Thread bump. despite the virus a check airmen told me there could be hiring in the next few months due to upgrades.

Remind me, is this job commutable? The CA mins are 135 min, correct?

I left there in February, but when I left they had jump seat privileges on American and JetBlue (they are closely tied with American, they book duel itineraries and transfer bags and such). Also MyIDTravel for a few other airlines (I specifically remember Southwest, might be others now).

As far as that making it "commutable," that's up for debate. You'll be based in one of their outstations in PA or AR. It's out-and-backs, so the plane is parked at the small town out station every night. So to commute in by air, you have to fly to either PIT or DFW or BWI on an airline, then hop on one of their flights out to your base because they're the only ones flying into their outstations. It can work, but I just drove (6 hours) because it was faster that way.

It was a great job, I enjoyed it as a time builder! Typical headaches that come from a small company, but they're generally quite fair and easy to work with. Usually logged 70-90 hours a month working 13-15 days. Usually 4-5 on, 3-4 off.

Thats actually not bad! It’s a 3 hour drive to DFW so that wouldn’t be too bad if that was an option. I’m coming up on those mins so I’m trying to see if any doors might be cracked open.

What's the mins for F/O positions?

It was like 250-500 I believe. Now, it’s anyone’s guess

Do you have to live in the outstation? Do they provide hotels during the trips?

prob 3500TT, 2000ME, and a space shuttle type

No type, just the a landing

Betting there will be a PIC slot open in PA open soon unless they upgrade someone.


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Why would that be?

Seriously? Of all the days I had to be the PM...

Just a hunch

Log what you can, log what you need ;)

You need a crash pad in the outstation, but the small towns have lots of cheap options and most of them have pilot groups sharing places you can hop in on. If they TDY you to another base to work or for training/checkrides, they'll get you hotel/car.

They just posted a new FO position.... $12/hr with a 57 hour guarantee.

:eek:
Please, no one actually apply for that level of abuse.

Here is the link to the job:

https://workforcenow.adp.com/mascsr/...001&lang=en_US

Just, no. The only way for pay to increase is for pilots to hold out and not be willing to work for peanuts.

That is genuinely unbelievable.

I'm assuming it is a part time position

the sad part is that I will bet they get a lot of applicants. not many options for 250hr guys when many flight schools aren't even hiring cfi.

That less than minimum wage full time at McDonalds?

I'm pretty sure at the local glider club I tow at, if I offered to tow all three days of the week they are open for the entire month, I could bring in more than $684.

And glider towing is definitely not a financial windfall.

While I can partially agree with your statement, it still isn't right that someone who has invested the time and money to obtain even a 250 hr wet single engine commercial certificate, should not be paid less than those who walk right into Chick-Fil-A with zero investment required for their job. That's not even including the massive QOL differences between the two. This is the ongoing issue I had mentioned before; as long as pilots are willing to sell their bodies out for "that first job", companies are more than happy to oblige and pay crappy wages.

Anecdotally, I was told this was a decent gig pre-covid. What changed?

I hear that their pilots are getting more than 43 hrs. a month over guarantee typically. Is this true?

A few points -

That $12/hr is for 6 months on probation, then it doubles. Yea, that sucks but the alternative isn't any better as a 250hr CPL. You wouldn't make much more as a CFI, and you build turbine airline experience. My wife has been online on the Mokulele side since August and has been working her ass off. 100 plus hours a month has been the norm for the last several months. Additionally, they have a pathway program to Skywest with scheduled bonuses at certain benchmarks (passed checkride, upgrade etc). Has it been without challenges? Of course not. But to warn people away is misguided and inaccurate imo. From what I've seen, it's been an excellent way to bridge that HUGE gap between 250 and 1500 hrs, and all but lock in a job at Skywest.

The counterpoint is that Chick-fil-A job doesn't come with the chance of morphing into a multi-million dollar career.

The fist two levels of flying are the price of admission to this career. Southern/Mokulele are definitely Second Level.

First Level = You pay to fly
Second Level = You fly for free
Third Level = You get paid to fly
Fourth Level = You get paid not to fly :D

Please educate yourself before you pontificate.

Lol. Let’s go ahead and break down what you posted.

First, why does a Caravan operator need a probationary pay rate for their SICs? That in and of itself is a joke. A probationary rate to sling gear in an airplane you can’t sling gear in. Second, even if you do get 100 hours a month and not the guarantee, you are taking home an incredible $1,200 a month (before tax). Also after the 6 months, your pay doesn’t double. According to their own job posting it goes to anywhere between $18-21 an hour, with no mention of how they determine who gets what range. That’s still pretty awful.

Also if you are willing to CFI in a major metropolitan area you can easily clear those pay rates by being a CFI. Like I said earlier, I can clear the min guarantee probationary rate of Southern by simply towing gliders 3 days a week. Beyond that, once you hit 500 hours other doors will start to open in the survey, pipeline patrol, VFR 135 in Arizona, etc... (all of which are starting to hire again) that will pay you a live-able wage. Stick around a little longer and you start to be competitive for some quality SIC gigs at places like PlaneSense, Tradewind, and CapeAir. Not long after that you are able to be in line for Part 135 PIC jobs.

This line of thinking is so wrong.

It's an option - that is all. One that is working out beautifully for my other half.

The excuse “your job has better room for advancement than mine so you should be paid less to start” doesn’t work for me. No, I should be paid more than the burger flipper/chicken fryer to start.

“ Second Level = You fly for free”. Nope. Maybe in years past that was acceptable, not today. This is not an internship in some cubicle farm.

You have every right to your opinions and paths you choose, as do I. You are welcome to disagree with myself and others on here. I am only trying to advocate for those who have already invested much time & money just to earn poverty wages. It’s time to break this nonsense when there is talk of a mandatory minimum federal $15/hr minimum wage. Which would immediately depreciate the value of a newly minted CPL.

Re the Four Levels of flying -

ITS SARCASM PEOPLE....but based on experience. I'm not advocating for it, just telling it like it is. For god sakes, look at my handle.........oh, and lighten up. :rolleyes:

Turbine airline experience? Holy cow thats funny in a Caravan.
i made 50K as SIC at a 135 that has the same hiring mins as SAE.
Choosing SAE over Tradewind is like choosing Mesa over Spirit.

Alright, alright... I chuckled a bit when I read that, I’ll admit it. But there are people out there, pilots and companies alike, that still believe it’s “your dues” to fly for free or for peanuts all while being treated like crap.

Tradewinds wants 800-1200 tt, not 500 tt.

Posted an actual mins are two different things. I got hired with 650 hours.

At Tradewinds, or Southern Airways Exp.?

SAE FO interview & training process
 

Hello,
I have a phone interview with Julie on Wednesday. Any tips for that or training?