I'd like to relate not only to skill level but to the AGE of this pilot (job, careers)

[Irma10]

It’s about this week famous aircraft landing.

I mean, how it is rewarding both for nation and for people to have commitment to the job.
IMHO, it should inspire all folks encountering age discrimination and feeling “too old”. It is never too old to make what you are born to do!
In every job (pilot, teacher, nurse, artist etc.) excellence always pays off!

[movin'on]

Originally Posted by Irma10

It’s about this week famous aircraft landing.

I mean, how it is rewarding both for nation and for people to have commitment to the job.
IMHO, it should inspire all folks encountering age discrimination and feeling “too old”. It is never too old to make what you are born to do!
In every job (pilot, teacher, nurce, artist etc.) excellence always pays off!

Yes, it's very true. This guy had a 40 year history to include gliding experience. That IS what saved him and these people.

[South Range Family]

Airline pilots recently won a long fought battle against a rule that forced them to retire at 60 years old.

The new mandatory retirement age is 65. It may have been possible to retire at 60 on old time wages, but with today's wages there is no way you can pay alimony to two flight attendants, and still retire at 60.

[JMadison]

Originally Posted by Irma10

It’s about this week famous aircraft landing.

I mean, how it is rewarding both for nation and for people to have commitment to the job.
IMHO, it should inspire all folks encountering age discrimination and feeling “too old”. It is never too old to make what you are born to do!
In every job (pilot, teacher, nurse, artist etc.) excellence always pays off!

Umm... your seem to be missing a few things.

This pilot was an Air Force Academy grad. That means he was hand picked out of high school by a Senator, or Congressman for the best pilot training in the world.

Then he was, therefore and elite pilot in the service. Then after all the high buck tax payer paid for training he got a civilian job that has always paid upper tier money (in part due to the union) to do what is essentially a half time job. Last I read on it (many decades ago) FAA rules were you couldn't fly more than 80 hours a month.

His flight time is about 19,000 hours, so he was flying "full time" for decades.

There's no way this guy's life represents "typical for 57" in any sense of the word.

He got put on an elite path very early in life.

Now, I've always wanted to be a pilot, but guess what (I'm mid 40's now)... pilots I spoke to when I traveled for a large fight jet manufacturer in the *80's* told me to forget it even then. The airlines had piles and piles of resume, and were picking Military Pilots first.

I met an Ex Korean airforce pilot as co-pilot, that was flying for Delta, ahead of Delta's own Comair flight school grads...

Bottom line is, most top notch careers take decades to develop into, you have to start young and you had to know young enough what the path was.

So there really is such a thing as "too late".

And for pilots, mandatory retirement is (or used to be) 60...

So if a 40 something started on it today... had the $150K that you'd need to get anywhere close to enough flight hours for an ATP in say 2 years time... you still couldn't make Captain by retirement.