What makes a good FR8 Pilot?

[safety214]

Well Heres my $.02. It's really the best job I can think of! I'm flying air ambulance now, but I owe everything to my fr8 days. There isn't another flying job where you can learn as much as you do flying boxes in a short period of time. Seriously, just make the best decision for the situation, and learn from it when it turns out it was an f'ed up decision. We have all made stupid mistakes, just make sure you dont back yourself into a corner, you know that "always leave an out". Give it a shot, and I think you'll like it, it just gets into your blood, and after a few years you'll be looking down at those regional capts with the disdain they deserve ;0

Good luck

 

[safety214]

also check out the you might be a FR8DOG if under cargo. That'll give you a good Idea of what goes on, and it's funny as hell

 

[TinGoose1]

I think it's the same no matter what/where you fly, it's the "Y" chromosome that makes a good pilot.

 

[402CAPT]

What makes a good FR8 Pilot

When you walk and they clank.

 

[Junkflyer]

There's no secret good skills, common sense, knowledge of the a/c and far's,and remember to always leave yourself an out.

 

[Clyde]

I see this question on a lot of gouges and it worries me. Obviously if I want to be I should know what it takes, but I am still so unfamiliar with the industry that I can't think of anything beyond cliché. So to the FR8 pilots, what really makes a pilot stand out as an exceptional FR8 pilot. Not just so I can answer an interview question, but so I know what I'm getting myself into.

Thank you.

Test.....

 

[mar]

The Key

Remember, the customer comes first.

There are lots of good answers in this thread but as far as I'm concerned this is the real answer.

I've flown with a lot of awesome pilots but sometimes they make horrible employees.

Never forget, the company is business to make money. It's not a flying club.

I've flown with so many primadonnas who think they're doing the company a *favor* by going out and flying A to B. And then when they get back they want a big pat on the back.

Give me a break.

You're a professional. Go do the job like you were trained and don't expect a ticker tape parade when you get back.

Like a former boss of mine used to say: "If it's a quarter mile, you're going flying."

('Course, that doesn't mean I'm gonna land, but I'd definitely go fly, take a look, fly to mins, put a wheel down, see if I like it, if not divert to somewhere friendly and possible spend the night on a cold floor....).

Anyways, Junkflyer said, always leave yourself an out and carry lots of gas.

Good luck.

 

[Rip Vanwinkle]

I didn't mean to be flip. Okay, maybe a little. But frankly, I think the advice still stands. If the boxes get where they're going, and your chief pilot doesn't know who you are, you're doing your job well. This is not to say that the other answers are wrong, just superfluous. That's the job. And yes, you learn alot and grow balls of brass if not steel. But the company doesn't care about your balls or your learning.

 

[pilotyip]

If it is op spec and FAR legal, you go. If it is illegal or you are just to fatigue to fly another leg, you don't go. You have a mission to rescue someone's production program, that is why they call your company. It is about the job, and you find a way to get it done legally. You deal with, customs, haz mat, irate customers, TSA, loading facilities that tell you we don't load or unload, do it yourself. You refuse a haz mat load because the paper work is not correct, you get screamed at by the customer, the boss calls you in the office tells you the customer is irate and the company is going to investigate your behavior on the road. The company investigates, finds out you were correct in not taking the haz mat. No one pats on the back; you are in a hotel in LRD for the 5th night. You ensure the weight on the manifest matches the real weight, you find a way to get the cargo on the airplane when it doesn’t fit because of an error the salesperson made when the trip was booked. You pay for fuel, ensure its contract pricing, you walk ¼ across a snow-covered rate to pay a $5.00 landing fee, another ¼ in the other direction to pay a $400 loading fee when they did not help you load. You make sure you mark each receipt in letters a least ½ tall trip #, date, your name, airports name, contract and customers name. Then you get a call from the company wanting to know why you are not airborne. You are under a lot of pressure to get the job done. Those boxes have to be there by 0400Z to keep the assembly line running. If you can work under those conditions, on-demand cargo is not bad, it is interesting flying new places, with different approaches, and a changing adventure on each trip.

 

[mar]

Good sense of humor

Pilotyip made me think of one more thing.

Have a sense of humor.

And be flexible.

And creative.

If the load doesn't fit, be willing to break it down into smaller pieces until it does fit.

And then laugh about it when you get to the bar later in the morning.