pagey

Anyone have info on them? Are they hiring? General thoughts on the job itself...I dont really mind traveling alot on short notice.

Any help is appreciated.

Sherwood80

Landcare Aviation is a GREAT place for any pilot coming out of training, or being a CFI for a short while. I worked for them last year, and I traveled from Orlando, Florida to Augusta, Maine, and almost everywhere in-between. You acutally use your instrument rating, and you learn to communicate in class Bravo almost like it was second nature. They usually hire around late August to mid-Sept. for the mid-Oct to end of May season. Great experience, can get up to 500-700 hours in the seven month period, and you learn to manage your own airplane, hotels, hangar situation, etc. My buddy who flew with them the previous season told me that "Flight school gets you your ratings, Landcare is where you learn to fly and become a pilot"---and he was 100% right.

Riverside

Do you have to pay for the hotel and rental car? Good pay or bad pay?

Piper877

Agree 100%. I did a season and a half with them and it was great experience and built time very quickly. I flew directly over Central Park in NY city, over Reagan National and the Pentagon in DC and Miramar Naval Air Station in San Diego. You'll learn a lot quickly and I think it's an excellent job both to build confidence, and hone your judgment skills.
They should be hiring soon...the season for the type of photography they do is mid-October to the end of May. Sometimes those dates change, but that's generally pretty close.
As far as the company goes, I found it to be a very friendly place. As long as you do your job, they'll take care of you in return. Bob is the guy in charge and is a great guy to work for. Maintenance is top-notch as well. You're on the road nearly 100% of the time, so you'll be utilizing the services of the FBO's you stay at. During good weeks, you'll get an oil change every 10 days or so.
If you want any more info, feel free to ask. I'm a big fan of the company and I'll be happy to help anyone who asks.

Edit--The only thing you pay for is your food. The company issues you two credit cards...one for fuel and one for hotel. You're required to put down your own credit card for the rental car, but you're promptly reimbursed. This is due to liability issues from previous people having accidents etc. or so I was told when I worked there.
The pay is reasonable...it was $450/week when I worked there. It doesn't sound like much, but you won't need an apartment nor any of the expenses associated with one.

Sherwood80

Last season, we were allowed to spend up to $80/night, and if you were under the $80/night AND shared a room with another pilot (if one was in the area) then you each got an extra $25/day. You also learn to negotiate very well with hotels. If they say $100/night, just tell them you have another hotel for $80, but you want to stay there--and you will stay for at least a week; they will drop down to $80. Points rewards are nice also. You put the rental car under your credit card, and you send Landcare your receipt so they can reimburse you in full. We got $400/week, so around $1600/month before taxes....but almost 80% of the time I was with another pilot, and five out of the seven months I banked an extra $700/month. Also, we received a minimum $2000 end of the season bonus. I paid off all my credit debt, and I was still able to get drinks on my off days, and go to nice resturants with some frequency. It was nice not to pay rent or utilities. Also, if you share a car with someone, Landcare pays for your gas. And almost every time I was by myself, I talked to the FBO and got crew car, or found a hotel with a shuttle to/from the airport for free. You have to book the hotels and rental cars by yourself, but trust me, it becomes second nature within a few weeks. it was a great feeling knowing that when the boss told me to relocate the next day, within thirty minutes I had a car, hangar, and a hotel suite.

Sherwood80

I almost forgot that aspect. I flew over Disney World, within one mile from the Capital, White House, and Pentagon; and I also paralleled Air Force Once landing into Andrews AFB. It was nice knowing that you were cleared to manuever in the ADIZ and FRZ for hours at a time, when no one else can! We also mapped the whole state of Mass & R.I. within three weeks, and the two weeks flying around Cape Cod was beautiful. By the end of the season, it is no sweat being in Maine when you wake up, and going to sleep in upstate New York by Canada, where the next day you need to go down to Ohio for a quick cleanup, before going to Penn. BUILDS CONFIDENCE!! I walked into my airline interview confident, and it was nice to have staying in a hotel as second nature, while the other pilots can't sleep because they aren't used to being away from home. The best part if that live, eat, sleep, breathe this job.....not even close to like the two hours a day, three days a week flight training. You feel like you are a real pilot.

Piper877

Definitely. Looks like the pay has changed a little bit. I sure would have loved that end of season bonus.

Also, to anyone that gets hired there, if you're assigned N53134 and you mistreat her, I WILL find you and harm you in awful, terrible ways.

Sherwood80

Well, they did the end of the year bonus since I believe in the 2006-2007 season, half the pilots had enough hours to move on to a regional airline, and Simon spent the whole second half of the season training new pilots. We only had a few pilots leave, and they didn't leave until March or so, and they gave Bob and Simon plently of notice so they could replace them.

5260K is a good airplane, and you learn to treat them as your home--since they really are.

Piper877

Hehe. 60K got me out to San Diego and back. She's my second favorite.

Sherwood80

If I am not mistaken, I believe 53134 was a C3, so I never seen much of her. I wished we could have went to the West Coast, but we had so much Mass and RI stuff to do...we did have all but three (including me) make it to Houston, and four (not me) head to AZ for a week or two. My furthest west point was Atlanta.