Aerial Mapping - Beginning of Season Discussion

[surreal1221]

Wow aloft. . .I'm impressed. Well said.

 

[skatergeek]

Where are all these aerial mapping places located? I always hear about them but do not know much about it. What kind of work do you do? Are their any in the SW United States? What is the pay like? Thanks

 

[aloft]

The location of the companies is irrelevant, you'll be on the road 100% of the time. I flew everywhere from Seattle to Philadelphia last season, though the bulk of my time was spent in Southern California.

That said, Desert Wind Air Service is the "western" vendor, based out of Mesa, AZ -- but we were only there for training, passing through a few times enroute to somewhere else, and to turn the airplanes in at the end of the season.

Pay is about the same as 1st-year regional pay ($21-25k/yr), + per diem. All hotel/rental car expenses are covered, some of the vendors issue you a company credit card for those expenses, some reimburse (RAMS might've been the only reimbursers, not sure what the others do).

 

[Ian_J]

There's something to be said for managing the signal to noise ratio; there are a lot of posters who contribute zero to the signal side, and greatly to the noise side. I try to contribute more to the signal myself, even if I'm posting about unpopular subjects like GoJet.

Dang. That absolutely was very well said.

 

[skatergeek]

How long is a 'season'? Does Desert Wind Air Service have a website...Google just doesn't want to pull one up. And do they fly single or multi's? Sorry for so many ?'s

 

[aloft]

No worries, that's what we're here for.

The season runs from late October through May. DWAS doesn't have a website, their fleet is 9 C-172s. Landcare is the only Pictometry vendor operating twins--of which they have three, and those slots go to their guys returning for a 2nd season. (I wish I'd known that last year!)

 

[flhrci]

I got the Dear David email from Northern States today. Turned down for yet another aviation job.

Seems my career pilot hopes and dreams are dying a very slow painful death. Can't even get students to instruct and can't afford to move anywhere else. Bankruptcy is looming in the near distant future. 37 years old and about to lose everything I have worked so hard for all my life.

And the dark side of aviation looms ever so closer......

Good luck to every one else ho applied. I guess I won't be seeing you out there unless one of the other vendors decides to do some hiring and hires me. No reason to think positively abotu it any more.

David

 

[aloft]

Well that is interesting to say the least.

Not really. This isn't a terribly profitable business for the vendors, and if you have a lot of things break within your fleet, major maintenance done in the field can kill that margin in a hurry.

 

[aloft]

Good luck to every one else ho applied. I guess I won't be seeing you out there unless one of the other vendors decides to do some hiring and hires me. No reason to think positively abotu it any more.

There are 4 Pictometry vendors operating some 45 airplanes total (and thus needing 45 pilots) and you're down in the dumps because ONE of them turned you down? That leaves three other vendors to apply with. Your glass should still be 3/4 full, bro. Enough of the pity party.

 

[flhrci]

There are 4 Pictometry vendors operating some 45 airplanes total (and thus needing 45 pilots) and you're down in the dumps because ONE of them turned you down? Your glass should still be 3/4 full, bro. Enough of the pity party.

Not because of one of them dumping me. I have had a lot of disappointments thsi past year. All I wanted to do was be a CFI for awhile and that isn't even working for me. If you had an idea what all has happened, you might feel similarly. Not flaming you Aloft, btw.

I won't be beaten and somehow this will all work out in the end and I will get where I want to go, but it just is killing me financially right now and nothing positive is happening.

I most likely will have to get a non aviation full-time job for the winter and possibly give up being a CFI this year. No students for me and I live in a relatively big city.

David

 

[aloft]

Well, see, that's the problem with the whole CFI thing. No students = no flying = no hours = no money. And with the way the economy is going, the pool of people with the spare cash to pursue flying lessons (or qualify for training loans) is shrinking rapidly.

With these mapping gigs, you're not dependent upon student demand or good weather or the airplane being out of maintenance. We're paid salary, and still get paid if we can't fly due to wx, or mx, or ATC delays. I flew only 20 hrs in December due to wx and still got a full month's pay for hanging out in a hotel room. Most CFIs cannot say the same.

