Aerial Survey Pilot
 

Hi guys,

Just wounder if anyone know any aerial Survey companies that are looking for pilots in a cessna 172. I have heard that you can build flight time very fast and the pay is much better than Regionals.

Thank you

KDUA :D

I'm sure you have already looked here, but I've occasionally seen listings on:

www.flitejobs.com
www.findapilot.com

and if you are eligible for government employment there are some survey/dept of wildlife/dod survey type jobs occasionally listed on:

www.usajobs.com

Good luck

I have been looking at a few companies, but most don't fly 172s. I have a question to add to the thread though. Does anyone know what kind of salary I should put for desired? What would be reasonable for an aerial survey job?

This just in....
http://www.northernstatesaviation.com/

are you particularly attached to the Skychicken or are there other planes that you are willing to fly?

Aerial survey pilot
 

Would be grateful if you could share some info about the companies you are aware about. It doesn't need to be a cessna 172. :) I can fly other airplanes as well.

Aerial survay pilots make good money. I have a good friend that is doing it right now. He makes about 2200 dollars a month. The company pay for hotel and car rental and everything. They also give him money for food per day, around 22 dollars.
The sad part is that his company is not hiring at the moment :(.

Good Luck

KDUA

Twin Otter
 

Hi,

I can fly other airplanes as well. I would love to FLY A TWIN OTTER (DHC-6). If you can find me one I will leave my current job tomorrow to fly that airplane. :)


Thank you,

KDUA

Aerial Mapping
 

I am currently employed by one of these aerial mapping companies. Yes we do build time quickly. We fly 7 days a week as long as the weather is good if we are doing photo missions. If we are ferrying from one location to the next we are allowed to go ifr. Typical pay is better than your first year at a regional, but do realize when the wheels stop your day is not over.... paper work to fill out, reports to send, hard drives to ship off. So what was only suppose to be a 9-4 day just turned into a 9-530 day, and as the days get longer so does our availble collection window. But the big thing is I dont have a apartment, car, or other misc living expense bills so we save alot of money in that respect. As to getting a job with these companies most require 500 tt, but the big thing (as we all know in the aviation industry) is who you know. I got on with my current company through a friend who works here and he got on through a friend that worked here. There is also a few of our pilots who have got on by meeting us while working line service at a aiport we based out of while working an area and kept in touch. I would like to pass on what my friend did for me and help you out with my company but I cant cause we are fully staffed and have a couple of relief pilots who are next in line to take over. IF you have any other question feel free to send me a note and I will try to help you out in anyway possible. So feel free to ask more questions.

Try: http://www.flighttrac.com/
http://www.martechengineering.net/
http://www.theflyovercompany.com

Oh yah one thing I forgot to add.... Be ready for 9 months on the road living out of hotels or maybe if you are lucky enough to be shooting near your home town you might get to stay at home. So be prepared for no life and continental breakfast for the next 10 months of your life.... yes there are negatives to our job.

i know few people that got out of flying the twin otter at the grand canyon for Grand Canyon Airlines. the pay sux, but if you really want the time i know they will be looking for people for the season sometime soon... now i'm not suggesting you go there, (i wouldn't) but if u want that twin otter there it is...

This is what I hate about the industry, there's "build your time jobs" that know it, and scam you for hardly any pay. It's BS!, but as long as people are willing, it'll stay that way.

Hello 172 Captain,

First of all thanks for all the info. I have been trying to send you a private message and ask you some questions, but since I'm a new member I don't have access to it at the moment. What is the name of the company you are working for? how much flight time do you get a month? Do you have to sign a 10 months contract? And how much is the pay? I have heard it is usually only 6 months contract. you can e-mail me at [email protected] to answer this qustions.

Once again thank you and look forward hearing from you.

KDUA

I hate it when pilots take jobs that build time only to leave when they get hired by a regional for less money and then leave to go to a major for less money again. It's the market and every pilot is chasing a dream that promises more money/bigger aircraft/away from home longer/self-satisfaction.

If you were a small GA business owner what would you do? Pay someone a higher rate to fly a single or twin who may or may not be a good employee? This same pilot will have serious Jet-ITIS as 99% of your qualified pilot will or do. Or have low expectations for them to be an average to good employee but great pilot and watch them hit the door in a few months. A high turnover rate of pilots for GA keeps labor low but lowers customer service and usually gives the business a higher insurance premium but a higer safety margin as pilots are not as complacent. GA is a tougher market than the Airlines when it comes to management and most pilots have no clue as they have Jet-itis and think they can do better.

Remember the Market sets pay rates. If someone will fly a 737 for 40/hour than a major airline will fill that seat. If someone will fly a 182 for 40/hour than a GA company will fill that seat. The catch is both pilots will never be happy staying in either seat at that rate for too long.

