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There are sailors now born in the 90's!

HAL Pilot

Well-Known Member
None
Contributor
Threadjack!!!!

.... like if they don't want to go out to grab dinner at 4:30 when we are on an RON (how ya gonna get the "Early Bird special" if ya wait).:icon_tong
From another website....

Pilots are cheap bastards!!

When my company hired me two decades ago, one of the first things I noticed about many of my fellow pilots was that they were cheap bastards. I consider this to be a compliment to my fellow aviators.

Hotels offer a plethora of freebies that end up in the homes of pilots. There are soaps, shampoos, lotions, sewing kits, amenity kits, and other things of strategic value. On the nightstands in hotel rooms, there usually is a pad of stationary and a cheap pen. The stationary pads are commonly found in the cockpits, on the built in clipboards, but the pens are too valuable to leave behind. If there are free newspapers at the
front desk, we are certain to take one. At some of the better hotels you can find a newspaper and a Wall Street Journal at the same time, major score.

There is the story of the pilot who finally sends his first child off to college. The young adult returns for the holidays and proceeds to tell the parents everything they have learned. The parents are told many things, but their child was most impressed by learning that most bars of soap are actually very big and shampoo comes in bottles that are bigger than their thumb. Being raised on hotel toiletries brought home by the student's father, the young person was ignorant to this important part of life, only because the father, a pilot, was a cheap bastard.

Discounts and deals abound in the pilot world. Almost every airport eatery and hotel restaurant offers a percentage off of whatever we purchase to eat. There are coupons for free drinks or buffets. I have seen 50% off in some places, which none of us can pass up. I was at a coffee shop in a layover hotel recently, getting ready to head to the airport. The young woman working the counter got me my coffee and handed me two big chocolate chip cookies for free. Of course I shyly refused, but she insisted that I take the cookies. 'You never know when you might get hungry', She said. I was trying to smile and not drool at the same time.

This treatment is not unusual. I was walking through the Cincinnati airport once, when a worker at the Mrs. Fields Cookies counter waved me over. 'You can have all the left over cookies for five dollars', the counter person said. I walked away with three bags of cookies and boasted about my good deal for weeks after. I had realized that the cookies kiosk was closing and instead of throwing the cookies away, they would offer them all at a price no pilot could refuse. I scored those bags of cookies several times but got so sick of them, that I eventually refused the good deal.

The same thing happened in BuffaloNew York one night. We were doing a turn around, so we were there for about an hour. I ran down to the cafeteria and ordered some wings. The man working the counter asked if I wanted extra wings. I said, 'Sure, sounds good'. He brought out three large to go boxes of wings, mild, medium, and hot. We stuffed ourselves. When ordering a meal where the food is scooped up in a predetermined amount, the generous workers dishing out the food usually
add a partial scoop more, smiling at us while they do it. I have never seen a pilot tell them to take it back.

There is a good chain of communication amongst pilots, allowing us to share the free things or good deals in our layover cities. A fellow pilot told me about free coffee at the hotel coffee shop in Boston. He said, 'You have to be in uniform to get the free coffee'. I mentioned this to my copilot the evening we arrived at that hotel. The next morning I was in the lobby of the hotel studying the subway map. We had the entire
day off and I was interested in visiting a museum. I was surprised to see the copilot walk by in his uniform, seven hours before we were to be picked up. He marched over to the coffee shop and picked up a free cup of coffee, saving himself about $2.50.'You make me proud', I said. He smiled, held up the free cup of Joe in a salute, and then proceeded to pick up a newspaper someone left on a chair. He went back to his room, drank free coffee and read a free paper. It doesn't get much better than that.

I worked the Hawaiian operation for several years. Our layover hotel was at a gargantuan hotel complex with three, forty story towers. Through the grapevine, I had found out that the rooftop of every tower had a hot tub on it with an ice chest of soda next to it. Access to the rooftop was limited to the expensive business rooms on the upper floors. This was by no means a deterrent to us pilots. I discovered that if I took the elevator as high as I could go without using a room key, I could then take the stairwell up the remaining floors, to the rooftop. I was not interested in the hot tub, but drinking a free soda and taking in the incredible view from forty stories up, was great. I spent many hours up there over those years and never saw another person on that roof. On my way down one day I decided to take the elevator from the highest floor. As I walked towards the elevator I saw a door open to what looked like a lounge. I walked into the room and realized this was a suite converted into the business club lounge.

