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tanker95 03-05-2020 10:11 AM

Alpine Air Hiring
 
Alpine Air is looking to hire Captains. Pilots can expect a 3-5 day work week with the opportunity for extra days. Home every night schedule with a typical day logging 3-4 hours. Alpine does not require new hire BE99 Captains to sign a training contract. All aircraft have Garmin 500 series GPS or better.



Alpine is excited to announce a guaranteed interview with Omni Air International based on a few prerequisites:

· Pilots must upgrade to the B1900 and reach 1200 hours in type

· If the pilot works toward becoming a Training Captain or Check Airman in either airframe, this number will be reduced to 800 hours in type



Preferred qualifications include:



B1900 Flight Time:

1200 Total

100 Multi



BE99 Flight Time:

1150 Total

Must have ME, instrument, and commercial ratings



BE99 First Officer:

900 Total

Must have ME rating



This position is a Full-Time position. First year pilots can typically expect to earn between $55,000-$60,000 per year for BE99 Captains, while B1900 Captains can expect $70,000-$80,000 utilizing compensation programs like rate per route, per diem, annual retention bonus, etc. Compensation is based on a 5 day work week so you will be paid for 5 days even if working only 4 days. Benefits include: Generous Paid Time Off, ten (10) paid holidays per year, Medical, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance, and 401(k) with employer contribution are available immediately upon employment.



Please feel free to PM me with any questions or email a resume to [email protected]

Gundriver64 03-05-2020 02:05 PM

I've reached out to them twice and never heard anything back. Not even a TBNT. PM'd you.

Cheers,
G

cfii2007 03-07-2020 03:16 AM

"Pilots can expect a 3-5 day work week"

How do they manage to work 3 days a week (I was also told 4 at one point), when other carriers are 5/2 M-F or T-Sat?

250kt Final 03-07-2020 07:19 AM


Originally Posted by cfii2007 (Post 2991176)
"Pilots can expect a 3-5 day work week"

How do they manage to work 3 days a week (I was also told 4 at one point), when other carriers are 5/2 M-F or T-Sat?

It depends on the route you fly and if it’s UPS or USPS. Also each base has its own way of operating. I’ve been out of the loop for a while but I had an awesome schedule when I was there. Even though Alpine is cargo it’s not like other carriers I.e Ameriflight. The company has gone above and beyond to improve qol for its pilots. I’m still scratching my head why many people place Ameriflight on this golden pedestal like it’s the god of cargo companies when there are better cargo companies out there if one chooses that route. Alpine still has the quarterly and Christmas bonus I believe and that helps, and yes double bonus for Christmas time. When I was at Alpine, if the company had the aircraft and the pilots they would completely displace ameriflight out of SLC. Perhaps that’s still the plan as they grow since they already have taken over a handful of routes from them there.

PilotAC12 08-30-2020 05:05 AM

Is Alpine still hiring FO's or plan to again in the future? I see it all the time in the job postings but it seems like they're really looking for PIC's. Also haven't been able to find pay for an Alpine FO, if anyone knows that, that would be very helpful thank you!

flyjustinfly 08-30-2020 09:53 AM

Is Alpine in CASS?

frmrbuffdrvr 08-30-2020 12:12 PM


Originally Posted by PilotAC12 (Post 3119040)
Is Alpine still hiring FO's or plan to again in the future? I see it all the time in the job postings but it seems like they're really looking for PIC's. Also haven't been able to find pay for an Alpine FO, if anyone knows that, that would be very helpful thank you!

I believe the aircraft they fly don't require FOs. So unless they have a mentor program, they likely aren't hiring them.

stang 08-31-2020 06:25 AM


Originally Posted by flyjustinfly (Post 3119211)
Is Alpine in CASS?

No, they are not in cass

TeamSasquatch 08-31-2020 06:59 AM


Originally Posted by frmrbuffdrvr (Post 3119297)
I believe the aircraft they fly don't require FOs. So unless they have a mentor program, they likely aren't hiring them.

