't do well in captivity, boredom eats at their soul and self respect...causing marriage problems among other things. There are men who do well in factories and offices...more power to them, but there are men who need a little dash of hot sauce in their day now and then. They, historically, gravitate to logging, mining or the sea and are good men to call friends.

Let him make his own choice

A very wise man told me to stay out helicopters and to never fight fire in California.

Tell him to join the Air Guard or something.

If he wants excitement and good pay. Have him apply to fly helicopters for the mining companies in Alaska during the winter.

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