The suite was gorgeous, fronting the ocean, filled with food, drinks, newspapers, and a self-serve bar. The best part of this situation was realizing that there were no hotel employees in the room. I was alone with platters of food, free drinks, and 24 hours off. I settled in like I owned the joint. I left two hours later, only when another hotel guest entered the room. I went back many times, but one day, when I walked in, I
saw a woman sitting behind a desk. 'Good afternoon sir, can I assist you?' she said. I wanted to say, 'Yeah, can you just go away from this good deal I have?' I remained calm and said, 'I am trying to find my boss, and I was told to meet him here.'

'Oh, no problem, what is his name, I can look him up and contact him.' she said.

I was digging myself into a hole. I politely refused her help and left quickly. I could tell she was eying me suspiciously. When I got to the elevators, I turned around to smile at her. Next to every elevator were a big bowl of tropical fruit and a stack of newspapers. In an act of defiance, I picked up a papaya, a mango, and a Wall Street Journal while smiling. The elevator arrived quickly and I left. I called the front desk and asked when the business lounge was staffed. I was told that at 4:30 every afternoon, the business lounge was staffed. I had my answer. From then on I made sure I never spent time in that room after 3:30.

I spread the word about the rooftop and lounge to my fellow pilots. One of my fellow pilots brought his wife with him on a trip to Honolulu. He convinced the wife to go to the rooftop with him and sit in the hot tub. It was a beautiful night and they ended up having sex, then more sex, then running around the rooftop naked. Just as they were getting back to putting their clothes on, a security team came out onto the roof. Both parties were surprised as hell to see each other. The pilot apologized to the security team as he was putting his clothes on, grabbed a couple of free sodas and left with his humiliated and unhappy wife.

There was a time when most airlines served good food, especially in first class. I am allowed to sit in first class when I travel off duty. The pass system at my company allows me to travel unlimited times a year. Some years ago a pilot told me that over the weekend he took his wife and children on a flight that was a round trip flight to another city. He flew out on the first leg enjoying a nice lunch and free drinks
in first class. They were on the ground for an hour before the same aircraft with the pilot and his family still on it, returned to its point of origin. He and his family enjoyed a first class dinner on the way back, the children enjoying a few ice cream sundaes. That was how they spent their day and evening, enjoying free food, drinks, desserts, and movies. The monthly food bills were less than normal because the pilot was uncanny in his ability to be a cheap bastard.

Not that long ago I was riding to a hotel for a layover. Across the street from my hotel I saw a sign on the marquis of another hotel advertising free wireless Internet. My monthly schedule requests were due the next day and I needed Internet access to send my requests in. Instead of paying for the service in my hotel, I walked across the street that next morning to use the free Internet at the other hotel. I walked past the lobby and sat in a public area near a fireplace that had couches and coffee tables. As I was booting up my computer I saw a large urn of coffee across the room. 'What the heck' I thought, it's just a cup of coffee. I got up and fixed myself a large cup of coffee, just the way I like it. I was working on my computer with a solid Internet connection, drinking my coffee, when a hotel employee approached me. 'Sir, the breakfast buffet is now open, would you like me to show you what we have this morning?' she said. Without the slightest hesitation, I said, 'Why that would be great, thank you.' I proceeded to make myself a waffle,
gather a plate of eggs and bacon, a glass of juice, and a container of strawberry banana yogurt. I was still there three hours later when they closed down the breakfast area. I was asked if I would like anything else, so I asked if I could take a snack to go. I have shared this nugget with many of the pilots I fly with, and they too have enjoyed a scrumptious morning buffet, across the street.

This story could go on and on as there are endless examples of pilots being cheap bastards, but there is one last example I would like to share with you.

About 16 years ago, I was an engineer on the Boeing 727. The captain brought a bag on board at the beginning of our trip. He handed me the paper bag and told me to put it in a safe place. When we got to our destination that night, he asked me for the bag. During our four-day trip, each day would start out the same, he would hand me the bag, I would put it out of harms way, and he would ask for it at the end of the day. On the last day he handed as he handed me the bag, I heard the clinking of glass. 'Be careful with that,' he said. I asked him what was in the bag. He told me there were about ten light bulbs in the bag. I asked him why he carried all of these light bulbs around. He said to me, 'I take the burned out light bulbs from home and exchange them with the working light bulbs in our hotel rooms.' I was at a loss for words, but I remember thinking that this guy is one cheap bastard.

