WEBVTT - Ep. 751: The Alaskan Bush Pilot 0:00:31.000 --> 0:00:34.320 Everybody, welcome to uh this that we're gonna call this 0:00:34.400 --> 0:00:37.479 an Alaska wop. This is a FWOP episode many we 0:00:37.560 --> 0:00:41.199 recorded it comes right out and we're in Alaska, so 0:00:41.200 --> 0:00:45.120 it's an Alaska fop. And I'm here with my friend 0:00:45.560 --> 0:00:47.760 and I like to think of him as my personal pilot. 0:00:48.680 --> 0:00:49.040 Vance. 0:00:49.479 --> 0:00:54.480 Here's a Robertus Roberts. Robert's okay, we always call you Roberts. 0:00:57.000 --> 0:01:00.960 I knew Vance is. Vance is a floatplane pilot. This 0:01:01.000 --> 0:01:05.080 is his floatplane right here. This is personal plane. You'd 0:01:05.080 --> 0:01:08.640 call him like a You're a bush pilot. Yeah, like 0:01:08.720 --> 0:01:12.000 Alaska bush pilot flies on floats. I knew Vance prior 0:01:12.400 --> 0:01:15.000 when he was flying down here in southeast Alaska for 0:01:15.240 --> 0:01:20.520 an aviation outfit. He left the aviation outfit started his 0:01:20.560 --> 0:01:23.520 own aviation outfit called black Rock Aviation. And he's a 0:01:23.600 --> 0:01:28.320 one man, one plane show right right. You've been flying 0:01:28.319 --> 0:01:31.000 for how many years floatplanes? 0:01:31.000 --> 0:01:31.839 Twenty three years? 0:01:32.240 --> 0:01:37.520 How long flying in general? Thirty born in Nebraska. 0:01:37.240 --> 0:01:40.240 Colorado, Colorado, lived in Nebraska for a while. 0:01:40.319 --> 0:01:44.040 Okay, yea born in Colorado, lived in Nebraska, came in Alaska. 0:01:44.160 --> 0:01:44.640 What age? 0:01:46.480 --> 0:01:49.720 That's probably about thirty five thirty six? One? 0:01:50.320 --> 0:01:51.640 Had you always known you want to fly. 0:01:52.200 --> 0:01:55.400 Yeah, yeah, it just kind of grew up out in 0:01:55.480 --> 0:01:59.160 rural areas and like the just watching crop testers and stuff, and. 0:01:59.120 --> 0:01:59.920 Oh that's how you got it. 0:02:00.520 --> 0:02:01.000 Yeah. 0:02:01.160 --> 0:02:02.800 So at what point if you want to be a 0:02:02.800 --> 0:02:04.520 pilot and you want to and you want to you know, 0:02:04.800 --> 0:02:06.840 any love remote areas and you like to hunt, you 0:02:06.920 --> 0:02:10.480 like to fish, at what point in your life, at 0:02:10.480 --> 0:02:12.280 what age did you be like, man, if you're going 0:02:12.360 --> 0:02:14.480 to do it doing Alaska? 0:02:16.120 --> 0:02:17.520 What drew you to that part of it? 0:02:19.240 --> 0:02:23.919 I worked for for the airlines is an aircraft mechanic 0:02:23.960 --> 0:02:26.359 for several years before I finished. 0:02:26.000 --> 0:02:27.400 All my ratings the big airlines. 0:02:27.480 --> 0:02:29.560 Yeah, I worked for Content Airlines way back when and. 0:02:29.639 --> 0:02:30.600 Wrenching on airplanes. 0:02:30.680 --> 0:02:31.920 Yeah, I worked for Boeing. 0:02:34.280 --> 0:02:37.519 Anyway, I saw those guys that you know dragging the 0:02:37.560 --> 0:02:40.400 black suitcases around and none of them are smiling. 0:02:40.680 --> 0:02:42.160 Yeah, so it's. 0:02:42.040 --> 0:02:44.040 Like living out of a suitcase. And the ones I 0:02:44.080 --> 0:02:46.280 knew were all divorced. They're different, you know, going through 0:02:46.280 --> 0:02:46.760 a divorce. 0:02:46.800 --> 0:02:48.840 So I drinking in hotel bars every night. 