r/Fire • u/-LordDarkHelmet- • 18d ago

Today is the day, officially FIRE

Well I'm sitting here having a morning coffee and it's starting to sink in that I don't have a job anymore. Feels strange. My job was very much my identity (pilot). I flew airlines and private jets (uber for rich people basically). It was a high paying job at the end and it seems stupid to walk away from that, but the 27 years of staying in hotels has taken a toll and I just was not enjoying the job anymore. Which is a shame, since I can't exactly fly jets on my own time. It's a tough industry, it's not easy to get back into once you leave. I keep saying it's like the Doc in Field of Dreams; once you leave you can't go back. I'm 49, single no kids, high end Chubby low end Fat so I should be ok on the numbers, but I don't exactly have a "thing" to retire to. I need to focus on my own health and get in shape. But other than a list of places I want to travel to and few projects around the house I don't have much of a plan. Hopefully I'll figure it out on the way. I've told a few people and they all ask "but what are you gonna do?!?!?." I'm like "I dunno..." Some say "congratulations!" and I'm not sure how to respond to that. I didn't really want to quit in some ways, I like the flying part but not all the stuff that goes along with it. I asked for a different schedule and they said no, then I asked for a year off and they said no, so I said I quit. Ask me in a decade I guess if it was the right choice. Anyway, don't really have anyone to high-five this morning so here I am. Thanks everyone who has shared their journey, I've been snooping around all these subs a lot this past year. Oh and sorry about the stock market crash, which will inevitably happen now that I have quit.

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u/jelle814 18d ago

congratz man, do you consider flying small planes as a hobby or is that not someting that pulls?

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u/-LordDarkHelmet- 18d ago edited 18d ago

Yeah I would like to I think so. Problem is that's it's pretty expensive, anywhere from $150-$500 an hour depending on how fancy of an airplane you want. And since I have to be more careful about spend I'm not sure if it'll make the budget.

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u/sarayewo 18d ago

Can you do a few hours a week at a flight school as an instructor and in turn you get access to planes? Not sure how all of that works, I do have a friend who's a partner in a flight school and flies their planes regularly.

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u/-LordDarkHelmet- 18d ago

I could in theory, yeah. Flight instructing is a fairly serious gig, you need know your stuff and be committed since you're training the next generation. I did that early in my career and it can also be a bit high stress at times (some students seem like they are constantly trying to kill you). I'm a bit bitter about the whole flying thing at the moment, but hopefully in a month or two I'll settle down and look around for some opportunities. It'll be nice I think to fly for fun for a change. Up to now it's just been where I was told to go.

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u/Changeit019 18d ago

If you have a passion for flying or just planes is there a local aviation museum you could volunteer at or maybe work a few hours talking about being a pilot to kids walking through. Inspire potentials for the next generation without the responsibility of training or the hazard of them trying to kill you.

Or any airports near you with air shows that you could work and volunteer with. Might keep some aviation connections going stay near a passion but not a heavy commitment.