OK…Here's a true story I've told some of you but not all. I flew with a guy that turned in his dirty uniform shirts, this was before 9/11, to a charity. He would come back a few days later when they were hanging on a rack & buy them back for .50-.75 cents. He said it was cheaper than sending them to the laundry & he'd get credit for a Tax deduction for his charitable donation- Now that that guy is cunningly cheap!
 

Ave8tor

Bringing the Noise!™
pilot
I'm 28, and only a few months younger than the IP that took me on my CCX, But it's always a great kick in the ass to remind you how old you are during the Marine Corps Ball. The last one we had at my unit before I left for TBS was quite funny.

We were at Pala Casino in San Diego with all of MAG-46, when they did the Oldest-to-Youngest part of the cake cutting tradition. The oldest was a Master Gunnery Sergeant (funniest guy to watch on the dance floor...) who was born around 1950 or so. You could almost hear a collective WOW! from the crowd, but the real kicker was when they introduced the youngest. He was some PFC born 1988 (or around there, it was a while ago), and the whole room goes.. OOOOooohhhhhhh! From outside the banquet hall, one might have thought we were watching a video of someone getting kicked in the balls. I still remember it like it was yesterday it was so funny.
 

BACONATOR

Well-Known Member
pilot
Contributor
I'm 28, and only a few months younger than the IP that took me on my CCX, But it's always a great kick in the ass to remind you how old you are during the Marine Corps Ball. The last one we had at my unit before I left for TBS was quite funny.

We were at Pala Casino in San Diego with all of MAG-46, when they did the Oldest-to-Youngest part of the cake cutting tradition. The oldest was a Master Gunnery Sergeant (funniest guy to watch on the dance floor...) who was born around 1950 or so. You could almost hear a collective WOW! from the crowd, but the real kicker was when they introduced the youngest. He was some PFC born 1988 (or around there, it was a while ago), and the whole room goes.. OOOOooohhhhhhh! From outside the banquet hall, one might have thought we were watching a video of someone getting kicked in the balls. I still remember it like it was yesterday it was so funny.

That, to me, is gonna be a tough one. As a Div-O, I'm going to be younger than a lot of my junior enlisted. I guess how old I am shouldn't even ever come up, but still gotta get my own head around that.
 

insanebikerboy

Internet killed the television star
pilot
None
Contributor
Ya, you're right. I shouldn't say JE, although some will be my age. But absolutely many of the POs will be.

Yeah, and that can be the tough part. They are the same age so it's pretty easy to be all chummy with them. Best advice a former chief of mine gave me when I found out I was going to USNA. He said, "take care of your guys, don't be your sailors fuckin' friend". I'll never forget that.
 

Brett327

Well-Known Member
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
Ya, you're right. I shouldn't say JE, although some will be my age. But absolutely many of the POs will be.

It will be another 2-3 years before you're in a position to be a DIVO - don't sweat it.

Brett
 

BACONATOR

Well-Known Member
pilot
Contributor
It will be another 2-3 years before you're in a position to be a DIVO - don't sweat it.

Brett

Quite the contrary; I am actually looking forward to it. Although I'm sure as the FNG I'll fuck things up and learn through the school of hard knocks. Hopefully I have a good chief.

/sipping the BOLTC koolaid
 

D_Rob

Lead LTJG
BOLTC...what's that? :p

It's delicious, once it touches the lips...

I hope there is an Ensign out there with the last name Me, or something that sounds like Me, cause that would be hilarious.

How are those BI flights treating you? BTW LT will ask some of the most esoteric questions...
 

ajb624

New Member
I just found out that my on-wing is about 5 mos older than me, and that he was going through Flight Training while I was on my second deployment to the gulf. Personally I like the dynamic, it makes it easier to relate.
 

EM1toNFO

Killing insurgents with my 'messages'!!
None
I'm 28 now and will graduate and commission 1 week before I turn 31. Therefore, I could and probably will be the oldest SNFO at the schoolhouse during my time there. I know there will possibly be a NFO to SNA there that will be older than me, but unlikely.

I was born in 1980.. I recruited for active duty enlisted and helped two plebes apply for the NROTC program. Well, guess what, they are both in my unit @ JU.. talk about WEIRD!!
 

MIDNJAC

is clara ship
pilot
^^ I've met quite a few older guys down here (P'cola and Corpus) who were priors, so you might be surprised. I started API as a 25 yo, and most folks were actually my age or slightly older (much different than my previous NROTC experience).

edit: oh just noticed that you are a pretty new OC, so yeah you will probably be that old guy among studs by the time you get there
 
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