Anyone know about Wyoming Air?

172 Capt works for the same company I do...

Our season runs from Sept/Oct until May. During that time, you will be living on the road, out of a suitcase and hotel. You ferry wherever your going, and are expected to fly 7 days a week, holidays included (weather permitting).

Our parent company is Pictometry, and they give all our contracts to us. They currently contract to Desert Wind Air Service, Landcare, Rochester Aerial Mapping, Nothern States, and Air America.

So, best times to get hired would be between May and September, when everyone decides to move on, and seats need to be refilled!

Its all VFR work, with IFR ops during ferrying times (mainly only in the warmer months, or warmer areas of the US).

We're paid on salary, thank goodness...I just arrived in SFO and we're forcasted to have 7 days of rain....lots of time to do whatever you want. The reverse is also true though...Last season I got an oil change on a monday, and had to get another one that saturday (50hr tach time). You can build some fast time here.

The flying is actually quite fun too...we mainly do metro areas....I spent countless hours orbiting on the departure and arrival ends of DFW, LAX, MSP, CHS, etc etc etc. Some people get pretty annoyed when theyre restricted above or below you, so you can work in your 172 =)

-Imp

Imp,
Looks like I may be signing on with an Aerial Survey Company soon. Don't know if your still in this game, but if so, just had a couple questions. Is it commonplace in this field for contract pilots to be allowed to commute? The company has offered to fly me in when I come on rotation and pay for my lodging and car while I'm on. One of the pilots there told me this is standard practice in the business. Also, what is your sched. like? This company requires two weeks on with a week off. Sounds like a pretty good gig, just wanted an inside opinion. Hope all's well. Cheers.

It sounds like you got a different survey type of job with the two on one off deal. Picto pilots are oct-may basically. Good luck with the new job. What are you going to be flying?

Grad,
It's an aerial mapping and surveying company (Lidar etc.) that also does aerial photography. They do a one year contract so it sounds like you're right, in that it's not seasonal. They operate four planes. A centurion, a Partnevia, a Navajo and a Turbo Commander. Looking forward to it. I'll let you know how it goes. By the way, have you flown for a survey company? If so, just wondering what you thought of it. Regardless, cheers and have a happy holidays!

13.3 Hours in the air yesterday. If you want time, give aerial survey a try. I never realized how many operations are out there. Seems that the major players don't really advertise but anyone looking might contact, keystone. They run a fleet of 14 310s and Navajos. Pay is much better than the regionals (although most of the time is piston) and as it's contract, schedules are more flexible. Regardless, just a suggestion. I never considered it until someone from this forum was kind enough to enlighten me. Certainly not a glamorous gig, but it's paid flying and it provides ever changing venues. I flew into Missouri yesterday and ended up in Alabama this morning. That was my first day. Definately OTJT. Cheers and good luck. Also feel free to e-mail me as I can come up with some other company names.

Are you required to live local to the companies base? Doing some contract work sounds great.

Goodness!! That is alot of time. Is that all multi-engine time? Sounds like a great job if your single.

Thought I would post up since I worked for Keystone for 2 years. It was a great company to fly for with outstanding people. Anything wrong with a plane, it went to our MX hangar where 4 full time mechanics would fix it before it flew again. I can not say enough good things about them.

Now to correct the contract statement. Unless things have changed in the two years since I left, Keystone pretty much only hired full time employees. We had contract pilots for the summer, but these were people who had been with the company for 20+ years. Every pilot employed there when I flew had started with a ton of previous survey time, or had started as a photographer and then upgraded when a pilot quit. I was a photographer for 8 months before I started flying.

Also, they do require you to live in base. Even as a pilot, you were required at the office M-F, 7-345. If the weather was good and there were photo jobs that needed to get done, people went flying. If the weather sucked (i.e. it was cloudy or worse) you did office work. This included labeling film, inputting jobs into our navigation software, WASHING THE PLANES, etc. Basically busy work so if you aren't interested in that, don't bother. If that sounds appealing then by all means, please do look into them.

I will also add that the last I heard, they had laid off at least one pilot and one photographer. Times are tough in the survey world seeing as how no one is really building anything right now.

Good luck to those interested. It is a very rewarding type of flying. It will challenge you every day you go up, and you will be compensated appropriately. Feel free to post up any questions you have. You can PM me if you would like, but I would prefer to put the info out for all to see.

Oh, my avatar is one of Keystone's Cessna 320's. The Skyknight is a great airplane and this picture was taken of me banking off over North Dakato or Montana. I really miss having fun while flying.

Also, see this thread.

http://www.airlinepilotforums.com/pa...al-survey.html

A little more recent info.

