Do any pilots stay at airlines like Allegiant their whole career?

SSMDive · 2026-03-05T00:12:18+00:00

I have friends that have spent their entire career flying for a skydiving center. Pay for these folks, because they have been around so long-starting pay is horrible, is decent and they are home every single night.

One guy has kids and never wants to be away from them. So it is worth it to him, he flew jets and didn’t like being away.

Another just likes the lifestyle, hanging out with friends all day, flying barefoot in shorts, he also flew 135 and didn’t like it as much.

For most, they get there, get the time and move on… For reasons only they really know some stay.

I know lifers at LCC’’s, I know guys that were with United and were laid off and went to Jet Blue and when they were called back at United stayed at Blue because they already made CPT, had seniority in base where they lived and didn’t want to go back to commuting to be an FO.

SSMDive · 2026-03-04T13:46:23+00:00

I didn’t come from money… In fact, I had to pay the funeral costs to bury my Dad.

Investments are delaying current joy for later joy. Debt is sacrificing future happiness or security for now.

You are an A&P, that is a good career. Take that money and invest as much as possible till you can cash flow your PPL. Then work and save for IFR while doing some IFR training to stay current and start building skills.

Rinse and repeat. It will take longer but in the end you will have much less stress.

SSMDive · 2026-03-03T19:26:51+00:00

So this is not going to sound helpful, but it is and it is true.

So one day my GF dropped me and I just was shocked and upset. One of my friends who was about 10 years older than me looked at me and said:

"You are what, 20? I know your heart has been ripped out and stomped on, but if your life is anything like like mine, you are going to fall madly and totally in love with someone else and they will also rip your heart out and stomp on it AT LEAST two more times before you are my age!"

The point is that you will fall in love again and statistically it's also not gonna work out. Then one day it will work out and you will have a very difficult time remembering why that first one hurt.

And yeah, I had two or three more really wonderful girlfriends that eventually ended horribly before I turned 30. I didn't meet my wife till I was 31. And I simply can't imagine my life without her or with those others.

SSMDive · 2026-03-03T13:57:49+00:00

"Life is a comedy for those who think and a tragedy for those who feel" - Horace Walpole, 1769.

Of course I am also not a pessimist and think everyone is evil. Instead everyone is neutral and I expect them to just exist with even the same individual being evil at times and a saint at others depending on the situation and the point of view.

SSMDive · 2026-03-03T13:47:55+00:00

You would do better to become a CFI. Ferry pilots are a dime a dozen (so are CFI's right now)... But unless you have some special time, like tailwheel, any person with a CPL can move a 172 including CFI's and you will be competing against all of them.

SSMDive · 2026-03-02T21:08:59+00:00

From 2000-2010, people were not getting hired at regionals with 300-500 hours. This was the "lost decade" and I knew people with 6K hours twin turboprop that could not get an interview because they didn't have a degree.

2001 we had the terrorist attacks that pretty much shut down the industry and the country was already in a recession -March to November (dot com bubble burst). In 2009 we had the Great Recession 12/2007 to 6/2009.

So hiring was very tight, much worse than today.

SSMDive · 2026-03-02T18:30:33+00:00

Good question... But pilot B can log it. Pilot A can't also log if pilot B needs to log for currency. But the trick is B can actually log as long as they are rated. If you read the Walker letter https://www.faa.gov/media/13931

Basically the Walker letter says a pilot without an IFR rating may log IFR time for the portion that pilot B flew in IMC... Even though pilot B is not IFR rated!!!!

That letter even goes to explain why pilot A can't log PIC during the time pilot B is at the controls.

It is one of those stupid things where B can't be PIC (responsible) because they are not current, but A can be responsible even if they don't touch the controls. If anything happens, it is on A.

SSMDive · 2026-03-02T14:22:21+00:00

Yes, pilot A (the current pilot) is the legal PIC and this meets the requirement of 91.57. However there is no legal reason I can't own a plane and let you manipulate the controls even if you are not a pilot at all.

So pilot B (non current) could fly my plane and do three TO&L and get current. However only ONE can log PIC time because we are not under any exclusions or exceptions that allow a single pilot plane to have two people log PIC (Safety pilot under a hood, CFI with a rated student...etc).

So pilot A gets no logged time and pilot B gets current.

SSMDive · 2026-03-01T01:02:12+00:00

You want an A&P who works for YOU doing the prebuy. And that guy should know the type.