0:02:48.919 --> 0:02:50.880 Oh yeah, I don't think I want to do that route, 0:02:50.919 --> 0:02:54.280 but I want to fly. And then had my private life. 0:02:54.320 --> 0:02:56.360 I actually I had been commercial rating, and then I 0:02:56.400 --> 0:02:59.240 went and uh went and got a floatplane add on, 0:02:59.280 --> 0:03:01.720 and I'm like, Okay, that's it, that's what I want 0:03:01.720 --> 0:03:03.920 to do. I want to fly floats. Yeah, I kind 0:03:03.960 --> 0:03:06.720 of knew I wanted to do that, But getting in 0:03:06.800 --> 0:03:08.799 the door somewhere to do it, it's the tough part 0:03:09.160 --> 0:03:12.040 getting what do you mean getting getting the hours before 0:03:12.080 --> 0:03:14.119 someone will even put you in in the seat. 0:03:14.080 --> 0:03:16.040 Or you mean, like to hire you. You gotta have 0:03:16.240 --> 0:03:18.000 hours commercial hours. 0:03:18.280 --> 0:03:20.399 You gotta have float time, you gotta have Alaska time. 0:03:20.440 --> 0:03:23.560 You gotta have got it. You know all this. Everyone 0:03:23.880 --> 0:03:25.680 has all the requirements. 0:03:25.200 --> 0:03:28.000 But gotcha. So it takes a while to get You 0:03:28.040 --> 0:03:28.880 need to have the job. 0:03:28.960 --> 0:03:31.480 To get the job right, you got to start somewhere else, 0:03:31.680 --> 0:03:33.799 usually in Alaska, like flying wheels or something. 0:03:33.960 --> 0:03:34.360 I see. 0:03:34.960 --> 0:03:37.640 I flew out of Bethel, fair Banks for a year 0:03:38.680 --> 0:03:40.440 and then racked up a bunch of hours up there, 0:03:40.440 --> 0:03:42.920 and then I got back down here as a to 0:03:43.000 --> 0:03:43.680 fly floats. 0:03:43.920 --> 0:03:46.400 And this is like, this is like the world's capital 0:03:46.480 --> 0:03:49.680 floatplane activity Southeast Alaska. 0:03:50.360 --> 0:03:52.240 I don't know if it is anymore. It used to be. 0:03:52.600 --> 0:03:55.520 Uh Lake could's pretty busy with floatplanes two up and 0:03:55.560 --> 0:03:56.240 anchorage and stuff. 0:03:56.280 --> 0:03:57.040 Okay, got it. 0:03:57.720 --> 0:03:59.760 Yeah, there's not as much industry as there used to 0:03:59.800 --> 0:04:01.880 be here as far as like commercial industry. There's a 0:04:02.120 --> 0:04:05.320 there's a tourism, but there used to be a lot 0:04:05.360 --> 0:04:08.080 of logging camps and stuff. And I kept floatplanes are 0:04:08.080 --> 0:04:09.720 really busy almost year. 0:04:09.680 --> 0:04:10.480 Round, got it. 0:04:10.600 --> 0:04:10.960 Got it. 0:04:11.320 --> 0:04:15.040 So as as that industry is dried up, that's affected 0:04:15.080 --> 0:04:19.039 how many floatplane operators are working and how many hours 0:04:19.080 --> 0:04:19.479 you can get. 0:04:19.600 --> 0:04:22.520 I would say, so, yeah, you guys aren't find as 0:04:22.520 --> 0:04:25.000 many hours as they used to. Yeah, unless you're hauling, 0:04:25.200 --> 0:04:26.960 unless you have the mail contracts or something like that. 0:04:27.440 --> 0:04:29.000 And a ton of guys, like in, a ton of 0:04:29.000 --> 0:04:32.800 guys in your occupation do flight seeing, right, but you 0:04:33.200 --> 0:04:35.560 tend to do you do some of that when you do, 0:04:35.640 --> 0:04:38.800 but you tend to work for outfitters, you fly guys 0:04:38.839 --> 0:04:41.800 like us, right, Yeah, you don't do as many flight 0:04:41.960 --> 0:04:43.200 seeing tours as you do. 0:04:43.320 --> 0:04:47.159 Kind of like working working operations. 