Central Air Southwest

[starvingcfi]

hey. looking for any info on this company. i've already been to the website. just looking into it a little. anyone have any feedback? anyone here fly for them? any help is appreciated. thanks a lot.

starvingcfi

 

[bobbysamd]

I remember them from years ago when I was living in Oklahoma. They flew Aero (Rockwell) Commanders. They had one based at PWA for a time. I heard varying stories about the quality of maintenance. From what I recall, the place flies freight primarily in the central U.S. and has its HQ somewhere in Oklahoma. I heard that people are treated alright there and it's a good place to hang your hat for a while and build experience.

I also recall that as well as hiring off the street it had a P-F-T FO program, but the "trainees" could upgrade to single-pilot "captain."

Hope that helps a little bit. Great opportunity to fly a classic airplane.

 

[NoPlaneNoGain]

When I flew cargo into Wichita(ICT) I would see those guys in there. They flew Aero-Commanders and Lances. The guys I talked to seemed to like the company, which I think they said was based in Kansas City. They were big into the SIC 135 PFT scene and I always saw an SIC on the Commanders. They seemed to get a lot of Swedish SIC PFT's.
Anyway, that is all I know of them.

Adios

 

[saabtrash]

I worked there for almost a year, nothing bad to say about it. At least nothing that would keep you from working there. Send me a private message if you want details, I think we can still do that on here....

 

[flyingtoilet]

I have had some experiences with the company as well and if you want ot discuss it, PM me.

 

[V-1]

I remember seeing their guys in GRR five nights a week. They slept in the hangar. They told me they carried an extra starter and maintenance manual in every airplane they flew. I always wondered if those items were included in the aircraft's empty weight.

I recall they used to start you at $1200/mo. for the first six months, with a raise to around $2000/mo. after that, depending on which run you did. I can only remember seeing one of their pilots who lasted longer than six months, for whatever reason.

They had one run that left GRR at about 7:45 a.m., went to TVC and GLR. The pilot would sleep in the FBO from about 9:15 a.m. until somewhere around 6:30 p.m., when they'd fly to PLN and GRR, finishing at about 9 p.m....for $1200/mo. gross income! Figuring overtime beyond 40 hours, those guys were working for $3.69/hr.

I wish the best for those guys. They were abused too much, in my opinion, for the pay they received.

 

[supsup]

A friend of mine flew for them for a while. He had two engine failures in his first two weeks on the job. As some of the other members said their maint was questionable. Another friend of mine work the line at the FBO were they based 2 or 3 planes. He said it was very common to see them taxing back to the ramp with one feathered.

supsup

 

[dahldale]

To Starvingcfi:
I flew for Central Air SW for 3 years in my off seasons, when not dropping fire retardant on forest fires. I had absolutely no problems with thier equipment or anything else. Only reason I quit was a scheduling problem and I did not need the money in off season. Great experiance- single pilot ifr in the midwest in the winter. Oh yeah and no autopilot, so enjoy 7.999 hrs. a day hand flying. Present employer appreciates the ifr skills i brought away from Central Air.

 

[starvingcfi]

hey, thanks for the good responses guys. i'm right at 1000tt now. gotta get my multi up from *ugh* 25 to 100. should be applying in a few months. anyone know any tricks to getting hired besides the obvious? maybe the cp is a bucs fan? maybe i could get him tickets. thanks a lot. keep them coming if there's anything else.

starvingcfi

 

[sf3boy]

I doubt Mr. Towner is a big Bucs fan. I flew there for awhile, based in MEM and STL. Never blew a motor or had anything wild happen. It was a fair gig, depending on the domicile. The Kansas cities were the toughest routes with all the different legs. As someone stated before, you WILL be able to fly instruments when you leave.