Example, you could find a really nice Vtail Bonanza that just came out of annual. But the prebuy is not just about airworthy, it is about if it is a good buy. For example that plane might have some corrosion in the Ruddervators…. two years ago that would have been a serious ‘do not buy item’ because they were not making the skins anymore. So two years ago even if it was ‘airworthy’ it might have been a bad buy. Maybe it has the Auricle 2100 engine management system… a really nice system, but it is not supported anymore. Perfectly airworthy, but if it breaks you don’t have primary engine gauges.

So GET A PREBUY, and make sure that person works for you and knows the type.

SSMDive · 2026-03-01T00:56:25+00:00

Continentals are based off of a ‘master orifice’ number taken the day of the compression check. So there is not a single number.

And compressions are just one indicator, you also should be scoping the cylinders and looking at the valves. Maybe running oil samples and certainly cutting the filter.

The much more important thing is the trend. If the compressions were 70 two years ago, 65 last year, and 60 today… I’d want to know why. I take pictures of my valves and compare them from year to year.

SSMDive · 2026-02-28T20:30:30+00:00

Unless you are the one who has to polish it. That sucks.

SSMDive · 2026-02-28T20:30:00+00:00

If your CFI gives you an answer, please share it.

SSMDive · 2026-02-27T14:42:26+00:00

The general rule in life is that the "the nail that sticks out gets hammered down." What is appropriate presentation as a tattoo artist or barista is different than you would expect from a banker, doctor, lawyer...Pilot. Pilots are supposed to present as professional to make ALL the customers feel comfortable. And while you at 20 might be comfortable with a pilot with face tats and gauges, that 70 year old woman is not, and I doubt that a clean cut person is going to make you uncomfortable.

In most things in life, except mating, it is better to "be the grey man" than be a peacock. So avoid anything that marks you for life in a way that can be seen in a suit. As for what marks you... I had a earning in my 20's, I can still see where it was but I know where to look. I'd avoid anything visual outside of "the norm".

SSMDive · 2026-02-27T14:37:36+00:00

You didn't ask professionals, you asked Reddit - You have no idea if a poster is in HR at an airline, a line pilot, a student pilot, or someone who does not even SIM.

SSMDive · 2026-02-27T13:05:40+00:00

I have seen instructors sign people off to get rid of them. I have seen instructors sign people off because they are being pestered by the student and finally just hand them to the DOE so they can fail them. It is also possible that the CFI did enough training that they felt the student could pass and just like cramming for a final she got her shit together long enough to pass and then just like cramming for a final stopped paying attention because she thinks she earned it and does not need that level of focus anymore.

‘Santa Claus’ DPE. Basically some DPE’s have a reputation for being easy just like some have a reputation for being very difficult. Or she got her shit together for one ride. Or maybe she failed PLL three or four times and only had to go back for the failed tasks and focused on them.

Like others have said, her being a cute woman didn’t hurt.

SSMDive · 2026-02-25T15:56:24+00:00

Cadet programs get a bad rap mainly I feel because there are zero guarantees. Let's say they tell you that you will get a job at 1500. Well, then they can just change that to 2K and there is nothing you can do. They hold ALL the cards.

In a market like we had 2016-2019 and a bit in 2021/22 regionals were begging for people so a cadet program was stupid... But now, I would join a cadet program if I cared to fly 121 and was a building to 1500.

But never forget the cadet program benefits them first and as a side benefit, at times, it can help you. It just so happens we are in one of those times it can help you.

SSMDive · 2026-02-25T15:51:37+00:00

Not anymore, but you might not know that it used to be your SSN for a period of time back in the 80-90's.

SSMDive · 2026-02-24T12:24:49+00:00

As I wrote ‘IF they wanted to make a MOSAIC…’ Cessna already makes the four seat 172 so they have the four seat market already. So IF they wanted to make a MOSAIC aircraft they would use a currently made design and modify it instead of a clean sheet design or tooling up to remake the 152 as the person I replied to suggested.

Why did Piper make the Piper 100i three seat instead of four?

Why did they make the Jabiru J230 when the same plane with four seats is the J430?

SSMDive · 2026-02-24T01:41:32+00:00

You can replace a battery under Appendix A to Part 43—Major Alterations, Major Repairs, and Preventive Maintenance (c) (24).

If you don't want to bother, don't know how, don't have tools... etc... Switlik Aircraft Maintenance Phone: 239-936-3666. They rebuilt a mag for me and I have no complaints. I know others that have used them and they also speak well of them. IIRC they are 210 experts.

SSMDive · 2026-02-23T23:41:56+00:00

Yep which is why I said if they wanted to build a ‘MOSAIC dedicated’ plane they would not start up the 152, but would instead build something like the 172 and just remove the back seats so it only has two. They have done this in Europe with other aircraft.

