Personally I say stick to corporate - you'll live longer...

But!

"BoilerUP" does make a good point about doing the interviews. Its good experience if you can get the time off to go do it. Times were different 5 years ago obviously but I interviewed at ExpressJet, SkyWest, Mesa and Pinnacle all within 5 weeks of each other. It was pretty intense but by the time I got to the last interview (ExpressJet) I was on autopilot.

FYI SkyWest was the hardest interview ive done to date. It took all day and had 5 or 6 phases including sim, 2 written exams, a CRM scenario and interviews with 2 different panels. In contrast ExpressJet was the easiest with only 2 interviews. Got offers to all 4 but chose ExpressJet because I would go straight to a jet and they had the fastest upgrade (2 years) of most of the regionals at the time.


Perhaps it goes without saying but be careful not to let your current employer know you're going to doing this. Good luck either way! :)

Hey guys,

Well, I've decided to make the jump and give pt 135 a try. I am currently with ExpressJet and just got hired for a BeechJet position. The pt 135 gig is at the airport about 10mins from my house, so I really am looking forward to that quality of life improvement.

My question is later on down the road if I network, network, network, and wanted to find something in a legacy, global, etc,...do those usually require you to live within 2 hours or so of the airport? Or is that completely company specific and too broad to ask?

I am looking forward to flying into FBO's again =)

Yes. Some 91 operators have "standby", a few have something more akin to an airline reserve, and others if you have no flying scheduled then the day is yours. Also it doesn't matter what the size of the airplane is - it could be a G550 or a CJ1 - it depends on the HMFIC of the flight department and/or company to set the tone for requirements.

I'm that HMFIC so I'm expected to answer my phone if the bossman calls at a reasonable hour, but thankfully we know 99% of our trips with 24hr notice and probably 90% with at least one weeks' notice.

I know a couple pilots that drive 3-4 hours to their airplane vs. pack up the family and move...and their employer has a flexible enough schedule (read no pop-up GET HERE RIGHT EFFING NOW trips) to allow that.

Congrats on the new job, enjoy the Beechjet and remember - in a crosswind, you can't lift a wing with a spoiler.:D

Yeah the owner made sure to point out that wing to me =) Interesting design.

Thanks for the reply.

You are gonna be so much happier....trust me.

Just think how much you're going to miss the 100 degree walk arounds in the beautiful Houston summer or the 2 hour wait to take off in Newark. And how about the disgusting bagel samies available only in the only city that rocks (according to Drew Carey :rolleyes:) Cleveland, Ohio. No my friend those days are gone now but you'll alway have the ballpark...

As far as the a Legacy job goes I wouldnt really bother looking for one unless it fell in your lap. There just not a lot of them being operated in the US, I know because I looked for several years and I finally got a hold of the registration book for US aircraft. There were literally less than 10 at the end of 2009. There are several operators that have the EMB-135 shuttles like Intel in KHIO, Oregon but thats about it.

Which model of the Beechjet (aka Hawker 400?) are you in? Where? The one we have here is being retro'd with the new Williams engines and the Collins Pro Line 21 avionics. Supposedly it will give that plane a 2000 mile range when finished and they wont have to worry about prist anymore....amazing for a Beechjet!

Congrats on the new job man its always exciting to fly a new plane, hopefully they send you to Simuflight in Dallas for training. Its a great facility and they treat you like a customer rather than a number. Plus you'll get to meet some new people to start growing your network. I was told once that "a good pilot is always looking for his next job". Now I took that to mean that your not always gonna jump on the next job thats out there but you definitely need to keep your finger on the pulse of the field you're on because you never know. Where im at in Seattle we have a pilot gathering once a month for beer and apps and its open to everyone on the field. Generally have 15-20 guys show depending on whos in town and everyone gets a chance to know each other - great networking tool even if it does create a little competition

It's for the Hawker 400 XP in So Cal. Training is Flight Safety in Wichita.

Yeah I will not miss Houston, Cleveland or Newark. I am based in Chicago right now... great city, but it is cold. I am tired of the cold =(

Good to know about the Legacy jobs... I wasn't actively looking for one, but more so curious about the possibility.

EDIT: I am excited to not have to eat airport food! Seems like everyplace you go the options are Chili's 2 Go, McDonalds, etc etc... just tired of it.

Beware of gaining 20 pounds--it's an occupational hazard of expense account living. Training and flying should be more relaxed. Stop worrying about how many hours you fly, it doesn't matter. OTOH, network, the light jets have been killed in recession. You don't bid, you fly what the Boss wants. Get used to living with the same guys, like being married with no benefits.

GF

After doing some networking, I may have an opportunity to get into a pt 91 corporate gig for a Fortune 500 company. I am currently flying for an on-demand pt135. For those who have made similar career changes, what can I expect as far as QOL/schedule? I know it varies company to company, but I just want to get a feel for the overall lifestyle. Any thoughts/experiences are helpful.

As questions at the interview, EVERY flight department is different. You will probably work about 13-17 days a month on average, with variables. We have 7 "hard off" days per month, 3 weeks vacation after 4 years, up to post trip days for international trips. Ask what hotels they us, do you position overseas business class? What and how are expenses done. Per diem or Actual expenses. Is there a standby policy. How many pilots per plane, are their flight attendants, if it is an international operator on Gulfstream/Global class planes.

Next, ask about a flight operations manual, what it says. Ask about IS-BAO certification, sort of like ISO 9000 for corporate flight ops. If these things are there, good bet it is a first class operation.

Good Luck, GF

...but don't assume a company isn't a first class operation simply because they haven't bought into the ISBAO nonsense...