John Burke - to be fair there needs to be some clarification on some of your statements. Earlier you stated that you never worked for SDAZ and now I see why you said that. You’re right. Neither you, nor any mechanic, nor any pilot, nor any office staff work for Skydive Arizona. Everyone works for one of several companies d.b.a Skydive Arizona.

Mechanics work for Aerospecialists. Pilots get paid by either Airborne Support Group or Para Drop Corp which means you were being paid by Aerospecialists and Airborne Support Group. You didn’t lie but you attempted to deceive readers of the forum by portraying that you were a non biased observer which isnt true.

You also shouldn’t be throwing stones when you live in a glass house. The low time pilots you detest and bully on here are the very same pilots that trained you on the Skyvan. The training that you required some extra time on by those low time pilots. Those same low time pilots are the ones that safely landed when engines came apart, caught on fire, and when wheels literally came off after landing. The high time pilot is the one that made a severe and very rookie mistake of fuel starvation causing him to glide in and land short of the runway.

All pilots knew what they were getting into and not one person on this forum has denied that it was a great opportunity to earn PIC Twin turbine time. Their complaints are that they tolerated abuse of their supposed independent contractor status that eventually led many of them to leave.

You appear to still have a healthy pulse on the operation there so perhaps you should ask your old co workers why a mechanic that was in your same situation as a high time part time pilot had a tail strike, left the company twice, washes out of regional training and after all that was hired back on as a mechanic there again. That’s a sign of desperation. Also ask the chief pilot why they can’t hire any high time pilots anymore. They have pilots submitting applications and then turning the drop zone down when offered a job because they require an 18 month contract. The times have changed. The times changing are the same reason a pilot that struggles with a skyvan gets hired to fly an MD11. If you don’t believe me call and ask the chief pilot yourself.

 

That's obviously a completely different situation than what was discussed earlier. No contract = no problem.
And to be honest, as a 1099, I don't think any contract is enforceable if you just choose (which you can as a 1099) that you are not available for work in the next 12 months. If they try to come after you, IRS would be very interested in these pseudo-contractor positions.

All in all, it sounds like a total scumbag operation.

 

I'm beginning to realize I was very lucky to get on with a small dz who acquired their first turboprop while I was an employee. There's no contracts or paperwork, I take home a flat day rate and log turbine PIC. And we're deeply struggling to find a pilot because the folks my boss wants to hire (university 141 graduates) all don't want to work weekends while they're flying as CFIs.

 

A 1099 person is not an employee. A 1099 person has the right everyday to decide if they want to work the next day or not. (And the "employer" has the right not to offer that person any more work.) There is a reason why there is a difference between a 1099 person and an employee. An employee gets certain benefits and obligations that a 1099 person does not.

Yes, the IRS would be very interested to hear if this is being treated in a different way.

 

When that 1099 aviator signs a contract, he's got more obligation to the operator than the paycheck.

Yes, he has the right to not show up the next day, and the employer has the right to not use that employee again. It's a right to work state. They've both got rights.

Of course, with the signed contract, the fledgling aviator has an obligation. He had the right to not sign it and walk away without the job...but didn't.

Some are simply without honor. Hallmark of the millennial.

 

You do realize "right to work" is 100% irrelevant with 1099 contractors?

 

Plus "right to use employee" doesn't apply to contractors as they're not employees....

edit: love the millenial remark, makes you look like the typical ignorant american +40y old

 

If they knew to structure there business model like most flight schools around the valley and just have a one year contract, listen to the pilot group with suggestions/concerns, have more competitive pay cause god knows they have the cash flow, and hires a chief pilot who fly's regularly and wants to fly and likes to fly then maybe more people would want to work for them. I mean who wouldn't want to fly DHC-6's and SC-7's as a PIC for time building instead of C-172's for 8 hours a day not flying. When they realize flight schools are offering $60,000 salary or more around the valley and there own pilots ask for a slight increase in pay and ignore the proposal completely, its hard to feel wanted and not expendable working there and I don't mean expendable with just being any regular employee "I MEAN CONTRACTOR" I meant expendable with my life because of there current fleet of aircraft they made us fly. Like I said amazing flight time you cannot get anywhere else, but nothing is more important then safety in my opinion in this industry and your own life.

 

Who made you fly?

What type of gun did they put to your head to force you to sign that contract? Take your family hostage? Were you waterboarded? Or simply willing to sign on the line when you couldn't shake the image of turbine time instead of riding around the pattern with students?

Did that make you fly?

 

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