From a friend who knows a friend, who works at Alpine* About a year ago they bought all the Great Lakes 1900 and E120's. The 1900 might be easier to staff now. But, at that time, some talk about getting low time guys in the right seat to help feed the expansion and attrition from people moving to the next level. If they fly the E120, that will of course need an FO. Prior to COVID, they had 99 and 1900 FO's. My guess, like most here is they don't need the FO's now.... As they say here, you wont know unless you apply. Someone who has turbine time, or 135 time in the right seat might have a better chance.

desertfly3r 08-31-2020 09:30 AM

They are not currently hiring pilots.

desertfly3r 09-11-2020 08:30 PM

Can anyone here chime in on what Alpine is looking for in terms of hours to be competitive? I’ve applied twice and have over 1500 hours, 400 multi, and 300 night. Received TBNT emails both times? I understand it’s a tight market and am just looking for insight as to what kind of hours people have that they are hiring. Thanks.

Jet757 09-12-2020 04:40 AM

I had ATP 2300 TT,
1600 Turbine,
350 TPIC.
900hrs Turboprop
670 Night
200 actual instrument
Degree

Previous 135 freight experience with no auto pilot and a clean record. Also got TBNT.

So yeah. It's just one kick after another these days.

Probably gonna go work for McDonald's pretty soon.

TeamSasquatch 09-12-2020 06:50 PM

This is old info, but I turned down a job a few years go at Alpine. Only because I took a job closer to home. Similar flight times and nothing special. I went and toured the Billings operation, meet with the Chief and talked to some pilots on here. At that time, people left after getting some TPIC time for the next job. Sounded like a fairly predictable attrition. I bet In today’s world, No movement equals no open jobs. I did see a new job posted for them last week. I think it was out of Denver. Maybe worth re applying. I’m guessing that once Covid is gone, you’ll be able to skip alpine and go to a next level job.

TransWorld 09-13-2020 09:54 AM


Originally Posted by TeamSasquatch (Post 3127755)
This is old info, but I turned down a job a few years go at Alpine. Only because I took a job closer to home. Similar flight times and nothing special. I went and toured the Billings operation, meet with the Chief and talked to some pilots on here. At that time, people left after getting some TPIC time for the next job. Sounded like a fairly predictable attrition. I bet In today’s world, No movement equals no open jobs. I did see a new job posted for them last week. I think it was out of Denver. Maybe worth re applying. I’m guessing that once Covid is gone, you’ll be able to skip alpine and go to a next level job.

Just because COVID-19 is gone, it will take some time to get the furloughed back on board before the hiring train starts up again.

nfpilot914 09-25-2020 01:09 PM

Do these guys ever hire Part-time pilots? I’m referring to a job post via LinkedIn for Alpine-Air that advertised full and part-time. Thanks!

MadmanX2 09-26-2020 09:12 AM

When I was at that level I sent my resume in 4 or 5 different times. Not even a TBNT letter, just crickets. Moved on to better places.

Through out my career I have received some very nice rejection letters. It was nice to know those companies cared enough to respond.

Meep 10-02-2020 06:53 AM


Originally Posted by MadmanX2 (Post 3136074)
When I was at that level I sent my resume in 4 or 5 different times. Not even a TBNT letter, just crickets. Moved on to better places.

Through out my career I have received some very nice rejection letters. It was nice to know those companies cared enough to respond.

At this point even experienced pilots will be lucky to get jobs at these types of places.

Jeepers 06-01-2021 06:37 AM

Anyone have a recent info on Alpine? Competitive times to get a call back for a Be99 job? Any ideas which bases will be filled?

Thanks!

250kt Final 06-01-2021 07:50 AM


Originally Posted by Jeepers (Post 3243935)
Anyone have a recent info on Alpine? Competitive times to get a call back for a Be99 job? Any ideas which bases will be filled?

Thanks!

