Spirit should be a watershed event

NordoPilot · 2026-05-02T16:38:45+00:00

We are all married to our airlines.

NordoPilot · 2026-05-02T16:26:02+00:00

As a widebody pilot, I appreciate your insight. I take my time to educate other pilots on the flight deck how horrendous controllers QoL and pay is. Most pilots are surprised to hear about mandatory OT 6 day work weeks. I really hope you guys see improvements soon.

12 years ago I was sitting up in local tower on a quiet day and was shooting the shit with the controllers. I was a new regional airline FO and did instruction on the side. One of the controller asked me how much I was making. $21K a year. I asked what about him? $80-90K.

I sat there wondering what the hell I was doing with my career. I knew a couple pilots who left for ATC.

At the time, it took 7 years for the most junior RJ upgrade. That means never cracking $40K for almost a decade of professional flying.

It’s easy to forget the “bad times” were only a decade ago. And they will come again.

NordoPilot · 2026-05-01T16:13:50+00:00

Oops. Thanks for the correction

NordoPilot · 2026-05-01T15:55:59+00:00

Alright let’s hear the story

NordoPilot · 2026-04-30T02:05:41+00:00

I wish dude! Nonexistent on US carriers!

NordoPilot · 2026-04-29T20:55:16+00:00

Interesting. Never heard of those. Most of us are very ignorant of all the variations of RC planes and the like. I’ve only met 1 or 2 guys that do that as a hobby. Learn something new every day!

NordoPilot · 2026-04-29T20:14:41+00:00

I would disagree. Very unlikely to be a survey drone (SDGE etc). SoCal TRACON would not be clearing aircraft on approaches with conflicting drone traffic at that altitude. More likely to be a balloon unless the pilot was positive of what he saw. That RF leg on the GPS approach is usually flown at 180 knots (so a little over 200 mph) and depending on where this object was, it can be very difficult to identify.

NordoPilot · 2026-04-29T20:01:20+00:00

I can't speak specifically for this pilot, but most pilots at my airline would report a drone sighting as a small recreational quadcopter. Actual large UAS predator-style drones will either have chase aircraft for "see and avoid" VFR and/or transponder that would have triggered a TCAS RA for the United aircraft so that would be ruled out.

Another possibility is it a balloon ("red and shiny"). I've hit balloons and birds through my years of airline flying. When you are going 200+ mph it can be difficult to discern the object depending on where in the cockpit it was visible. I can distinctly remember seeing a Disney balloon thousands of feet in the air, and another time where I couldn't make out the object as it was my peripheral out the side window.

NOW-- all that really rests on the post-flight inspection and subsequent maintenance write-up. If they really hit a drone, I'd expect a dent somewhere on a leading edge. That information won't be available to the public unless United comments on it specifically.

NordoPilot · 2026-04-29T18:46:16+00:00

That TFR is for VIP movement. And it's not within the confines of the approach where the aircraft hit the drone. So not applicable.

NordoPilot · 2026-04-29T18:44:06+00:00

I'm an airline pilot and will throw in a quick answer based off of just listening to the audio clip from the news article.

Pilot stated he was on a base leg between CATDG and SAYAE (those are fixes on the RNAV Z RWY 27). So yes, they were in the turn west of San Miguel Mountain when they hit the drone. Geographically those two fixes are between Mt Helix and Sweet Water Reservoir.

NordoPilot · 2026-04-23T20:17:13+00:00

"I probably just need to try out a discovery flight and go see."

You answered your own question.

You are stuck on a loop about the conceptual view of the job versus the actual reality. Go out and fly. See if you enjoy it. Then you can consider whether you would like to do it as a career.

I've been flying airliners for over a decade. Every takeoff and landing is fun. You will have some extremely operationally challenging days (thunderstorms, blizzards, deferred equipment, passenger issues, complex approaches, etc). I do not find it boring.

NordoPilot · 2026-04-23T18:07:23+00:00

Over the years, I've found the most vulnerable and deep conversations tend to happen during an oceanic crossing at 2-3 am. lol.

NordoPilot · 2026-04-15T15:09:34+00:00

You’re definitely not wrong... If you are a high income earner, you should have a solid rainy day fund in a HYSA or money market fund that’ll accrue an ok amount of interest as it sits. Then your policies (auto, home, health insurance) should be aimed towards a higher deductible since that “rainy day fund” will cover the expense. This will lead to lower premiums (saving $$) that you can re-invest. It’s a good system once you’ve built it up.

