Banner Tow Jobs?

Inverted25

Inverted25

Well-Known Member
Anyone know of any banner tow jobs for this upcoming summer? Would really like to get out of Ohio for a few months
 
Jbroz04 said:
Anyone know of any banner tow jobs for this upcoming summer? Would really like to get out of Ohio for a few months
Click to expand...


There is one fuzzy who supposedly has a seat available for the season, he will fill it whenever he has received the $3500 check for the training.
700-900 flight hours!!!
 
Jbroz04 said:
where is it and how much do you get paid? Not real fond of putting up 3500 for a job
Click to expand...

I have no clue, believe NC? SC? I was done listening once he told me you had to pay. It dropped off the radar, so to speak. As for pay, I don't know, lets just guess you get $10/ hour your first season, fly 800 hours ($8000) and you had to cut a check and live for 30 days before you made any money (3500 + COL) Looks like in the best case you are flying 800 hours for roughly 4K. Makes $5/hour before taxes, and only if you have no other duties than flying.... Quite bad for a 'professional', if you ask me.
 
Guy out here in San diego does the same thing..I pretty much disappeared after he said he wanted me to pay him... I wish somebody knew some reputable banner tow companies out there..the searches don't turn up much...usually just turns up the companies who make banners...
 
GlenA said:
Guy out here in San diego does the same thing..I pretty much disappeared after he said he wanted me to pay him... I wish somebody knew some reputable banner tow companies out there..the searches don't turn up much...usually just turns up the companies who make banners...
Click to expand...

~90% of them use tailwheel airplanes. If they do and do not ask for paid training they will most likely ask for at least 50-150 hours TW PIC.
This in turn reduces the amount of idiots asking for the job.
Then they have the issues of pure timebuilders who will jump off at the first smell of something different coming up. I approached some 12 banner tow companies ready to go, ready to commit to a season (gentlemens agreement) which taught me quite qucikly that the word commitment is apparently just a word thrown around like cookies. Now they rightfully figure that it is ok to charge people a arm to let them do it. Thats opinion only - maybe someone else can chime in, call me a Debbie Downer and offer you a job... :D
 
Cessna414JJB said:
I have no clue, believe NC? SC? I was done listening once he told me you had to pay. It dropped off the radar, so to speak. As for pay, I don't know, lets just guess you get $10/ hour your first season, fly 800 hours ($8000) and you had to cut a check and live for 30 days before you made any money (3500 + COL) Looks like in the best case you are flying 800 hours for roughly 4K. Makes $5/hour before taxes, and only if you have no other duties than flying.... Quite bad for a 'professional', if you ask me.
Click to expand...

I spoke to this guy too. I came close to just hanging up on him but I was polite and let him finish his offer that I quickly refused. Un Fing Believable.
 
splash said:
I spoke to this guy too. I came close to just hanging up on him but I was polite and let him finish his offer that I quickly refused. Un Fing Believable.
Click to expand...

Hi splash!
I found the guy to be particularly friendly and straight, though. His tone and demeanor is rather professional and I am sure he has been burned many times around with training some flatbrain for a while, just to do it again a few weeks later. I've applied for jobs (or asked) with a 500 hour resume before and have been way more turned off by the disrespect and lack of courtesy that seems to prevail nowadays. Employers treat you like you are a commodity that grows on trees. In a way - we are...
 
Cessna414JJB said:
I am sure he has been burned many times around with training some flatbrain for a while, just to do it again a few weeks later.
Click to expand...

Even more, I wish there was an answer to this but I do not believe this is the right direction to take by far. I never was a a big fan of flying for free or just for flight time which is more valuable to some rather than others. Not everyone pilot wants to go to the big jet lifestyle. Regardless, it does seem like an exciting job that I would keep way more than a week. Some of them ruin it for all of us. Too bad a work your way up pay scale doesn't exist in most of the GA field! This is why I have no issue with 250 hour pilots going to the regionals. That is what they dream of doing in aviation then good for them. Thanks for the shoulder room really! :D
 
I fly Scouts for Aerial Promotions in Long Beach, California. All of the pilots I fly with have full time jobs and banner towing is a second income.

Paid training wasn't always the case but, due to retention problems, many operators, including my boss, have started charging for training (a little skin in the game goes a long way after you've had enough guys run off upon the completion of their training).

You can't beat the hours upon hours of high speed flight...
 
I flew for Van Wagner for the last 2 summers, they were the largest banner op in the states until the fed shut them down for some lacking maintenance. so it looks like there will be no shortage of banner pilots either this summer, but the good news is that most(including me) try to move on quickly. It is a good time though, some of my best times flying have been towing in cubs.

*** a note of advice: depending on the outfit you may be putting yourself into a challenging position for someone with little/ no hours, especially in a tailwheel, consider that depending on the length of the hook you will be at 50' or less at almost Vne every morning. It is great fun for that moment, but if your heads not in it...
 
mkusch said:
Paid training wasn't always the case but, due to retention problems, many operators, including my boss, have started charging for training (a little skin in the game goes a long way after you've had enough guys run off upon the completion of their training).
Click to expand...

Most of us put down deposits when we rent a home and get it back in the end if nothing has been damaged. There are other solutions. Now, if they only wanted tow experience (training) than that would be a different case but if he is doing it for his company than that's different. Why should the aviation field be any different from another that loses in training people? I just quit a job for a better one that was training me to install this equipment for two weeks. They spent about $1000 on my two weeks in classroom training wage. I wasn't out to get them or take advantage of this. It was the only offer I had at the time. I understand about the little skin in the game but that is part of the game as well and this field does come down to who you know mostly. Simply taking your employee's money during training and for training is uncalled for IMO. We're all rich pilots anyways, right? It's such a glamorous field that it's starting to remind me of Hollywood and how far you are willing to bend over and take it up the pooper for what you dream and it's scary because they know this.
 
look, I dont unerstand why everyone has this "right to fly" complex. I want to fly just as much as the next guy, Im almost done with my CFI and have two years of international on demand 135, but I am going to take a job mowing lawns in my home town this summer because it pays better. Its tough, but everyone has to get over the idea that we somehow shoud just get good, well paying jobs because we have some time in a cessna.
The market sucks right now, in a lot of fields. The pay scale has gone down in ours because there are millions of us. Airline jobs dont pay anymore because everyone (pilots included) stoppped dressing up and having respect to go on an airliner and started bitching about the cost. I am sure that the jobs will come back but we cant always have "low prices, always." It just dosent make sense that we can pay nothing for a service but get paid really well to do the service.
 
Sorry to bring this back to life...
The company in SC has just either put up a new listing on 3/15 for Banner Tow Pilots - or USPILOT.com has recycled the listing.

Perfect PFT/PFT job for the right person.
 
splash said:
We're all rich pilots anyways, right? It's such a glamorous field that it's starting to remind me of Hollywood and how far you are willing to bend over and take it up the pooper for what you dream and it's scary because they know this.
Click to expand...

I'm not rich but, I get paid very well to drag rags. As a matter of fact, I get paid so well, that I have no desire to seek employment elsewhere. I have a great boss. He is fair and generous (what more could I ask for?).
The season starts in a couple months and I'm looking forward to being back in the Scout.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top