0:04:46.520 --> 0:04:49.520 Right, I'll do yeah, fishing lodges and and you know 0:04:49.720 --> 0:04:54.279 people's cabins like you remote remote stuff yea, hunters, yeah, 0:04:54.400 --> 0:04:58.080 stuff like that. But yeah, everyone has to do tours too, 0:04:58.320 --> 0:05:01.599 just fill in the gaps and make some extra extra 0:05:01.640 --> 0:05:02.960 money for the air you know, So. 0:05:03.400 --> 0:05:06.040 How do you here's the thing that often comes up 0:05:06.160 --> 0:05:08.040 and you guys get sick of asking about it. 0:05:08.400 --> 0:05:09.800 How do you, like, how. 0:05:09.640 --> 0:05:12.960 Do you in your mind, how do you quantify the 0:05:13.120 --> 0:05:19.479 risk of being a floatplane pilot in Alaska? And just 0:05:19.520 --> 0:05:22.039 to just real quick, like, you guys are flying by 0:05:22.320 --> 0:05:25.919 You're not instrument flying, no, you're flying by what you 0:05:25.920 --> 0:05:26.560 can see. 0:05:28.080 --> 0:05:29.040 Visual flight rules. 0:05:29.480 --> 0:05:32.800 So like, how because it's the anytime I'll talk to 0:05:32.800 --> 0:05:34.440 people and be like, oh, yeah, we have a cab 0:05:34.480 --> 0:05:36.679 and we go out to our cabin, we charter a plane, 0:05:37.040 --> 0:05:40.240 and people always comment on like what is the risk? 0:05:40.920 --> 0:05:43.320 How do you picture like, how do you deal with 0:05:43.600 --> 0:05:46.159 or imagine the risk of being a pilot? Like you 0:05:46.279 --> 0:05:49.400 have to know, I'm sure you do. You have to 0:05:49.440 --> 0:05:52.560 know in your career a lot of pilots who've had REX. 0:05:52.720 --> 0:05:56.560 Some some survived had REX, and some died. How do 0:05:56.600 --> 0:05:57.840 you begin to think about it. 0:06:01.360 --> 0:06:03.800 If you're not thinking about it about the risk. If 0:06:03.839 --> 0:06:05.640 you're not, if you don't have a little bit of 0:06:05.680 --> 0:06:10.240 a you know, if something doesn't scare you anymore, huh, 0:06:10.560 --> 0:06:14.080 I mean even just a little bit, then you're probably 0:06:14.160 --> 0:06:17.480 not you know, if you're too numb to it, then 0:06:17.520 --> 0:06:19.120 you probably shouldn't be doing it, you know. 0:06:19.320 --> 0:06:21.400 Oh you think so, Yeah, I. 0:06:21.400 --> 0:06:23.359 Mean there's there's risk out here, you know. 0:06:23.560 --> 0:06:26.279 I mean, but but dude, do you ever feel like 0:06:26.360 --> 0:06:29.320 as a pilot do you ever you don't feel afraid 0:06:29.480 --> 0:06:32.080 because you like you're making like you're always making your 0:06:32.080 --> 0:06:34.880 calculation like you're the final say, but yeah, like we 0:06:34.960 --> 0:06:36.360 go where we don't go right right? 0:06:36.480 --> 0:06:36.680 Yeah? 0:06:36.839 --> 0:06:40.120 Yeah, but there's still always that you know that, Yeah, 0:06:40.400 --> 0:06:42.599 that gut feelings like yeah, nope, not going to do that. 0:06:43.440 --> 0:06:44.720 You gotta you gotta listen to that. 0:06:44.839 --> 0:06:46.360 Do you get you get like a do you get 0:06:46.440 --> 0:06:47.040 like a feeling? 0:06:47.120 --> 0:06:47.760 Oh yeah you do. 0:06:48.040 --> 0:06:52.440 Yeah, you don't want to be flying and and uh. 0:06:53.920 --> 0:06:54.400 And have that. 0:06:54.440 --> 0:06:58.440 But you get into situations where it's a little windy here, 0:06:58.560 --> 0:07:00.480 a little gusty there, and it's like, yep, I'm not 0:07:00.560 --> 0:07:02.520 landing there, you know, no good? 0:07:02.680 --> 0:07:04.720 So what is it? What is the biggest enemy? Is it? 0:07:04.760 --> 0:07:08.480 Is it visibility or wind? 0:07:09.080 --> 0:07:10.240 It's usually a combination. 