anybody ever work for Key Lime Air?

[moving2vegas]

Looking for the scoop on Denver based key lime air. The website says that they are accepting resumes for PIC positions. I know the basics from the website, but I'm more interested in day-to-day ops, maintenance, management, ect... Any info will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[IP076]

I'm not for sure, but isn't this the place that makes their FO's pay for 100 block of time? It seems to me that a friend of mine's former student did that with Key Lime.

They fly Metros right?

 

[Flyingdutchman]

Jup,

Indeed PFT

http://www.keylimeair.com/SIC.asp?Loc=Rates

g'day

 

[moving2vegas]

Key Lime PIC not PFT info help

Yes, Key Lime Air has a PFT program. I'm interested in info about their PIC jobs. Yes, they actually pay their pilots to fly navajos, twin cessna, and metro aircraft. Someone has to act as PIC and I'm trying to get some inside info into this.

 

[sewerpiper]

Key lime? Ohh man. Poor you.
Enough said

 

[labbats]

Plenty of places are starting to hire now. You've got plenty of hours, and therefore, you have your pick of whom to apply to. So why bother flying for a PFT operation?


I hope with the industry turnaround lots of places like this will go the way of the dinasaur. I almost broke down and went there to buy up some metro time myself, but luckily was talked back to reality. Times are much better now, move onward and upward.

 

[moving2vegas]

anybody read before they reply?

I guess nobody on this message board reads the posts before they respond. I AM NOT INTERESTED IN PFT. Key lime hires ( and pays)PIC's to fly their A/C. If you have info on the working conditions at key lime please respond. If you haven’t or you're trying to give crappy, unwanted career advise, don't bother.

 

[skyking1976]

It sucks there. I heard that they are under close scrutiny from the FAA due to 2 Metro mishaps in the last 3 months. The pay is a joke too. $100/day for the Chieftain and $120/day for the Metro is far below standard. My advice would be look elsewhere.

SK

 

[SabreFlyR]

<<I heard that they are under close scrutiny from the FAA due to 2 Metro mishaps in the last 3 months.>>


I think it's actually 3 Metro mishaps. The two who tried to mate in Denver and the one that slid or ran off the runway at Rawlins. They have had some Navajo mishaps in the past few years also.

Double what the previous post says pay is and it still ain't worth your life.

 

[Future SNA]

How about 3 mishaps in less than ONE MONTH!! Monthy safety meetings, insurance problems due to the cluster F#$@%, in my opinion all of this says something, jmo. Why not try Superior Aviation, $36,500 starting salary, plus like $35 a day per diem, 8 cents a mile, just off the top of my head what one of their guys told me. Hire PIC's in the Metro off the street, sounds fun to me.

 

[4fanman]

Why not try Superior Aviation, $36,500 starting salary, plus like $35 a day per diem, 8 cents a mile, just off the top of my head what one of their guys told me.

Superior's starting pay is $29,500 (< 6 months) then $32,000 1st year. No mileage. This company has had some major mgt. changes recently for the better and is quickly becoming a decent place to work.

I don't think that they are hiring into the left seat of Metro unless you have at least a couple hundred hours of Metro time.

If I recall KeyLime under-bid Superior for the UPS contracts in DEN and then was unable to meet their obligations. UPS realized that they got what they paid for and now Superior is starting to get their DEN runs back. Again, it's a decent place to work and they are hiring. They need mostly Caravan pilots at the moment.

 

[IP076]

Anyone got a website for Superior?

 

[sewerpiper]

"Double what the previous post says pay is and it still ain't worth your life."


haha yeah man. Anytime you fly the metro single pilot your life is in jeopardy. I hope to god i never see the inside of one of those again.

 

[Cardinal]

Some of Key Lime's Navajos operate into very high mountain airports, places with MEA's well above 10000 and 16000 ft Grid MOCAs. Obviously this is not a piston friendly environment, especially when the ice begins to accrete. Even in a 757 one has to be careful. If only i had a buck for every time I've heard KeyLime trying to haggle a VFR-on-top clearance below the minimum IFR altitude. No surprise, a year or two ago they lost a Navajo and both crewmembers in the mountains. My regional ain't on the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For list, but at least I know the likelihood of sudden death within the next few years is comfortably low.

 

[SabreFlyR]

"Some of Key Lime's Navajos operate into very high mountain airports, places with MEA's well above 10000 and 16000 ft Grid MOCAs. "


I spent a whole lot of time flying the the rockies in a Chieftain long ago and it was some of the best experience I have had. It is not that big of a deal. In fact the Chieftain is an ok plane in the ice as long as all the boots are working. Now granted if one quits your in serious trouble, but it ain't gonna matter where your at, sea level or mountains it's not going far on one engine. Had a buddy flying one in the Florida panhandle a few years ago, lost one at 7000' and it was a controlled decent for 30 miles to PNS, wouldn't hold altitude with 2 people onboard. The only real problem I ever had was the D*$n cabin heater quit all the time and you would freeze your a@& off.

 

[bb9000cde]

Key Lime Air stinks

I worked for Key Lime Air in 2000-2002 and was very disappointed, I was treated like crap, the training sucks, after ground school it took me 5 months to get my checkride, was a SIC and got paid $5.00 an hour to bust my ass, the wreck airplanes, few fatalities, and 4 metro crashes in 4 months...stay away, let them go down fast! They are a terrible carrier..hope FAA looks into how many violations they break everyday...from duty times, to deicing.....everything...mx..all terrible. Try Superior or many other cargo carriers..key lime is a class clown operation!
Don't recommend it...do anything to avoid and get to a 121 outfit. Sorry for the negatives, but I was screwed way too many times there!

 

[d.fitz]

FWIW,

I talked to the CP there and they hire only from the SIC development program. It sounded a little scam-like to me as well. Too much talk about things being extra $$...

I opted for something else.... luckily for me I guess cause all these posts are news to me : )

 

[rettofly]

" the Chieftain is an ok plane in the ice as long as all the boots are working.

Chieftain is ok in ice as long as the engine inlets don't start to close up. I aged 10 yrs once on an approach into LCI. Cough, sputter, sputter. Alt air is marginal, but the boots worked really well.

 

[SabreFlyR]

"inlets don't start to close up"

I been in a lot of heavy ice, never had that happen. It's possible that the filter actually iced over, it sits in the open at the bottom of the cowling. No fun what ever the cause though.

I flew a Caravan out LCI back in the late 80's, pretty cool place to live, back then.

 

[Sc00ter]

I can't imagine single pilot IFR in a Metro... er, I mean, PFT SIC crewmember. Oh wait, it's the same thing.

sad.

scoot

 

[N1FuelFlow]

Here is what it is like to fly for Key Lime Air. Some of the shenanigans they pull include. Ripping you off on your paycheck and if you don't catch it they just made that much off of you. They don't believe in duty time. If you try to call in sick they will threaten you with your job. Wrongful Termination's. They have had 4 Metroliner incidents in 33 days last year not to mention the Incidents and accidents they have had over the years in business. I would not Recommend. Try Ameriflight!
Fly Safe!