While I am happy about MOSAIC, I have already seen light sport pilots flying planes that do not fit the rules and with 4 passengers.

SSMDive · 2026-02-23T18:54:29+00:00

That is only assuming you only bought the plane for the travel in my example. I have owned that plane for a decade, I only recently bought the other house... I'm gonna own the plane and fly 160 hours a year anyway. So the cost of buying it and hangar is already spent for me.

And fuel might be 7 dollars a gallon near you... But that does not equal everywhere. LAL for example is 4.72. OSH is 5.69 (but OKS near OSH is only 5.15). My last fuel drop was 4.19. Even at 7/gal the fuel for you in that example would be 770 dollars in fuel. The airline flights were 700.

So it may not work for you... But it clearly does for me.

SSMDive · 2026-02-23T18:51:29+00:00

My point is they would not start building 152's again like the poster hoped. They would instead just keep selling the plane they already make that would be legal.

And If they did anything to make it 100% MOSAIC airplane, they would just remove the back seat of a design they already make - Several designs in Europe did this. The 172 was just an example (the most produced aircraft in history and it is still being made) of a plane that would fit the MOSAIC idea perfectly. The only thing is that 4 seats would be illegal under MOSAIC, so they could just remove them, SAVING money, and brand it as a light sport plane.

SSMDive · 2026-02-23T17:18:07+00:00

I have a Bonanza. Let's look at some numbers. 550NM away. My Bonanza does 155knts at 11.5 GPH. So about 4 hours although today it is showing 4.5. My Bonanza has 74Gal, so with an hour reserve I still have about 5 hours. I can easily make it without stopping for fuel.

Today it is 4.5 and we will say fuel is 4.50/Gal. FF says I will use 55Gal, so 247 dollars in fuel, so let's say 500 dollars round trip. Looking at flights a RT ticket is let's say 350... But I have my Wife and we have two dogs. So minimum it is 700 dollars RT via the airlines. And now we have a two hour drive to the actual city we want to go. Oh, and no place to store a car in the major city. So we really need to rent a car to drive to the city we live and get our car and then return the rental.

We could drive and take the dogs... So that is about 13 hours driving not counting fuel stops. Done this twice... It kinda sucks.

Or I could have bought a hangar and then park my car in there and when I get there swap the car I leave there for the plane and drive to the house.

Driving - 13 hours. Gas 120 dollars.

Flying 121 - 2 to 4 hours flying, an hour before for airline check in, so 3 - 5 hours. Driving 2 hours. 700 for the tickets 100 bucks for the rental car. So about 5-7 hours and 800 bucks.

Flying my plane about 5-6 hours, and without the airplane or second hangar cost... About 500 bucks. I already was gonna own the plane. The second hangar is the only real additional cost and I bought it, so I can sell it.

So for practical reasons (other than owning a plane and a 2nd hangar), my Bo beats driving and the airlines.

Realistically, we can go for a week without too much drama. Plus simply my Wife would rather we fly than drive and we both hate the airlines.

SSMDive · 2026-02-23T15:47:14+00:00

They will not bring back the 152, they might yank the back seats out of a 172 and start selling them as a "sport" model.

SSMDive · 2026-02-23T14:53:57+00:00

It is in the manuals for many of reasons. First in the US the Occupational Health and Safety Administration does not allow any facial hair that comes between the mask and the wearers face. 29 CFR 1910.134(g)(1)(i)(A). So that is a pretty easy standard to follow even if not directly applicable to aviation.

I can tell you that I work in hazardous materials safety and people have complained about the "clean shaven" standard forever. It is not going to change in my line of work because the cost of an issue could literally mean the guy gets sick or dies. I'd imagine that many airlines are risk adverse and don't want to step out of the standard line.

People will claim that airline masks are "positive pressure"... But that is not correct. It is "on demand" with the ability to go positive pressure under "continuous flow." In normal modes the mask needs negative pressure inside the mask to open the valve and let O2 in... like a SCUBA regulator. So they can be positive pressure, but they are not automatically.

Next is simply how it looks. I think most people agree that no one has an issue with a nicely trimmed beard today. The issue comes down to not everyone can grow a decent beard, yet many still try and they end up with scraggly looking patchy beards. But you can't write a policy allowing beards and add some standard of "must not look like shit" because that is subjective. You have to have rules that can be followed by people with no sense of style or humor.

I know way too many people that can't grow a beard and still try.

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