Demo Pilot

[taz1518]

Fellas',

Not that I am going to be leaving Active Duty anytime soon but something has sparked my interest for the future. In the past few years I have met many former military pilots whom have demo jobs for airplane/jet companies. Most of them seem to be very happy with their positions. Was wondering if anyone has info on where I may research these jobs for the future??

Thanks!

Tom "Taz" Yeager

 

[Gorilla]

I'd simply hit on all the major aerospace players, like Lockheed, Boeing, et al. You never know, maybe you'll get lucky, but my gut feel is that those types of jobs are scarce as hen's teeth, and are probably only available if you "know" somebody pretty high up in the organization.

Test pilot jobs open up occasionally, but I'm certain that they want graduates of the military test pilot schools. Good Luck!

 

[noperf]

Taz,

climbto350 has had several production/demonstration pilot jobs listed recently. Textron and Bombardier come to mind. URS recently had a job posting for a pilot with tactical/fighter experience posted for the San Antonio area. Somebody in So-Cal also had a job listing like this also. PM me if you're interested and I'll do a search there for you or you can just get a membership and do the search yourself. Bizjetjobs also has had, as I recall, several job listings of this sort.

 

[Huggyu2]

I have a very good friend who flew the T-1 at Randolph. When he got out, he landed a job doing demo flights for Beech. He had no test background; just T-38 FAIP, KC-135, and T-1.

 

[LJDRVR]

Bombardier has a Learjet demo team. They hire all types of pilots. Their pilot culture is one of very high professionalism and almost military-like esprit de corp.

Drawbacks:

Gotta live in Wichita, no scheduled days off.

 

[jetjock6]

Hey Taz, I sent you a pm for a civilian F/A-18 job someone posted on APTAP. Not a demo job but it's something. Hope this helps.

 

[NewmanF16]

I just started at Citation. I'm convinced it's the best flying job in civil aviation. I hit all the career sections of the manufacturer's websites to find jobs. Realize they may not advertise for all of these jobs--I had actually applied for production test.

Cessna has a very diverse flight department. You name it, someone here has flown it--bush pilots (aren't we all?), corporate, airline, military (heavy, fighter, and helo).

I haven't found a downside, but I like Wichita.

 

[taz1518]

Thanks!

Gents,

Thanks for all of the replies! Some of you have mentioned Bombardier, and they are at the top of my list when I am ready to bail. I met the Chief Pilot at the Paris Airshow and really enjoyed the job. Newman brought out a good point about a career like this, is that you are tied to the company location. I don't care where the hell I end up just so it is out of this scorching Nevada desert heat!

Taz

 

[BobbyBiplane]

I agree with the recommendation to hit the websites and send professional letters to the manufacturers. You never know when they will be looking. Also, start talking to folks ... a direct recommendation to the demo team leader carries a lot of weight.

I have been responsible for three civillian and military flight test, demonstration, training and ops support teams. This is great work if you like customers and a varied work experience.

Bob

 

[BengalsFan]

I met a gentlemen the other month at MSP. He was just returning from the Paris Airshow. He is a gulfstream demo pilot. Said that they were hiring and prompted me to apply. I still have 3 1/2 years of commitment, but it sounded very interesting, with good pay. He sounded like he was gone a lot though. Also it would be in Georgia... at least not the dry heat.