I would just apply or email a resume. I’ve noticed the 135 cargo guys have been posting jobs lately. As the unofficial sign the industry is recovering. (The laid off pilots last year who used 135 cargo as a crutch have moved on to bigger and better)

Jeepers 06-01-2021 09:37 AM


Originally Posted by 250kt Final (Post 3243986)
I would just apply or email a resume. I’ve noticed the 135 cargo guys have been posting jobs lately. As the unofficial sign the industry is recovering. (The laid off pilots last year who used 135 cargo as a crutch have moved on to bigger and better)

I put in an application last week. Just trying to get some information if I’m even competitive for the job currently.

QRH Bingo 06-01-2021 02:33 PM


Originally Posted by Jeepers (Post 3244060)
I put in an application last week. Just trying to get some information if I’m even competitive for the job currently.

Do you meet the minimums? If so I would agree with the previous post by 250kts as to the unofficial signs of recovery. Ameriflight has several postings for type rated positions (which generally are easily filled by current 99 employees and therefore not listed publicly). Cargo 135 operators may soon be back to scraping the bottom of the barrel (so to say) as they were pre-covid. Good luck.

New Guy 007 09-15-2021 06:47 PM

The last post was a few months ago, anyone know if they have started hiring again? If you check out their website, they show openings at all of their bases. Anyone have more up to date information?

Alpine Pilot 09-18-2021 09:26 AM

Hey guys, I’m a line pilot at Alpine Air. I don’t think many of us visit this forum very often, but I’ve started to, so I setup an account to help you out with questions. I’m not a recruiter, we don’t really have recruiters, but I’ll do what I can to help if you’re insterested in flying freight with us.

Are we hiring? Yes we’re still hiring, but like many places it slowed down for a while when nobody was leaving during the past year. We need both 99 and 1900 pilots, but with more and more of the new 1900D cargo conversions reaching the line, we usually have more of a need for 1900 qualified pilots. If you have a 1900 type rating with any SIC or PIC time we could probably use you at any of our bases right now.

Where do we need pilots?
Salt Lake City, UT
Denver, CO
Sioux Falls, SD
Billing, MT

Denver and Sioux Falls only have one or two 99 runs each. The 99 drivers are usually needed in Billings and Salt Lake City more.

Qualifications? The hours listed on the our website are current. If there’s any changes I’ll update you. Here they are as of now:

B1900 Flight Time:
1200 Total
100 Multi

BE99 Flight Time:
1100 Total

BE99 First Officer:
900 Total

Must have a Commercial with ME and Instrument
Must possess FAA Class II Medical Certificate

Do we hire part time pilots? Occasionally, but it’s rare and depends on our needs.

Do we hire First Officers? Yes, but not very often and only in the 99 for now. We are looking at expanding a pilot development program that may include hiring into the right seat of the 1900’s, if they make any announcements on that I’ll post them here.

I’ll check back for more questions and you can also send me a private message.

Cleared4appch 09-20-2021 08:55 PM


Originally Posted by Alpine Pilot (Post 3297039)
Hey guys, I’m a line pilot at Alpine Air. I don’t think many of us visit this forum very often, but I’ve started to, so I setup an account to help you out with questions. I’m not a recruiter, we don’t really have recruiters, but I’ll do what I can to help if you’re insterested in flying freight with us.

Are we hiring? Yes we’re still hiring, but like many places it slowed down for a while when nobody was leaving during the past year. We need both 99 and 1900 pilots, but with more and more of the new 1900D cargo conversions reaching the line, we usually have more of a need for 1900 qualified pilots. If you have a 1900 type rating with any SIC or PIC time we could probably use you at any of our bases right now.

Where do we need pilots?
Salt Lake City, UT
Denver, CO
Sioux Falls, SD
Billing, MT

Denver and Sioux Falls only have one or two 99 runs each. The 99 drivers are usually needed in Billings and Salt Lake City more.

