It's great for pilots looking to triple their flight time over the course of 7 months. The season typically starts in October and runs into mid to late May. Most companies start looking over resumes late July/early August and interviewing/hiring folks soon after. I had a great deal of fun flying mapping and it can be a great way to build a ton of time without instructing. I think the amount of flying is typically 500 to 700 hours over those 7 months.
Most companies will hire from all over the US and you fly out for training and then off all over the country going from project to project. It's a 7 day a week job and you're expected to fly when the weather is good where you're working. Some companies offer rotations and will fly you home for one or two vacations a season.
JAV Imagery (The Alaskan company, female owned, Stephanie Painter, steph@javimagery.com)
$135 per diem and $25 to $30 per hobbs hour flown. I don't know much about them, but I ran into a great guy who knew the owner and said he was impressed with her. It's a relatively new company and they only had a few planes initially.
Landcare (out of Rome, NY http://landvue.com/Home.html)
One of the biggest companies. I'm not sure if the pay's changed, but it was on the lower side of operators as of two years ago. I believe all the planes had 430s and they tend to stay in nice hotels.
Sandhills (out of Lincoln, NE http://sandhillsaviation.com/employment/)
They offer rotations and are quite flexible so it might be the best company to go to if you can't commit to a full 7 months.
Ground Imaging (Formerly Northern States aviation, but Williams Aerial bought out that side of them. Email Doug at dgourley@williamsaerial.com).
Skylens (Hammond, LA might be the best paying company out there for this work http://www.skylensaerial.com/index.html please follow the directions carefully)
Air America (It used to be great, but I can't tell people to stay away enough due to some changes in pilot liability, lack of pay increases and what's become of the maintenance as I've heard some distressing stories). They used to require a contract so if you decide mapping isn't for you or need to quit they'll come after you for a few to several grand.
I'm more than happy to update this with any new information.
Most companies will hire from all over the US and you fly out for training and then off all over the country going from project to project. It's a 7 day a week job and you're expected to fly when the weather is good where you're working. Some companies offer rotations and will fly you home for one or two vacations a season.
JAV Imagery (The Alaskan company, female owned, Stephanie Painter, steph@javimagery.com)
$135 per diem and $25 to $30 per hobbs hour flown. I don't know much about them, but I ran into a great guy who knew the owner and said he was impressed with her. It's a relatively new company and they only had a few planes initially.
Landcare (out of Rome, NY http://landvue.com/Home.html)
One of the biggest companies. I'm not sure if the pay's changed, but it was on the lower side of operators as of two years ago. I believe all the planes had 430s and they tend to stay in nice hotels.
Sandhills (out of Lincoln, NE http://sandhillsaviation.com/employment/)
They offer rotations and are quite flexible so it might be the best company to go to if you can't commit to a full 7 months.
Ground Imaging (Formerly Northern States aviation, but Williams Aerial bought out that side of them. Email Doug at dgourley@williamsaerial.com).
Skylens (Hammond, LA might be the best paying company out there for this work http://www.skylensaerial.com/index.html please follow the directions carefully)
Air America (It used to be great, but I can't tell people to stay away enough due to some changes in pilot liability, lack of pay increases and what's become of the maintenance as I've heard some distressing stories). They used to require a contract so if you decide mapping isn't for you or need to quit they'll come after you for a few to several grand.
I'm more than happy to update this with any new information.
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