ppilot

If anyone would like to read about how horrible life as the pilot of a small airplane can be, you can follow my observations at The life of a small jet pilot

Hopefully this will help educate people that think 'the grass is always greener' in some other aspect of aviation. Cheers!

BoilerUP

Another "PITA owner" story...geez.

I must be ridiculously lucky...my boss is a PPL and he often calls/emails me to ask if our planned departure time will be okay, or if we'll need to move up/push back to account for bad weather.

One time he and other staff were at a golf outing thrown by a client, and weather was moving in. They were about an hour past their initially planned arrival time (they had called to say they'd be late) when I called my boss in the face of a growing line of storms bearing down on the airport.

Him - "Hey what's up?"

Me - "There's a tornado on the ground 25 miles southwest of here, and the storm is moving northeast at 35 knots"

Him - "We'll be there in 15 minutes."

13 minutes later we were starting #2 and 20 minutes later we were airborne, well ahead of the line.

NowCorporate

You will run into this type of crap in any profession, anyplace...

Just do your job as you know how to do it (Safely) and move on to a better job.

These types of owners go through pilots like water. They will never get it. "Thanks" and 2 weeks notice is the best revenge.

I'd also not "blog" or web board too much about anything as this business is full of back stabbers and retards. Best to keep psycho owner stories to yourself....we have all been there, and wont go back.

Good luck!

Ewfflyer

Well you know what you'll need to do, is just find the worst turbulance and just stay there, bouncing the sense into them. Obviously you need to stay within airframe limits, but I would be sure to get the point across.

cobber

Agreed, nothing says "I told you so" better than a white knuckled ride through continuous moderate followed by a 25kt crosswind landing....

ppilot

Thank you for the well thought out comments. I agree with most of them.

If you'd like, please read my response at The life of a small jet pilot

BoilerUP

After reading your "response", you and/or your Chief Pilot need to have a serious talk with your owner. Yesterday.

You are paid to be Pilot In Command of his airplane. While writing the big checks gives him the privilege to ask certain operational questions, unless he's a professional pilot himself with experience in type he has no business whatsoever second-guessing your fuel planning.

He wouldn't tolerate you telling *him* how to do *his* job, so don't continually let him get away with telling you how to do yours. And yes, I recognize just how hard this can be (especially in this environment).

The first time the weather at destination goes to sh!t, you don't have any hold fuel and have to immediately divert to to your alternate, Bossman is gonna be ****ed at you because didn't plan to avoid this major inconvenience to him which caused him to _________________ (miss a meeting, be late to a tee time, etc)...when all you did was what he always wanted you to do.

ppilot

Thanks for all of the thoughts and valid criticisms. I've written another entry should anyone care to read it. I'm planning on writing one every day or two, and I guess I'll stop posting 'here' that I've done so 'there' so as not to clutter up this site.

Again, many thanks to all of you great people. Cheers!

PW305

I'd spend more time looking for a different gig then writing a blog.

It seems by your ranting this is all new to you. Were you hired with particularly low experience by chance?

NowCorporate

LOL. Perfect.

Maybe he's the first guy in corp aviation to work for a real *********?