Qualifications? The hours listed on the our website are current. If there’s any changes I’ll update you. Here they are as of now:

B1900 Flight Time:
1200 Total
100 Multi

BE99 Flight Time:
1100 Total

BE99 First Officer:
900 Total

Must have a Commercial with ME and Instrument
Must possess FAA Class II Medical Certificate

Do we hire part time pilots? Occasionally, but it’s rare and depends on our needs.

Do we hire First Officers? Yes, but not very often and only in the 99 for now. We are looking at expanding a pilot development program that may include hiring into the right seat of the 1900’s, if they make any announcements on that I’ll post them here.

I’ll check back for more questions and you can also send me a private message.

Can you upgrade to the 1900 within the same base you were originally hired into if starting on the 99? Say if someone is hired into the 99 in Billings, can they easily upgrade within that base, or will they likely need to move to upgrade?

Alpine Pilot 09-21-2021 02:39 PM

Sure, it's most common for people to upgrade and stay in their original base. However, some people occasionally chose to move to another base. They've never forced anybody to move from one base to another that I've ever heard about. Also, you don't necessarily need to be at your upgrade point to swap bases, but there would need to be a need with an open position first.

Also, I've talked to a couple people that had solid qualifications but didn't hear back from anybody after applying, so I directly delivered their resume to get looked at. If you meet the minimums and you really want to give Alpine a try, feel free to PM me and I'll gladly forward your resume directly to one of the Chiefs.

Cleared4appch 09-21-2021 09:07 PM


Originally Posted by Alpine Pilot (Post 3298303)
Sure, it's most common for people to upgrade and stay in their original base. However, some people occasionally chose to move to another base. They've never forced anybody to move from one base to another that I've ever heard about. Also, you don't necessarily need to be at your upgrade point to swap bases, but there would need to be a need with an open position first.

Also, I've talked to a couple people that had solid qualifications but didn't hear back from anybody after applying, so I directly delivered their resume to get looked at. If you meet the minimums and you really want to give Alpine a try, feel free to PM me and I'll gladly forward your resume directly to one of the Chiefs.

Great info, thanks for sharing! And yes I am interested in moving into 135 freight. I’ve been looking at Alpine for some time now, I will submit an application in the next couple of days. Currently I have almost 1000 hours turbine PIC. Not interested in the airlines. What is the training program like? Is it done in house or do they send you to one of the sim centers (I.e. flight safety)?

Alpine Pilot 09-22-2021 12:47 PM

Indoc for new hires is done at the Billings base.

The BE99 training is done in Billings, Montana. You have about a week of ground training and about a week of flight training, and all of the flight training is all done in an actual aircraft.

The B1900 training is done at ATS in Centennial, Colorado. Again, you have about a week of ground training and about a week of flight training, but this time all of the flight training is done in a 1900D full motion simulator. Also, we lease a classroom and a simulator at ATS, but all of the actual instruction in the classroom and sim is provided by Alpine Air instructors.

For recurrent training, every 6 months you travel to either location for a few days.

Alpine Pilot 09-22-2021 01:06 PM

I'm at ATS right now and just took several pictures of the facilities, but I guess I'm not allowed to post attachments yet. When I level up and gain some abilities I'll share them with you.

MtnFlying 09-22-2021 02:08 PM


Originally Posted by Alpine Pilot (Post 3298303)
Also, I've talked to a couple people that had solid qualifications but didn't hear back from anybody after applying, so I directly delivered their resume to get looked at. If you meet the minimums and you really want to give Alpine a try, feel free to PM me and I'll gladly forward your resume directly to one of the Chiefs.

I got a TBNT response when I applied a couple months ago with 1550TT/700ME PIC, 2 masters degrees, etc. No idea why I got it, but have since moved on and accepted a job with a regional. It's crazy out there and I have no idea what they are looking for from company to company....lol. I would have loved to have been considered for the B1900 cargo position in any of the bases you listed, especially given the fact that 99% of my flying has been single pilot. I believe it would have been an easy step up from the current Beech twin I'm flying now.

