SkyLens accepting resumes for 2018-2019 season

@CakeOnIt have you used AOPA's flight school finder to locate a school to give you an IPC and BFR? Here is the link - AOPA Flight School Finder

Not sure where you're located (Syracuse?) but it might require some effort from your end to drive to a decent flight school but it just might be worth it. Idk if Bryan would like you to apply w/o a BFR & IPC but get your resume and cover letter prepared while you're waiting for your checkout.
 
pilotbry said:
Your tongue in cheek assumption is correct. There is no "low-time" pilot shortage. I have received 32 resumes since posting this yesterday and have already gotten 22 application/pilot info sheets back. FYI - the number I'll call from is my personal cell with a 985 area code. If a pilot misses the call he/she should just call it back ASAP.
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Of course, if you aren't hurting for pilots no need to worry about those who might be offended by some text in a job posting and think I'll of you. I'm not really trying to get in an internet tit for tat here just pointing out how some of your posting text is being interpreted in case you didn't intend for it to come across that way. I've known some of your other pilots from past seasons and they liked working for you and based on your response I don't believe you intended for that interpretation.

To all you guys who want to get on with skylens and don't get the call, dont get discouraged. Check out the other thread on these forums with the rest of the companies out there who will be looking for pilots too. Most of em all pay similarly as a whole with some QOL exceptions for each of them but the same potential for time building. Plenty of jobs out there for low time pilots in the survey world just need to do foot work to find em.
 
Miranoff said:
Of course, if you aren't hurting for pilots no need to worry about those who might be offended by some text in a job posting and think I'll of you. I'm not really trying to get in an internet for tat here just pointing out how some of your posting text is being interpreted in case you didn't intend for it to come across that way. I've known some of your other pilots from past seasons and they liked working for you and based on your response I don't believe you intended for that interpretation.

To all you guys who want to get on with skylens and don't get the call, dont get discouraged. Check out the other thread on these forums with the rest of the companies out there who will be looking for pilots too. Most of em all pay similarly as a whole with some QOL exceptions for each of them but the same potential for time building. Plenty of jobs out there for low time pilots in the survey world just need to do foot work to find em.
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Most other companies I have seen dont seem to come close... Hotels are cheaper, etc etc less pay, worse mx... terrible management. Just depends I guess, some of those can really make or break the time on the road.
 
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Subieguy14 said:
Most other companies I have seen dont seem to come close... Hotels are cheaper, etc etc less pay, worse mx... terrible management. Just depends I guess, some of those can really make or break the time on the road.
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I'm not sure how you can work for one company but know all the others are crap... That's simply not the case.
 
Miranoff said:
I'm not sure how you can work for one company but know all the others are crap... That's simply not the case.
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I've talked to a lot of pilots from different picto vendors. I haven't heard really anything bad about Skylens, I have heard nothing but great things about it. But other companies I have heard pay is low(minimum wage almost), hotels are cheap(lower than motel 6 cheap), paying for rental cars yourself, low hours, shady Mx, etc etc.

Not necessarily saying the others are crap. But they all seem to have their drawback whereas with Skylens, I haven't heard of one yet.
 
Subieguy14 said:
I've talked to a lot of pilots from different picto vendors. I haven't heard really anything bad about Skylens, I have heard nothing but great things about it. But other companies I have heard pay is low(minimum wage almost), hotels are cheap(lower than motel 6 cheap), paying for rental cars yourself, low hours, shady Mx, etc etc.

Not necessarily saying the others are crap. But they all seem to have their drawback whereas with Skylens, I haven't heard of one yet.
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That's great.
 
I worked for JAV and loved it. Best owners and managers one could ask for. Our pay was set up different than skylens but I feel that we were paid fairly and I was able to pay all my bills, stay in decent hotels most of the time, have my own car and we got a mid season vacation. I have heard nothing but good thing about skylens and eagle view seems to give them better projects.
 
I'm not in a position to apply for this but I know others are.

Is there a write-up "day in the life" or "week in the life" post anywhere describing what being a picto-pilot is like? Especially the flying, work with ATC, quality control, etc? I'd love to read more about this kind of flying.