0:07:10.680 --> 0:07:13.840 Yeah, it's usually like it's usually just like wind, sheer, 0:07:13.960 --> 0:07:18.280 gusts and visibility. Yeah, yeah, a lot of times it's 0:07:18.280 --> 0:07:20.960 a combination. Here in Southeast you get all of it 0:07:21.000 --> 0:07:25.680 at one time. You get love visibility with gusty winds 0:07:25.720 --> 0:07:30.640 and and just yeah, it's all. 0:07:32.280 --> 0:07:34.560 It's all. It could be a combination of it. 0:07:34.560 --> 0:07:40.360 It could be I don't know, but the winds are 0:07:42.280 --> 0:07:44.840 it could be pretty bad sometimes here, you know, get 0:07:44.920 --> 0:07:46.800 in the seventies and stuff. But yeah, you're not flying 0:07:46.880 --> 0:07:47.440 during that stuff. 0:07:47.640 --> 0:07:48.560 Seventy miles an hour. 0:07:48.560 --> 0:07:51.880 Oh yeah, winter time, but yeah, we don't fly in that. 0:07:52.720 --> 0:07:54.720 There's this idea and I always tell people just don't 0:07:54.720 --> 0:07:56.920 even know if it's actually true. Is it like when 0:07:56.920 --> 0:07:59.480 you're in an area that's all water and you're on floats. 0:08:00.320 --> 0:08:02.880 Isn't it some solid that you can always there's always 0:08:02.880 --> 0:08:04.800 a place to land or is it not that simple? 0:08:05.560 --> 0:08:09.080 Depends on the water. Yeah, the middle of strates when. 0:08:08.920 --> 0:08:10.880 It's eight footers what happens? 0:08:10.880 --> 0:08:14.320 Then you might get it down, but it ain't gonna 0:08:14.320 --> 0:08:16.920 be soft anyway soft and it may not stay together 0:08:17.000 --> 0:08:17.440 on you. 0:08:17.560 --> 0:08:19.320 I see, it may bust the part on you. 0:08:19.720 --> 0:08:20.800 So what is the best? 0:08:20.960 --> 0:08:24.880 Uh, how how do you describe like what kind of 0:08:24.880 --> 0:08:26.600 seas can you land in? Or what kind of seas 0:08:26.640 --> 0:08:28.280 has becomeing inadvisable? 0:08:29.360 --> 0:08:32.800 Well, I mean you can land in two footers pretty 0:08:32.840 --> 0:08:35.920 easy and in this thing, but you start getting bigger 0:08:35.920 --> 0:08:37.559 than that, it starts it's pretty rough landing. 0:08:37.800 --> 0:08:39.320 So like six foot is no good? 0:08:39.440 --> 0:08:40.440 No, yeah, no good. 0:08:40.640 --> 0:08:44.120 Yeah, because yeah, there's nothing smooth to hit. 0:08:44.360 --> 0:08:47.560 No, you're gonna you're gonna hit one wave and go 0:08:47.600 --> 0:08:48.360 into the next one. 0:08:48.559 --> 0:08:49.640 Got it. 0:08:49.760 --> 0:08:53.440 Yeah, the uh there's the thing that I iced to 0:08:53.440 --> 0:08:57.040 think it wasn't true, But it's gotta be true. Okay, 0:08:57.040 --> 0:08:59.800 we talked about rough weather, rough water. Let's talk about 0:08:59.800 --> 0:09:00.480 calm water. 0:09:00.720 --> 0:09:01.000 Yeah. 0:09:01.120 --> 0:09:02.120 Is it true that you. 0:09:02.000 --> 0:09:06.480 Can have a body of water be so still that 0:09:06.600 --> 0:09:09.560 you need to create chop Yeah, so that when you 0:09:09.600 --> 0:09:12.600 start going, the float's got something to bounce on or else, 0:09:12.720 --> 0:09:15.960 like the surface tension of the water holds the plane in. 0:09:16.080 --> 0:09:18.760 Yeah, it's almost like a suction. Yeah, it'll it'll keep 0:09:18.800 --> 0:09:21.280 you down on the water. You gotta have some ripples 0:09:21.280 --> 0:09:25.319 sometimes like small lake or something that's just flat, calm, 0:09:25.520 --> 0:09:27.400 and you need the whole. 