Your typical day as a corporate pilot

[cvsfly]

Smart girl!

 

[carlos]

Archer, I found the following quote to be relevant when I switched careers several years ago, and it may be appropriate for your situation, too. Good luck with your decision.

"Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation) there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All Sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meeting and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. I have learned a deep respect for Goethe's couplets: "Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it."

W. H. Murray, The Scottish Himalayan Expedition

 

[carlos]

....Or as said more concisely, if less eloquently, in those old Nike commercials, "Just Do It!"

 

[Snakum]

Next time you're on campus and see my ex-girlfriend, can you kick her in the ass for me? I'd appreciate it.

ROFLMAO!

Minh

Archer ... I think most guys who make the big leagues in Aviation are usually so absolutely PUMPED from the very first Discovery Flight onward that they couldn't do anything else. I know I was.

That said, however, I won't make the big leagues due to my age and my work situation $$$. But I still have the kind of burning desire that will drive me as far as I can possibly go, and if that means retiring from a freight operation on Chieftans ... so be it.

If you have had to think about it this hard ... maybe just flying for fun is the way to go. There's alot of fun to be had in airplanes without starving for your dream (which some of us have been GLAD to do at times ... but we're kind of a strange lot anyway).

Minh

 

[Archer]

Falcon, you said you've been to Spain and I'm guessing other countries in Europe...

what are your thoughts on the JAA rules, flying in European airspace in general...and is corporate flying common there?

 

[hobbsmeter]

I'll second what GVFLYER said, it seems like being a test pilot is right up your alley.

 

[captainv]

corporate flying

Archer,

One thing to consider is the difference between corporate flying and private owner flying. I consider corporate flying to be working in the flight department for a big company like Home Depot or Coca-Cola. they're run more like a mini-airline, with well-defined duties and schedules.

My experience was in private owner flying, which is probably far more common. (i think NBAA says the average flight department has 1-2 airplanes and 2-3 pilots). Most recently, I was co-captain on a Lear 25 for a businessman with his own small company. Some parts of it were great - we flew 2-3 times a week, and the only overnights we had were trips to Vegas every few months. On the down side, he was the typical business guy on the verge of "hitting it big." that is, the company rose and fell on the economy or the ever-elusive big deal that was just about to be signed. plus, you're on-call 24/7 and you handle everything related to the airplane and more. (one pilot i know was always picking up dry-cleaning or getting the new tires for the boss's car)

it's a great gig when times are good, but the airplane is always for sale when the economy goes south. our chief pilot also ran the fbo and the maintenance shop, so the airplane was always in good shape - it was the owners who kept changing. one of the problems with flying an entry-level airplane is that the owners are often new to aviation. typically they aren't aware of all the things they'll have to pay for, and it takes a while for them to see how things SHOULD be done. one prosective owner wanted a detailed estimate of all the unscheduled maintenance he would incur in the first year. well gee, sir, if i could predict the future like that i'd be out buying lotto tickets!

the best thing to do in private-owner flying is to find a good chief pilot. in a small flight department, he sets the tone. you will find lots of flexibility in this type of flying, you'll get to make a lot of your own decisions, and it'll be wildly unpredictable. when the phone rings, you may be going to the Big Apple, or central Kansas. maybe the boss signed a huge deal and he bought a Gulfstream. Or, you're out of a job. You just never know! but at least it's never boring.

captainv

 

[banned username 2]

Typical day as a corporate pilot. Well….

Show up at the airport/aircraft and hour and a half before the proposed departure time to get everything ready to go, and just in case the pompous, overbearing executive shows up early. However, as usual, the pompous, overbearing executive shows up late, greets you with a “grunt” that, in your mind’s attempt to remain up-beat and cheerful, you interpret as a “hello” and/or “good morning”.

One pilot loads the luggage, if there is any, closes the door, and performs the before start, after start, before taxi, etc., checklists, while the other pilot has already started the engines and begun the taxi without the benefit of these checklists. At this point, there is still some small chance that the before takeoff checklist will be completed before the captain (who always flies the legs that carry the pompous, overbearing executives) pushes the power levers up and begins the takeoff roll.

