Recomended route to float 135 flying
02-18-2011, 02:34 PM
#11
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Apr 2007
Position: F/O- G-V/550
Posts: 1,163
Originally Posted by 29singlespeed
Greetings -
Currently working on my CFII / MEI which will be done end of March and will add on my float and tailwheel in April/May. I am indeed lowtime career changer getting back in the game.
Kenmore - are they hiring CFI's? Likely to get much time?
Any others to consider? Caribean, Alaska, Hawaii, whereever is not out of the question.
Thanks!
Travis
Currently working on my CFII / MEI which will be done end of March and will add on my float and tailwheel in April/May. I am indeed lowtime career changer getting back in the game.
Kenmore - are they hiring CFI's? Likely to get much time?
Any others to consider? Caribean, Alaska, Hawaii, whereever is not out of the question.
Thanks!
Travis
In the Maldives you'd be ferrying Europeans from island to island. Trans Maldivian airways, and Maldivian Air Taxi are their two largest airlines.
Kenmore Air, Harbour Air, and West Coast Air seem to be the largest in the Pacific northwest.
Seaborne airlines in the Carribbean (St. Croix I believe)
I've love to do something like that one day. I've actually looked into a couple of times. check out this photo of Vancouver
Photos: De Havilland Canada DHC-6-100 Twin Otter Aircraft Pictures | Airliners.net
02-18-2011, 04:46 PM
#12
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Apr 2006
Position: MD
Posts: 237
Originally Posted by SkyHigh
Most of the guys who I flew with all had to buy a plane or get extremely lucky. Floats are cool and all but mostly useless when it comes to making a living. The guys I know who still fly floats want to get out but can't. It really is useless time unless you want to live in the bush. Even then you still don't make that much. I was offered a job flying floats in southeast AK a few summers ago. The pay was hardly more that what a two bedroom apartment would have cost me.
You could spend the next two summers working the ramp for nothing. Not worth it.
Oh yea, and you also could get yourself killed.
Skyhigh
You could spend the next two summers working the ramp for nothing. Not worth it.
Oh yea, and you also could get yourself killed.
Skyhigh
Alternately, you could have a blast and consider the time you spend up there a once in a lifetime experience that you wouldn't trade for anything.
Most of the guys I know that have been doing it for a long time love it and wouldn't ever consider an airline job.
You could look at it either way, just depends on your brain chemistry and whether a big paycheck is more important than job satisfaction, right Skyhigh?
02-18-2011, 06:20 PM
#14
Line Holder
Thread Starter
Joined APC: Feb 2011
Posts: 72
Originally Posted by chongololo
Which is why we have a sub forum called "part 135" smart a$$.
29singlespeed, Seabourne might be the way to go as others have said, they require ATP MES for captain, not sure what they require for f/o.
Part 135 flying can lead to a great quality of life, well done for not being fixated on the airlines.
Oh and by the way, singlespeed huh? big wheels too? We have gears for a reason man, I'll take the 27 or 30 speed Sram anyday.
29singlespeed, Seabourne might be the way to go as others have said, they require ATP MES for captain, not sure what they require for f/o.
Part 135 flying can lead to a great quality of life, well done for not being fixated on the airlines.
Oh and by the way, singlespeed huh? big wheels too? We have gears for a reason man, I'll take the 27 or 30 speed Sram anyday.
I will be instructing this summer and getting the hours up. As well heading to AK for some training.
As for bikes - 29er is the only way and I prefer 1 gear. Great to know people on here ride. I have been executive level at 2 bike companies - it's not living the dream.
Oh and I guess seaborne, kenmore, 135 is airline pilot - I just meant no desire for regionals to majors. My friends that fly corporate, 135 and career flight instruct are way stoked. Nothing wrong with the airlines just not for me.
Any one out there work for seaborne currently?
02-19-2011, 06:34 PM
#15
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Joined APC: Feb 2010
Position: UAL 2172/ 1437
Posts: 28
Originally Posted by chongololo
Which is why we have a sub forum called "part 135" smart a$$.
29singlespeed, Seabourne might be the way to go as others have said, they require ATP MES for captain, not sure what they require for f/o.
Part 135 flying can lead to a great quality of life, well done for not being fixated on the airlines.
Oh and by the way, singlespeed huh? big wheels too? We have gears for a reason man, I'll take the 27 or 30 speed Sram anyday.
29singlespeed, Seabourne might be the way to go as others have said, they require ATP MES for captain, not sure what they require for f/o.
Part 135 flying can lead to a great quality of life, well done for not being fixated on the airlines.
Oh and by the way, singlespeed huh? big wheels too? We have gears for a reason man, I'll take the 27 or 30 speed Sram anyday.
02-20-2011, 10:40 AM
#16
Self Employed.
Joined APC: May 2005
Position: Corporate Pilot
Posts: 7,119
Make a living
Originally Posted by SC-7
Alternately, you could have a blast and consider the time you spend up there a once in a lifetime experience that you wouldn't trade for anything.
