Hmmmm....

"The most complete and comprehensive Alaska flying job information available from a single source..."

Alaska flight operations and Alaska Flying

Google "now hiring float plane pilots" and see what happens. :)

Come to Australia and fly for the Royal Flying Doctor Service. You get to fly into some of the most amazing and remote places on Earth.

This would be mine!

Guys, flying "rich people out of Vegas" is not as fun as it sounds, and Michael has already done that.

Alaska is a place that I always wanted to explore and if this happened to me would head that direction. Its the right time of year, head there in March/April and try to find a seat up there.

I know a few people up there if you need some help.

Or flying into PNG. That is still the "Wild West" and would be really different. Plus the scuba diving is excellent there.

Your really living a dream we all have! Its not starting over, its never starting over, its simply just change in, "attitudes and latitudes". You have the skill of piloting and the hours and record to prove it, so why give up something up you love? The romantic in you might consider flying cargo around Central and South America living in some cool beach town away from the hustle! Perhaps the need is to really find inner peace and only you have the answer. I lived that once..................

When I was in my 30's I quite a great job and sold everything including our home and took a wife and three year old son on an adventure of a lifetime. We bought a 35 foot sailboat, named it "Rozinante" and spent three years cruising the coast of the states and Bahamas. Wonderlust is what we were, working part time jobs as needed and enjoying the freedom and independence that living on a boat can offer. No regrets, never. Only wonderful memories.

You know what you want. Just follow your passion and you'll get there soon enough.

Bob
73.5T

I would consider flying rich docs and others in their own cesna's back in forth from wherever. I know there is still a decent market down here for that. Most that I know are low maintenance and easy going. Cake job for $100/hr.

Go East.

In such circumstances, I think most people want to get out and see the world. But you have been there and done that.. I am not so sure about the Key West / Lahina - bartender / dive shop route. Just too transient in nature. I think a man like you would be bored in a few weeks. A project, some sort of project. Someplace. Something..

I would get out of flying. You have 27K+ hours. Peace Corps, bartending, etc are all good ideas. It's hard for guys who aren't pilots to realize that it's not ALL that fun....unless, of course you're just out tooling around. "Flying rich doctors" sucks....bad. I flew corporate for a while and it sucks.

There were a few years that I was out of aviation, and I did apply for the Peace Corps. I was accepted to go to Eastern Europe and teach basic IT stuff to school kids. In hindsight, I wish I would have done it. I would have lived abroad for 2 years, gotten a nice stipend, had insurance, and then gotten a re-adjustment bonus once I got back stateside. I think the Peace Corps would be a great thing for you to do!

+1

I'm glad I did it but I'm also glad I decided to not make a permanent career out of it.

Most days it's fun and enjoyable - like any job. But then there are those days that come up every so often that take a year off your life...

The great thing about your situation is that you don't have to commit to anything - it's not like you need to start a new career or plan what you're going to do for the next ten years. If I was in your shoes, I would pack up the truck and head out tomorrow to . . . well, it doesn't really matter. I know where I would go and what I would do for a day or two or a month, and then move on, kind of a walkabout.


Thinking about this is not good for my mood.

The mental image of you walking the vacant lots of Detroit with a metal detector is hilarious. :D:eek::eek::D My guess is you'd last less than five minutes.


"What the f___ that fat honky doin? Check this sh__ out"

What a world. While most men live lives of quiet desperation, some "lose everything," wander to a warm and beautiful tropical location and live out the rest of their lives in greater peace and happiness than they had ever known before. Meanwhile, the rest of us continue the "quiet desperation" thing.

If I had to start over, I guess the first question would be "where." Maybe some place dark and cold. Or maybe some place warm and sunny. Hmmmmm....... That's a difficult decision.

Buy a copy of "Henderson the Rain King" by Saul Bellow and read it.

Ummm, I'd be hesitant about taking a flying job in PNG. All the flying jobs I've heard of there are flying "mining" (military) equipment to remote places. A pilot mate was flying a plane there for the first time and his co-pilot let rip with an AK47 type gun at some huts. My mate said "What the hell are you doing", and the other guy said "If I don't shoot at them they'll shoot at us".

pilot you're in a similar situation I'm about to be in, albeit with a lot more experience and potentially a lot more money.


Here's what I'd do. Take what dough you have, put it in a bank somewhere safe. Take about $20K, stuff it in your pockets and get a one way ticket somewhere, anywheres. Think the pacific. Guam, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, the Philippines, Marshall Islands, Saipan... etc.

When you get there, just do whatever it is that comes natural. Sit on the beach like a bum for a few days. Then figure out what it is that you can do there. Teach schoolkids maybe? Bartend? House painter? Enjoy the real estate for a while, and, after a few months if it gets boring, come back home.


But if it doesn't get boring... or at least doesn't get stressful (which is probably the main goal here)... then stay and enjoy yourself, you've found it.

How is it that Fing says he wants to start over from scratch, and you all suggest flying jobs. Starting over does not entail doing what you've done your entire life guys.

Someone is not paying attention.

BTW, if any pelican ever, for any reason, finds himself homeless- ever- my sofa is always open to each and every one of you for a couple weeks.

Seriously.

What about temporarily homeless, say on holiday?