bobtail

I'm currently doing banner towing building my time. I have 500 hours of which all of it has been privately flying/sharing and this is my first job as a pilot. I seem to enjoy this type of flying and the training process was laid back. I was wondering if there are any opportunities in part 91 that aren't so bureaucratic and "checking" around all the time? This is my first exposure into aviation. I have a trucking background and I have been flying as a hobby for some time now. Eventually I would like to fly something multi-engine or turbine.

miker1

Not really. Its just the nature of the industry. Get used to check rides if you want to make money by flying.

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StartUp161WanaB

You can do survey and make a good career out of it with the right company
Single engine to Multi engine turbine planes

JohnBurke

One of my jobs involves flying single seat airplanes...and I still get checkrides.

galaxy flyer

Pretty hard to believe there is one... I finished with something over a 100 checks. Two columns of checks one each of two sheets of paper in the USAF alone. My absolute last USAF flight, after 29 years was a HQ standards check--4 hours giving checks and getting one.

GF

bobtail

I'm assuming ya'll get use to passing rides. I did bust my instrument checkride. I flew just fine with my CFI, but with the DPE I flew like a total stiff. How about flying for a private owner in his aircraft for example? How dose one get a gig like that?

TiredSoul

Bob, I think you're not understanding the nature of this industry.
Just like water the air is a potentially very dangerous place to be, for you and for the ones that essentially trust their lives with you and your skill.
Every year there are 1300-1400 accidents according to the NTSB database.
Last year 321 had at least one fatality.

You can bet your bottom dollar there will be litigation in those cases.
Out of every new Cessna 172 sold $70,000 goes into Cessna's litigation fund.
Yeah that's right, 25% of the new price goes into their piggy bank.
Aviation accidents are high profile and is it to much to ask to have a properly qualified pilot? Qualified means trained and tested, not unlike Commercial trucking. How about Hazmat training, special goods, oversize loads and rules and regulations?
Last piston twin I flew had a replacement value of almost $700,000.
You think we just let any Joe Blow rent it without being 'tested'? Without rental or training requirements?
Is it too much to ask that you get trained and tested before you can have some poor unsuspecting soul in the back that you are responsible for?
And flying for a private owner requires a Commercial certificate.

Check rides or any other sort of check are also mile markers in your career and your aviation history with the FAA.
He was found to be proficient on this date..and this date...and this date..all the way to the smoking hole when he did something he wasn't qualified to do.

JohnBurke

Most insurance policies want to see the professional pilot flying a corporate (or private/family) aircraft taking regular, recurrent, recognized quality training, which will by necessity include a checkride. Those who can afford personal transportation and can afford to hire a professional pilot generally are of a high enough net worth that the pilot will be required to regularly demonstrate proficiency. It's the nature of what we all do in the cockpit.

If you're not up to speed and are afraid of a checkride, you're not ready to work as a professional pilot. You should have no concern whatsoever with taking a checkride, facing an oral exam, or even a written test, and you should seek recurrent training and continuing education at every opportunity. This is not a business in which your study of the airplane, the regulations, and practices, policies, procedures, and all the elements of our industry is something you simply attend once while working on your primary certification. Most of us spend considerable effort and time throughout our careers staying current and preparing for the next training event.

I'm a 3X5 card guy. I carry them everywhere, and it's seldom you'll find me waiting for a flight or sitting with spare time when I'm not reviewing something on 3X5 cards. Study, study, study...knowing procedures, memory items, regulation...these aren't things that you memorize long enough to get through a checkride. These are things that need to be so ingrained in you that they save your life and that of your passengers...on a daily basis.

Think about it. Every flight is a checkride. What's one more?

JamesNoBrakes

The more you take, the more confident you get and the more you know, so you are much less nervous. The most important thing is to know and understand the standards. Know what they are and that you can meet them. They are not a "must perform perfectly", they are two extremes and you are suppose to be somewhere in the middle, but even if you go past the limits and correct immediately, it is often still alright. But, the important thing is to know and understand them and know and understand how you maintain them. This might also have a lot to do with the quality of instruction. If the way you do certain things is by guessing, vague comments about "feel" and "when it looks right", you might be shooting yourself in the foot continuing with that person. Always demand quality instruction, the instructor should be an expert in understanding what makes a particular maneuver work or not work. The earlier that you understand these things, the better you'll be at taking checkrides. Once you have a bunch behind your belt, you realize it's not a mystery, it's not a game, you go out and perform maneuvers and you are done.

TXPILOT34

I've had gigs like this. Every year, recurrent training. Doesn't matter what you have flown in the past, you'll do training YEARLY! So that's right, a checkride every year. I always get nervous but I know what to expect and if you fly like you know what your doing, it becomes a breeze.