EDIT - @pilotbry - I apologize if this hijacks your thread. If you want me to move this question elsewhere, I'm happy to - since it's your thread and topic, if you feel it's okay to leave it here to help with applications, that was my thinking, but it's your thread.
 
CakeOnIt said:
Is his preference just because of the potential of pilots "jumping ship" at 1500TT? I am curious because I am in that 1000TT group; where I am located now, there is little are few to no job opportunities even including sky-dive jobs, and with no CFI and very few FBO's, I've pretty much ruled out the CFI route. I would likely include in my cover letter that I have absolutely no intention of leaving before the end of season.
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Yes the ability to hit 1500 Hrs during the season is a negative. When I reported for training in Hammon I had about 800Hrs TT and I did guarantee that I was going to complete the season.
 
killbilly said:
I'm not in a position to apply for this but I know others are.

Is there a write-up "day in the life" or "week in the life" post anywhere describing what being a picto-pilot is like? Especially the flying, work with ATC, quality control, etc? I'd love to read more about this kind of flying.
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I did not work at skylens but rather JAV but can provide a brief day in the life of a survey pilot. Some things may be different at skylens that Brian or one of his former pilots can update.

I will start this off at the end of a normal flying day once the drives are mailed off. At the end of the day over dinner or at some location of our choosing we would plan the following day. The first step is determine the flight window. The flight window is the time at which the sun is favorable to complete survey work. Once we have that we check the weather. At times we will have projects at different altitudes or priorities. We would determine what projects we could do and split them up between the planes. From this we would back plan to be on station at the window time. If the window opens at 8am and it’s a 20 minute flight away we know we have to be off the ground no later than 730 to give a buffer. Which would mean we have to be at the airport around 7 am to preflight warm up and remove the camera covers. Some airport FBOS suck you have to show up earlier and babysit them pulling the planes.
Once on station you fly back and forth on the lines until you need gas, or if a bottle won’t suffice for the calls of Mother Nature you land and refuel. You fly till the end of the window or until you get tired which might happen during the longer days. At the end of the day you land, pull the drives, do a daily report and email and FedEx them off. Then the day repeats itself.

When it comes to maintenance the pilots were responsible for their planes. We would schedule all maintenance ourselves and insure that it didn’t fall on weekends as most places would have limited availability with a callout. If something broke we would bring it to the mechanic at the base or the nearest mechanic if it can’t make it back to base. We would coordinate to get it done as fast as possible. If it was expensive we would call the company mechanic or owner and let them know. For any questions on something we would call the mechanic.

When a project is getting close to finished we would receive a new project and plan to move to the new one in an orderly fashion while ensuring we finish that current project.

Things that would prevent us from flying was snow on the ground, leaves of trees, high crosswinds in the sky that would cause a high crab angle, excessive cloud shadows, or clouds at or below flight level.
 
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Guys, don't sweat the hour thing as long as you have at least 250. The sweet spot for me is between 350 and 600 but no one thing is a deal-killer except not following the submission procedure. This process is really hard work on my end so not following those directions makes you high mx during the process. I'm looking for good honest employees, with superb communication skills, attention to detail, trusted ability to self manage, and serious work ethic. If that's you, APPLY! If you plan on having a casual attitude towards the job then do us both a favor and apply elsewhere. I obviously can't hire everyone and practically can't even phone every applicant but I guarantee I will thoroughly review every application.
 
killbilly said:
I'm not in a position to apply for this but I know others are.

Is there a write-up "day in the life" or "week in the life" post anywhere describing what being a picto-pilot is like? Especially the flying, work with ATC, quality control, etc? I'd love to read more about this kind of flying.

