Jobs?

J

Joffreyyy

Pre-Flight
Joined
Mar 29, 2015
Messages
65
Display Name
Display name:
Joffreyyy
Once you get a commercial pilots license do you NEED to get an ATP for working 135 or 121? Does 135 pay well/ easy to get a job with over 1000 hours ? Sorry if this is a silly question
 
Depends on what you want to do with a commercial license.

ATP for 121. ATP to fly multi-engine scheduled services in 135. Some 135 companies require ATP for hiring minimums even though the FAA doesn't require it for that specific operations.

How much over 1000 hours?

It can be easy to get a job flying 135 but starting out will be a little tough. The company may state 1200 hours minimums, but a lot of applicants will have many more hours than that.

You can make a career in 135, but it takes a while to get to the higher paying jobs. Depends on what you want for quality of life. Personally, I do not wear ties, dress slacks or Italian loafers. So flying in Alaska and New Mexico works for me.

Some Pt 91 jobs pay well, flying company business jets. A friend of mine is currently flying a Lear 60, I think. He says he is lucky to get 15 hours a month and is very happy where he is at.

There are no silly questions, but you might get some smart #$% answers....:yesnod:
 
Zeldman said:
A friend of mine is currently flying a Lear 60, I think. He says he is lucky to get 15 hours a month and is very happy where he is at.
Click to expand...
Does he get a stipend for the times he isn’t flying? A couple of guys that flew me to Long Beach in September fly the Legacy 550 pt 91 and said they may only fly 20 or so hours a month. Here and there type stuff. I’ve wondered how they make a living, unless they’re getting a stipend for the times they don’t fly.
 
Ryanb said:
Does he get a stipend for the times he isn’t flying? A couple of guys that flew me to Long Beach in September fly the Legacy 550 pt 91 and said they may only fly 20 or so hours a month. Here and there type stuff. I’ve wondered how they make a living, unless they’re getting a stipend for the times they don’t fly.
Click to expand...

He gets paid a monthly salary whether he flies or not. Another friend of mine flew King Air for the Navajo tribe years ago. Both planes were down for maintenance for at least a month. He was paid a monthly salary and a small house came with it.
 
Well, I can only speak from my experience in 135 EMS. Nope, no ATP, just a CPL. Hiring for RW is 2,000 hr min and I believe most FW FOs require 500 hr min with Capt 3,000 hr min. Starting pay around 60K but with all the overtime, bonuses, holiday pay etc., you're looking at over 100K in most cases. Not much but being it's a super easy job, home every night and we fly a fraction of what scheduled carriers fly.
 
Zeldman said:
He gets paid a monthly salary whether he flies or not. Another friend of mine flew King Air for the Navajo tribe years ago. Both planes were down for maintenance for at least a month. He was paid a monthly salary and a small house came with it.
Click to expand...
That’s what I figured. One of the two pilots is ex-comair and the other went from CFI to a 135 gig and then to where he is now. Both are PIC rated for the Legacy 550 and 450. Not a bad gig they have.

Velocity173 said:
Well, I can only speak from my experience in 135 EMS. Nope, no ATP, just a CPL. Hiring for RW is 2,000 hr min and I believe most FW FOs require 500 hr min with Capt 3,000 hr min. Starting pay around 60K but with all the overtime, bonuses, holiday pay etc., you're looking at over 100K in most cases. Not much but being it's a super easy job, home every night and we fly a fraction of what scheduled carriers fly.
Click to expand...
Do you see any guys start with LF straight from say Smokey Mountain Heli or any of those jobs or do they want guys with previous Medevac experience? Seems like AirEvac Lifeteam is the first gig that most guys seem to get, with LF being the ‘elite’ step up job. I could be wrong, just my observation.
 
Ryanb said:
That’s what I figured. One of the two pilots is ex-comair and the other went from CFI to a 135 gig and then to where he is now. Both are PIC rated for the Legacy 550 and 450. Not a bad gig they have.
Click to expand...

After Comair anything is better.

No, not a bad gig at all. Except I don't seem to find something like that....
 
Zeldman said:
After Comair anything is better.

No, not a bad gig at all. Except I don't seem to find something like that....
Click to expand...
Ha. They fell in a pot of gold when they found the job, I just know it. Nice guys and a nice airplane!
 
Ryanb said:
Do you see any guys start with LF straight from say Smokey Mountain Heli or any of those jobs or do they want guys with previous Medevac experience? Seems like AirEvac Lifeteam is the first gig that most guys seem to get, with LF being the ‘elite’ step up job. I could be wrong, just my observation.
Click to expand...

I work in a similar field, most new guys come from the military, or heli tour companies (mostly larger turbine ones).
 
Ryanb said:
That’s what I figured. One of the two pilots is ex-comair and the other went from CFI to a 135 gig and then to where he is now. Both are PIC rated for the Legacy 550 and 450. Not a bad gig they have.


Do you see any guys start with LF straight from say Smokey Mountain Heli or any of those jobs or do they want guys with previous Medevac experience? Seems like AirEvac Lifeteam is the first gig that most guys seem to get, with LF being the ‘elite’ step up job. I could be wrong, just my observation.
Click to expand...

We do get a lot from Air Evac as kind of a "step up" if you will. I believe they will take applicants without any NVG time. I believe they have only a 1,500 total hr requirement as well. They have mostly VFR 206s. We've got Astars, B407s and IFR H135s with a min 2,000 - 3,000 hr requirement.

Like James said, most are former military. They say it's 60 % but I think it's more like 80 % former military. It's just easier to get the requisite 2000 hrs in the military. Also, nothing wrong with tour dudes but day only, VFR, pad to pad doesn't really do much in getting experience for this job. Easier and cheaper on insurance to pick the former military with IFR experience and hundreds of hours of NVG time in real world conditions. Plenty of civs can do the job safely though.

We're taking pretty much anyone these days. All EMS companies are expanding and we have more openings now than I've ever seen. Pilots leaving for higher paying overseas contracts and the new rotor to airline programs are taking its toll.
 
Last edited:
Joffreyyy said:
Once you get a commercial pilots license do you NEED to get an ATP for working 135 or 121? Does 135 pay well/ easy to get a job with over 1000 hours ? Sorry if this is a silly question
Click to expand...

This is where you learn that it is the insurance industry, not the FAA, that governs hiring standards. I did a lot of Part 135 flying where my employer's policy required pilots to hold ATPs and first class medicals.

Bob
 
Zeldman said:
Some 135 companies require ATP for hiring minimums even though the FAA doesn't require it for that specific operations.
Click to expand...

Yup, openair requires 135 minimums to fly the SR22...
 
I received a post card from United Express operated by CommutAir.

HIRING JET PILOTS

$74,000 first year compensation.

New $21,100 sign on bonus

United career path program

Commuter friendly benefits

Tripling fleet size

If I was 20 years younger I might be interested in this...
 
Zeldman said:
I received a post card from United Express operated by CommutAir.

HIRING JET PILOTS

$74,000 first year compensation.

New $21,100 sign on bonus

United career path program

Commuter friendly benefits

Tripling fleet size

If I was 20 years younger I might be interested in this...
Click to expand...

Just remember the only thing you can bank on is the protected pay per the CBA, not bonuses which are at the whim on management.
 
I was retired about a year or two from ExpressJet and got one of those hiring cards from....ExpressJet. :dunno::dunno::dunno:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top