Most of the guys I know that have been doing it for a long time love it and wouldn't ever consider an airline job.
You could look at it either way, just depends on your brain chemistry and whether a big paycheck is more important than job satisfaction, right Skyhigh?
Most of the guys I know that have been doing it for a long time love it and wouldn't ever consider an airline job.
You could look at it either way, just depends on your brain chemistry and whether a big paycheck is more important than job satisfaction, right Skyhigh?
Everyone needs to be able to make a living and to have a life. Most career seaplane pilots hate their jobs. A pilot can get stuck doing it for life. I have a friend right now who has been forced to concede his dream of a normal life in the lower 48 and has to return to Alaska this summer. He and I started up there together and he has not been able to find a way out.
The time is nearly useless to most other areas in aviation. After you have done it for a while it is possible to eek out a living and it becomes difficult to start over. Fun is fun but people need to be able to have a full life. Seaplane jobs usually are located in remote areas where it is difficult to make a life. There are guys who I knew from long ago who are still up there flying but are not happy about it.
An airline captain who I flew with put it nicely when he said "I too wasted my youth flying seaplanes in Alaska". Looking back it was all a waste of time. It did not help me to achieve any of my overall life goals and I do not feel improved for the experience of it. Aviation has a lot of attractive traps, pit falls and dead ends. Flying floats is one of them. The time is worthless and does not usually lead to a situation that provides a beneficial and productive life.
I do not hold much of a better opinion of airline flying however in the airlines there is at least a chance of finding a happy ending.
Skyhigh
Last edited by SkyHigh; 02-20-2011 at 11:11 AM.
02-20-2011, 12:30 PM
#17
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Apr 2006
Position: MD
Posts: 237
Originally Posted by SkyHigh
I flew floats in Alaska. I owned a float plane for 13 years. During that time I have learned a few things. Float flying is hard to get into and can be even harder to get out of.
Everyone needs to be able to make a living and to have a life. Most career seaplane pilots hate their jobs. A pilot can get stuck doing it for life. I have a friend right now who has been forced to concede his dream of a normal life in the lower 48 and has to return to Alaska this summer. He and I started up there together and he has not been able to find a way out.
The time is nearly useless to most other areas in aviation. After you have done it for a while it is possible to eek out a living and it becomes difficult to start over. Fun is fun but people need to be able to have a full life. Seaplane jobs usually are located in remote areas where it is difficult to make a life. There are guys who I knew from long ago who are still up there flying but are not happy about it.
An airline captain who I flew with put it nicely when he said "I too wasted my youth flying seaplanes in Alaska". Looking back it was all a waste of time. It did not help me to achieve any of my overall life goals and I do not feel improved for the experience of it. Aviation has a lot of attractive traps, pit falls and dead ends. Flying floats is one of them. The time is worthless and does not usually lead to a situation that provides a beneficial and productive life.
I do not hold much of a better opinion of airline flying however in the airlines there is at least a chance of finding a happy ending.
Skyhigh
Everyone needs to be able to make a living and to have a life. Most career seaplane pilots hate their jobs. A pilot can get stuck doing it for life. I have a friend right now who has been forced to concede his dream of a normal life in the lower 48 and has to return to Alaska this summer. He and I started up there together and he has not been able to find a way out.
The time is nearly useless to most other areas in aviation. After you have done it for a while it is possible to eek out a living and it becomes difficult to start over. Fun is fun but people need to be able to have a full life. Seaplane jobs usually are located in remote areas where it is difficult to make a life. There are guys who I knew from long ago who are still up there flying but are not happy about it.
An airline captain who I flew with put it nicely when he said "I too wasted my youth flying seaplanes in Alaska". Looking back it was all a waste of time. It did not help me to achieve any of my overall life goals and I do not feel improved for the experience of it. Aviation has a lot of attractive traps, pit falls and dead ends. Flying floats is one of them. The time is worthless and does not usually lead to a situation that provides a beneficial and productive life.
I do not hold much of a better opinion of airline flying however in the airlines there is at least a chance of finding a happy ending.
Skyhigh
Sky, please don't turn this thread into yet another iteration of your life story. You could have saved the typing above -- I and and every other regular here know it by heart.
OP - I have been flying the bush in Alaska in one capacity or another for over a decade, and I have never encountered the bunch of sad sacks described in Skyhigh's stories. A great number of my friends who I started with up here still fly part 135 and do it because they love it. Those who wanted to move on to an airline or corporate career have for the most part done so quite successfully, as did I. Skyhigh will have you believe that any part 135 job will inevitably lead to despair, poverty, and death. My experience, and that of many others was quite different.
However, this thread is not about Skyhigh, there are plenty of others out there for that. OP, I realize your question wasn't specifically about Alaska, but that's where the bulk of float flying opportunities are. If you want, send me a PM and I can point you in the right direction as to which doors to knock on.
02-20-2011, 04:10 PM
#18
IflyApanes
Joined APC: Apr 2008
Position: Former Air Ambulance, Flt Inst, Check Airman, Current CRJ CA
Posts: 187
Wheels to Floats
"captd2000" - Please go back to the "Regionals" forum and talk smack to the hopeful pilots over there.
