My Dream Job is Posted

[fokkers&beer]

When flying 135 on demand freight, it was usually Tevas, shorts, and a Tshirt in my BE-18 in the summer, Sorrels and whatever was warm in the winter. I think thats as professional as could be.
If I'm not in Pajamas 90% of the time at work now I'm not living right.

 

[Captain Morgan]

I was a starchecker back in the San Diego C310 days! We always used to laugh at the amflight guys for their shirts and ties! We would go to that little airport diner at MYF and laugh at em while we ate our pancakes!

That doesn't mean that if I worked there I wouldn't wear it. He who signs the checks makes the uniform standard. Tell to wear a chicken suit and by god I'll fly in a chicken suit!

Professional Attire shouldn't matter as much as professional Attitude!

Casa Machado's! Only the best airport mexican food around. My girlfriend at the time got sick of flying with me to MYF to get mexican food, and she was mexican!

 

[jafo20]

I really miss single-pilot freight, now that I'm not doing it anymore. Going overseas, getting bigger airplanes and having more people to deal with is alright, but I really loved single pilot night freight.

If I didn't have to take a pay cut to go back to it, I think I would. Doing it in a Metroliner would be double-cool.

As an aside, it wasn't 'til I got out of single-pilot freight that I realized how many people are simply unwilling to do it.

This said, I think the happiest place to be might be single-pilot air ambulance in something entertaining (MU-2 or Turbocommander or something like that).

Grass is always greener, I guess.

 

[jafo20]

The aerostar would be cool too, but I don't think anyone pays more than 45k to fly an Aerostar these days.

 

[timeless]

All the time. And yes, I took the shirt off while I was loading/unloading and put it back on when I was done (if I wasn't wearing a jacket). When they got dirty I double treated them with a spray and wash spray and spray and wash stick and if it was really bad, I'd throw in a 1/4 cup of Oxi Clean.

So take your indignation somewhere else and quit bitching when your company ask you to be a professional. Everyone wonders why pilots don't get any respect any more. Well, I would say it is because of people like you. Grow up.

Your complex changing and shirt washing routine indicates how ill-suited a white shirt and tie is for some freight jobs. Where I work we would be yelled at for changing our shirts when we should be doing something more useful like loading freight, getting a clearance or flying the damn plane. You know, the stuff we're actually paid to do. To say that my attire is having a negative impact on the respect for our profession is a bit unfounded. I think the passengers in row A of that Midwest flight in MCI would have been just as disgusted if I was wearing a uniform when they all saw me pissing on the ramp.

 

[Morettis]

One of the best parts about working at AMF was the uniform because they said you had to wear it, but never said it had to be clean. My pilot shirts were some of the nastiest worn out looking shirts I've ever put on. Now I wear whatever I want to work and have to be careful to not get dirty because I like the clothes I'm wearing.

But other than that, if AMF is your dream job, well you must not aim very high. AMF is just another low pay, time building, pilot turnstile. They pay less than market rates for the 99 and metro, but they do have a little better than average maintenance. They just happen to be the biggest freight feeder in the country.

I had fun during my time there, and the metro type got me my job here in Alaska, but 15 hours a day gets old fast.

 

[metrodriver]

I was at AMF in the days that uniform shirts were blue and only the ex-DHL metro's had an autopilot. Maintenance was good, brand new (not overhauled or reman'd) engines on the piston planes once they reached their (extended) TBO time. Each type is an a/d generator because it is the highest time of that type around.

Sadly it seems the pay has not increased in the last 15 years, I guess it stayed in line with the average wage-trend in the aviation business.

 

[Captain Morgan]

But other than that, if AMF is your dream job, well you must not aim very high. AMF is just another low pay, time building, pilot turnstile.

I guess some people just get different things out of flying an airplane and some people shoot for different stars. These stars may be different and maybe not as prestigious to some people as flying a 777 with crew across the pond, but it's all about what makes you happy. I've learned that, and I know that a lot of people haven't yet. It's tradgic really.

 

[ksu_aviator]

You took your shirt off? How unprofessional! Did your company manual have language in it allowing for you to remove your uniform shirt during the course of your duties? If so, tell us which company.

We were encouraged (at Amf) to keep our uniforms clean. If that meant taking off the shirt to prevent grease and grime, so be it.

Take your hypocritical self-righteousness elsewhere and quit bitching about other pilots. And no, I don't wonder why pilots don't get respect....it is partly due to whiny pilots such as yourself. It sounds like you need to worry more about growing up yourself.

I'm not whining. The guy complaining about wearing a uniform to work is the one whining.

 

[ksu_aviator]

Your complex changing and shirt washing routine indicates how ill-suited a white shirt and tie is for some freight jobs.

I don't disagree. When you combine a white shirt with a 20+ year old aircraft that hasn't been washed since the day it rolled off the line, it creates problems.

Where I work we would be yelled at for changing our shirts when we should be doing something more useful like loading freight, getting a clearance or flying the damn plane. You know, the stuff we're actually paid to do.

I doubt they wanted professional pilots and I doubt they paid as well. (Don't read the AMF management is professional, just their pilots) Ameriflight is one of the best 135 cargo places to work at because the schedule is not number one. It is very very high on the list, but safety and professionalism are just as high.

Even so, with good time management you have plenty of time to undo a few buttons and set your shirt aside. Hell, it takes 30 seconds for the engines to spool down on a Metro...plenty of time to slip the ole tie off and hang the shirt on the chart holding chair (formerly the copilot's seat). Besides, the tie is a hazard and must be removed before working around a belt loader...so saith OSHA

To say that my attire is having a negative impact on the respect for our profession is a bit unfounded. I think the passengers in row A of that Midwest flight in MCI would have been just as disgusted if I was wearing a uniform when they all saw me pissing on the ramp.

And you proved my point. I said it was your attitude, not your attire.