Aviation BS and Photo Thread

Coincidentally, he drove home in a hummer.

 

Fuck Cali lets go loggin!

 

Here's a video from my flight yesterday. Share it with all your friends so I can get a sponsorship I wish...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qv1EvdH008

 

Very nice! You sound like a pro. What are your career goals?

 

Thank you! Show your friends Right now my goals are to fly for anyone that will hire me once I get my commercial

 

I think you can do better than "anyone." If you're only a Private pilot and you already speak fluent pilot vernacular and it looks like you know what you're doing, do some research as to what kind of flying you want to do and who offers that. There a lot of jobs out there. You just have to start meeting people and looking at the online job boards. Also try and attend some airline job fairs to get an idea of what they are looking for and what the interviews might look like.

 

Almost everyone in my family works for the airlines and I'm not sure if I want to do that or go the corporate route. There can be great money to be made when you get to be high on the seniority list, but as we all know, airlines tend to not always be so stable. Going to school in Fayetteville has made me consider the corporate field stronger because there are some huge companies based here (Walmart, Tyson, etc). I'd love to fly for the military as well. My mom is very against that idea, but I would love to fly C17's across the pond transporting people and equipment. That would make me great airline material after I got out, however there is no guarentee that I will get a pilot slot to do that. I also don't want to sit around waiting for a pilot slot in the military when I could be getting in the airline world and start working up that seniority ladder.

That was a lot of typing, but there's a lot to think about. Each pathway has it's ups and downs.

 

Mikey Mouse plane !

@westjet

 

I agree... from the link you posted

Pretty awesome

 

Nice landing

 

I know several guys that got their commercial and then head to Alaska to build time.

 

Thanks!

That would be awesome

 

I almost did the same thing, but then I realized I was married and my wife didn't really want to live in Alaska while I was off on adventures.

 

I have a friend (lives in Green Forest, Arkansas) that worked for a fishing lodge up in Alaska for over a decade just for the summer. He was a pilot/IA. Had a couple of Beavers and a Super Cub on straight floats to play with ... He makes some pretty good dough up there and tried to get me to go with him but my wife said I couldn't go play. Sigh

I'm not sure if he is going up there anymore but for 4 months, I could do that easy if I was single and younger LOL

 

Just parked next to her at the end of my last pairing. She was sporting a white radome. Even with the white snout, still looked a lot better than the Care-antee paint job.

 

It is still early so you have time to research and see what the various options are. My suggestion would be to educate yourself as much as you can on the different paths you can take, have an idea of what you would like to do, but don't be afraid to deviate from that a little to take a job or two that you never expected. There is a bunch of good information online (and a bunch of useless bitching) on different pilot forums which will be a big help for you. Plus you can always contact other pilots via PM to get more specific information or advice.

The airlines and corporate/private 91 departments are very different jobs. Which one is better is purely a personal choice. Job security is not guaranteed with any job anymore. This is how I personally view them:

Airlines:
Pros:
Ability to know your schedule of days in advance.
Current growth potential allows people getting on to have a better, maybe safer spot on the seniority lists.
Could be a final stop for the career.
Days off are hard days off.
Pay is improving for new hires and is VERY good as you advance at the majors. LLC's are not bad either.
Pay for freight flying is very good as well but the schedule can be hard on the body.
Legacy airlines have great benefits plus some nice retirement contribution plans.
Solid training programs.
Ability to live anywhere and commute. This has mixed reviews as to how sustainable it is. Personal preference.
Jumpseat and travel benefits.
Can fly with different crews all the time.

Cons:
Airlines rarely furlough one at a time, usually it is all or none. If you are caught in one you will be competing with a lot of other pilots for the few jobs available.
If you change airlines you start at the bottom, both in seniority and pay.
Plan to work most big Holidays for several years.
Layovers do not sound as long as in the past so sightseeing time may be limited.
Destinations are limited to the cities served by that airline. (A personal con, may not be an issue for others)
You cannot collect hotel points.
May have to sit reserve for awhile which can be great if living in base, not so great when commuting.
Can fly with different crews all the time.


Private/Corporate (top tier jobs):

Pros:
Pay can start off higher than the airlines and remain higher for a few to several years.
Greater variety in flying. Flying for a private individual on a long-range airplane can take you anywhere in the world and may have a wider variety of destination than flying for a company.
Corporate jobs may have more weekends/Holidays free as business is typically done during the week.
Depending on the job, you may be able to enjoy layovers in different places.
You may be more involved in operating duties and tasks beyond flying the airplane (can be a con for some).
Planes may be newer. It is easier to implement newer technology via aircraft upgrades.
Will fly with the same few people all the time.
If the job goes away, it may be just your department therefore fewer people to compete with (large economic downturns excluded)
Changing jobs may increase pay and position.
May be able to keep hotel points. (In my opinion that can be a wash with the jumpseat benefits on the airlines depending how you travel.)

Cons:
Will fly with the same people all the time.
Pay is not likely to top out as high as the airlines.
Each job is different.
Smaller departments (1 plane, 2 pilots) may not be very flexible on when you can take vacation time.
Standards of operation are all over the place.
Can be gone for extended times.
May not have a set schedule or known days off.
Job may disappear any time. Private owners may sell the plane, corporations can be bought out.
In most cases you may need to live where the plane is. If the job goes away, you may have to move.


This is all just my opinion on how these two paths compare. There are other items I have left out I am sure. But there is no one path that is better than the other for all. It is all individual tastes and circumstances that can determine what is better for someone.

 

@Jetlander is a corporate pilot... or used to be... but probably still is...

You can always get into unmanned aircraft (evil drones)... You've met my guys at Monarch... they all still fly manned and it's paid for by us

 

Wow, thanks for all that. Like you said, I have quite some time before I need to really make a decision. I need to get out of college first. I'd like to have a plan right when I graduate though. It might boil down to what opportunities I can get first.

 

I don't know if I want to get in with the drone scene