0:09:27.280 --> 0:09:28.000 Lake to get off. 0:09:28.920 --> 0:09:31.640 You'll cut circles, you do a circle or two, make 0:09:31.679 --> 0:09:33.880 some ripples, and then once you hit those, boom you'll 0:09:33.920 --> 0:09:34.679 pop off the water. 0:09:35.040 --> 0:09:37.560 Yeah, because it'll actually like skip you up a little bit. 0:09:37.640 --> 0:09:41.240 Yeah, it'll break that tension. Yeah, you can lift one 0:09:41.240 --> 0:09:44.680 float at a time too. It's called glassy water. Yeah, 0:09:44.800 --> 0:09:45.559 it's it's a thing. 0:09:45.640 --> 0:09:52.360 Yeah, when you're like in your area, there's lakes you'll 0:09:52.400 --> 0:09:55.280 land on. But let's say you were in an area 0:09:55.520 --> 0:09:58.079 and you only had to like you're in an area 0:09:58.080 --> 0:10:00.720 and your area you've never been. We're just whatever reason 0:10:01.160 --> 0:10:04.440 and you're determining can I land in a lake or not? 0:10:05.840 --> 0:10:06.840 What are you looking for? 0:10:08.600 --> 0:10:11.640 Well, you look for the size for one A lot 0:10:11.720 --> 0:10:14.360 of times. I want to look at maps and you know, 0:10:14.400 --> 0:10:16.120 try to get some measurements because. 0:10:15.920 --> 0:10:17.760 You need how many yards of water? 0:10:18.559 --> 0:10:19.000 Oh? 0:10:19.400 --> 0:10:22.280 Probably nine hundred is nice to have nine hundred yards 0:10:22.920 --> 0:10:25.560 a lot, Yeah, I mean especially for a lake you 0:10:25.559 --> 0:10:29.200 haven't been into. Right, So then you're also looking for 0:10:30.679 --> 0:10:35.040 the approach and departure if there's is there, is there terrain? 0:10:35.160 --> 0:10:36.160 Is there trees? Is it? 0:10:36.240 --> 0:10:38.439 Can you come and flat over the out of the 0:10:38.480 --> 0:10:40.400 creek that it's draining out of it or whatever? 0:10:40.559 --> 0:10:42.839 Is there a is it one way in? One way out? 0:10:43.760 --> 0:10:43.880 Ye? 0:10:44.640 --> 0:10:46.200 Can you do a step turn in? There is white 0:10:46.320 --> 0:10:48.880 enough for that? There's quite a few variables. 0:10:49.080 --> 0:10:50.880 Yeah, And then you got to think, like you always 0:10:50.920 --> 0:10:51.840 have to come into the wind. 0:10:52.920 --> 0:10:56.600 Not always if you can land down end, but it's 0:10:56.640 --> 0:10:59.520 going to increase your your your ground run when you 0:10:59.559 --> 0:11:00.000 touch down. 0:11:00.320 --> 0:11:03.600 Can you take off with the wind or with the tailwind? 0:11:04.040 --> 0:11:04.880 Yeah you can't. 0:11:05.040 --> 0:11:08.959 Yeah, I mean for you know, experienced pilots, you can 0:11:08.960 --> 0:11:09.400 do it. Yeah. 0:11:09.400 --> 0:11:10.560 You don't want to do that if you just start 0:11:10.600 --> 0:11:12.839 out on floats, but yeah, yeah, you always want to 0:11:12.880 --> 0:11:13.760 take off into the wind. 0:11:13.840 --> 0:11:14.640 It's preferred. 0:11:14.960 --> 0:11:16.840 Well, sometimes when you come in here, you circle. 0:11:17.360 --> 0:11:19.559 Yeah, what are you doing looking for debris? 0:11:20.160 --> 0:11:22.439 Oh, that's what you're you're scouting for debris. 0:11:22.559 --> 0:11:24.800 I always picture up there are calculating wind directions. 0:11:24.880 --> 0:11:26.079 You're just looking Is it clear? 