Surf,
Thanks for the inside info. That is an incredible shot of the 310! I'd say if your flying, you're still having some fun, even if it's at altitude. Got to think about the fact that you're responsible for 19+ lives. Puts things in perspective. Regardless, this aerial surv. gig is interesting to say the least. I'm in a comfort suites in decatur, al right now waiting to go to west virginia. Fortunately, I enoy the road. :D

I was flying a 210 on friday-saturday (Company also flies a navajo and a turbo commander). Got engaged on thursday night so the single deal is out. The two on, one off should make it manageable though... I hope :D

Congrats! Be sure to tell your future wife that you only get paid once a month. Something I should have done! LOL :D

Dash,

Actually it's bi-weekly, but the amount wasn't enough to scare her off, for now....:D

Hey,

Did you ever hear anything from PW?

I have gotten a few more questions about Keystone, so I thought I would post back up. First, I want to disclaim this by saying that I left the company in May 2007. I have talked to a few of the pilots since then, but my information is probably a bit out of date. This is my experience from what had happened historically, and I can't see a reason for them to change since it worked very well for them.

I also want to say that there is a huge difference between aerial survey and aerial photography. While there are cameras used in both, survey work involves a 300 pound camera that is worth somewhere from $500k to $1 million. The camera is mounted to the airplane and takes pictures through a hole cut out of the bottom of the fuselage. This is not taking pretty pictures out the window.

My total time at hire was around 560. I had 27 hours of multi. This was not unheard of. The reason they could do this was that they hired people as photographers. You were responsible for the camera and photos. Pay was not great, but better than starting pay at the regionals. In the 8 months that I was a photographer, I logged around 80 hours of flight time. I would fly on the way to and from jobs, but would hop in the back when it came time to fly the job. Being a photographer first helps greatly when it came time to fly the jobs. Later, as a pilot, I could understand what the photographer was going through and help when problems came up. I also learned the plane by talking with our mechanics and other pilots. I got the upgrade to pilot after 2 pilots left for other opportunities. This was based on time spent at the company, and there was another pilot who had been a photographer longer than me.

Day to day operations are out of Northeast Philadelphia. You were at home every night from September until May, although this was changing as I left. Crews were spending more time on the road as the digital camera was being used more. Office hours started at 7, but as flight crew, you were responsible for being at the job site when the photo window open. If that meant you came in at 6, so be it. From May 30 till sometime in September, you were traveling. One pilot, one photographer, one plane, a suitcase each for 3 months.

Time to fly. Will post up more later.

Fly safe! Talking to the boss here, it appears we will be busy as hell this summer with NAPE as the DA is releasing the lower 48 for bid. Sounds like plenty of road time. Hope you liked your photographer. I'd say that could get ackward. :D

Aerial survey
 

I have about 700 TTL TM, and I tried so hard to get a gig this year, emailed all the places from here, called them, everything, was unable, luckily I got a winter flying gig in NORCAL. I will be back flying jumpers this season in NJ, with some KA90 in there hopefully, but I want to do this next winter, it sounds awesome, I want the hotel points =), I want to travel, I want to do this, anyone have advice when to apply? Can anyone hand walk in a resume for me or something?

If it is survey/mapping like I did then they usually start their season around September/October. They're usually all hired up by July/August.

Good luck!

Anyone know if anything might still be open? I can't PM anyone here yet, not sure if its a "ask- and shall receive" information, or can be posted publicly... I would love to do that kind of work, not just for the time building (which I do need) but for the experience. Who knows, maybe there's something long term in that..
I tried some searching for these companies, most are probably not listed as survey, and are contracted? How do you find them?

Thank you very much, in advance, to anyone with any input.
PS>I think I might be able to read PM's, if need to send it via that.

I worked for a company called Northern States Aviation a few years back. Within the next month they will be looking for people for this coming season. It's a decent outfit. It's all in a C172, but I gained 600hrs in 7 months. They require 500TT. See Northern States Aviation, Aerial Survey, Reliable Airborne Platforms, Imaging, Sensing,. Other companies collecting images for the same contractor were Land Care, Air America, and Desert Winds. Not sure if that's changed since I did it.

PM Sent. Hope that you are having a good time of it. I am looking forward to hearing about your experience.

Pretty good video of operations at Keystone.

YouTube - Keystone Aerial Surveys: i Fly UltraCam

This is my first time on the forum, but my company is looking to hire a couple of pilots for aerial survey work. I am the Chief Pilot for Valley Air Photos based in Caldwell, ID. We do the same thing Keystone does, just on a smaller scale. We operate two Cessna 320's and a Beech Bonanza. If you are interested or want more information, pm me or email at [email protected]

Doesn't look like you have enough "seniority" to receive PMs yet, but I just sent you an email. Thank you for posting the opportunity!