Situation... Need Advice

[Diesel]

Would you buy a car before kicking the tires?

Why do they need you? Are they expanding or did the last guy quit?
Owner at 50, good health doesn't matter when he gets hit by a bus, gets a divorce, or just plain sells the plane can give two shiites about you.

To be honest you don't know nearly enough about the situation to even begin to make a decision. Remember a type rating is cheap in the big scheme of things. I'd really start to do some homework. Find out the tail number and do some research into the type of flying it does.

Of course this could be the best job in the world and when you walk up to the owner the first day he might look at you and say, "nope your fired."

I'd even request an interview with the owner or the family of the owner.

Been there done that.

 

[NGT]

There is no security in aviation anywhere!!

You must prearrange a severance if for ANY reason that the job leaves you. 1 year minimum, 2 years better! This guy could die, get divorced, get married to a woman who hates pilots and planes, go to jail, go to Netjet/Flexjet/Options/Tag/Private Air ect.ect.ect......., get killed by an angry investor, and any other of the unlimited reasons these jobs go away. If he can buy this plane then a $160,000 severance is less than he'll pay for wine or a car. Secure a severance or keep looking. Also ask what happens if a pilot get sick. Is it 1 month on and 1 off if all goes well, or is this hard time off. Are there ANY duty guidelines or 91 fun! Good luck it could be the greatest experience ever or the worst career move you could dream of. The best job I ever had was a GIII for a Multimillionaire, until I woke up and he was broke and gone!

 

[av8tor4239]

Thank you everyone for all your advice.. I took it and turned down the interview today.. Everything went well.. I will go ahead with my CRJ upgrade at my regional and see where my career takes me..

Aviation will always facinate me.. the choices sometimes seem so trivial but play such a huge part in the way your life will turn out.

It was a first class opertion from my communication with them.. Jepp view (no revisions)G-III, stage III certified. World-wide (passport mandatory), Part 91 ops, no charter or rent outs-one principal owner. We train and operate with 4 captains, rotating left-right seat. Typically we do 3 weeks on 3 weeks off schedule, no office duty. Recurrent training every 6 months in your 3 week down downtime. We reimburse up to 1K month for health insurance, paid uniforms, cell phones, laptops with Jepp View, and expense account with credit cards to cover trip expenses. First rate in order to provide First Class service.

Good luck to all that helped in my decison..

"we will only know when we turn 60 if we made the right decisions"

 

[Lopaka]

So this guy and his G__ has been around for one year? No planes prior? Not too common an owner starting out with a Gulfstream in my opinion. So it could be a really good thing, or a really bad thing.

You've got to decide what your goals are. Corporate is obviously very different than what you are doing now, but also more fun.
So you're upgrading and you'll be on 6yr capt pay getting PIC. Are you happy where you are? Would you like living where the G is based? You've never met the other 3 pilots or the owner. Being that you will practically be living with them you might want to see if you guys get along.
Job security would be a big issue being such a small flt dept. That guy and his plane can go faster than he came.

They say one month on/ one off? So with 4 pilots that leaves two always on and two always off to crew the plane. I don't know how much flying they do but where is the backup? The relief? What happens when someone is sick?

Doesn't sound like you know enough about the job to make a good decision yet, but so far I wouldn't go.

 

[Lopaka]

double post...

 

[Charlie Brown]

FWIW, I think you probably made the right choice. Time will tell. Either way it sounds like you have a good attitude about it.

Regards,
CB

 

[Raskal]

Wow...I'm sorry, but I disagree. As one who knows corporate very well, the experience and the quality of lifestyle the OP just turned down for a, what, 50-60k regional capt. job is pretty heavy. How long would you have to stay at your "secure" regional to make 80k, another 5 years? This job sounds like an excellent 91 gig. As for securtiy, does anyone really think a regional is more secure? If so, I have about 13 friends I'd love to introduce you to.

A G type goes a looonnnng way in the 91/135 world, whether it be contract all the way to a one-owner capt.

I don't know, this sounded solid enough, I mean, 3wks on 3 off? How does that compare to your avg regional sched? Especially as a jr. captain?

 

[Galaxy]

Sheesh! Hush Raskal! The guy loves his airline and how sweet is that. Don't go goving away the corp secret...Just tell them it sucks lemons.

 

[Raskal]

Sheesh! Hush Raskal! The guy loves his airline and how sweet is that. Don't go goving away the corp secret...Just tell them it sucks lemons.

LOL :0 , you're right...I have a soft spot for the regional guys-I've seen friends work so hard to get ahead and be dissapointed. Those guys really get treated pretty poorly and many have no idea what's out there.

Either way, best of luck to the OP-hope you'll have a good career.

 

[hawkerjet]

My question is how did you get recruited. Do you know someone there, send a resume in, answer a job posting, how did they know to approach you. If they came out of the blue and approached you for a corporate gig, I'd be very leary, it works the other way around. Most stable corporate jobs are mired in secrecy and have companies that search and conduct background checks and also do most of the interviews. Think about this; are they going to hire you, someone they don't even know much about and type rate you and let you fly the boss around. Would you do that if you were hiring someone. I know I wouldn't. And I am not attacking your professionalism or skills as a pilot, I am trying to share with you what a good flight department would do for a pilot's position. One of the most difficult decisions a department manager can make is hiring the right pilot. That's why so many referrals are usually involved, it takes some of the pressure off and helps you look into someone you've never met. If you've never met the person and don't have anyone at the company that knows him, the only thing you have at first is a resume. if that's all they have , be careful. The process should start with a resume, then continue to background checks, tests, and at minimum 2 interviews, and employment checks and letters from current and past people you've flown with. It takes a while to sift through all this if done correctly, especially tracking down referrences. Do ya see where Im going with this. If this or a good portion of what's stated here isn't happenning, approach with caution. If this is his first jet and it's a Gulfstream then that brings up a red flag to me already. It can be done but it's very uncommon. Most people have started out smaller and grown into one after a couple years. Seeing that they've been around for a year alleviates some of that but still proceed with caution.
You'll never gain the necessary PIC time you'll need to get into the legacy carriers as fast as in the regionals
Good Luck!