Aerial Mapping

troopernflight

troopernflight

Well-Known Member
Does anyone know what the typical starting salary for aerial mapping pilot jobs is? This would be flying Aztec's and Navajo's. And this would be for low time, 500 hour range experience.
 
troopernflight said:
Does anyone know what the typical starting salary for aerial mapping pilot jobs is? This would be flying Aztec's and Navajo's. And this would be for low time, 500 hour range experience.
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It varies widely from company to company. Try searching individual vendors for threads which may reference their specific payscale.
 
I currently work for one of the largest aerial mapping companies flying a C172. There are four main "vendors" that work for the larger company, "Pictometry". There are also a few others that are independent but seem to not work as much. The salary does vary between each of the vendors but not by too much. Some companies get more in per diem and how they chose to spend/save is up to them while others just straight up pay for your expenses and then provide less of a salary but with the opportunity to receive bonuses.

As for flying an Aztec/Navajo, most companies only give those positions to pilots who have already been employed for at least one full season especially if you only have 500TT. Most companies start all pilots in a C172 or something similar and then you go from there.

Overall I would recommend the job regardless of salary to anyone who is looking to build time and is not bound by anything at home because you will be on the road for almost a full year. It's a great experience criss crossing the country in all types of flying conditions. If you have any more questions feel free to PM me.
 
Roger, thanks. This company actually only flies Aztec's and Navajo's. They don't have any 172's. I did obtain some info from someone after I posted this and they said they start out in the low 30's. I understand they do other stuff other than mapping. Some of the ops are low level and some go up to 17,500 for other stuff (some of the aircraft are turbocharged). I'm not really sure on the specifics of what they do at the higher alts. I hope to possibly get my foot in the door at this place in the next year or so. It seems like a good place to start for a flying job.
 
troopernflight said:
Roger, thanks. This company actually only flies Aztec's and Navajo's. They don't have any 172's. I did obtain some info from someone after I posted this and they said they start out in the low 30's. I understand they do other stuff other than mapping. Some of the ops are low level and some go up to 17,500 for other stuff (some of the aircraft are turbocharged). I'm not really sure on the specifics of what they do at the higher alts. I hope to possibly get my foot in the door at this place in the next year or so. It seems like a good place to start for a flying job.
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Which company is this?
 
Dynamic Aviation has an Airborne Data Acquisition branch that does all kinds of aerial surveys. A few years ago there as a busy FO I could make about 40k per year.
 
Not really related, but as I was flying into LGB today, I was reminded of how much fun I had taking pictures in the LA area. It's a fun job, for sure.
 
Probably 500 tt at minimum. Recommend 1200/50. Contact nocturnalaviator. He just moved into the chief position due to employee movement.

if youre real interested in the day to day ops, pm me
 
I met a couple flying for Keystone a few years ago. The pilot was turning the props after landing a Conquest II. It sounded like a cool job. No idea on pay, but the pilot said it was a pain in the butt when you're project has you taking pictures in class B airspace.
 
robofos said:
I met a couple flying for Keystone a few years ago. The pilot was turning the props after landing a Conquest II. It sounded like a cool job. No idea on pay, but the pilot said it was a pain in the butt when you're project has you taking pictures in class B airspace.
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Was the pilot short and have a beard?


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