0:11:26.480 --> 0:11:27.000 Yeah? 0:11:27.200 --> 0:11:28.400 Got it? Got it? Got it? 0:11:28.840 --> 0:11:29.280 Yeah? 0:11:30.400 --> 0:11:32.520 That in also the wind. But I can usually tell 0:11:32.520 --> 0:11:34.520 the wind before I get here. I've been in here 0:11:34.559 --> 0:11:37.280 so much. But yeah, you can usually tell the wind 0:11:37.280 --> 0:11:39.360 from a distance after you've been flying for a while. 0:11:39.400 --> 0:11:42.600 But that's the biggest thing that floats is breathing the 0:11:42.640 --> 0:11:46.200 water and knowing where the wind's coming from, what it's doing. 0:11:46.440 --> 0:11:51.160 So what's the uh, what's the worst thing clients can 0:11:51.200 --> 0:11:53.680 do when you charge a flight, Like, what's the most 0:11:53.679 --> 0:11:55.240 annoying thing passengers do? 0:11:56.400 --> 0:11:57.720 Put a camera right in my face. 0:11:57.920 --> 0:12:01.920 Yeah, next to that, I don't think that's that's you know, 0:12:02.880 --> 0:12:06.400 I understand your policy. Once once a guy not an 0:12:06.400 --> 0:12:09.400 interview person, but once a camera guy points a camera you, 0:12:09.480 --> 0:12:12.320 he's done right, he's too a new air carrier. 0:12:12.600 --> 0:12:15.280 Well, no, if it's not necessarily that, it's like if 0:12:15.320 --> 0:12:17.280 they have to, if they ask first, and like, you know, 0:12:17.320 --> 0:12:18.440 I'm gonna can I film you? 0:12:18.480 --> 0:12:18.959 That's fine. 0:12:19.000 --> 0:12:21.520 But when I started a takeoff roll and they stick 0:12:21.559 --> 0:12:23.920 a camera in my face like. 0:12:23.880 --> 0:12:27.080 That, I haven't done that. 0:12:27.280 --> 0:12:29.280 It's gonna be like, you know, I need to see 0:12:29.280 --> 0:12:31.440 where I'm going. You're instructing my view for one. 0:12:31.520 --> 0:12:32.920 You know, you know all of the funniest things I've 0:12:32.920 --> 0:12:34.360 seen you do funny to me. 0:12:35.120 --> 0:12:37.679 We're taking off out of your out of your shop, 0:12:38.080 --> 0:12:41.360 your hanger, and we're like coming out of your hangar, 0:12:41.480 --> 0:12:44.679 coming out into the I mean, just for people, listen 0:12:46.760 --> 0:12:49.160 where Vance's hanger is. When he comes out of there, 0:12:49.200 --> 0:12:52.600 there's like commercial airline traffic. I mean different, but I 0:12:52.600 --> 0:12:54.040 mean it's like it's a busy airspace. 0:12:54.320 --> 0:12:57.440 There's other floatplanes. Was a airport my neighbor. 0:12:57.840 --> 0:13:00.400 I have my neighbor with me, and it was like 0:13:01.480 --> 0:13:03.439 you were coming out because you're flying like you just 0:13:03.440 --> 0:13:04.320 gotta see what's going on. 0:13:04.360 --> 0:13:07.120 I remember you're reaching forward, reaching and grabbing my neighbor. 0:13:07.160 --> 0:13:09.120 He was leaning forward to look at something. I remember 0:13:09.120 --> 0:13:15.199 you doing this because you needed to check for traffic. Yeah, 0:13:15.360 --> 0:13:16.880 in the car, you know, you're like, I need to 0:13:16.880 --> 0:13:19.520 look on that. What's going on for a pull out? 0:13:20.640 --> 0:13:22.800 So that and then what kind of was the dumbest 0:13:22.880 --> 0:13:25.560 question you've forgotten about from when you're flying with somebody? 0:13:26.000 --> 0:13:26.800 Jeez, I don't know. 0:13:26.920 --> 0:13:28.920 There's lots of them, too many of a name. 0:13:29.080 --> 0:13:33.400 Too many of a name. Like people that are off 0:13:33.800 --> 0:13:36.640 ship still ask what's that? What's that? What's the elevation? 0:13:37.200 --> 0:13:38.520 You know at the ocean? 