I agree with the person who recommended going to a company who has both wheels and floats.
Start on the wheels, work your way to the floats. Start looking in AK. It's a lot of fun flying up there. Nothing I have experienced in the lower 48 will ever compare. Look up "Renfros Alaskan Adventures" out of Bethel, might be a good place to start. I know he is short of pilots. Here are some links, start clicking and searching. Good luck to you! 135 =
Renfro's Alaskan Adventures - Alaska's Foremost Guide and Outfitter
Alaska Air Taxis, Bush Pilots and Charter Services
Directory of Alaska Flight Operations
I agree with the person who recommended going to a company who has both wheels and floats.
Start on the wheels, work your way to the floats. Start looking in AK. It's a lot of fun flying up there. Nothing I have experienced in the lower 48 will ever compare. Look up "Renfros Alaskan Adventures" out of Bethel, might be a good place to start. I know he is short of pilots. Here are some links, start clicking and searching. Good luck to you! 135 =
Renfro's Alaskan Adventures - Alaska's Foremost Guide and Outfitter
Alaska Air Taxis, Bush Pilots and Charter Services
Directory of Alaska Flight Operations
02-21-2011, 08:27 AM
#20
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Jul 2005
Position: Still Swinging props!
Posts: 297
LOL! This is great! I love reading the various attitudes about flying small vs large, 121 vs 135! Especially those that think they have what everyone else wants!
As for me, I flew 121 left seat (but it was little, so where does that put me?), and yet I came back to Alaska. I only came up here for one season in the first place. That was in 2004.
I have flown floats. What a blast! Promech was a great place to break in, and go broke! Love the job, but they have taken a page from the regional play book and will offer you peanuts to pursue your dream. Many there are now retired w/pensions (military and airline pilots working on their 'bucket lists'). They can afford it. There are a few that have made it into a career, by choosing wisely their operator, staying with them for a few years, not bending any metal, and working up to that elusive 300/day. A carrot not many realize.
I would still be doing it if I could afford it. Awesome experience that I would never trade for anything. To step back into time, spend your days delivering mail, medical supplies, pax and freight to villages living off their own resources was magical. The people you can make freindships with will last a lifetime. The attitudes of the 'survivor/entrepenuer' are cool to discover. If these things spark a fire for you, then you might have to go to the rainforest to quench it (SE Alaska is, by definition, a rain forest).
St. Croix was a close second. If you're right outta school, might be a great place to work up. VERY few places that you can fly MES aircraft. They are one. Maldives is through Ken Borek. Better get your licenses in Canukland before you talk to them. Be aware the locals are hostile, with both jobs. During my visit, there were few pilots I had talked with that weren't mugged or their apts cleaned out during their first two years.
Taquan is a great option, as well. I've heard good things from their guys.
The A number 1 thing is having a float rating, going there and shaking hands in March and April. That's when the seasonal hiring starts. Notice I said SEASONAL. That's what you're into here, so have a winter back up plan. I thought my experience was abnormal; very little float time and got a job. I found out that this happens more than you might think. At least that was the case a few years ago.
Good luck! Have fun! Get paid to get the Beaver Wet! LOLOLOL!
Ronin
As for me, I flew 121 left seat (but it was little, so where does that put me?), and yet I came back to Alaska. I only came up here for one season in the first place. That was in 2004.
I have flown floats. What a blast! Promech was a great place to break in, and go broke! Love the job, but they have taken a page from the regional play book and will offer you peanuts to pursue your dream. Many there are now retired w/pensions (military and airline pilots working on their 'bucket lists'). They can afford it. There are a few that have made it into a career, by choosing wisely their operator, staying with them for a few years, not bending any metal, and working up to that elusive 300/day. A carrot not many realize.
I would still be doing it if I could afford it. Awesome experience that I would never trade for anything. To step back into time, spend your days delivering mail, medical supplies, pax and freight to villages living off their own resources was magical. The people you can make freindships with will last a lifetime. The attitudes of the 'survivor/entrepenuer' are cool to discover. If these things spark a fire for you, then you might have to go to the rainforest to quench it (SE Alaska is, by definition, a rain forest).
St. Croix was a close second. If you're right outta school, might be a great place to work up. VERY few places that you can fly MES aircraft. They are one. Maldives is through Ken Borek. Better get your licenses in Canukland before you talk to them. Be aware the locals are hostile, with both jobs. During my visit, there were few pilots I had talked with that weren't mugged or their apts cleaned out during their first two years.
Taquan is a great option, as well. I've heard good things from their guys.
The A number 1 thing is having a float rating, going there and shaking hands in March and April. That's when the seasonal hiring starts. Notice I said SEASONAL. That's what you're into here, so have a winter back up plan. I thought my experience was abnormal; very little float time and got a job. I found out that this happens more than you might think. At least that was the case a few years ago.
Good luck! Have fun! Get paid to get the Beaver Wet! LOLOLOL!
Ronin
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