Originally Posted by
Apokleros
A lot of my friends have their sights set on freight and corporate instead of airlines...
It takes a very “unique” individual to enjoy a full career of flying freight (that’s excluding FedEx and UPS). It’s exciting to fly 747’s, see foreign lands, shooting bizarre approaches, never know when or where you’re going next, but it ages you at an exponential rate and the excitement fades quickly.
Originally Posted by
hypoxia
Actually, Yes, in the context of "corporate 91" which we were talking about! While I am flying around with a half dozen MEL stickers at any given time, these corporate aircraft are meticulously maintained by some of the best aircraft mechanics in the world! You can literally eat off their Hangar floor! While many 121 carriers are having their maintenance done by the lowest bidder in third world countries! In addition, these aircraft are equipped with the latest and greatest in aviation technology while I'm getting a vector or dealing with a timed out FMS!
I would compare Great Corporate Flight Departments and Great Corporate pilot jobs to the being a football player in the NFL.
Yes, there are some killer Corporate Flight Departments, but most are average to less than average in maintenance (same lowest bidder, just in the US), QOL (most departments staff two pilots per each two pilot plane – no guaranteed time off), poor pay and the job security is 100% based on the lifespan of the individual owner or their financial wellbeing. The owner dies or loses a boatload of money, the first thing that goes are the airplanes.
The same with Corporations, a merger of a downturn in business and a great Flight Department goes away overnight – and I do mean overnight.
There are a few great flight departments but your chances of getting hired there without a lot of previous corporate experience and an internal recommendation are essentially the same as going from being a star high school football player and making it to the NFL.
The great Corporate jobs with brand new aircraft, state-or-the-art avionics, spotless hanger floors, superior maintenance, good pay and a decent QOL are extremely few and far between, and again they may easily evaporate in the blink of an eye.
Originally Posted by
JetDoc
If I can pass the written, which I already have and pass the check ride which at this time I can't take because of the asinine 500 hour rule, Issue the damn certificate, I flew to the PTS. This stuff really isn't that hard...And in reality all this ATP crap will do is push people who otherwise would be excellent pilots into other fields because of the additional investment of time and money for a job that's gonna pay you $23,00.00 your first year.....D
It’s true, entry-level jobs aren’t great, in any way. You have to have a certain passion or love of aviation to stick it out through the lean years. You will build experience that doesn’t come from just flying to the PTS and passing a check ride. You’re sort of displaying the adage, “You don’t know what you don’t know” yet. We’ve all been there.
The good news is, if you love what you do, you are happy because you don't know how good it can be. I was on call 24/7/365 for 10 years and enjoyed the job 90% of the time. Then I got an airline job and I don't know if I could go back.
Yeah, I’ve flown with some 15,000 hour Day-VFR only Wonders that buried the yoke in their lap and couldn't understand why we hit the ground whilst in a stall (in the sim) but they are definitely the exception.
Originally Posted by
hypoxia
The reason we are having this dialogue in the first place, is because the 121 Regionals are so abusive to their employees at so many levels! Congress didn't raise the minimums to 1500 hours to "enhance safety" but rather to calm the traveling public's fears! Lets not be "naive", it really does come down to money!
IMO, a pilot with less than 1,000 hours has no business being in a jet. Worse yet, some of those jobs have relatively quick upgrades so you end up with a jet Captain with 2,000 hours.
It IS about safety and once you build your time and make the bone-headed mistakes all of us have made, you’ll realize it.
I shudder to imagine what the new generation, who have only operated in glass cockpits with FMS’s, will do when faced with a complete failure of that equipment.
There are also those entry-level to mid-range jobs flying freight in a Navajo, Beech 18 or passengers in older airliners with all “hardball” instruments, some don’t even have ground speed read outs and everything is done with pure VOR’s.
Take your time, enjoy the ride and you'll appreciate where you end up much more. The "fast-track" days
may be over, but at least there are good jobs at the end of your short time-building journey.