A View From Above
By Rick Ruiz
Aviation has always been in my blood. It wasn’t handed down to me by family connection since there are no and never have been any pilots in my family. Nor did I suddenly one day decide completely out of the blue that this was something I would try my luck at. If you ask me and, more importantly, those who know me best, they’ll tell you that there was never a period in my life, from young infancy (we’re talking before even having any command of spoken language) until today in my mid-forties that I didn’t love every aspect of aviation, particularly the magic of flight.
I’m originally from sunny Miami, Florida, itself a hub of regional, interstate and international commerce for many generations; its geographic location and proximity to Central and South America as well as Europe, our west coast and even Asia, if you consider that it’s only 8 hours to Anchorage, Alaska and another 8 to Tokyo. In any case, its favorable weather, location and the fact that it is at sea level make it the perfect hub for aviation of all kinds.
As a young child, we’d make it a weekend plan to go airplane spotting with the whole family and so this cemented my love and awe for all things aviation. Florida was also the place where I learned to fly. I started as an airframe and powerplant mechanic, doing heavy maintenance checks on airliners and at the same time worked line maintenance with British Airways on DC-10s and Classic 747-200s in the mid to late 90s, but my dream was to fly. I finished flight school in 2001 just in time for the world’s aviation industry to come to a screeching halt due to 9-11. This felt like a career ending blow, especially after having spent almost 100,000 dollars from my hard earned savings at the time, but nothing could have been further from the truth. God indeed works in mysterious ways!
I flight instructed for a few months, made some great contacts, one of which was Donald Trump’s construction partner here in Miami (who I taught how to fly), and eventually ended up flying his personal airplane all over South Florida and the Bahamas. But I didn’t just go to flight school for as long as I did and spend the money that I just spent to be someone’s corporate pilot. My dream was to fly the heavy jets, the big iron, so through a few contacts of mine I ended up interviewing and eventually getting hired to fly Boeing 767s for the national airline of Chile (LAN Chile) in 2002 at the young age of 21. I flew 757s and 767s on domestic, regional, international and long-haul routes all over the world until 2011 when I moved back to the United States to fly the mighty Boeing 777 Freighter jet and then the 787 Dreamliner on passenger routes all over the world. In 2015 I moved on to my current airline to fly the Queen Of The Skies, the one and only Boeing 747 and I am now a Captain on that iconic bird and hope to continue flying her all over the world for the remainder of my career.
I’m very fortunate in that I’m privy to a worldly point of view and vantage point that most earth-dwellers will never get to experience first hand. What do I mean by that? Think about this for a second. When flying high over some random spot on our frail planet, especially at night, I get to see little clusters of lights along my sometimes interminable flight path. Those little clusters look like postage stamps on a black canvas but to those living there, those are their towns and cities. That is where they were born, where they went to school, fell in love, built their homes, their families and will very likely die in. You see that from above, and life takes on a whole different meaning. A whole different purpose and a whole different perspective. You walk around the countless countries and hundreds of cities I’ve been to and you truly do realize we are not all that different.
In my almost 25 years of professional flying, I’ve come to realize how similar we all are and how insignificant our human and earthly quandaries really are. We all want the same thing, we all breathe the same air and we all strive to give to those we love the most a life of happiness, health, abundance and peace.
The lifestyle of an international airline pilot is not one for everyone. Yes the traveling and being in constant movement is very appealing but it does come with its set of challenges and sacrifices. The obvious one being away from family for extended periods of time. The old adage “behind every great man is an even greater woman” comes to mind. Not that I am referring to myself as a great man because I am far from it, but my wife is indeed a great woman. This wonderful career and the lifestyle that it affords us would not be possible without her. We met over 20 years ago when I was initially hired for my first airline in Chile as she was going through the initial flight attendant course down there. She is and has always been very much aware of the sacrifices and challenges that this career poses. She hung her wings up well over a decade ago and now works in the aviation industry as well but in a different capacity and thankfully mostly from home.
Quite Frankly truly has become a pillar of our daily lives, especially for me! I particularly enjoy listening to Frank in the cruise while flying. Having a familiar voice, the voice of someone who has become a close friend without ever meeting in person, is very reassuring and what’s better is that said voice is one that exposes and conveys current events in an objective, intelligent, direct and humorous way that you just can’t find anywhere else.
