Nah, we go to AvMats for avionics at SUS and this Sabre (a 1981) is FAR from being shipped south. This bird is a real joy to fly with a ton of new avionics, revamped panel and a brand new EFB system. This baby will be one of the nicest around (we are going to be doing paint and interior in the very near future.) The owner is considering a European compliant refit as well with 8.33 spacing, FM immunity, and TCAS 2. We an HF airplane with RVSM and Stage III compliance certification (731-3D mods.) This baby will go to 450 and stay there for 5.5 to 6.5 hours at mach .76-.78 or go FL390 @ mach .82 for 4 hours. Needless to say, it's a nice bird.

I also wanted to share my experiences as a flight instructor...
I did the slow flight school thing for a while and did sit around and compete for students. Then, I went back to Vero Beach and taught for Paris Air where I earned $15 an hour but go 1000 hours in 10 months, half of it was multi. I also did ground training, probably 7 or 800 hours of that. Add it up and you'll see that I took home less than 20K that year, but I waltzed into a job flying a Chieftain and later an Avanti.

If you are not getting treated well as a flight instructor, find a new job. If you don't like your pay, find a new job, if you fly broken airplanes or don't get enough students or your not doing the kind of work you want....FIND A NEW JOB! There are tons of business owners out there who prey on people willing to take a lot less then they are worth. The more instructors that use this as a step and deal with the BS the worse the situation gets for the next guy.

Case in point, I worked for a company who wanted to make me sleep on a couch in their condo when the place was full instead of getting me a hotel. I simply told them that I would not, under any circumstances, sleep on a fricking couch and that I wanted a bed. They put me up in the Marriott. I will stand up for myself, as all pilots should. You paid a lot to get where you are. You have valuable skills, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don't let yourself be mistreated.

I also would like to refute the claim that flight instruction is dangerous. Compared to single pilot cargo 135 ops it's a cake walk.

The claim that corporate is all about military...that seems completely off to me. I have NEVER meant a pilot that was flying military and prefers to hire ex-military. In fact, most flight dept heads that I know are civilian guys. Most started as lineman or flight instructors. Generally airport rats who paid their dues and eventually made it.

Just my .02

Have a great day!