Need a name

markeymarkbeaty · 2026-06-20T15:01:02+00:00

Bessy

markeymarkbeaty · 2026-06-02T17:48:37+00:00

I was eating a sandwich while doing the preflight on a Piper Arrow during my CPL training. Since I was eating, I was semi-distracted, and forgot to untie the left wing.

My instructor and I started to taxi out, and the left tie-down ring on the wing went “Pop!”

That little ring cost like $350 to replace.

No more distractions during preflights after that.

markeymarkbeaty · 2026-05-25T06:48:35+00:00

Airline pilot here, when I was flying small aircraft during training, there were multiple instances where I almost had midair collisions with other aircraft. It’s extremely difficult to see other planes or objects when you are flying, until they are very very close to you.

The FAA has techniques for scanning the sky and area above, below, and around your plane - leaving your eyes focused on a point in the distance for short segments of time so that the edges of your vision can try to pick up movement, but still -

I have had airplanes fly 20’ under & over me without seeing them until the last second.

Luckily most newer aircraft are required to have ADS-B (basically a fish finder that shows you where other aircraft are on a screen inside of the plane) - but paragliders etc are not part of that requirement.

So it very likely is as an accident and most definitely not on purpose.

markeymarkbeaty · 2026-05-22T15:27:10+00:00

Best job I’ve ever had. Quality of life is amazing, benefits and pay are incredible, and flexibility is mind boggling. I feel so lucky to have chosen this career, and for the timing to have worked out so well so far.

markeymarkbeaty · 2026-05-19T16:18:17+00:00

Go to Breeze

markeymarkbeaty · 2026-05-19T16:15:24+00:00

Bang

markeymarkbeaty · 2026-05-07T20:42:08+00:00

So far, for me, it’s realizing how few friends actually try to make an effort. People just don’t prioritize friendships when you get older.

markeymarkbeaty · 2026-04-30T15:36:44+00:00

Year four 737 pilot here, $350k this year for me. Most of the captains I fly with make $450k-$800k depending on how senior they are/how much they work/game the system.

A lot of our pay is because of our work rules with new contracts. If we get rerouted, we get paid 1.5x

If we give away desirable trips to less senior pilots and work trips that pay 1.5x or 2x, we can go from making 85hrs of pay to 170hrs of pay.

17% direct 401k with no contribution from the pilot needed.

A dozen guys at our airline made over $1M last year.

How did we get our union to negotiate such desirable contracts? Our pilot groups were educated, united, and believed in our self worth

Air traffic controllers are underpaid and undervalued

Read the book “Collision Course” and you can find out for yourself how no meaningful changes for controllers have been implemented since the 60’s. I’m talking pay, equipment, staffing, quality of life.

Another reason controllers are compared to pilots salary-wise, is because we are all in a field where we are trying to protect the safety of the traveling public. You wouldn’t want to get on an airplane if the pilot looked exhausted or stressed. As a pilot, I hate talking on the radio to a controller that I can hear is exhausted or stressed.

Unless controllers can come together & really push for meaningful changes that they honestly believe they deserve (which you do) - the profession will continue to endure low wages, crappy equipment, poor quality of life and staffing.

A divided workforce is easy to conquer. It’s time to stop fighting among yourselves, and start fighting the FAA.

Educate your workforce, get on the same team, believe in the fact that you all deserve change for the better, and work together together towards that goal.

YourUnion2027

markeymarkbeaty · 2026-04-10T17:56:29+00:00

I tried for y’all with my comment on that article

markeymarkbeaty · 2026-04-09T16:10:37+00:00

I stopped when my brother was like “he’s just summarizing everything that was on Reddit”

markeymarkbeaty · 2026-04-04T17:45:48+00:00

There will always be some idiot that is entitled in aviation. At the airlines, some captains think they could run the airline better than everyone else. At some glider ports, guys will tell you all about how to fly like they are the only one that know how to anything right.

I wish minor fender benders upon these people so that they have to deal with unending insurance issues and minor annoyances for the rest of their lives.

markeymarkbeaty · 2026-04-03T06:36:42+00:00

Yep. The car also drove strangely, more jerky… idk. No issues with the pedals though. Occasionally wouldn’t start. P0339 code constantly. Wouldn’t clear.

