Capt. Dan Unger is 58 and flew for American Airlines. His passion for flying was kindled at an early age. One day in 1966 when Unger was 16, dad said, "Danny, would you like to take flying lessons?" The next day, Unger took his first lesson in a Cessna 150.
He worked through most of his FAA certificates while still in high school. After college, he reached his first career objective: Air Force pilot. After three and one-half years of active duty, during which he served as a T-37 instructor, he segued into the Air National Guard where he flew F-100s and A-7s.
While in the Guard, Unger hooked up with American Airlines in 1978, and became a flight engineer. He worked his way up to the left seat of a Boeing 767.
Unger says, "The airline game is just like any other profession, and the young folks getting in the game best realize that. There is a lot of dues-paying. Think about a physician and what that doctor has to go through. Internship can be brutal with long hours and low pay. Next is residency. It's, what, four to six years before that new physician makes a good buck and achieves a decent lifestyle? It's the same with the airlines. But, as one senior pilot told me when I was young, 'It only gets better.'"
What kept him going through the good and the bad? "You know, I love to fly! I think that love is what gave me the stamina to put up with the crud. That love of flying thing is such an innate, almost soulful characteristic--if you have a genuine affair with flight, it can give you strength. It is what brings you back after a furlough. If you don't have that fire in your belly for flight, then piloting an airliner is just a job."
Unger, who still flies a Cessna 180 and a Pitts, has these recommendations. "Know where you are going. Set a career goal early. It's not enough to say, 'I want to fly.' I knew in high school that I was going to be a military pilot first and, of course, that opened the door to the airlines later on. Right up there in importance is having a Plan B. Because of the nature of this business, you can't afford to put all of your eggs in one basket. There is a great possibility of getting furloughed at least once in your career. Be ready for it with something. Thankfully for me, I had the Air Guard."
When asked, "Would you do it all over again?" he says, "Absolutely!"
The doctor captain
Capt. Bill Rutherford not only flew for United Airlines for more than 30 years, he also served as vice president of flight standards and training in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Like Unger, Rutherford's dad was the nurturing force in his aviation development. After a collegiate career at places like Stanford and Cornell where he joined a flying club, he earned a medical degree. By graduation, he had acquired both the title of "doctor" and 1,100 hours of flying time, mostly in twins. But the flying bug just could not be satisfied flying small aircraft. So, in 1969, UAL hired him.
Rutherford recalls, somewhat wistfully, his days on the line. "I never got tired looking out the window. In all those years, it was still a kick to go out to the airport, strap on a 727, and fly."
What's good about flying for the airlines? "It is a sense of community. An airline pilot not only has his mate in the other seat up front, but the flight attendants, rampers, gate agents, and dispatchers. It is our world and so many participants in that world are such neat people. That spirit of 'we are all in this together' while flying the line is a very comforting, almost a family feeling."
To future airline pilots, Rutherford says, "Have a fallback position. You never know when circumstance will take you out of the flight deck, whether it's industry economics or health issues. But let me add this, and this is so very difficult to quantify. Become a person of integrity. Honesty and integrity are qualities that are not embraced for the first time on the day an airline hires you."
Engineering a career
Capt. Mark Miller, 59, taxied into Newark after guiding his 767 from Rome on October 23; 2005; signed off on the flight log, and closed a 27-year career with Continental Airlines. His grand vision after high school was an engineering degree at Ohio University. After four years and with college graduation on the horizon, America had other ideas for Miller: he was drafted into the U.S. Army. He joined the Navy first, and by April 1972 had earned the Navy's gold wings and was assigned to flying P-3 Orions, the military version of the four-engine Lockheed Electra airliner. In January 1978, he was hired by Continental.
Through almost three decades, Miller flew 727s, DC-9s, 737s, 757s and 767s. He survived two employer bankruptcies and a prolonged strike.
What kept him going? Like the others, Miller says, "I never got tired of coming to work. Yes, there were financial challenges with the ups and downs that come in this business, but I always had a deep sense of satisfaction at the end of the day for a job well done. I'd do it all again in a heartbeat.
"Love what you're doing," he advises. "Most important, have a back-up plan. This industry can treat you very well if you can weather the inevitable storms. Be prepared."
See a pattern? Love the job, be honest, be prepared for any setbacks--and you can survive, too.
Wayne Phillips is an airline transport pilot with a Boeing 737 type rating. He is a B-737 instructor, an aviation safety consultant in Michigan, and speaker for the AOPA Air Safety Foundation.
