Earners vs. Owners: Why Pilots Must Shift Their Financial Flight Path Before the Next Storm Hits

Every pilot knows what it feels like to hit unexpected turbulence.

One minute you’re cruising at altitude, everything trimmed out and smooth…
and in the next minute you’re dealing with sudden chop that tests your focus, discipline, and training.

Financial turbulence works the same way — especially in aviation.

If you’ve been in this industry long enough, you know it’s not if a storm hits… it’s when.

For many of us, those storms leave deep scars.

I know they did for me.

After 9/11, I lost everything.

No backup plan.

No income diversification.

Three small kids at home.

A mortgage.

A career I loved suddenly gone.

I promised myself I would never again rely on one source of income — no matter how strong, stable, or prestigious it appeared.

That promise became the foundation of Financial Flight Path.

And this week, something hit me hard enough that I knew I needed to share it with you.

*Taxing the Rich doesn't work - and why it matters to us pilots!*

Some of you already know this deep down… but hearing it laid out so plainly hit me straight in the chest today.

I watched a reel that said: “You can’t just tax the rich… because the rich aren’t earners. They’re owners.”

And it made me think about us — airline pilots.

We work hard.

We train harder.

We shoulder responsibility most people will never understand.

We bring millions of people home safely each year.

And yet… financially?

We’re still in the middle class bucket.

Even when you’re making $300K… $400K… $600K…

Half of it disappears in federal, state and local taxes, union dues, medicals, commuting, kids, life.

And every black swan in this industry reminds us just how fragile that income really is.

Meanwhile, the true wealth class isn’t selling their time.

They’re not worried about a 401(k) dip or a furlough rumor.

They’re not trading hours in the cockpit for dollars in the bank.

They own things — assets that pay them.

And when they need cash?

They borrow against those assets instead of selling them.

They play a different game entirely… and most of us were never taught the rules.

This isn’t about fairness.

It’s about waking up to the reality that no one is coming to rescue our financial future — not the company, not the union, not the industry, not the tax code.

If we want security, we have to build it.
Not someday. Not “when I upgrade.” Not “once the kids are grown.”

Now.

ACTION YOU CAN TAKE TODAY:

Pick one asset you can start owning instead of earning — a simple index fund contribution, a tiny real estate partnership, or even setting aside the first $100 toward something that grows without you.

Because pilots who rely on one income live in constant turbulence.

Pilots who build ownership glide through storms with confidence.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned since losing everything after 9/11, it’s this:

The cockpit teaches discipline… but ownership creates freedom.

Plan. Prosper. Fly. ✈️