Ram Air Freight

[PumpkinPony]

pay scale

I have to say, I didn't think the pay was that bad at Ram Air... I'm making less flying for Horizon Air now. The schedule was great too! Only job I ever had that I got weekends and holidays off. Won't see that again in the next few years. Probably some of the most fun flying I've done too. The airlines are a different world...

 

[upndsky]

Hey pumpkinpony, have you hit the line yet at Horizon? I hope they're treating you well.

To expand on her post, runs pay between $60 to $90 per day. You get a 10% raise at six months and another 10% over base at 12 months (base + 20%). After two years, you get paid $90 + 20% regardless of what the run would normally pay.

Most, if not all, runs based outside of RDU pay $90. Pumpkinpony was RIC-based. If you get RDU, plan on making $60. The good thing is that most RDU runs are short so it's possible to work a second job in the mornings, which is what some of our pilots do.

Pay has always been a contentious issue here, especially when hiring elsewhere stopped and it looked like some of us might be here for a while. Now that things are moving again, pay may not be that big of a deal. I'll also add that maintenance here is very good (if you write it up, it'll get fixed no questions asked) and that management doesn't pressure pilots. There are other outfits like us that may pay a few dollars more, but they also ask their pilots to take much bigger risks. We've been in business for more than 20 years (a remarkable feat in the freight world) and have had only one fatality. That one was attributed to pilot error. The record speaks for itself.

 

[Snakum]

Is Ross Kennedy (ADO) still there?

Just curious ...

Minh

 

[limodriver1]

he is still there!

But not ADO anymore!

 

[mbw]

Ram

upndsky,

one last Q, do u train in a sim or aircraft?

Thanks

 

[upndsky]

Sim? What's a sim?

Everything is done in the airplane.

 

[reno]

I flew for RAF 2002-2003. Started in the Lance and moved to the Seneca after 6 months. Got hired at SkyWest after 1 year with 200 Multi time. The comments about having the nerve to fly in bad Wx are true, and to be sure it is not Eden, but my year there helped me grow tremendously! It truly was a great flying job. I credit getting my current 121 job to the experience I gained at RAF. In addition to the experience, the contacts you make last a lifetime and contacts are everything in this business. Good luck!

 

[mbw]

Ram Air

Whats the average apgrade time to the multi?

 

[upndsky]

That depends on where you'll be based. All of our non-RDU based runs, except for one, is a twin run (usually the Seneca). If you get RDU, you'll be in a Lance for a while since there are only a handful of twin runs in RDU and a bunch of senior guys who like it here and probably aren't going anywhere for a while.

We've hired people straight into the out-bases and they've been flying a twin since day one. It all depends on where the need is at the time. We had a lot of attrition in RIC (an all-Seneca base) recently, but that's slowing since that base is almost all new-hires now. RDU should see the next round of attrition as there are a bunch of us here with interviews at the airlines. Odds are that if you're hired you'll be in RDU initially. But if an out-base run opens up and you're willing to move, you'd have a good chance of bidding over to it because most of the current RDU pilots don't want to move.

The key is to be flexible.

 

[mbw]

Finally got a call and a class date!
Thanks for all the info guys.

 

[CLC]

mbw
I got a call too. I'll see you down there!!

Question for upndsky:

Where are the baron's and the 402's based out of?
Jepps or NOS?

thanks

 

[upndsky]

Plates are NOS, provided by the company. If you want to use Jepp, you have to buy them yourself.

Barons are based in RDU, with one based in JQF (Concord, NC). Right now, there's also a Baron based in Macon, Ga., but that's because the pilot flying that run used to be the Baron pilot in JQF. When he moves on, they'll probably put a Seneca there.

We have 4 C-402s. One is based in Wilmington, NC, and the other in New Bern, NC. Both are used for Airborne Express. These guys fly to RDU in the evening, sleep in the office and fly back in the mornings. Those runs are pretty locked in as both pilots have family in their respective cities. The other 402s are kept in RDU as spares and for on-call charter work, usually for UPS when one of their feeder planes breaks down or a plane is late.

Richmond is an all-Seneca base.

 

[mbw]

Any cheap living ideas in RDU area? Roomates? Rooms to rent? Apertments?

Thanks

 

[upndsky]

Stay at the Extended Stay during your week of training (or wherever they recommend these days). Once you're here, you can ask or look around. Who knows, you may not even be based at RDU.

See ya on the 1st.

 

[Cadillac]

rooms for rent in Raleigh

You can have mine when I leave in March. If you want multi time, be prepared to travel and be based anywhere but Raleigh. However, I imagine most new-hires will be based here in RDU until some out-stationed pilots move on.