The Worst Flying Job?

[Typhoon1244]

I was just telling my wife about this captain I used to fly with. Before getting hired by our company, he'd spent some time flying a Cessna 207 for a mortuary...ferrying corpses around in the dead of night (no pun intended).

It got me thinking: I'd like to see all of your nominations for the "Worst Flying Job in Aviation." Now I reaize that in today's economic climate, the definition of "Worst" has changed quite a bit, but I think each of us still has carries their own personal "Job Continuum." Mine starts with Delta 777 captain, and ends with flight instructor at a large Part-142 school. (Banner towing would have been more fun...in my humble opinion.)

So have at it: what's the worst flying job out there?

 

[AA717driver]

I'll let you know once I get furloughed!

Seriously, I love to hear stories from guys that fly the corpses. They make lots of funny noises during altitude changes...great fun on a dark and stormy night .TC

 

[LR25]

The worst flying job?

The one where the boss is loser. Equipment is a small fraction in that equation.

When you work for a jerk, nothing can even come close.

And yes I would aggree, banner towing was one of my most fun jobs ever! I miss it so.

 

[Loafman]

Eagle will soon be the worst flying job. With the new APA TA, we will now have 15 year FO's. But we'll be hiring again... who wants to be a 15 year FO at Eagle? Any takers? Anyone?

 

[Skyward]

Flying traffic watch, 6 hours a day. Trying to stay awake when you had to be at the airport at 4:30 am five days a week. Then go home and sleep a couple hours and go back to the airport again to fly the afternoon shift. Oh and all for $6 an hour. That's right $36 a day before taxes.

 

[LearLove]

Skyward - to each his own - but traffic was the best job I ever had. Had an awsome boss, got paid to fly fun GA planes around by yourself (shorts and t-shirt uniform) and basically fly where you want, do touch and goes at all the local fields and look at stuff, occasionally dogfight with a fellow traffic guy. what more could a flyin bum ask for?

ANY FLYIN JOB IN MY BOOK IS BETTER THAN ANY OTHER JOB BY FAR. UNLESS THE OTHER JOB INVOLVES HOT NAKED CHICKS AND PAYS ENOUGH TO HAVE AND FLY YOU OWN PLANE.

 

[Typhoon1244]

The worst flying job? The one where the boss is [a] loser. When you work for a jerk, nothing can even come close.

I'm curious what job elicited these remarks. Care to name names?

 

[AA717driver]

Eagle will soon be the worst flying job. With the new APA TA, we will now have 15 year FO's. But we'll be hiring again... who wants to be a 15 year FO at Eagle? Any takers? Anyone?

Loafman--Why will you have 15 year FO's at Eagle? The flowback?TC

 

[Loafman]

Yep. AA flowbacks will take ALL new RJ CA vacancies. With more flowbacks than we currently have pilots, the list here will stagnate till the next bankruptcy filing.

 

[Skyward]

Wow and I thought our flowback sucked.

 

[mullet]

But we'll be hiring again... who wants to be a 15 year FO at Eagle? Any takers? Anyone?

Glad I was to poor to pay that application fee 5 years, good luck.

 

[boeingav8r]

I was just telling my wife about this captain I used to fly with. Before getting hired by our company, he'd spent some time flying a Cessna 207 for a mortuary...ferrying corpses around in the dead of night (no pun intended).

Could flying stiffs be all that bad?? Theyre the perfect passenger because they don't talk, eat, move around or breath. Who could ask for a better passenger??

 

[turning2]

Sorry to run off topic, but this thread rehashed a question I meant to ask awhile back.

In all seriousness, would the flying of corpses be considered pax or cargo?

 

[AceCrackshot]

The guy I knew that did it said he was 91 on the deadhead legs, then 135 on the revenue legs...he laughed that his operation specs, and everything else got more strict when he got a pax that was already dead.

 

[cl-65link]

I once knew a DE in Florida who flew explosives(dynamite,etc.) around in a Beech 18 before getting a job at Eagle.

