"Tipping" Time for changes

[Timebuilder]

So when you got that Lear job a while back, did you contemplate turning it down since it didn't offer "professional" pay?

Oh, man, you raise a VERY good point!!!

I took that job based not on the base pay rate, but based on a LIE that was told to me before I signed on.

You see, I was guarnateed 13 days a month of flying, and time and a half for every day more than that. I was told that after a few months "you'll be so tired of flying, you'll be begging for a day off".

Well, during 54 weeks of employment, I had exactly ONE day of OT.

One.

So, I fully expected my pay to be professional, that's true. I expected to make over 40k that year with OT, flying as many hours as an FO might at a regional.

It was BS.

So, thanks for trying to be a wisea$$. It was very instrumental.

 

[Gulfstream 200]

Astra guy, (er..Chief Pilot)

no really thanks for mentioning it, and your job sounds GREAT but..

your 95K would be a pay cut. I hate pay cuts. My kids hate pay cuts.

Do you get 4-5 weeks vacation to start?. I like vacation, my kids like vacation.

I fly 275 hrs a year now. (wouldnt mind a few more)

normal hotel digs are Ritz's or Grand Hyatts - we go far and I like that, but ya gotta be comfy when away.

I think our oldest aircraft is 5 years old. How often does that Israeli junk break?? dont lie.....I been there...rememeber, its not a Gulfstream when it breaks down at BIKF at 0300.

An Astra would get laughed out of our hanger. Its a hunk of Craap, no offense. Great if it pays you that good salary, but its junk....(OK, an opinion) I bet the average Astra switches hands every 2 years. How long you been there??...keep that in mind!

50 yr old company?? we are 3X older than that...in fact, we had a flight department for more than 50 yrs!


Your gig sounds great and all for an Astra, but it would be a large step down right now. And I stress RIGHT NOW as no job is 100% stable in this biz..and Im no airplane snob, but operators of Astras dont seem to last long...and I am just into stability these days..

good luck to you!

 

[Astra Guy]

Gulfstream 200,

I am not trying to impress anyone, by the way. I will say that I believe many on this board would love the opportunity that I described. Maybe I am wrong...but I doubt it.

I am happy for you, really I am about $95K being a pay cut. You should consider yourself very fortunate, as I consider myself.

Vacation time is negotiable and yes that amount is possible, dependent on the strength of the candidate.

I can understand wanting to fly more than 275 hours. Most any pilot worth his salt would.

We can choose where we stay in hotels with no limitations. Common sense prevails in most cases. After all our expenses do affect the bottom line but I guarantee you that I have never pinged anyone on staying at a very nice hotels. Not all of our destinations have Ritzs or Hyatts availabe but we have all stayed in them on the road.

 

[Astra Guy]

Sorry Gulfstream,

I wasn't finshed. Hit the wrong button.

I am happy for you that all of your aircraft are so new. That is frankly pretty rare. As for the Astra breaking it actually leads the pack in the fleet of Gulfstreams in terms of dispatchability. We have had the Astra for three years with internal maintenance and have not had to cancel a flight yet. Flying it 450 hours/year and three days/week. It is not craap as you describe. Doubt your Falcon has that dispatchability rate, but then again I would never call what you fly junk. Actually the G-IV has a much better rate than any Falcon. Trust me I believe the Falcon three engine series is one of the best designs ever developed. The Falcon 2000 is about as good as it gets, depending upon flight profiles.

Calling what I operate as being laughed out of your hangar is just a little condescending, don't you think? And no the Astra doesn't switch hands every two years. We have many loyal folks operating the aircraft. Just not as many as Falcon types since we have fewer in the field.

Glad your company and flight department has been around for so long. I will not live to see the day that either our company will be in business for 100 more years or probably that our flight department will be 50 years old. That, in an of itself, says nothing.

BTW we are not in the 135 business. 91 all the way. As far as stability is concerned the flight department has survived through three restructurings in three years. The company has quadrupled in sales in the 13 years I have been there through conservative acquisition and being the technological leader in their niche. Not a dot.com, by the way. Stability is not an issue.

We each have our own gigs. Sounds like yours is good. You should work on not being quite so condescending, IMHO, by bad mouthing another operator's aircraft. You know not of what you speak in that regard.

Moral of the story is we all had to start somewhere in this business. We all want to believe that what we do makes a difference professionally and personally. In my situation I know it does. Hope your contribution makes you feel the same way.

Good luck to you, as well!

 

[Gulfstream 200]

I apologize

Dont take it personal. Its just an airplane...

I really would not care what someone says about the equip I fly - my job does not define me - it pays the bills and gives me time off. Thats all I want. I dont know or care what the dispatch rate is on my equip...I dont decide what to buy or how to manage it. I fly it safely when they ask me to. thats what I get paid for. Im not a chief pilot/parts buyer/report maker/aircraft washer etc.....

As far as condescending - yes I was - overly and on purspose as a response to your witty remarks about your great job that I, in effect, turned my nose up at.

Sorry, I just never asked or expressed ANY interest in an Astra opening! - and Im not impressed with your gig like you thought I would be..

Be humble - you never know who you are talking to.

"Stability is not an issue" hummm....congratulations - you have the only pilot job in the world where you can say that.

Anyways...Sorry we got off on the "wrong foot"!

 

[Astra Guy]

I will accept the humility advice as I hope you will. You may never know who you might be talking to as well.

We can agree on one thing. We both have good situations professionally and we should be thankful for that.

 

[Timebuilder]

I'm genuinely happy for both of you. Do you realize what a blessing it is to have a great aviation job nowdays?

Maybe you do. I'm glad to know that not every pilot is forced to shift gears. I was pretty aggravated at first when I lost my job, but I am successfully ramping up the revival of my "old" career, and I hope to approach my aviation earning this year as I get more commercial and narration work in the expanding economy.

My hat's off to you. Enjoy it while you have it, since you never know when it will end.

 

[JediNein]

Be humble - you never know who you are talking to.

That's what I love about this board. I might have to wait for both Gulfstream 200 and Astra Guy to depart before I can land, and aside from the very few that know each other by voice, we'll never know it. And if I happen to be working over a student, well, we'll never have the chance to know it.


Glad to hear that 95K is a pay cut for someone these days. And that outfits still exist where the planes are pristine and the bean-counters have made the corporate jet fleet expense justifiable to the bottom line. I bet the people that both of you haul around accept your refusal to fly when it is not safe to do so. I bet they even have alternatives in case a flight can not be made. It's a refreshing contrast to the bottom-feeders that take up too much of my time.

Fly SAFE!
Jedi Nein

 

[FN FAL]

your 95K would be a pay cut. I hate pay cuts. My kids hate pay cuts.

Damm, 95K a year could put an awfull lot of NFA stuff in the toy locker. I must be doing something wrong.

 

[KlingonLRDRVR]

Darn it, just when I started to believe that flying broken Lears haulin checks for 50K was a good deal you guys go and ruin it for me...