I want to go home

Flying on a private jet means that you are away from home about half of the year. mostly in private aviation, you have a schedule that keeps you on the aircraft for about 16 days per month. Sound good?

16 days with the aircraft means you are 15 nights sleeping in hotels, living out of your suitcase, you have only the stuff with you that you really need for 2 weeks. Think about the mountain of laundry you have to wash when you come home. No that’s not the reason why you miss home so much. The main reason is your girlfriend waiting for you at home, your family that you can visit and the friends you have in 1 place. When you are away on duty you are limited to a phone
call or FaceTime. I’m happy because 15 years ago they did not even have this, but it is still difficult. After 2 weeks with 1 crew, you sometimes have nothing much to tell the other anymore. You might even have the feeling that you know your crew better than your beloved ones at home. This is for me the main reason why I really want to go home. Especially when I started in private aviation I really needed to get used to being away so often and so long. Now after 4 years I can handle it much much much better, that doesn’t mean it isn’t difficult after 2 weeks away but it made it easier. For me, I knew this was part of the job but for my girlfriend it was different, she knew it was a part of me and my life. I’m happy that she handles this so well. She sometimes calls me if there is something wrong or something happened, for me, this is the hardest. I can not go back to help her or give her a shoulder to cry on. Luckily for us, that doesn’t happen often. Now think about one more thing. FOOD, yes food. What about it? Have you ever been away from home more than 2 weeks without cooking a decent meal for yourself? After 2 weeks you really don’t want to eat from a hotel restaurant anymore or any restaurant if you ask me. You just want your own healthy food, your own made food.

Now you know that it isn’t always as easy as it looks to be away from home. In Private aviation it’s different than for example a pilot flying for Transavia or Ryanair, they return back to their base almost every evening. Sleep in their own bed. Its a different way of life, but even then you have to be lucky to be close to home, having your friends around and being able to visit them. When I’m home I have 2 weeks to visit everyone and have time for myself at home to do whatever I feel to do. So, for now, I wouldn’t change but maybe when I have children.

If you have questions regarding this blog feel free to leave a comment and I’ll try to answer as soon as possible.

 

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