AK Pilots,

I hate to continue pouring in more bad news but I have done a bit more thinking and would like to add some more. I don't know what your career goals are but if your dreams include an airline career I can tell you from experience that it is a very difficult conversion from Alaskan 135 to the rest of the aviation world. In your minds I know that you are proud of your accomplishments in Alaska and feel good about the experience that you are building but I hate to say it but most of it is worthless to the outside world. Even as a 121 turbine Captain in AK you are at a competitive disadvantage in today's market. It is frustrating since you realize the efforts that you have put forth to get to this point only to realize that no one outside of Alaska gets it at all. It is kind of like being the football hero in High School and advance to college as just another co-ed at the bottom of the pile. At best you will gain admission to a regional as a new hire to enjoy starting all over again. In the current aviation environment the only thing that matters are good contacts and 121 Jet PIC. In Alaska you can't really get either. You might as well throw away your log books since the only time that will buy you anything is as a 121 turbine or jet captain and the turbine part is fading fast. What would you have to offer a jet airtaxi or corporate flight department? Do you have any jet time? Have you flown much glass cockpits? Do you have any crew experience? How many type ratings do you have? What about flying in dense airspace environments? To most companies you might as well have been mowing the lawn for the last few years since Caravan time is just as useless. (however during lawn mowing you would have a better chance of meeting wealthy airline pilots)

In conclusion if your dreams are to fly corporate jets or for the airlines then you had better take a hard look at what I have said. In the end you will probably have to bite the bullet and take a humiliating job as a new hire at some regional or crummy turbine lower 48 airtaxi. Sitting in ground school with people who only have a few hundred hours and effectively starting all over again. And the longer you wait the harder it will be. I am not trying to burst your bubble but to pass on some painful lessons that my friends and I have had to learn.

Fire Away,

SkyHigh