Flying for Gulfstream Aerospace

[Midnight Flyer]

Don't laugh, this may be a stupid question, but..
I'm a 121 airline guy, I know zero about corporate flying, never flown or been in a corporate jet, and don't know the lifestyle of a corporate pilot, however, I'm looking for info about Gulfstream Aerospace. Not the academy, not the airline in Florida, but the aircraft manufacturer in Savannah, Ga. Do they hire pilots, are they a fractional, or do you just do test flights and deliver aircraft to customers. If you are hired as a pilot for them, what kind of flying would you likely be doing. This info is not for me..just helping find out some info for a friend.
Thanks in advance

Midnight

 

[kf4amu]

I was just up there today dropping off one of their engineers who went on a road trip with me this weekend. Its a nice facility, and Savannah is nice. They got cool lookin planes all painted lime green for testing.

Sorry dont know about their hiring at all.

 

[AA717driver]

I started to make a snide comment about having to be the Commander of the 89th at Andrews but I'll refrain...

Actually, according to another poster here, they have hired airline guys off the street. It's a good job, not for everyone and they have high expectations for you. You do have to know someone on the inside. This is only the Demo side. Forget the Flight Test Section. The "fractional" operation became NJI so the Demo job is the only really attainable job down there.

I've met a couple of their people on the road. One guy was kind of a schmuck but the others (I met in Shanghai) were great guys.

You might do a search here and come up with some stuff. Good luck, SAV is a really nice town.TC

P.S.--I'd consider the job but after getting caught nailing the daughter of the CO of the 89th... Well, let's just say I'm no longer under consideration.

 

[GVFlyer]

Gulfstream Aerospace

I promised myself I wasn't going to do this again, but here goes.

Gulfstream is an excellent place to work. As opposed to many corporate flight departments, you can always be assured that the Gulfstream flight department will have an airplane.

Flight Test does developmental flight test, envelope expansion flight testing, production test flights to issue Certificates of Airworthiness, post maintenance evaluations for return to service, third party evals, aircraft technical evaluations, aircraft delivery, rent-a-captain services for customers as diverse as the Irish Air Corps and the Government of India, completion test flights, flight training for Gulfstream purchasers, participation at air shows and the occasional demonstration flight.

The Flight Demonstration Department does demonstration of the Gulfstream product line, hand holding for new customers, and sales accomodation flights. In practice, after being airborne for an hour, expect to look down at your FMS and see 13 hours and 30 minutes remaining on your flight as you demonstrate the jet's 6,750 nautical mile range to a prospective customer.

AA717driver is correct, you will probably have to develop new socialization skills. Pilots normally try to convince all other pilots (and anyone who will listen) that they are the best pilots on this and possibly all other planets. In this job you must try to convince the prospective customer pilot that he is. You must make it all look easy without appearing arrogant and learn new skills such as "Customer Golf" where you lose no matter how poorly the customer plays. In the final analysis, you are an important part of the overall sales effort and you must develop those Dale Carnegie (How to Win Friends and Influence People) skills.


In Gulfstream Flight Test average pay is about a buck and a quarter and tops out at around $155k. Expect to work five days a week and one weekend a month.

Demo gets less. The department has recently changed their hiring practices bringing new hires in through the AirBorne Product Support G100 and progressing them through the Israeli Aircraft Industries aircraft to the Gulfstreams on a merit basis. In Demo, you get one day off for every day that you are gone minus one day. If you have nothing to do you are not expected to do it at work. Expect to start just above $70K. Demo compensation maxes out at about $154K for those in leadership roles.

Gulfstream offers a defined benefit pension plan, 401K plan with company match, an incentive awards program and an excellent health care plan supplemented with an on premises health clinic.

In practice military pilots are preferred for both departments although experience and professionalism can offset that requirement. Leadership is Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy test pilots with an Army TP ascendant.

The Gulfstream Flight Department is a great place to gain knowledge and experience about aviation from a highly skilled body of pilots which includes a former Presidential pilot, a Vice Presidential pilot, the Chief Test Pilot B-1 Bomber, the Chief Test Pilot B-2 Bomber, the former Chief Pilot Atlas Airlines, Test Pilots who have taught at both Edwards TPS and the Naval Test Pilot School at Paxtuxent River, an Edwards Experimental Test Pilot who is also an aeronautical engineer, an A&P and an Inspector (there's an aeronautical engineer in Demo, too); a NASA Shuttle Training Aircraft (STA) pilot and one guy who has 542 hours in the Space Shuttle and two landings (he is given grief because he never got current). The Chief Test pilot is also a PPE which helps him to rate his pilots.

Demo has recently been inundated with applications from JetBlue and Delta pilots.

The most recent hire in Demo was an 11 year Delta pilot. The most recent hire in Flight Test was an engineer who is an Air Force test pilot and a long time instructor at the Edwards AFB Test Pilot School.

GV

 

[AA717driver]

Demo has recently been inundated with applications from JetBlue...pilots.GV

How dare you spread such blasphemy! You know no one would ever want to leave JB. Over on the Majors board, they're lighting the torches as we speak. Better run! TC

 

[fly4kix]

How dare you spread such blasphemy! You know no one would ever want to leave JB. Over on the Majors board, they're lighting the torches as we speak.

ROFLOL!!!

 

[psysicx]

Do they ever advertise for these positions? I never see them on there site.

 

[Midnight Flyer]

thx guys for the replies, I will tell my friend the news.

Thx!!

 

[Wang Chung]

The Gulfstream Flight Department is a great place to gain knowledge and experience about aviation from a highly skilled body of pilots which includes a former Presidential pilot, a Vice Presidential pilot, the Chief Test Pilot B-1 Bomber, the Chief Test Pilot B-2 Bomber, the former Chief Pilot Atlas Airlines, Test Pilots who have taught at both Edwards TPS and the Naval Test Pilot School at Paxtuxent River, an Edwards Experimental Test Pilot who is also an aeronautical engineer, an A&P and an Inspector (there's an aeronautical engineer in Demo, too); a NASA Shuttle Training Aircraft (STA) pilot and one guy who has 542 hours in the Space Shuttle and two landings (he is given grief because he never got current). The Chief Test pilot is also a PPE which helps him to rate his pilots.

I test-flew a C-172 after a cylinder change once. Now, where do I send my resume? :erm:

 

[GVFlyer]

I test-flew a C-172 after a cylinder change once. Now, where do I send my resume? :erm:

I'd say you're set...


GV