0:13:39.160 --> 0:13:41.960 Yeah, they got off a cruise ship and get on 0:13:42.000 --> 0:13:43.800 your float plane on the same body of water. 0:13:43.800 --> 0:13:45.600 And the last what the elevation is on this lake 0:13:47.440 --> 0:13:50.760 here on the ocean? Still right there? 0:13:50.760 --> 0:13:53.920 A zero zero, I tell him. 0:13:53.720 --> 0:13:58.600 Like four ft sitting off the water. 0:13:58.720 --> 0:14:01.400 Yeah, here's here's what's my last question for you? Because 0:14:01.400 --> 0:14:03.160 this is a fantasy I have. Well, first I'll set 0:14:03.200 --> 0:14:03.880 it up with a story. 0:14:05.040 --> 0:14:05.600 I was just in. 0:14:05.520 --> 0:14:08.240 Africa with my family and we were flying in small aircraft. 0:14:08.320 --> 0:14:11.400 We were flying in caravans, yeah, a lot of caravans are. 0:14:12.400 --> 0:14:16.560 So my boy, my older boy, fifteen year old, he 0:14:17.040 --> 0:14:20.720 sitting up front, right, Okay, he fancies himself that just 0:14:20.760 --> 0:14:21.720 by observing a. 0:14:21.600 --> 0:14:23.760 Pilot, he's got it. 0:14:24.120 --> 0:14:24.320 Yeah. 0:14:24.480 --> 0:14:24.800 Okay. 0:14:25.360 --> 0:14:27.800 So we get on another plane and my little boy 0:14:27.920 --> 0:14:32.920 who's ten, gets invited to ride up front. And my 0:14:33.040 --> 0:14:35.360 older boy then, who's miffed because he likes to be 0:14:35.480 --> 0:14:37.680 up front, right, he says, well, a lot of good 0:14:37.680 --> 0:14:39.800 it's going to do us having him up front. 0:14:41.160 --> 0:14:42.880 If something were to happen to the pilot. 0:14:43.920 --> 0:14:45.320 Is your older boy thinks he can fly. 0:14:45.360 --> 0:14:48.320 Because he's after observing He's like, I'm cool. Like if 0:14:48.320 --> 0:14:49.680 this guy has a heart attack, I'm cool. 0:14:50.560 --> 0:14:55.120 What A like when I sit there and always thinking, like, 0:14:55.200 --> 0:14:57.880 let's say I don't know, advance has a massive heart 0:14:57.880 --> 0:15:02.160 attack and dies. You know what am I gonna do? 0:15:02.480 --> 0:15:04.960 Is it like like people have this fantasy. I don't 0:15:04.960 --> 0:15:06.640 know if you know this, but people have this fantasy. 0:15:06.680 --> 0:15:11.000 We joke about it. Is anyone ever that's never flown 0:15:12.240 --> 0:15:14.000 gonna like get the hang of it in time to 0:15:14.040 --> 0:15:15.600 figure it out? 0:15:16.080 --> 0:15:18.000 I don't know. It depends on the person. I think, 0:15:18.040 --> 0:15:19.720 you know, I mean like if they're. 0:15:21.120 --> 0:15:24.200 You know, if they've grown up operating things like boats 0:15:24.240 --> 0:15:29.000 and cars, and you know they're mechanically, you know they 0:15:29.080 --> 0:15:29.960 might Well. 0:15:29.760 --> 0:15:31.520 He might be up there and fiddle around enough to 0:15:31.560 --> 0:15:34.760 get where you can at least yeah, survive the landing. 0:15:34.840 --> 0:15:36.360 Yeah possibly. 0:15:36.400 --> 0:15:37.680 Yeah, you hear that stuff. 0:15:38.160 --> 0:15:44.080 Yeah, you don't ask somebody. 0:15:44.080 --> 0:15:46.200 He's always doing up here, now, I understand that. 0:15:46.320 --> 0:15:47.440 Yeah, you wouldn't. 0:15:47.640 --> 0:15:49.560 I got this little vance has this little thing he 0:15:49.640 --> 0:15:50.920 likes to fiddle with right here. 0:15:51.360 --> 0:15:53.400 I didn't think it did anything, but it does. It's 0:15:53.440 --> 0:15:53.880 has something. 0:15:55.120 --> 0:15:55.680 It's a trim. 0:15:56.200 --> 0:15:58.200 I just thought he likes doing it because it never 0:15:58.240 --> 0:15:58.880 feels like anything. 