All of these great questions will have different answers depending on the flight department, that being the case... In general,
Originally Posted by
MaydayMark
Who does their flight plans (I wouldn't want to be filing an International Flight Plan over the Internet at midnight the night before a 10 hour flight).
Jeppensen and Global are probably the two biggest players here. They provide world class dispatch releases including weather/customs/filing information. For a typical NY-Europe crossing, you can expect 50-70 pages of dispatch material.
Originally Posted by
MaydayMark
would be nice to be flying a G550 around the world. Who takes care of catering and baggage handling. Who's responsible for aircraft maintenance and logbooks?
It has its pros and cons for sure. FBO line service personal will hand the bags up through the baggage door and the pilots take turns loading and securing the bags. If the crew has a Flight Attendant on board (varies wildly across the board), they handle all the catering and service. Pilots coordinate maintenance with the OEM in most cases, unless the department has a mechanic they bring with them, or back at the base where they then coordinate MX with the OEM.
Originally Posted by
MaydayMark
FBO's do all the ground handling around the world when not at home base?
That is correct.
Originally Posted by
MaydayMark
, I think it's kind of nice to show up an hour prior to my departure, review the provided paperwork, preflight and depart. Is it a similar gig for the major Corporate jobs?
Typically we show 2-3 hours prior to takeoff. Inventory, crew briefings, reviewing the paperwork, loading the catering and bags and whatnot typically take a little longer. Most departments require the crew to be in position and ready for departure 1 hour before the scheduled departure time.