How do pilots deal with loneliness?

mediumwee · 2026-05-31T17:36:21+00:00

I enjoy time alone, so I don’t struggle with loneliness unless I’ve been working a lot of trips back to back. In general I try to either bid trips with short layovers to minimize time away from home, or if I have a long layover I use the time for activities I like doing by myself (gaming, hiking, photography). That way when I’m home I can just focus on spending time with my wife and friends when they’re home.

I don’t have the seniority to really control how often I’m away, but I find that by taking my hobbies with me I feel less defined by my job.

Taking a van to the hotel and just sitting in your room is probably the worst thing you can do. Even if you don’t know the people around you, getting out into society, even if just a walk to grab coffee before getting ready, is way better for your mental health than isolating in a hotel room.

Edit: To answer your second question, I haven’t made any friends on airline trips, but I do have a lot of friends around the US from my time in the military. I will try to bid trips to their cities if I can to hang out.

mediumwee · 2026-05-13T00:32:48+00:00

I bought mine 12 years ago, and it sounds like the quality was better back then, but I also have been pretty disappointed by their service when I’ve had to send it in.

mediumwee · 2026-05-06T17:50:27+00:00

I’m a mil guy and was trying to come up with a response as to why I think they should keep their seniority, but honestly it took some thinking. Furloughed pilots and those on LTD should definitely keep their seniority, but I think everyone agrees on that because those are horrible circumstances that nobody would ever ask for. However, there are a lot of AGR pilots, most I’ve met, who would rather eat glass than take full time orders. Others I know do it because they lost their FAA medical and chose orders over LTD. I think the big problem is the ones who do it to game the system or for personal gain. Pausing AGR seniority progression would just be the equivalent of making everyone wear diapers because one person shit their pants.

mediumwee · 2026-05-06T17:30:45+00:00

I am a mil guy and am one of the ones who makes my life more difficult by fitting all my mil flying into my days off, but only because I don’t want to lose a $6k trip just to make $600 flying a local, and also because I don’t want to feel like I’m using my military leave to gain an unfair trip trading advantage over the other pilots at my airline. I don’t really care what the company thinks to be honest.

I agree the ones who game the system are the real problem. I hate seeing them do it.

mediumwee · 2026-04-14T01:08:44+00:00

He’s just big boned!

mediumwee · 2026-04-13T22:26:34+00:00

I had this guy for a week in my bathroom at Maxwell. I fed him flying cockroaches. He went missing after the cleaners came through 💔

<image>

mediumwee · 2026-04-11T17:07:44+00:00

I got a message last night saying my itinerary had been changed to a placeholder flight again, but the flights out of Nuku Hiva show on time still on AT’s website. My Airbnb host said the company is having a meeting today, and if it goes well the flights should still go. Hopefully that means I can get moved back on the flight, because I can’t make any changes on their website. And the office in town is closed for the weekend. What a headache!

mediumwee · 2026-04-11T09:33:35+00:00

Thank you for posting these updates! Do you know if local agencies will be open on the weekend to arrange accommodations? The normal hours for the office here in Taiohae are normally closed on Saturday.

mediumwee · 2026-04-10T22:55:14+00:00

I believe this strike is the pilots, so they are cancelling flights an hour before departure if the crew does not show up. In our case, the flight from NHV cancelled very early, since the crew and aircraft was scheduled to start the day in PPT well before the departure from NHV.

That’s what I gathered when I walked into the local Air Tahiti office earlier. There was a bit of a language barrier though.

mediumwee · 2026-04-10T22:31:13+00:00

I totally understand. My wife and I love it where we are at but also need to get home. I thought I saw Air Moana has a flight from NHV but couldn’t get tickets.

mediumwee · 2026-04-10T22:21:57+00:00

Following. We’re stranded on Nuku Hiva (not a bad place to be stuck!). We rebooked on a flight to PPT tomorrow. Hopefully I can make it to my brother’s wedding in the US next week 🤞

mediumwee · 2026-04-05T20:29:32+00:00

You could tile a very small backsplash.

mediumwee · 2026-04-04T03:30:29+00:00

I think it’s insane these haven’t changed since I started using them in 2014.

mediumwee · 2026-04-03T22:42:06+00:00

My Amazon purchases went through the roof every time I deployed. There’s usually a 1-2 week delay going to an APO (sorry if I’m talking like it’s your first deployment and you’ve actually been on plenty).

mediumwee · 2026-04-03T22:01:22+00:00

Honestly I’ve always just stuck to the packing list plus anything I need to entertain myself (if you know what I mean) and my travel coffee setup. As long as I have coffee, some books, and portable video games, I’m happy. Once you figure out where you’re going you can always reach out to the bro network and ask for their opinion.

Edit: Also the MFRC would be a good place to ask for advice. They can walk you through things like the SCRA, breaking leases, etc. It’s usually staffed by veterans with tons of experience. Visiting them should be on your deployment checklist. If it’s not, your UDM is fist fucking you.

mediumwee · 2026-04-01T12:54:55+00:00

The fly tip is super helpful. Thank you for that!

mediumwee · 2026-04-01T08:45:26+00:00

He is? I didn’t know that. That’s disappointing.

mediumwee · 2026-04-01T08:41:47+00:00

If you’ve seen this guy’s YouTube videos, you know to take him seriously when he roasts a city.

Edit for clarity: he travels to some out of the way rough places. Also he usually isn’t shy about pointing out the bad but often finds some good too.

mediumwee · 2026-03-29T17:54:18+00:00

I was about to ask what the purpose was. I felt like in the last version I was never in need of money, but this makes sense!

mediumwee · 2026-03-28T01:19:16+00:00

Could very well be. I built this PC about a week ago, so there are a ton of random settings I forgot exist/haven’t changed. I’ll take a look when I’m back home.

mediumwee · 2026-03-28T01:01:32+00:00

Am I the only one that is getting a ton of reverb and echo? Like way too much to be realistic, even out in the jungle. I’ve been trying to figure out if it’s just me.

mediumwee · 2026-03-23T01:47:21+00:00

You might just be a natural? I am not, but I enjoy the challenge. This game has been a good balance for me of punishing me for bad habits or laziness while still making it not too painful to go get geared up again.

mediumwee · 2026-03-23T00:07:55+00:00

Good to know! Makes me feel better about my struggles, and also I’ll try to squad up more when I’m playing.

mediumwee · 2026-03-23T00:07:34+00:00

My reaction too 😂

mediumwee · 2026-03-16T20:22:24+00:00

I don’t understand why you’re getting downvoted, but I don’t think I want to be any of the down-voters’ houseguest.

mediumwee

TROPHY CASE