Alpha Flying/Planesense

Early in your career, especially in this job market, you take should take whatever builds total time and does not kill you or violate you. As you move through your career, you will have to make an effort to take jobs that will get you to whatever your long term goal is. For years, I stayed in the mapping industry for years, and built tons of multi time, then I moved into management/flying for a small piston charter company, and kept building multi time. I had good quality of life and was paid enough to live comfortably. Then as the economy cam crashing down, and the charter company folded, I looked up and had 5000 TT, 4000 multi, and only 350 hours of SIC turbine. With no PIC turbine time, the jobs that I was qualified for was the same ones that I was qualified for 10 years ago, night cargo and the regionals. Fortunately, the regionals would not consider me, because my times were too high. It took me over a year to find a job that would build turbine time, and not bankrupt the family. The point is to periodically evaluate how type of time that you are building to make sure that it meets your career goals.

yoman793 said:
I don't see what the big deal here is? Why would you worry about leaving a job you haven't gotten yet? Planesense/Alpha flying looks like an awesome place to work. Great equipment, decent pay and schedules, the bases look alright, and I love that they will recognize a good employee not only based on the magical number that they hold at the company. Did I mention they have great equipment?!!?! That PC-12 is a rockin' bird. I look forward to the day when I can apply for a position with the company. Albeit that is a long ways away. :( But what do I know.... To each his own I guess.
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Who's saying there's a "big deal"? Go in with your eyes open on the pay/cost of living and utility of single engine SIC time, yeah. But there are a LOT worse jobs out there. It beats the pants off GIA, for example.
 
Boris Badenov said:
Who's saying there's a "big deal"? Go in with your eyes open on the pay/cost of living and utility of single engine SIC time, yeah. But there are a LOT worse jobs out there. It beats the pants off GIA, for example.
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Perhaps I misspoke. I understand the extremely limited usefulness of SE SIC time and the logical desire to further ones career by choosing a position that would allow for the building of multi PIC time (preferably turbine time obviously). I simply meant to stress that perhaps not everyone aspires to the fly big shiny jets (or small dirty ones) and a position flying the PC-12 in a part 91 or 135 environment just very well might be a great "career". But I will say it again... to each his own.

Regardless, I agree with you. There are many worse options out there.
 
There are only 2 bases - PSM and PDK. There is probably some degree of choice in which base you are assigned, but it is not guaranteed. I was hired into PSM and then offered PDK after 3 or 4 months.

There are no agreements set up with airlines for commuting. If you can find a carrier that will allow any 135 guy on then maybe that will work, but we have no reciprocity agreements.
 
Well, things just changed quite a bit. 7/7 has gone the way of the dodo, and the new schedule is 8/6. There will still be some 7/7 schedules, but the pay is much lower than 8/6, and its not available for new hires. The starting pay as gone up to $30k, with a raise to $34k after 6 months. All the other pay scales have gone up as well, but it's not a linear increase for the additional days you have to work. There is also a weekend start day now, which there has never been in the past. You get some additional pay, but you'll never have a weekend off.

The new pay scale helps some of the middle seniority captains, but really screws the senior guys, and since you now have to bid for what work cycle you're assigned, the junior guys are getting screwed with schedule. I haven't talked to one person that is happy about these changes.
 
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