Day in the Life @ your Frac

[niteflyr]

Corp vs Frac

Just a note about the days of FBO sitting, I was under the impression corporate pilots sit around FBO's more than frac pilots. Fly in for a meeting, sit all day and then fly back home.

I know this varies by airplane in the frac company I am in. Luckily I am on one of the busiest planes so it is usually drop off and take off for the next pick up. Owners are always suprised when you tell them it will be another airplane taking them home in 3 hours because you are leaving within the hour. Some pilots prefer the FBO time some fleets get. They don't like the busy schedule some of the other planes fly. I prefer to keep moving, makes a 14 hour day and 7 day tour go much quicker.

 

[NJA Capt]

You don't spend as much time hanging around FBO's as a Frac pilot since typically once your passengers have reached their destination, you're off to another place for a different trip flying an empty airplane or you're done and going to a hotel. Also, you may or may not start and finish your trip at your base so you spend a lot of days (work days) traveling on airlines.

Then again, you have a schedule at a fractional... No calls on days off!

BigFlyr,
Your post was a little ambiguous. Were you saying frac guys sit in FBOs more than corp guys? Or did I just read it wrong?

Most corporate pilots fly 1-2 legs per day compared to frac pilots' 4-6 legs per day. Frac pilots spend much less time in FBOs as a whole, than do corp pilots. The average frac pilot is only on the ground for :45 to 1:00 hr, vs corp pilots 2 to 9 hours.

Frac pilots cover a larger portion of the country than do most corporate ops and have more varied destinations. Corporations only travel to cities they have plants or associates, or to the family's vacation home(s). Most of corporate ops are confined to a geographic location (ie...SE/NE U.S., or a 2-3 state area.), though many corporations do fly domestic and intn'l.

Fractional companies (generally) offer more types of aircraft to advance to and usually offer faster upgrades.

These points are generalizations at best. There are frac pilots that sit in FBOs for 8 hours, and there are corp pilots that fly 6 legs per day (Though probably not consistently). There are fracs with 2 aircraft types and corporations with 5+. Corp pilots on long layovers usually get a day room at a hotel for a few hours instead of waiting at the FBO. At NetJets, that is almost unheard of. If we are sent to a hotel, the company has to give us 10 hours of "uninterrupted" rest. We are also limited to 14 hours of duty, whereas, at most corporations, you are on duty until you finished.

 

[BigFlyr]

BigFlyr,
Your post was a little ambiguous. Were you saying frac guys sit in FBOs more than corp guys? Or did I just read it wrong?

I could have chosen my words more carefully... I meant that as Frac Pilots, we don't spend as much time hanging around FBOs as a Corporate Pilot would... While Corp. guys are usually waiting on their passengers, we're flying to another destination to pick up passengers. That being said... See Ya' at an FBO's coffee machine!