 

[flhrci]

What you said is why I wanted to get one of these jobs. I will apply to the others to and see how things go, but the full-time service writer position I was offered at a motorcycle dealership is beginning to sound better. Not what I want to do the rest of my life though.

David.

Well, see, that's the problem with the whole CFI thing. No students = no flying = no hours = no money. And with the way the economy is going, the pool of people with the spare cash to pursue flying lessons (or qualify for training loans) is shrinking rapidly.

With these mapping gigs, you're not dependent upon student demand or good weather or the airplane being out of maintenance. We're paid salary, and still get paid if we can't fly due to wx, or mx, or ATC delays. I flew only 20 hrs in December due to wx and still got a full month's pay for hanging out in a hotel room. Most CFIs cannot say the same.

 

[RICHARD5]

im still looking for the alternate universe where hard work and desire get you to this nice gated community called "the american dream"



anyway, back to topic, if anyone has anything to add.

That's a nice euphemism. What you seek is out there. Maybe not in commercial aviation but it's out there. Perhaps instead of turning over every rock in aviation you should look at a different field, at least for the meantime.

I know hard work and aviation is nothing close to it. My point is your assignment of value to "hard work" seemingly carries little currency in commercial aviation. Said another way; that break you are trying to create through determination probably will be hard to come by in aviation.

I KNOW you will get there but don't know when. However, I believe you can shorten the timeline by looking for opportunity in other fields and letting that support your aviation goals for the time being.

 

[Gizmo]

I don't know if its been answered already but looks like all of RAM's aircraft went to Air America according to Carol Saks (sp).

Bobby

 

[BillErvin]

American Dream - a lost myth, much like Atlantic the lost city. Good luck finding it.

So, me being semi-retired at 50, living in a home with a hanger and Runway in my backyard, is a figment of my imagination? :nana2: The American dream is about working hard for what you want and not giving up.

Keep on looking TX, you'll find something, you might look outside of aviation or working a line job at an airport, and use that to fund your CFI training

Bill
Eagles Nest Estates
Midlothian TX

 

[FlyingPoke]

I don't know if its been answered already but looks like all of RAM's aircraft went to Air America according to Carol Saks (sp).

Bobby

Anybody who actually worked for Air America care to give a rundown on the company and how it was working for them?

I've contacted them to get more information but would like to hear from a former employee if there is one lurking... thanks a lot ahead of time.

 

[aloft]

It looks like DWAS will not be hiring off the street for the start of the season, we've got more pilots coming back from last season than originally anticipated due to furloughs elsewhere. I still expect that we'll lose people throughout the season as they hit 135 IFR mins, so all is not lost for you hopefuls out there, especially those needing time to reach the 500 TT mark we're now requiring.

 

[TXaviator]

update:

had a phone interview with Air America today. pretty casual and informal, no hard technical questions, more of a 'get to know you and your personality' type deal..wanted to know work experience...tell me about the job (everything you guys said so far is right on target)...etc

training is expenses paid by air america (cool!), looking to put together the training session in late september and have guys flying by oct 15ish.

said i should hear back yea/nay fairly quickly.

interview seemed to go well, looked like they just want to avoid the prissy prima-donna types who are afraid of some old-fashioned blue collar work. best of luck to everyone! anyone else hear back?

 

[FlyingPoke]

update:

had a phone interview with Air America today. pretty casual and informal, no hard technical questions, more of a 'get to know you and your personality' type deal..wanted to know work experience...tell me about the job (everything you guys said so far is right on target)...etc

training is expenses paid by air america (cool!), looking to put together the training session in late september and have guys flying by oct 15ish.

said i should hear back yea/nay fairly quickly.

interview seemed to go well, looked like they just want to avoid the prissy prima-donna types who are afraid of some old-fashioned blue collar work. best of luck to everyone! anyone else hear back?

Never got a response back from my inquiry I sent last week, do you have a contact name/email you're willing to share? (other than the one given on their website?)

 

[TXaviator]

Never got a response back from my inquiry I sent last week, do you have a contact name/email you're willing to share? (other than the one given on their website?)

PM sent