Helicopter to Fixed Wing Pros and Cons

I've been a Fixed Wing Pilot since 1978 . Commercial since 1980. The world of Aviation changes rapidly , but those embedded into it , like Crew Family , learn to adapt to a sort of lifestyle a bit off centre from the ordinary. I flew with my own Dad , but rarely , between the years 1960 and 1965 , but he was lost , flying , and died , July 08 , 1965.

I grew up in an Airline family as well , but as an Aviation Orphan , which set me apart from most of the Industry . Eventually I began to get over the trauma of loosing my Dad to his vocation , Commercial Flying , and began to explore the career .

I understand completly, I felt your pain in a different way. We almost lost him a number of times. When the phone would ring while he was on a trip, our hearts would stop for a moment. We were not allowed to answer the phone. One time, dad was in LAX waiting for his turn around flight to O'hare, his DC10 never made it. Dad was a B-25 "straffer" pilot in the South Pacific, and he ended up "flying" from age 22 to age 60 . He loved flying and when he was retired at age 60 he (as so many) didn t understand. He always told me, "the only thing you need to learn to be a good pilot is ......how not to throw up" . Thanks for posting. Stay safe.

Damn That's Sad . Only One Father - To lose him like that , it's as if he never existed .

When I was young ( I was 5 when Jack Alfred Steele's DC - 6 exploded in flight , killing him and 51 innocent passengers - Wiki Canadian Pacific Flight 21 ) , my world ended - Dad and me watched JFK get shot - He would walk me around on his shoulders to Little Drummer Boy , then , when I was just 5 and a half , he went to work , and vanished like a ghost , a simple one hour flight to Prince George British Columbia , then to Whitehorse Yukon Territory . He never made it . Burned into the BC Forest One Hour after leaving Vancouver Airport - Last Words to my Father - ' Don't Crash , Dad . '

July 08 , 1965 . boom gone .