It has been fun to see Frank evolve and mature over the years and I think that’s among the things I love the most about the show. The inner battle with himself when it comes to swearing on the air is my favorite, although a fiery Frank is in my opinion, and I’m sure in a lot of your opinions, the best Frank!
As for my social media presence, it started very small as all things do, and it’s still relatively small, all things considered, but it came from a place of love for aviation. My intention has always been to show the layperson the behind-the-scenes of what us professional airline pilots do, how we do it and what really goes on behind the flight deck door. My initial thought was “Man, I wish I would’ve had someone to ask questions to who does what I eventually want to do and is willing to point me in the right direction." That really is the reason I started my feed in 2015 and I hope that I have made a difference in those who love aviation as I do.
One of my favorite aspects of social media, particularly as it applies to me, is the willingness of people all over the world to meet up with you, share their experiences, their hometowns, their stories and make you part of their families, if only for a day because of a shared passion. I love posting a picture from the flight deck right before pushback with the flight’s number and the jet’s registration. Upon landing, I enjoy seeing how many people followed my flight intently, even posting pictures of my contrail flying overhead their homes and cities, and to receive a message from someone at the destination inviting me to dinner at some amazing place only frequented by locals. This is what I love the most about social media. The people that share your passions along the way.
Q&A WITH KRISTA ROMAN
1.) How did you find Quite Frankly and what does the show represent for you?
I found Quite Frankly through Tracy Beanz and the Dark to Light podcast. Frank’s show represents the perfect balance between current events, politics, music, art, literature, humor and all-around great energy presented in an intelligent and engaging manner. Frank is a pro and you can clearly see how passionate he is at his life’s calling.
2.) Where is your favorite place in the country to travel? The world? Any hidden gems?
Favorite places to travel… I’ve been to 123 of 195 countries so I have seen quite a bit. There is so much variety and contrast between different hemispheres, continents, countries and regions. It truly is hard to point at just one but if you ask me what my favorite layover is I would probably have to say it’s Hong Kong. Hong Kong truly is a magical city with so much to offer from the culinary to the architectural to the way nature is intertwined with the sprawling metropolis. It truly is a city of contrasts in that it’s one city during the day with its bustling streets and a completely different one at night with its overnight markets of all sorts. I particularly love the way the British influence is ever present even after almost 30 years of sole Chinese rule.
As for hidden gems….they’re all over the world! From little towns and villages in the Mediterranean to mountain villages high in the Andes, to little-known temple cities in Southeast Asia, to historic aviation related pubs in the middle of the Kenyan Serengeti...just too many to mention.
3.) What’s a valuable lesson you’ve learned from your career as a pilot?
Always pace yourself. Never allow anyone to hurry you and if you’re a minute late, you might as well be 3 hours late so do not rush, especially when late.
4.) Any traveling tips especially for those embarking on flying over the busy Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday season?
Pack light and never check a bag. Consider buying whatever toiletries you need at the trial and travel section of your local pharmacy. Get TSA Pre-Check to streamline going through security stateside and Global Entry to streamline your international arrivals into the United States. A lot of travel credit cards offer both for free as a perk and trust me, you’ll thank me later.
5.) You meet a lot of people when you travel, what have they taught you about the world?
That we are all very similar! We might look and sound different but we’re not all that different.
6.) What was the most fascinating story you have from your line of work?
There are so many but the one that sticks out in my mind has to be the one where I was transporting troops from a war zone back to the United States. A young soldier had originally been reported as killed in action and his family were informed of the sad news but later found out there had been an error in the reporting. There hadn’t actually been any casualties in the unit in question. We were aware of this as a crew and knew the young man’s family would be there waiting upon our arrival. When this young man’s family saw him as he walked out of the international arrivals hall at the Baltimore airport just as my crew and myself were walking out, the tears of joy and the hugs and laughter were the most unforgettable thing I have ever been witness to.
7.) If you weren’t a pilot, what type of career would you have?
That’s something I’ve always wondered myself. I would probably be a merchant mariner. I was born with the travel bug although the older I get, the harder it is to leave home!
If you would like to follow a fascinating fellow Frankly as he documents his travels around the world, be sure to connect with Rick on X by clicking here.