Alpine Pilot 09-22-2021 03:47 PM


Originally Posted by MtnFlying (Post 3298833)
I got a TBNT response when I applied a couple months ago with 1550TT/700ME PIC, 2 masters degrees, etc. No idea why I got it, but have since moved on and accepted a job with a regional. It's crazy out there and I have no idea what they are looking for from company to company....lol. I would have loved to have been considered for the B1900 cargo position in any of the bases you listed, especially given the fact that 99% of my flying has been single pilot. I believe it would have been an easy step up from the current Beech twin I'm flying now.

Yeah, I have no idea what happened on that one either. I'm not directly part of the hiring process, so all I can do right now is answer questions and help you guys throw a resume on the right desk if you want. But hey, good luck at your regional!

Cleared4appch 09-22-2021 09:18 PM


Originally Posted by Alpine Pilot (Post 3298768)
Indoc for new hires is done at the Billings base.

The BE99 training is done in Billings, Montana. You have about a week of ground training and about a week of flight training, and all of the flight training is all done in an actual aircraft.

The B1900 training is done at ATS in Centennial, Colorado. Again, you have about a week of ground training and about a week of flight training, but this time all of the flight training is done in a 1900D full motion simulator. Also, we lease a classroom and a simulator at ATS, but all of the actual instruction in the classroom and sim is provided by Alpine Air instructors.

For recurrent training, every 6 months you travel to either location for a few days.

That would be nice to see pics of the facility. No worries if you’re unable to though. What are the schedules like? Is it mostly night flying? Scheduled routes? Unscheduled? Or a mixture of the 2?

Alpine Pilot 09-23-2021 06:00 PM

The short answer is that you typically go out in the morning, hang out at an outstation for about 8 hours, and then come back in the evening. We fly scheduled routes for UPS, FedEx, and USPS.

I’m just on reserve tomorrow so I’ll make a couple longer posts that cover our normal routes and outstations in better detail.

MtnFlying 09-24-2021 05:20 AM


Originally Posted by Alpine Pilot (Post 3299547)
The short answer is that you typically go out in the morning, hang out at an outstation for about 8 hours, and then come back in the evening. We fly scheduled routes for UPS, FedEx, and USPS.

I’m just on reserve tomorrow so I’ll make a couple longer posts that cover our normal routes and outstations in better detail.

Thanks for posting that info. Seems like a much better schedule than the other cargo operators that do the out at night, back in the morning turns.

Cheers!

Alpine Pilot 09-24-2021 10:41 AM

Based on a couple messages I've received I want to tell you about how we fly at Alpine Air. As a reminder, this is all just my personal opinion.

The BE99’s fly well and can handle some serious icing conditions, but honestly they’re pretty old and many of them look like it. While they may look a little ugly on the outside, we have a good maintenance team and they really are well maintained. I have never been forced to fly a plane I wasn't comfortable taking into the air. The BE99 is not pressurized, so you’ll be flying with a nasal cannula for oxygen up to 18,000 feet because there's lots of mountains in our area. To me the BE99 is a very fun and nimble aircraft, but it doesn’t like to trim out and just sit still for long periods so you're always truly involved when hand flying it, which is part of why it's a fun aircraft for me.

The B1900’s are smoother, quieter, and also handle ice extremely well. They’re much more comfortable because the engines are behind you, they're pressurized, and they have a better environmental system. They also trim out better and have a Yaw Damper system installed. However, while they do trim out better and the Yaw Damp lets you relax on the pedals, you're still always hand flying this aircraft as well.

Our aircraft are not automated. Both aircraft are flown single pilot, with a six pack of gauges, in all kinds of weather conditions, and mostly without an autopilot. Only a couple aircraft in our company, a couple of B1900’s, have an autopilot installed. So in our aircraft you’ll hand fly through all weather conditions, at all times, and usually all by yourself. It's a very connected kind of flying and it's the kind of flying that will really sharpen your raw skills.