 

[Typhoon1244]

I once knew a DE in Florida who flew explosives around in a Beech 18...

Jeezus. I'll bet he paid close attention to turbulence pireps!

 

[414Flyer]

Sorry to run off topic, but this thread rehashed a question I meant to ask awhile back.

In all seriousness, would the flying of corpses be considered pax or cargo?

Well I guess cargo, since ATC asks about # souls aboard, and well pax are already dead, and they have already arrived at terminal destination.

So that leaves just the pilot

 

[Typhoon1244]

Well I guess cargo, since ATC asks about # souls aboard, and well pax are already dead, and they have already arrived at terminal destination. So that leaves just the pilot.

And some really confused paramedics if you don't make it!

 

[Wang Chung]

Flying a corpse around wouldn't be such a bad job. I mean, the guy is just DEADHEADING, right?


Hey, tough crowd tonight....is this thing on??

 

[ilinipilot]

My worst flying job is flying with a student who has bad breath or stank azz BO.

Try having a student with bad breath do eights and pylons and always looking out your window in an arrow at the pylon. NOT FUN

Or the lovely 8 oclock flight times when the student does not get up early enough to shower and you have to bear the wrath of their lack of hygene. Yummy

D

 

[FearlessFreep]

Worst Flying Job? Being Furloughed From Your Flying Job..

Best Flying Job? Not Being Furloughed From Your Flying Job.

Just filed for my un-employment benefits. Found out that in comparison to the starting pay at some regionals I would make $29.75 more than un-employment per MONTH. When you throw in the expenses that you would have to bear while working you would be better to stay home and collect a check. Still right now I am ready to go back to work, even at that pay rate.

Good Luck To Us All!

 

[Ty Webb]

I think the worst job would be to be a Crack Whore.

Oh, wait, no, the worst job would have to be . . . .
Assistant Crack Whore!

Oh, we were talking about flying jobs?

Probably any pilot job that requires you to put in office time when you're not flying. I knew a pilot that used to have to got to his bosses' house once a week and do pool service!

I once met a kid whose first interview included the following exchange:

Interviewer: The job position includes arranging catering. Do you think you can handle this?

Pilot: You mean call the caterer or the FBO an arrange catering? Sure.

Interviewer: No, no, you will go to the store, buy the crackers, fruit and cheese, slice the fruit and cheese, then arrange the catering tastefully in a basket or on a tray.

Now, that's what I call a crappy job!

 

[Typhoon1244]

Worst Flying Job? Being Furloughed From Your Flying Job. Best Flying Job? Not Being Furloughed From Your Flying Job.

This is why I was apprehensive about starting a thread like this...I knew it could be a real downer.

(At the risk of sounding calloused, "Being Furloughed" isn't really a job though, is it?)

Okay, seriously: short of a family medical crisis, I can't think of a situation worse than being a Part-121 airline pilot on furlough in this place in history. There but for the grace of Skip Barnett go I... I wish we could hire every one of you guys, I really do.

Towing banners is a fun job if you were washing airplanes in exchange for stick time the previous year. It's probably not a fun job if you were a 737 F/O the previous year...

 

[FutureRJPilot]

Just wanted to confirm on the corpses being cargo. My grandfather owned 3 funeral homes for years and I worked for him when I was 16 picking up bodies and what not, well one time he had me take a woman, obviously dead, to the airport because she was being buried back in her hometown on the east coast somewhere. I ended up taking her to the Delta Airlines Cargo hangar at PDX so there is your answer.

 

[ibaflyer]

OK..... this whole dead body thing is not that bad. I am a funeral director and embalmer and a pilot.

Yes, I do fly bodies in my airplane (Piper Lance).

Yes, it IS better than flying live pax. (Sometimes)

No, they do not sit up or make noises due to the change in alt. (Myth)

Yes, it is considered part 91 for me since part of my job is to transport dead human bodies.

And finally.....Yes, it would be considered part 135 if I was not a licensed funeral director. (I used to own a part 135 charter company)