0:15:59.280 --> 0:16:02.520 When because I'm holding pressure on the yolk and you 0:16:02.520 --> 0:16:04.480 know you don't feel that, I feel it, and then 0:16:04.520 --> 0:16:06.400 I take the pressure off with this and I can 0:16:06.600 --> 0:16:07.000 release it. 0:16:07.200 --> 0:16:09.400 Yeah sure, yeah, So. 0:16:11.840 --> 0:16:14.400 What's the old pilot? When are you too old to fly? 0:16:16.320 --> 0:16:16.760 I don't know. 0:16:17.640 --> 0:16:21.760 Seventy sixty sixty joking, I'm almost sixteen right now. 0:16:22.400 --> 0:16:23.080 No, I don't know. 0:16:23.480 --> 0:16:25.640 I think it's as long as you're you feel healthy 0:16:25.720 --> 0:16:28.520 enough to do it, you know, I think you know 0:16:28.560 --> 0:16:31.560 the airlines. I think the cutoff is sixty five. 0:16:31.640 --> 0:16:33.480 I think, okay, but you can do this later. 0:16:33.880 --> 0:16:34.480 I could do it. 0:16:34.720 --> 0:16:37.480 Yeah, you can be licensed to keep flying. 0:16:37.560 --> 0:16:39.920 Yeah, in my seventies eighties, probably if I wanted to, 0:16:40.000 --> 0:16:42.440 But yeah, I don't think I want to go that long. 0:16:42.840 --> 0:16:45.520 So do you like the stress of being your own guy, 0:16:46.480 --> 0:16:48.920 your own plane, your own guy, handling your own business. 0:16:49.120 --> 0:16:51.680 Do you prefer that stress over the stress of being 0:16:51.720 --> 0:16:53.960 in charge of a big operation with tons of planes 0:16:54.000 --> 0:16:57.080 and tons of pilots. It's probably different stresses, but both stressful. 0:16:58.160 --> 0:16:59.320 I prefer this, really. 0:17:00.080 --> 0:17:02.360 It more peaceful being a loan operator. 0:17:02.840 --> 0:17:05.520 Yeah, I mean, you're working hard, but it's like you're 0:17:05.840 --> 0:17:07.440 doing it for yourself though, you know what I mean, 0:17:07.840 --> 0:17:10.920 just like any self employed person. Right, it's a little 0:17:10.920 --> 0:17:15.359 more satisfaction in your job, you know, because it's you know, 0:17:15.560 --> 0:17:18.040 you're not doing it for him or them, You're doing 0:17:18.040 --> 0:17:18.480 it for you. 0:17:19.160 --> 0:17:21.560 But man, you got when it's busy time of year, Man, 0:17:21.600 --> 0:17:23.440 you got long days. Yeah. 0:17:23.800 --> 0:17:25.440 Just for instance, I knew you had all I knew 0:17:25.480 --> 0:17:27.119 all kinds of junk you do every night. I had 0:17:27.119 --> 0:17:29.520 no idea that every night you got to wash the plane. 0:17:30.280 --> 0:17:31.120 To get the salt water. 0:17:31.200 --> 0:17:32.960 Right, I have help, I do have you do have 0:17:33.000 --> 0:17:35.240 help with that? Okay? Yeah, honest helping me the summer. 0:17:35.280 --> 0:17:35.720 She's great. 0:17:36.320 --> 0:17:39.400 Yeah, yeah, it's it's a it's a job, man. 0:17:39.440 --> 0:17:41.439 It's like, you know, we don't subscrub it every night. 0:17:41.440 --> 0:17:43.239 We at least rents it off so you get the 0:17:43.240 --> 0:17:43.879 salt off of it. 0:17:44.080 --> 0:17:44.480 Yeah. 0:17:44.800 --> 0:17:47.680 Yeah, it's but more, I guess, my point rather than 0:17:47.760 --> 0:17:49.119 just just simply washing. 0:17:49.200 --> 0:17:51.159 My point is it's not like when you're done, you 0:17:51.320 --> 0:17:55.280 like park and walk away. Right, there's a lot, right. 0:17:55.200 --> 0:17:57.520 And then every blank hours you got to do this, 0:17:57.680 --> 0:18:00.320