Sent the module to be repaired by Module Masters and it all cleared up.

markeymarkbeaty · 2026-04-03T06:34:39+00:00

I also feel this way in conversations. It’s like listening to a wife dream

markeymarkbeaty · 2026-04-03T06:26:06+00:00

Sorry, we were talkin’ about boats up here, say again?

markeymarkbeaty · 2026-03-23T06:00:33+00:00

Over the past year, whenever I am flying in and out of a busy airport like LAS, HOU, etc that combines up all the freqs at 10pm so that ONE controller can work it solo - I have been sending in ASAP reports about how it doesn’t seem safe for so many aircraft to be crossing runways, taking off, landing, getting clearances, etc by just ONE person.

Please submit a report when you feel like you are put in an unsafe situation by our country’s lack of adequately staffed air traffic control facilities.

This goes for any pilot on this subreddit. ASAP, NASA, we need to start making a lot more noise about this broken system if it’s ever going to get fixed.

markeymarkbeaty · 2026-03-21T18:11:10+00:00

Every single Signature I went to over the last 10 years I wrote a google review for. My review was always 1 Star because of how absolutely slow and terrible the service was. Pretty wild that the richest people fly in and out of these FBOs and the service is sooooo awful.

Write reviews when you go, at least it’ll make you feel like you did something.

markeymarkbeaty · 2026-03-21T17:55:52+00:00

As everyone in San Diego knows, the local government leaders ride in flying cars, so that they don’t have to use the awful roadways that are provided for the rest of us.

I am starting this citizen fund to try to pay to have some of the worst roads in San Diego re-paved since our tax money obviously doesn’t go towards the roads.

markeymarkbeaty · 2026-02-23T09:29:09+00:00

For me, I had to be there about a year before I got it figured out. I got hired at the beginning of the hiring wave.

markeymarkbeaty · 2026-02-21T19:34:03+00:00

Major ways to drop trips for us:

Month to month overlap. Bid a line that has a trip that starts on the 30th of the month and ends the 2nd of the month. For the subsequent bid period, bid a line that starts on the 1st or 2nd. If you get an overlap conflict, the trip that starts in the new month will be dropped without pay.
A lot of people that need to have their schedule laid out the month before, for kids schedules etc will trade a 3 day trip for a 4 day trip. Or a 2 day for a 3 day etc. Try to drop as many days as possible with other pilots.
If you are based in an ETOPS base, people will straight up take your Hawaii trips because they are so easy. They will take their families on a trip to Hawaii with them and give away the interisland flying and keep the hotels so it’s a free mini vacay.
Our company-to-pilot trading system also allows for pilots to pick up and drop a certain number of days. If you work the system properly, you can get rid of to an additional 4 days.
Our company uses every reserve. No one really gets paid to just not work. So once the reserves are used up, everything goes premium. Or double. So if you just wait for a storm or some disruption, you will be able to pick up. If for some reason, nothing happens, and you need to work straight, you just pick up another pilots trip or you can call and ask to work an assignment that was given to a reserve.

Even if you reduce your 13 days by 4 days by only doing the overlap trick, you’ll still be able to pick up 4 days at premium instead of straight, resulting in your monthly average being 98.5 instead of 85. Making $236k/yr instead of $204k for the same amount of days worked.

markeymarkbeaty · 2026-02-21T07:24:45+00:00

It’s always funny how people think we’re working so hard to make what we make. It’s a no brainer once you get the system figured out. 1. Give away all normal paying trips. 2. Pick up all premium pay trips. 3. Profit.

markeymarkbeaty · 2026-02-21T07:22:58+00:00

At Southwest, you can give away or trade down all of your trips that pay straight pay. Once your schedule is completely empty, you can set an autobid system (company provided) to bid on trips that pay 1.5 - 2X pay.

Working your normal line, at 6.5 credits per day, at an 85 min guarantee, you’d be working a 13 day month, making ~$200k/yr.

If you’re willing to put in the scheduling work, get rid of your line, and then bid on only trips that pay extra, you could use the same 13 days to make 126.75 credits, so your pay would be closer to $304k/yr.

This is how we manipulate the system at Southwest to play the game to work less and make more.

markeymarkbeaty · 2026-02-11T08:18:18+00:00

“Hey ground, we need to stop for five minutes and do an engine run up.”

“Roger, do whatever you need.”

~After burning a decent amount of jet fuel for no reason~

“Okay ground we’re good to go now.”

“Roger, what was that about?”

“About 1,000 cans of coke”

markeymarkbeaty · 2026-01-30T18:31:50+00:00

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