Fly the aircraft to the Hooterville Municipal Airport, one runway, 3800 X 75 feet. The performance data that you calculated (typically the co-pilot calculates this data, and shows it to the captain…who maybe will bother to look at it….but usually believes he can get into any airport with a runway) determined that, under ideal conditions, you need 3750 feet of runway required. It just so happens that today, the conscientious, conservative and extremely competent captain is flying, and he knows that the Gotham City International Airport is located 5 miles away (8 minutes drive time) from Hooterville Municipal, and it has an 8000 X 150 ft runway served by an ILS with other desirable facilities. The captain tries to explain his safety concerns to the pompous, overbearing passenger, as well as the flight operations management personnel (chief pilot, or other flt dept manager), but they insist that the customer needs to land at Hooterville. Besides, the data says you only need 3750 ft of runway, and you have 3800….what’s the problem?

Land at Hooterville, and manage to get it stopped using max reverse, max braking, and all your available skills, then taxi to the shack that serves as an FBO. By the way, part of the reason that the landing distance was as long as it was is because Hooterville offers no jet fuel, so you had to tanker round trip fuel. Go into shack, find several month old copies of “Plane and Pilot” and “Trade-A-Plane”. Browse these magazines. Pick nose repeatedly until you are convinced there are no more nuggets. Repeat this process until you are ABSOLUTELY convinced. Remembered that you need to go into town to pick up some pistachios since you only had cashews on board, because the last time you flew this pompous, overbearing executive, he wanted cashews. However today, as he deplaned in Hooterville, he berated you “What’s wrong with you guys, can’t you do anything right? Don’t you know I like pistachios on board when I fly?” While you’re in town, in the airport mgr’s 1979 Nissan pickup that he let you borrow, you decide to get some lunch. You’re in luck…at least there’s a “Golden Corral” in town, so you don’t have to settle on a sandwich from the same gas station/convenience store where you got the pistachios.

Return to airport, pick nose some more, since you thought that maybe you were able to generate a few nuggets from the combination of cigarette smoke and cooking particulates in the air at the Corral. Wait until the pompous, overbearing executive shows up an hour and a half later than advised, then fly the return trip to your home airport. Spend the next hour cleaning the aircraft, emptying the “honey bucket”, and preparing the plane for the next day's flight.

That is Charter... not Corporate....

Lets keep in mind there are HUGE differences between the following 3 types of jobs:

Corporate Pilot
Private Owner Pilot
Charter Pilot

 

[banned username 2]

Falcon, you said you've been to Spain and I'm guessing other countries in Europe...

what are your thoughts on the JAA rules, flying in European airspace in general...and is corporate flying common there?

Archer...

Yes I have been all over Europe including Italy, Spain, Germany, France, England, Ireland, Switzerland and several other countries....

There is some Corporate Aviation over there but it is not near as common as it is in the US....

 

[captainv]

That is Charter... not Corporate....

Falcon Capt,

Flip is right. That is corporate for some of us out there. One pilot i know for years was the lone employee of a corporate flight department on a LR-31. all of his co-pilots were contract pilots (although they do have a full-time co-pilot now.) he flew an average of 90-100 hours per month - i'm not kidding - and spent every weekend on the road - although usually he was in NYC at a nice hotel.

they'd give him vacation every six months, which he got to spend at flightsafety. otherwise, the only guaranteed time off was when the president was out of the country or the airplane was down for scheduled maintenance, but he had to supervise that as well. He got paid great, great money for a LR-31, but to me the job wasn't worth the price in QOL. he's got a really nice house, but he might as well rent it out seeing as how he's never there...

As a contract pilot, though, it was great. Lots of flying, steady money, great equipment, i could pick my trips, though i rarely turned one down. On salary, though? No thanks...

Corporate does not mean Fortune 500, although it sure would be nice!

captainv