I don't know how the rest of you old farts feel.....but I'm getting tired of this "New" generation
This winter I've had several capable looking young bucks wanting to be "Bush Pilots" So one by one I took them out into the bush for training. Not a single one of them came back the next day for their follow up training

I called them the following day and asked what was up??? They said they were sore

Even with a blown disc I guess this old fart can cut bush alot faster than they can pile it

I hear you and I'm only 29. Granted some are better than others but I can't believe how lazy most of the younger guys I work with are. Things are most definitely changing and it scares the hell out of me.

Haha...you have to dangle more carrot. Haven't you been watching Ice Pilots?

So just how many kids DO you offering to take "bush flying?"

"Isn't there supposed to be an airstrip here?"

chickenair wrote:I called them the following day and asked what was up??? They said they were sore

What was sore their bodies or there wallets? You can't fly like you use to... I hear.

I do it. I try to cram as much training as I can out of the least amount of time it cost too much any other way.

I'm betting each generation for time immemorial, has thought the one following nothing but a bunch of lazy numbskulls. But somehow, they always seem to rally and do some amazing things and renew the hope.

But this current bunch.... I dunno. They just might be the first to break the chain.

Gump

chickenair wrote:this "New" generation...several capable looking young bucks...They said they were sore...this old fart can cut bush alot faster than they can pile it

OK okay. I hear you, and sympathize too. Being one of the "new" generation and having dug ditches, and hauled brush to pay for my licence, and am now faced with the impending task of actually landing a job in the air... well, its good to hear who my competition could be...

My boy is 20, no doubt he will do fine. He is smart and a hard worker, well as smart as a 20 year old can be.

I think I remember hearing something like that about forty years ago..or so.
I wonder if I made it..all of those old fogies have since died off!

Rob,

Twenty year olds know EVERYthing already. As we age, we just get dumber. Ask him....he'll tell you that.

I have to say that we've got a group of kids here at the school who are excellent examples of the species in my opinion. Okay, a few of them aren't applying themselves as well as I think they should, but I have NO room to critisize in that regard, based on MY performance as a college freshman.....

I think Gump hit the nail right smack on the head.

MTV

Overall I think you are right....lots of them have no ambition and all they want to do is sit around and play video games. I could not tell you how many I have asked what they want to do when they graduate....their reply, " I dunno, maybe design video games." Parents these days give them everything and they expect it to be that way in life.
There are those that have had a proper upbringing and are striving to succeed in life. These are the ones that give me hope for their generation.
I will brag here a little bit and say my son has turned out ok. He is attending Embry-Riddle majoring in Aerospace engineering. He informed me about a month ago that he was selected (given a slot) in the Air Force Undergraduate Pilot Training Program. He will be going for initial physical stuff this summer and I hope he does well. to say I am proud is an understatement.
So there still are young'ens out there that have some motovation. I have met many of his fellow classmates and it really impresses me on how well behaved and future oriented some of these people are. I guess there still is some hope.
WW

I'm going to say it though...all these youngsters are a lot better at the Internet.

One of the things I have seen with todays gen.,is that they have grown up seeing how easy it is to make a lot of money,with minimal effort.

The dot com era,the stock market and the past real estate bubble,are a perfect example.

My buddies kids have I-pods,computer internet,cable t.v and wii,so they look beatdown when they come to my house and have to play out side.

As it was said,they will rise to the occation,but its a tence time until then.

I think a lot of people are overtaken by new technology, whether it be ipods/pads/or any other I stuff, or a nice new glass cockpit aircraft.....The romance of "bush flying" has been all but lost with people that are younger (I happen to be 26) It takes more than just a good feeling of finishing a tough flight at the end of the day to get these younger folks to take an interest in this sort of flying. I only know this since when I talk to guys and girls my age at the airport they have no clue about this sort of flying....its all Falcon this and Gulfstream that....I do appreciate their enthusiasm for flying jets or turboprops (I happen to fly one myself now) but there is always a soft spot for "bush flying" and hopefully when I'm done with my career (the earlier the better) I will find myself strapped into a PA-18

Just try and get a youngster nowdays, with ink dripping off a new commercial certificate, to move to a native village in rural Alaska, strap on a ratted out C172, 206, 207, whatever... And fly 1,400 hours a year in the mud and shit weather.

Unless it's a native kid, or some dumbshit dinosaur like me who actually likes it, it's gonna be nothing but non-stop whining, bad attitude, and the bare minimum amount of time to get the hell out of there. And boy oh boy, the shame of flying a piston powered airplane, and not turbine or jet, with that year or two total in flying experience and a mighty 2,000 hours to brag about, is way beneath them.

Of course we now have right seaters with less than 500 hours total living the dream in CRJ's. So maybe they have a legitimate gripe for having to fly the old junk.

And... There are always exceptions, and some great new pilots come along now and then too, who have good attitudes and pay their dues with a smile.

Gump

move to a native village in rural Alaska, strap on a ratted out C172, 206, 207, whatever... And fly 1,400 hours a year in the mud and shit weather.

This sounds like heaven! Where do I sign up?

N131CP wrote:This sounds like heaven! Where do I sign up?

It is heaven... If you want to get paid to fly 5 to 8 hours a day in some of the most remote, beautiful, fun places on the planet, and enjoy a totally different culture and way of life. It's certainly not for everyone, but if you go up eyes open and mouth shut, you'll learn that there's a lot more to life than what's considered norm for middle class America.

There's just a steep learning curve in the flying, and in living. Some guys thrive on it. But I've seen a bunch of others though, get right back on the Alaska jet and say, "There's no f**king way." And go right back to wherever home is.

Gump

I had to go there myself to make sure it was the type of flying I had invisioned and it really is. It serves up some of the most interesting pilots I have ever met with a set of skills that isn't an option here in New England....As someone mentioned though the pay sometimes doesn't outweigh the job requirements. I took this corporate job because the money was good and its a nice resume item to have....as soon as I can though I hope to be back in Alaska flying for whatever I can get and making sure I enjoy the whole ride along the way. I think also that as the economy continues to tank that GA flying jobs are becoming more attractive to other people that it hadn't attracted before.....now pilots can't find that 100k job flying airliners or biz jets and instead are going back to the "roots" of flying...I say this as more of a thought then is actual reality but who knows! Listening to everyone talk about flying around AK though keeps my mouth watering for sure and makes great reading for the road! Keep the good info and opinions coming!

Chickenair said:

Even with a blown disc I guess this old fart can cut bush alot faster than they can pile it

I took Bush Pilot training on a forest service brush crew in 1968. Hand piling logging slash. Our crew was 6 kids doing the pile it ing and one old fart sawyer. The six of us had to hustle to keep up with the old guy on the chainsaw. That job taught me that I didn't want to pile it for the rest of my working years.

GumpAir wrote:Just try and get a youngster nowdays, with ink dripping off a new commercial certificate, to move to a native village in rural Alaska, strap on a ratted out C172, 206, 207, whatever... And fly 1,400 hours a year in the mud and shit weather.

I'm one of this "New Generation", and this sounds like the dream to me. If someone wants to give me a job doing this after I get out of school in December, you all know where to find me.

My flight school has a whole fleet (19 planes) of Diamond DA40's with G1000 glass panels, yet I spend most my time in our old PA18 that doesn't even have a radio that really works. That's flying to me

Unless you've got big debts or a family to support I can't see how money makes a difference in considering a flying job in Alaska. Heck - doing that job you must get experiences every day that you couldn't buy no matter how much money you had. And as a bonus you get to work with real people instead of just driving some jackass investment banker to his golf game.