The Pilot's Financial Walkaround

The "Zipper-Suited Sun God" vs. The Bank Account: Why Your Ego Needs a Financial Walkaround

Let’s be honest: if you’re a pilot, you probably think you’re bulletproof. You might even refer to yourself as a "zipper-suited sun god". You’re at the top of your game, perhaps raking in $300,000 a year, and the idea of mortality—or poverty—seems as distant as the ground from 35,000 feet.

But here is the turbulence you didn’t forecast: Your wallet is much more fragile than your ego.

The "One Medical Away" Reality Check

You wouldn’t dare take off without doing a walkaround of your aircraft, yet most pilots haven’t done a walkaround of their finances since flight school. The harsh reality of the aviation industry is that your high income is incredibly precarious; you are exactly one medical disqualification away from an income of zero.

You might feel fine today, but health changes overnight. It could be leukemia in a marathon runner or lung cancer in a neighbor who never smoked a cigarette in his life. Or, perhaps less dramatically, you turn 45 and suddenly realize you have two bad knees despite only remembering injuring one.

The stats are sobering.

Approximately five out of every 1,000 active airline pilots are denied medical certification annually, and one in 20 pilots are on long-term disability at any given time.

Even if you think your flight doctor is just "pencil whipping" your report to get you back in the air, life insurance underwriters are much more thorough—they will find what’s wrong with you.

Murphy is Not Just a "Random Irish Guy"

When we talk about preparing for Murphy, we aren’t talking about a random Irish guy (no offense to anyone’s Irish wife). We are talking about Murphy’s Law: what can go wrong, will go wrong.

So, how do you Murphy-proof a pilot’s life?

1. The Swiss Army Knife of Risk Transfer: You need a place to store capital that works for you while you're alive and takes care of your family when you're gone. The sources suggest specially designed dividend-paying whole life insurance. It’s a place to store wealth that isn’t locked inside the drywall of your house or a 401(k).

2. The "Magic" Rider: Here is a party trick your bank can’t do. If you get sick and can’t work, your bank isn't going to say, "Don't worry, we'll make your monthly deposits for you". However, a policy with a "waiver of premium" rider will actually pay your premiums for you if you become disabled. It ensures that just because your body quits, your financial plan doesn't have to.

Stop Watching Netflix in the Hotel

We know what happens on layovers. You lock yourself in the hotel room for 40 hours and binge-watch Netflix. While Mayor of Kingstown is admittedly a phenomenal show, it is not a retirement plan.

Pilots need a backup gig. The industry is cyclical—just ask anyone who worked for Eastern Airlines in the 80s. Use your downtime to build a secondary income stream. It could be real estate, buying a franchise, or—if you want to stay on brand—literally buying and flipping airplanes (yes, people actually do that).

Don't Let a GoFundMe Be Your Legacy

It is a tragedy when a high-income earner passes away and the hat has to be passed around to pay the bills. As one source bluntly put it: "Don't let a GoFundMe be your legacy".

You spend your professional life managing risk in the cockpit; it is high time you stopped retaining all the risk in your bank account.

Do a financial walkaround.

Secure a backup system that ensures liquidity.

Because while you might be a sun god in the air, on the ground, you still have to pay the mortgage.

Control your capital, or somebody else will.

So, how do you ensure your bank account doesn’t crash just because your flight physical does? The answer lies in the liquidity provided by dividend-paying whole life insurance policies.

1. It Unlocks Capital Stuck in "Drywall and 401(k)s"

Pilots are masters of risk management in the cockpit, yet they often retain massive amounts of risk in their personal lives. Typically, a pilot’s wealth is locked inside the walls of their house or a 401(k). The problem? If you are grounded, you need cash now, and you can’t exactly pay the mortgage with a kitchen backsplash.

Dividend-paying whole life insurance serves as a "Swiss Army knife of risk transfer". It provides a place for your capital to reside that works for you while you are alive, creating a pool of capital you can draw from or trade out. Unlike a retirement account that penalizes you for touching it, this system allows you to access tax-free capital in a matter of days.

It effectively becomes your "war chest," allowing you to act from a position of strength rather than panic when an emergency hits.

2. The "Magic" of the Waiver of Premium Rider Here is a scenario:

You lose your medical and your $300,000 income vanishes. The immediate panic is usually, "How do I pay my insurance premiums?".

This is where the policy performs a trick your bank never will. If you have a "waiver of premium" rider, the insurance company will actually pay your base premium for you if you become disabled.

Think about that for a second.

Imagine a bank saying, "Since you’re sick and can't work, we’ll make your monthly deposits for you".

That will never happen at a bank; they will just put you in collections. However, with this rider, your policy continues to be funded by the company, ensuring your financial plan doesn't quit just because your body did. It makes your financial system "FAA proof".

3. Funding Your "Alternate Runway"

A policy doesn't just sit there; it provides the liquidity needed to build a backup career. The aviation industry is cyclical—just ask anyone who worked for Eastern Airlines in the 80s—so you need an alternate runway.

Instead of locking yourself in a hotel room for 40 hours to binge-watch Netflix (we know you do it), you should be building secondary income streams. Whether you want to buy a franchise, invest in real estate, or literally flip airplanes for profit, you need accessible capital to get started.

A specially designed dividend paying whole life policy provides the liquid capital necessary to seize these opportunities, ensuring you have income diversity before "Murphy" (Murphy's Law, not a random Irish guy) shows up.

The Bottom Line? You need to create a backup system that ensures liquidity.

David Befort & Paul Fugere