This thread is old, but I just came across it as I'm sitting in my hotel tonight.
I flew for Chip. In fact, I made a lateral job move specifically to fly for Chip. Let me write a mini-novel for whoever might be thinking of coming to FRG.
At company A, I was flying Beech 99s on a UPS run. I pumped by gear down twenty-three times one month. I'd manage to get the freight to the destination. Mechanics would come out. Problems would be identified and one or two legs later my gear would be stuck again. I was on the right coast while my wife was finishing her master's in Wisconsin. One night, right after I hit the crew house pissed off from pumping my gear down again, I saw Chip advertising for Beech 99 pilots in my home town. I applied, got called and was hired over the phone. I stupidly left a company that was happy to have me to do the same job in the same plane for the same money in WI.
When I got to Freight Runners, I discovered Chip's outfit was no different than the one I left. The planes had a different door, and the paperwork was in a different format. That was about it.
Things would break. I'd write 'em up. People would grumble, but mx crews would work on the write-ups I made. Chip made a point of stocking spares for MX while my previous company forced the DM to get the CEO’s permission for any purchase in excess of twenty dollars.
So, even though the planes were ugly and ratted-out. I never had any mx issue that wasn't resolved. Sometimes people would b-tch, but the wrenches were still turned. I didn't care about any noises coming from one office or another.
Chip never missed payroll. He consistently lived up to his end of whatever contract he had. Insurance was decent. Compensation was adequate. You do know that you're going to get paid and that you're not going to be laid-off. That's worth something.
With regard to Chip's personality, he's very straightforward and blunt to the point of fault. I remember, after going to interview with my next employer, he called me up to insult and yell at me. "Where is your f###ing loyalty?" was how he started the phone call. Faced with an unusual professional situation, I made an unusual professional decision. I yelled and insulted back. After having a screaming match over the phone with the guy, we were cool. In fact, Chip was actually pretty nice after that. I never caught Chip playing any sort of backdoor political games with his crews.
In short, Chip might be abrasive, but he’s honest, transparent and predictable. I value honesty and transparency. I wouldn’t mind working with Chip again.
Freight Runners does go through a lot of airplanes. Three weeks after I left, they crashed 3 airplanes. Just recently, they lost another one. I don’t know what to say about these except that they were all weather related. I flew and fly in all weather, all the time with 100% dispatch reliability. That just means I’ve been lucky for five years, and I’ve probably pushed ahead when I should have turned back. The crews of those lost planes were as good or better than I am.
Chip’s outfit is a good one if you don’t let him or his guys get under your skin. If you do let them bug you, you’ll rapidly hate the place.
I thought Chip was okay. I’d drink beer and eat nachos with the guy.
