Welcome to Flightinfo.com

  • Register now and join the discussion
  • Friendliest aviation Ccmmunity on the web
  • Modern site for PC's, Phones, Tablets - no 3rd party apps required
  • Ask questions, help others, promote aviation
  • Share the passion for aviation
  • Invite everyone to Flightinfo.com and let's have fun

Contract work

Welcome to Flightinfo.com

  • Register now and join the discussion
  • Modern secure site, no 3rd party apps required
  • Invite your friends
  • Share the passion of aviation
  • Friendliest aviation community on the web
Blower,

Like JetPilot500 said, you can really try to negotiate any kind of agreement you want... It will really vary from company to company.... See what they are willing to accept...

Remember shoot high, you can always come down if need be...

Good Luck!

Falcon Capt.
 
Thanks Gents!
It's all starting to take shape. A leave of absence from my airline is a possibility, (and I'll be very surprised if I'm furloughed less than a year anyway) so I'm not as hesitant about signing a contract. Who knows, maybe after a year, if a recall isn't on the horizon, I'll decide to make this job a permanent career change, once I'm comfortable as a corporate pilot. What do you all think of this job: (not to overstay my welcome here and become a nuisance)

As a matter of fact, this sounds like a pretty good corporate job. As I've said before, my only corporate exposure was at RTA, but the only corporate aspect of it for me was operationally, the flying itself. Administratively, I didn't deal with an actual corporate flight department, I just flew the line, more like an airline structure. My image of a corporate flight department I got from the pilots I flew with at RTA, who came out of a corporate flight department. The story I heard over and over was that a corporate pilot worked for one company for 2-5 years, until he was downsized, or found another job, for another 2-5 years, etc. The job security didn't seem too good. (Of course, airline job security isn't looking too good right now, either.) It seems that anytime business goes bad for a company, the first and easiest thing to chop is the flight department.

But this company I'm talking to has had an airplane since it started business in '79, with the same guy flying for them, the guy I'm trying to contract with now. He's been the only pilot, flying the only plane, that whole time. So the flight department can't really be downsized, only eliminated. But they've had it for almost 25 years, and the business is doing pretty well (insurance). Now they've gone from a King Air to a Beechjet, and need a second pilot.

A schedule was the other part of the corporate horror stories I heard from those RTA guys. There usually was none, they didn't know from day to day if they were flying or not. But this guy I'm talking to says he knows his schedule a least a month out. It sounds like this guy is practically on the board of this company, and has a lot of say-so. "Days off are just that, off," he says. No wearing a beeper. So that sounds pretty good.

Even when I was hearing all the horror stories from the ex-corporate guys, they still always said that the job depended on the company you work for. A lot of corporate jobs are a pain, and temporary, but there are some that are actually great permanent positions. I like the idea of working for him on a contract basis until I figure out which type this is. If the airline thing doesn't pan out, and this job is one of the good ones, maybe this will be all for the best.

But I really have nothing to compare this job to, being my first foray into a corporate flight department. How does it sound to you guys?

Blower
 
Another thought about contract work

Hey Blower,
Here's another thought on contract flying. Whether to work as an employee of the company or be an independant contractor. If you're an employee, then great. Soak it to them and get what you can; pay, benefits, insurance, etc. If you decide to go the contractor route then I suggest forming your own business (i.e. incorporate) and save yourself all the hassle of taxes in other states if that applies in your situation. If you don't form your own business, then the IRS considers you self-employed and if you're in the 28% tax bracket then expect 49% of every dollar you earn to go to taxes, FICA, and other gouges depending on where you live.

I'm going through this nutroll now and the learning curve is steep. If you go this route PM me and I'll try to get you pointed in the right direction. Good-luck and keep the greasy side down!
 
I have a question too...

I'm a commercial pilot also with a BE400 type rating, but I currently fly right seat on military C-21s (Lear 35s). I've thought about doing some contract work on my time off, but I've only got about 700 hours at present (although I'm logging around 40 hours a month right now). Nearly all my time is in turbine biz-jets or helicopters, and I have a Class I medical. Just wondering what my chances are of doing the same (but on a more limited basis than the above poster). In about 8 months, I should have my Lear type rating as well. Even if my chances are low now (due to total time requirements), I'd like to consider it later.
 
Blower,

The monthly minimum pay concept is the same one used by my company. I am paid at a daily rate for each day that I fly, and am guaranteed to be paid for at least 10 days each month, even if I fly less than that. It's just like the airline concept of a monthly hourly guarantee except that it's based on days flown. I've found that it works out very well for the most part.

If the guy is serious about letting you know the schedule days or weeks in advance, then it sounds like a pretty good deal. You'll find that corporate aviation tends to be more of a high end pursuit, much of the time. While there are certainly exceptions to every rule, most corporate pilots tend to be well compensated and have very attractive fringe benefits. We stay in the best hotels, have a high meal allowance, and have a rental car to use on all of our overnights at my company, all at company expense. The downside is the schedule...at my company we're required to carry a cell phone and pager and be ready to have the wheels up within 8 hours, which is a lot better than a lot of places, but still not fun. I have personally been called at 2AM for a 9AM departure, although I am still young and single, so that's not really too much of a concern. Your situation may be different, but it sounds like your "boss" isn't the type that would do that to you anyway.

Not too sure about the recurrent training issue and tax questions, as I never worked on a contract basis, but it looks like some of the other guys gave some good feedback on that anyway.

Best of luck, and if you have any questions, send me a PM or e-mail.

KingAirKiddo
 

Latest resources

Back
Top