For navigation we do have an approved EFB system so all of our logbooks, performance, and charts are on company issued iPads with a backup iPad mounted in each aircraft. The B1900 has touchscreen Garmin 750’s, and the BE99 has Garmin 500 series. We occasionally fly one or two short VFR hops, but most of our flying is done on IFR flight plans and we have a flight following department that monitors.

I hope this gives you a better idea on what you can expect.

Alpine Pilot 09-24-2021 01:52 PM

Here's more on the daily schedule. Like I said before... you typically go out in the morning, hang out at an outstation for several hours, and then come back in the evening. We fly scheduled routes for UPS, FedEx, and USPS. But the majority of our contracts are with UPS.

We have a show time in the mornings, it's usually between 5am and 6am depending on the base and day. Some of the Saturday runs have later show times like 7am. You arrive by your show time, you go out and prep the plane, and then you hang out and wait for the cargo. The cargo might be ready to go right away, or it might be ready in an hour or two. That depends on if the big jets are on time, how long the sorting process takes, etc. While you wait you've picked up a departure clearance, checked weather and notams, and ordered fuel if needed.

After the loaders get the cargo on the plane you depart and fly to your outstation. Most of the lines are single leg out and single leg back. Some are two legs going out, and one leg coming back. And only a couple get more complicated than that. Many of the legs are barely an hour actual wheels up time to wheels down time, but of course that varies. After you get to the outstation sometime in the morning to mid morning, the drivers meet you and unload the cargo and then you're done until the evening pickup. For the next 8 hours or so you have a crew car and a crew apartment at your disposal. You can sleep all day, watch movies, play games, go hiking, hit the gym, go fishing, you get the idea. In the evening around 5pm to 6pm you go back to the plane, pre-flight, and meet the drivers who load the afternoon cargo. Once loaded you fly back to your home base, park and let the loaders unload the plane, and that's it.

This is again just kind of an average breakdown. On the less average side of things there's a few runs where it works better for the pilots to live at the outstation instead of the base, but we open specific listings to hire pilots for those unusual positions. We also have one or two unique runs like a postal run that goes through the night to multiple outstations, and a single run out of Ontario (California) that only requires a couple hours in the afternoon. But what I've posted here gives you a good idea for most of the normal flying we do.

Alpine Pilot 09-24-2021 02:18 PM

Oh yeah, forgot to cover Reserves.

Reserve pilots show up at the normal show time and hang out with a reserve plane. If cargo is too heavy for the normal plane assigned to a run, then they might load the excess on the reserve plane and send it as well. Only this time you'll fly there, get unloaded, and then immediately fly back empty. If you launch on one of these you'll probably be home by lunch.

Reserves sometimes cover other carriers routes as well. If a route serviced by another company like Ameriflight or Gem Air overflows, the carrier (UPS, FedEx, or USPS) might opt to use our reserve to cover the excess. Also, if another company can't send aircraft because of maintenance issues or something, you might go instead and cover their entire day at their outstation.

And if one of our pilots calls in sick, you'll simply go cover his entire run is his assigned aircraft.

As a reserve many times you simply show up, watch everybody else load and fly away, and then go home. However, that happens less and less often as we approach peak season (which is Mid-November to Mid-January) and the cargo loads increase to overflowing more often.

Cleared4appch 09-24-2021 06:52 PM


Originally Posted by Alpine Pilot (Post 3299887)
Oh yeah, forgot to cover Reserves.

Reserve pilots show up at the normal show time and hang out with a reserve plane. If cargo is too heavy for the normal plane assigned to a run, then they might load the excess on the reserve plane and send it as well. Only this time you'll fly there, get unloaded, and then immediately fly back empty. If you launch on one of these you'll probably be home by lunch.

