A Pilot's Journey

As most people are aware the airlines are in a serious situation right now due to high oil prices. Most of the major airlines are cutting back capacity and dropping routes as well as furloughing a fair number of pilots. Due to the actions of the majors, many of the regional airlines are suffering as well as they usually fly code share for the majors. Now is not a good time to be trying to get a job with an airline as most are probably not hiring now. The airline industry is a very cyclical industry with ups and downs. The best time to get in would be on an upswing and try to get your seniority secured before the next downswing so you are less likely to be furloughed. I am still a year or more away from looking to the airlines so I am hopeful that they will be starting an upswing by then. I have not been doing the type of flying I did last year to get my ratings completed, but at this time with the state of the airlines I am no longer in a huge rush, I will still continue and complete all my ratings and start instructing, but I may only instruct part time at least until I get a feel for whether or not there are enough students to warrant going full time. In the mean time I will continue to work away in my secure little cubicle and fly whenever I can to finish up my ratings and perhaps someday I will escape this box forever to dash around the skies during better times. Till next time, fly safe...

Due to the high price of gas I have been looking for the past couple of weeks for an alternative travel method. I have seen a lot of little 50cc scooters around the area as gas continues to climb higher. I have ridden motorcycles in the past and decided to start looking for another one. I expect to get around 50mpg with a motorcycle and in doing so save a lot of money over getting 16mpg in my truck. After watching Craig’s list like a hawk for a couple of weeks I finally found a great bike for a great deal. I bought a 95 Kawasaki Ninja ZX6 E3 for $1500. I should be able to make that back in gas savings in a short time. In the past I owned a Honda shadow cruiser so having a sports bike is new to me and I never thought I would like the way they sit, but after checking it out and test driving it I found that I am not laying over the gas tank as I thought I would be. The only problem with the bike is that it was laid down by a previous owner and the right side has several scratches, I might get new fairings and fix the damage at some point, but for know I will just have to live with it. And now for a picture, this picture is of the good side which has not been laid down.