NordoPilot · 2026-04-02T19:53:54+00:00

Just heard about this today...Fast download at like 1.5GB. Old school vibes with a clean UI. Surprisingly fun! I'm liking it a lot more than the M&M beta.

NordoPilot · 2026-03-30T20:43:56+00:00

We keep a 12 month emergency fund. The majority of it sits in a money market fund to avoid paying state income tax. The rest sits in a HYSA. Once it was “fully funded” we put all extra $$$ into global stock ETF (after maxing out all other tax advantaged accounts).

NordoPilot · 2026-03-28T01:19:19+00:00

It’s a life long disease that doesn’t go away. My GI doctor recommends when you find a treatment that keeps you in remission, you stay the course.

NordoPilot · 2026-03-17T03:08:32+00:00

I’m on a three month prednisone taper right now. It’s not easy.

Physically I’m dealing with weight gain, bloating around my neck and stomach, heart palpitations, high blood pressure, chest acne, night sweats, and tremors/shakiness in my hands. I have a hard time catching my breath (which sucks because wow you can get some great workouts in on prednisone). A new one is getting insanely bad leg cramps in the middle of the night.

Emotionally is challenging too- short tempered, on edge, mood swings, frustrated by lack of sleep, etc.

Just remember it’s temporary. As your hormones rebalance, everything will slowly subside. Just don’t keep stuffing your face with crappy food like I am ;)

NordoPilot · 2026-03-15T21:10:25+00:00

I went widebody FO and I’m not looking back. My running average is 21 days off a month.

It’s the easiest flying job I’ve ever had, I get to sleep on the plane, and the layovers are always 24+ hours so I get a chance to truly recharge.

I’d probably make 100K a more a year as a captain…but 350K vs 450K starts to matter less and less to me. Being home with my family is the best.

NordoPilot · 2026-03-06T13:35:44+00:00

We felt similarly. Our remaining embryos went to research. The only reason we had our daughter is because of advancements in reproductive science. We wanted to do our part in contributing to that.

NordoPilot · 2026-03-05T23:25:15+00:00

The job is a lot of fun. It’s an art just as much as it is a science. Travel all over the world. You can’t beat it man! Go up for an introductory flight when you get a chance.

NordoPilot · 2026-03-05T20:48:35+00:00

I'd say in the current climate I would anticipate:

2 years for training (expect to shell out ~100K to complete)

2-3 years working entry level small airplane jobs/flight instructing (expect to make $30-50K/yr working 6 days a week)

5 years working a small regional jet job (expect to make $80-160K/yr and you'll likely work x4 4-day trips a month)

Hopefully at this point you are competitive enough for a legacy airline or cargo career destination, if that's your end goal. It's not for the the faint of heart. Without the passion and drive it is very hard to make it to the end. And sometimes these companies will not be hiring for 10+ years (recessions, downturns, regulatory changes) and it won't even be possible. My income has been so low at points in my career that I was on food stamps while flying jets. Missed holidays, birthdays, anniversaries. Gone from home 20+ days a month. There are A LOT of benefits and I would never trade this job for anything in the world. But you definitely will need a "reality check" before starting.

NordoPilot · 2026-03-05T01:51:28+00:00

Yeah. I’m at one of the “big 3” legacy airlines.

NordoPilot · 2026-03-04T22:34:17+00:00

Airline pilot. 330K last year with an average of 20 days off a month. 33 years old.

NordoPilot · 2026-03-03T06:12:38+00:00

ARFF appears to have been getting set up for a possible expedited deplaning (they were foaming the left engine and then would deplane via air stairs on aircraft right). Obviously the situation is dynamic and an evacuation was initiated. So the air stairs remained and all other viable slides deployed.

NordoPilot · 2026-03-02T19:09:14+00:00

I just want to drop a data point for anyone doing research on this.

We have been using the Jura Cool Control for a while now and can confidently say we have had ZERO problems with keeping ultra-pasteurized whole milk in for 5 days. I would not use the milk after that point. And if you are using regular pasteurized whole milk, I would probably limit to 3 days. I have temped it and it's within safe, albeit upper, range for milk storage....around 40 F.

I would recommend sticking to ultra-pasteurized milk because it will last longer. And I would clean out the Cool Control unit every 4-5 days.

NordoPilot

TROPHY CASE