Reserves sometimes cover other carriers routes as well. If a route serviced by another company like Ameriflight or Gem Air overflows, the carrier (UPS, FedEx, or USPS) might opt to use our reserve to cover the excess. Also, if another company can't send aircraft because of maintenance issues or something, you might go instead and cover their entire day at their outstation.

And if one of our pilots calls in sick, you'll simply go cover his entire run is his assigned aircraft.

As a reserve many times you simply show up, watch everybody else load and fly away, and then go home. However, that happens less and less often as we approach peak season (which is Mid-November to Mid-January) and the cargo loads increase to overflowing more often.

Thanks alpine pilot! Great info! I will be submitting an app tomorrow. Hopeful to hear back from them. I’ve been wanting to fly freight for a long time. Sounds like it’s a lot of fun. I’ve always been drawn to Beechcraft too. How is the company in terms of backing up pilot decisions regarding wx? Do they respect your decisions to delay/divert if necessary?

250kt Final 09-24-2021 09:02 PM

Pro tip….. if flying UPS and based in FSD or BIL one can time their arrival to the airport based on FlightAware since their runs depend on the UPS jet…no sense in showing on time if it’s late. Enjoy hitting the snooze an extra 30 min or an hour. I throughly enjoyed snoozing an extra hour when they were late or the airport was fogged in and couldn’t land. You won’t get that at DEN and SLC and I believe you got to show up at the same time everyday regardless of delays/weather since their operation doesn’t depend on a single jet.

Alpine Pilot 09-25-2021 05:56 AM


Originally Posted by 250kt Final (Post 3300001)
Pro tip….. if flying UPS and based in FSD or BIL one can time their arrival to the airport based on FlightAware since their runs depend on the UPS jet…no sense in showing on time if it’s late. Enjoy hitting the snooze an extra 30 min or an hour. I throughly enjoyed snoozing an extra hour when they were late or the airport was fogged in and couldn’t land. You won’t get that at DEN and SLC and I believe you got to show up at the same time everyday regardless of delays/weather since their operation doesn’t depend on a single jet.

Yeah, the SLC pilots still check the status of the UPS jets on FlightAware. But like you said, they have three jets to worry about. They especially watch the Memphis jet since it usually has like 2/3 of the expected daily freight. If it’s a couple hours late the Chief will usually clear them to arrive a little later. Just more moving parts to worry about at the bigger airports so it’s not as easy to pull off.

Alpine Pilot 09-25-2021 06:40 AM


Originally Posted by Cleared4appch (Post 3299958)
Thanks alpine pilot! Great info! I will be submitting an app tomorrow. Hopeful to hear back from them. I’ve been wanting to fly freight for a long time. Sounds like it’s a lot of fun. I’ve always been drawn to Beechcraft too. How is the company in terms of backing up pilot decisions regarding wx? Do they respect your decisions to delay/divert if necessary?

Absolutely. Weather happens, so if it’s questionable at the destination just talk with UPS or FedEx and tell them what the closest alternatives that are forecasted to work might be, and ask them which alternate they would prefer.

Hailey, Idaho (KSUN) is a good example. It gets socked in all the time in the winter. It’s in the bottom of a steep valley and the approach only lets you get down to about 900 feet. If that flight can’t get in then UPS usually prefers to have it divert to Jerome followed by Twin Falls, depending on what the weather allows. If the weather is currently barely legal, but it’s forcast to clear up in a hour and a half, then they’ll let you wait on the ramp for better conditions at the destination before you depart. That’s better than flying up there, ending up in a hold, and then diverting to Twin Falls where it’s an extra 2 hour round trip for the drivers as the weather now begins to break at SUN.

In general, it’s simply expected that you’ll make good PIC decisions and try to reach the original destination if possible, and in a safe manner. If you can’t get in we already have a few prefered alternates, and if things really go sideways I’ve simply returned to SLC with the cargo still in the plane because even the alternates started looking bad. In that case I got fuel, waited a couple hours for weather to get better at a suitable airport, and then launched again.


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