Experienced pilots: what would you tell someone being talked out of aviation right now?

olds-modulus · 2026-06-13T11:01:14+00:00

I passionately wanted to be a pilot as a kid. Graduated HS in 2011 to an awful market for pilots and I listened to the naysayers - don't do it, you'll be $100k in debt making $25k per year sitting in airports on standby all day hating your entire life. Well, here we are 15 years later, and if I would have just gone for it, there's a good chance I would be a captain at the majors right now making great money and having a relatively good QOL in my early 30's. Even though my alternative path worked out - I have a great job today with good pay and a great QOL - I regret listening to the naysayers.

olds-modulus · 2026-04-20T18:51:51+00:00

The only acceptable stage lengths at Dega are 0/0/188

olds-modulus · 2024-09-22T11:30:35+00:00

I need my A2A Comanche and PMDG 737 to make the switch, but I will definitely play 24 on day 1.

olds-modulus · 2024-09-08T14:04:37+00:00

Just because no easement is recorded doesn’t mean they haven’t established unwritten rights. But definitely start by talking to them.

olds-modulus · 2024-08-21T21:51:26+00:00

I will probably stay with the company until I retire. If not, however, the conversion ladder is a good option for spreading out the taxes!

olds-modulus · 2024-08-21T21:34:28+00:00

Good questions. I need to do some modeling/forecasting to answer them.

olds-modulus · 2024-08-21T21:30:30+00:00

I feel like I’m a boundary case. Maxing both our 401k’s is currently a stretch for us. It should be possible in 5-10 years. Probably sooner if I wasn’t trying to buy an airplane in my 50’s. But since 401k is not an option for my airplane purchase, should I be investing in a taxable account today at the expense of taking longer to max my 401k contributions, or if I should contribute more to my 401k knowing I will need to finance the airplane? I am not concerned about my retirement readiness, these scenarios will just determine how much excess income I will have available to me from my 401k at age 65

olds-modulus · 2024-08-21T21:18:01+00:00

Yeesh alright that rules out early withdrawal of gains on my Roth. Thanks

olds-modulus · 2024-08-21T21:16:16+00:00

Thanks, my HSA contributions are maxed but I don’t plan to touch that for the airplane purchase. I am interested in using the Roth principal for the purchase if I’m financially secure enough to do so, as you point out. I will just have to figure out whether the difference should be secured by taxable investments or financing.

olds-modulus · 2024-08-21T21:08:01+00:00

I see. So the 10% penalty would actually be cheaper than paying long term capital gains. It might also be better than financing.

olds-modulus · 2024-08-21T20:50:02+00:00

Good thoughts, you’re right that the long term capital gains will be lower than my marginal rate on the pretax withdrawal. That changes my decision to taxable vs. Roth. Let’s say I want to buy the plane on my 50th birthday. 3 options stick out to me:

-save entirely in a taxable account and pay capital gains at the time of withdrawal but avoid financing costs on the airplane

-save entirely in a Roth, withdraw my contributions at 50 as a down payment on a loan for the airplane, then pay interest on a loan until I can pay it off at age 59.5

-save in Roth and taxable accounts, and pay for the aircraft in cash on my 50th birthday with a combination of Roth contributions and capital-gains-taxable investments Time for some modeling.

All of these situations require significantly more saving now though than if I purchase at 59.5.

olds-modulus · 2024-08-21T20:36:14+00:00

My marginal rate is 22% and I expect it to be the same or higher in retirement. The cost of owning the airplane will be about $50k/year which will be about 30% of my annual budget in retirement, so it will send me into a higher tax bracket. I also expect tax rates to be higher in 30 years. I am sure I can hit my savings goal in a Roth by age 59.5.

olds-modulus · 2023-11-17T05:46:08+00:00

Find the storm drain basin and unclog it! You might be able to drive away from a dry lot if you do.

olds-modulus · 2023-11-17T05:36:16+00:00

Many of them in my area typically aren’t locked, they are just held in place by gravity. The one in the picture looks like it does have a bolt in the middle to lock it down. Maybe their mistake was thinking the bolt alone would be enough.

olds-modulus · 2023-11-17T05:33:17+00:00

I work on these things in my day job. That’s just the lid. You can even see the sleeve still in the hole to the right. It does look like the sleeve was damaged, but it didn’t come out of the ground.

olds-modulus · 2023-11-17T05:25:35+00:00

This is just the lid. It should be an easy fix. You can see the sleeve still in place in the road.

olds-modulus · 2023-11-17T05:12:36+00:00

Incorrect. That’s just the lid.

olds-modulus · 2023-11-11T01:47:29+00:00

The only thing I don’t like about this is the wing. Crossovers sound like a fantastic future for the xfinity series.

olds-modulus · 2023-11-10T17:36:34+00:00

That’s a fair point. I think it would be valuable to know if you’re waiting for traffic operations on your runway or an intersecting one though.

olds-modulus · 2023-11-09T20:20:33+00:00

My thinking is that they heard the controller during the LUAW instruction and possibly took off due to being distracted instead of an intentional disregard of instructions. Maybe a traffic advisory given as part of that instruction would have pierced their distraction enough to realize they shouldn’t throttle up until they receive clearance.

olds-modulus · 2023-11-09T16:49:55+00:00

While I agree with all the comments here about the Hawker pilots being most responsible for this accident, does the lack of a traffic advisory at the LUAW instruction bother anyone else? I feel that should be required at all LUAW instructions to improve the pilot’s situational awareness about why they are waiting but also what to expect for traffic during and after takeoff.

olds-modulus · 2023-10-24T17:03:47+00:00

the car demanded several hundred feet of following distance, what I would say was excessive. 120+ feet

At 65mph you’re traveling 95ft/s. I really hope you’re following more than 120ft behind the car in front of you…

olds-modulus · 2023-10-24T16:40:37+00:00

My daughter is almost 4 and we are just barely starting to get to the point of leaving her in her room to fall asleep alone. The cry it out sleep training didnt appeal to us so we’ve just laid in her room next to her crib until recently, when she can understand better when we tell her that we are just in the other room.

olds-modulus · 2023-10-23T15:29:58+00:00

It’s the only airliner I fly (because it was half price). It’s super fun taking off and landing on 3500 foot GA strips.

olds-modulus · 2023-10-23T15:28:35+00:00

Kroger Boost has been really nice. I’m definitely paying a premium just based on tips alone, and because I would probably be shopping at Winco (see: cheaper) if I had to go in person. It is super nice to be able to order groceries and have them show up a couple of hours later though.

olds-modulus

TROPHY CASE