Page 38 - Feb 20 TNT

Not just a vocation. Sharing the passion with sons and daughters.
Losing Our Superpowers
Imagine how you would feel if we could remove the FAA, check rides, flight physicals and large expenses from the flying equation. What all pilots are faced with is a complex decision matrix of function, utility, capability and cost. Add in our ability to jump through physical, mental, financial and regulatory hoops and our personal requirements of an airplane in order to fly. Despite the challenges that we can’t change, pilots from all walks of life negotiate these hurdles and successfully dance the skies on laughter-silvered wings. I’ve talked to a few of my airline captain friends that have retired. Apparently, it’s a traumatic transition as you become a powerless mortal and lose your influence over the development of mankind. Once flying has saturated your life and defined who you are, often the transition to a non-PIC life results in a dangerously lugubrious shadow being cast over all other activities.
But some have a resurrecting outlet for their passion for flight via GA. And a surprising number of retired airline pilots elect to continue with Part 135 and fractional type flying. Some even resort to, gasp, simulator instructing in order to keep their fingers in the pie and hand on the throttles. This past December, I completed my last R-18 (maneuvers validation) recurrent training, and in the
36 • TWIN & TURBINE / February 2020