EDIT - @pilotbry - I apologize if this hijacks your thread. If you want me to move this question elsewhere, I'm happy to - since it's your thread and topic, if you feel it's okay to leave it here to help with applications, that was my thinking, but it's your thread.
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Not at all. I count on the other pilots to relay the day in the life thing. :)
 
tbflyer said:
I worked for JAV and loved it. Best owners and managers one could ask for. Our pay was set up different than skylens but I feel that we were paid fairly and I was able to pay all my bills, stay in decent hotels most of the time, have my own car and we got a mid season vacation. I have heard nothing but good thing about skylens and eagle view seems to give them better projects.
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JAV is a good place to work too. Stephanie is a genuinely nice and honest person. I've recommend pilots to her company a few times. That's kind of what I meant by similar pay too. Other companies may not have bonuses but the general pay is pretty close to the net and there may be other benefits you get that supercede bonuses like vacation time or follow on work after the season is over.
 
pilotbry said:
Guys, don't sweat the hour thing as long as you have at least 250. The sweet spot for me is between 350 and 600 but no one thing is a deal-killer except not following the submission procedure. This process is really hard work on my end so not following those directions makes you high mx during the process. I'm looking for good honest employees, with superb communication skills, attention to detail, trusted ability to self manage, and serious work ethic. If that's you, APPLY! If you plan on having a casual attitude towards the job then do us both a favor and apply elsewhere. I obviously can't hire everyone and practically can't even phone every applicant but I guarantee I will thoroughly review every application.
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Makes me feel a little bit better. Legs are now crossed ontop of my fingers and toes lol
 
Miranoff said:
Of course, if you aren't hurting for pilots no need to worry about those who might be offended by some text in a job posting and think I'll of you. I'm not really trying to get in an internet for tat here just pointing out how some of your posting text is being interpreted in case you didn't intend for it to come across that way. I've known some of your other pilots from past seasons and they liked working for you and based on your response I don't believe you intended for that interpretation.

To all you guys who want to get on with skylens and don't get the call, dont get discouraged. Check out the other thread on these forums with the rest of the companies out there who will be looking for pilots too. Most of em all pay similarly as a whole with some QOL exceptions for each of them but the same potential for time building. Plenty of jobs out there for low time pilots in the survey world just need to do foot work to find em.
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I do appreciate your opinion, Miranoff. Anyone who knows me understands that I am 100% no-nonsense, no fluff and I make no apologies for it. If anyone gets hurt feelings from my job post then they won't make it through orientation at my company. I expect a lot of accountability from my crews and they rarely fail to deliver. With few exceptions, my people seem to appreciate the way I manage and they are rewarded for excellence.

It isn't about me having plenty of pilots to choose from, it's about me being able to give every single applicant the same fair shake by laying out EXACTLY the best info I can on how to land this job. In this process, I end up with 40-50 applicants in the top tier where I start calling. Leaving messages results in my phone beeping non stop while I'm trying to interview the next applicants on the list. If an applicant cares about a job he/she applied for and have been advised they could be getting a call and that person is not willing to put forth the effort to monitor that phone like it's a newborn infant or call the number back as soon as they get on the ground, there is another pilot who will. In my experience, all else being equal, that pilot will be a better fit for this company and in the end, will be a better employee for whatever 121 or 135 to which he/she moves to afterward.

It is true, there are other jobs out there and it's a free market. I will get hundreds of resumes and have maybe 12 seats available. I encourage pilots to apply at the other vendors as well. I have met most of the other Picto/EV vendors owners and they are all managing their companies in their own way. I flew this work for 6 years before buying the assets and starting this Co and I would rather work for ANY vendor doing this kind of work than anything else available to a 250 hour pilot. I do recommend that you NOT sign an employment contract BEFORE you are hired.

Again, good luck to all!
 
@pilotbry - it seems like the most difficult part of the gig for a qualified pilot is the family aspect, yes? I'm guessing very few of your pilots are married due to the distance factors?
 
killbilly said:
@pilotbry - it seems like the most difficult part of the gig for a qualified pilot is the family aspect, yes? I'm guessing very few of your pilots are married due to the distance factors?
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My friend is married to a Delta pilot and they made it work this past season, she said the amount you fly kind of made it worth it in the end. She is on at a regional now with her 1500 hours and wont have to think about being split for that period of time again.

I personally was a little hesitant at first, but once you realize how fast 7 months flies by and know you wont have an opportunity like it again, might as well do it!
 
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