Part 135 as a career?

One of our guys carried 500lbs of US currency. I don't know if it $1s or 20s, but it was a LOT of money. There were armored trucks at both ends, and we had to bring a armed guard along in case they had to divert.

Another carried a Gorrila from for a zoo. It had it's own jumbo size doggie crate.

I remember you telling me about flying a load of tuxedos once. That cracked me up...dunno why, but it was funny.
 
Adhoc is on demand type stuff. Such as three pallets of tail lights needed to be shipped from the tail light maker in the midwest to the auto plant in the southwest. That's just one typical example although weirder examples do exist.

I've flown a single seat cover for a mercedes in a metroliner.... I've flown empty boxes.. I've flown a 5lb box with some sort of valve in it... ad-hoc cargo is a very strange business
 
I've flown a single seat cover for a mercedes in a metroliner.... I've flown empty boxes.. I've flown a 5lb box with some sort of valve in it... ad-hoc cargo is a very strange business

WE NEED IT NOW! RUN RUN RUN RUN RUUUUUUN!

*Air Raid Siren Noise*

I love charters.
 
I've flown a single seat cover for a mercedes in a metroliner.... I've flown empty boxes.. I've flown a 5lb box with some sort of valve in it... ad-hoc cargo is a very strange business

He is alive. You down in ELP.
 
some odd things i've flown,

t-shirst for disneyland, penguins, prescription drugs, 5000 lbs madden 07, ketchup packages, hashbrowns, conveyor belts for a cruise ship, batteries for a cruise ship, sheets of kevlar, diamonds, one bolt that fit in my pocket.
 
some odd things i've flown,

t-shirst for disneyland, penguins, prescription drugs, 5000 lbs madden 07, ketchup packages, hashbrowns, conveyor belts for a cruise ship, batteries for a cruise ship, sheets of kevlar, diamonds, one bolt that fit in my pocket.

\Who do you fly for?
 
Its all about being in the right place at the right time and knowing the right people. Once I got furloughed I went back to my FBO to pump gas. Ive been working my ass off trying to find a 135 gig (as SIC since I only have 700TT) but the turn over for any semi-decent jobs are so low your only hope is to hire a hitman. There are some lucky sonsofbitches flying really nice metal but they knew someone or were in the right spot talking to the right person. I hope your luck is better than mine! (No :sarcasm: there either). As for pay, if you get said job 135 is better than 121 in most cases.
 
some odd things i've flown,

t-shirst for disneyland, penguins, prescription drugs, 5000 lbs madden 07, ketchup packages, hashbrowns, conveyor belts for a cruise ship, batteries for a cruise ship, sheets of kevlar, diamonds, one bolt that fit in my pocket.
I think i've met you before one time in Toluca. I remember talking to a Lear captain who mentioned he once flew one single bolt that fit in his pocket. I think it may have been ameristar...
 
Well Mav dont take this the wrong way but with only 700TT it will be a miracle if you do find a job since SIC programs are going away. But I do know of a few 135 hiring if you have 1500TT. Luckily for me I have been forunate and through contacts I have a great CFI gig lined up starting May that will get me alot of hours and I got two guys out of the airport that the cherokee I fly is based out of who own high performance singles for busniess and want me to fly for them. So I should be in pretty good shape this coming up year. Like I siad before I got three years left of college before I'm looking for a 135 gig and by then I'll have well over 2000 hours so I will be more than competitive. Mav do you have your CFI. If you do I would suggest that you start looking for a CFI gig because Id make a sure bet you wont find a 135 job till you meet the mins.
 
You sure can make a career out of 135 freight. I know of many people that have or will be career 135. Generally speaking, the people that seem to be the happiest with that decision are the FedEx feeder guys... the people working for corporate air, mountain air cargo, empire, etc. I don't really understand how much competition there is between those companies, but it seems minimal. The pay raises are steady generally, FedEx owns all the planes so they have a vested interest in you not being an idiot (you're still freight so you'll see your share of weather- but from my experience, them canceling a flight due to weather is a lot more 'acceptable' than by many other operators), and overall those pilots seem to be happy.

Personally, I fly UPS 'feeder' freight- scheduled routes. It's all contract work. It's a great job, I love it, and I'll probably continue doing it for a few more years. But, because it is all contract work any company can lose their contract at any given time (usually requires a 30 day notice- but that ain't much). Many companies have lost many of their runs in the past... Suburban air freight lost many of their runs to Ameriflight last summer. So, it happens. That's one of the drawbacks of working at some of the smaller (and even bigger companies-- Ameriflight lost their Billings routes to Alpine not that long ago) scheduled 135 operators. It is nice though... you know when you'll be at home 95% of the time (there is always the chance of a charter or you getting diverted due to weather... so there never is a 100% guarantee of being at home). But, overall it's a lot of fun. I know a few people that will make this a career, but it is less stable than the FedEx feeders.

Unscheduled freight is a crapshoot no matter what. It goes with how well the economy is doing. Lately, it has been pretty rough for the unscheduled companies. Some are doing well... many are not. The economy will pick up, but until then it's going to be a little rough for many of those operators. Also, with the unscheduled freight, there are no guarantees you'll be home much.

Good luck figuring it out. It's a fun road... but it does get boring flying the same route every day.
 
I agree scheduled runs can be monotonous, but worth it to be home. Only problem is, you have to carry a working definition of "home" because "home" is not "home" for many pilots doing this.
 
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