Grand Canyon/Scenic type jobs for low time pilot

R

rwillis1

Well-Known Member
Hello,
I've applied a few times to Grand Canyon Airlines and not heard anything (a friend who works there says they're not hiring for a while) but the job sounded like a lot of fun, flying sightseeing in Twin Otters. I've got ~530TT but only 30ME, which my friend said would be competitive there if they were hiring. I was just wondering if anyone knew of any other gigs like that, where a CS/MEL/CFII with my time could have fun and build some more multi time without instructing for a year, buying my MEI, etc. first. I'm about to graduate from ERAU and I'd love to skip the instructing...

Thanks!
 
It's a common theme of wanting to skip this or that. Me, I'd like to skip to my deathbed with a smile on my face. No, wait. I want to skip to retirement swimming in piles of dough. No, what I mean is I want to be flying the equipment of my choice. What I really mean is I want the proficiency and experience which allows me to fly what I want, when I want. Crap, I forget that I want is the experience of flying low in HP pistons...that is real flying. Ah, I may as well admit what I really really want is the experience of building time.

You'll never go straight to the Twotter. Tell me why a wet ERAU grad should skip to the front.

To get on with GCA (no longer are they GCA, I think) and the other tour operators it is the wrong time of year. Certainly you can start now letting them who you are but it won't be until Feb at the earliest that they'll get real active in hiring.
 
I disagree with the above. I flew the Otter at Scenic, later GCA for three years. All of the low timers are hired into the right seat of the Otter, as it's the lowest position in the company. Your only other choice would be a 207 captain for AGC, which requires VFR 135 mins. That position isn't desirable for a lot of reasons (based at GCN, all single engine time, etc). I was hired with 350/50 to fly the Twotter. They usually hire around March for the upcoming season (May-September).
 
wow, flying a t.otter with low times seems overwhelming to me. I have a few hours in one and with over 1000ME that still seems like a big machine to handle when things go bad. just out of curiosity, what do you think the minimum time would be to safely handle an otter as a professional? Sure, if you had 350/25 you could be trained into it and comfortable, what I'm asking is as a street captain, what do you consider the minimum time to jump into an otter is.
 
I would say around 1500 total time, with at least 500 multi with some turbine time is a starting point for a twin otter PIC. When I was hired into the right seat, while safe and proficient, there is no way I was ready to be PIC. I have heard of jump operators that hire guys with 1000TT and less than 50 multi. That right there, coupled with a lot of substandard operations and training programs, could be a recipe for disaster. I have had an engine quit on me, and it is a handful getting the situation under control, and dealing with 23 people in the back who think that just because they have a parachute means that they can bail out at any time.
 
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