Pony Express

Hey all,
Lately I've been poking around the aviation industry's corners, trying to find some of the "oddball" types of flying that you don't hear about much. I've always set my sights on being a pilot (Currently have PPL w/ IFR working on Commercial) but the airlines never really called to me. Nothing against the business, I understand airline guys are pure professionals, it just doesn't seem right for me.

I work in a maintenance hangar (mostly C172s, a piper arrow, a few seminoles, the random C210/ bonanza once in a while) and I real enjoy being around planes even if I'm not flying them (right now my flight training is on hold for a short time)


Anyways, I've been reading up a lot on the niche flying jobs, aerial firefighting, air ambulance, etc. but I'm wondering what else is out there. Anybody got any ideas as to what else there is?
Anybody have any experience/ stories from the aerial firefighting/ Air ambulance world? I've read a few threads on here about the two of them with some rather conflicting information.

Thanks



Edit: Just re-read that. Let me know if I need to reiterate. Ive been inhaling lots of chemical fumes this morning between the three planes we got in the hangar for some mx.

SkyHigh

I have been:

A bush Pilot. Mostly off airport, wheels and sea.

I flew smokejumpers and air attack for the forest service.

Air ambulance in Learjets, Citiation and turbine twins.

I also was a fish spotter and I did all of that in the dream of making it to the airlines so that I would not have to do those kinds of things anymore.

Skyhigh

Pony Express

SkyHigh,

Interesting. Would you care to explain a bit more about the flying you did? Was that the reason you wanted to get into the airlines or were airlines the goal from day 1?

Thanks

Rama

Aerial firefighting and air ambulance jobs are pretty strict on their experience requirements. Flying skydivers, traffic watch, towing gliders, banner towing, and of course working as a cfi are typical lower time jobs. They are also jobs that most do not make into careers due to low pay etc.

SkyHigh

All I ever wanted to be was a bored airline pilot but got sidetracked into oddball stuff. I still get job offers because guys who are able to get oddball experience are in demand however I did not like the life that came with those kinds of jobs.

I wanted the repetition, income, benefits and stability that comes with a nice corporate automaton airline pilot job. What I got was an adventure instead.

The irony is that there are guys out there who only wanted to live out of a suitcase flying smoke jumpers and they can not get even close and are stuck flying an airliner. Sometimes it seems the career picks you.

People were always telling me that I had a good background of experience. "Good for what" is what I always thought. It never got me close to my goals.

Skyhigh

SkyHigh

I write little stories about some of the jobs I have had in the "Leaving the Career" section under the thread "For Skyhigh".

Skyhigh

ClutchCargo

Here we go again.


Sky-

You did have good experience- Initially. Problem is, you stayed in the bush, air attack, etc. way too long.

You should have gone to a regional about five years sooner than you did. Once you got that "1000hrs TPIC" you would have become marketable. Without it you never stood a chance.

Also, you have indicated that it was AK or nothing. You limited yourself to one airline that you (IMO) didn't do very diligent research on how to get hired at.

I got lucky I got hired at my second choice airline. Which turned out to be the best. First choice was FTL. I also applied to AMR, UAL, NWA, USA, MDW, PAA, EAL, Piedmont, etc., etc. The thing is I didn't limit myself and would have accepted employement at any of them while continuing to try to get hired at my "dream job" (long haul freight).

I'm not saying I was a genius in my job search. In fact- made a dumb strategic move by not going to Tigers in '87. Was flying Herks for SAT at the time. Money was very good and adventure meter was pegged. Lost about 600 numbers seniority-wise when the FTL/FDX merger happened. However, my C-130 time was very helpful in getting me hired at FDX in 1990. So it all worked out.

This is my opinion, experience only but for you job career seekers. Trubine PIC is king. Especially glass ( CRJ, etc.). Turboprops not so much anymore, unfortunately.

Good luck to all.

Regards,
Clutch

Pony Express

Thanks for the replies.

Clutch Cargo,
Flying C-130s sounds like a blast! I only knew of lynden air cargo as far as operators that fly C-130s go. Was it mostly oversized freight to unimproved fields? I would guess that most of that work would either be up in Alaska or somewhere international? That does sound like quite an adventure.

Skyhigh,
Have you made it to the airlines or have you decided to take your career another route?

ClutchCargo

SAT= Southern Air Transport. Went out of business in 1998.

Southern Air Transport - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Regards,
Clutch

KSCessnaDriver

I fly airships. Doesn't get much more niche than that. The running joke is there are fewer people LTA-Airship rated than piloted the space shuttle.