SkyLens now accepting resumes for 2017-18 Season

pilotbry

Well-Known Member
SkyLens Aerial Imaging is now accepting resumes for the 2017-2018 season.


Minimum Requirements:
21 years of age or over
250 hrs total time. 10 hrs C172.
Legal to work in US
FAA issued Single Engine Land Commercial pilot certificate
IFR rated and competent
Class 2 or 1 Medical Certificate
Able to read, write and speak clear English
Cell phone with texting capability
Portable computer or device capable of running Microsoft Excel
(There are no exceptions to these requirements)


Job basics:
7 month minimum contract - No hard time off but plenty of short days and down days for wx and mx. You must be free of any known obligations and be able to remain on the road for the entire length of contract.

Cessna 172 pilot pay: $55 each calendar day for first 90 days then $60. $30 per diem every calendar day. Escalating monthly production bonus based on hours flown each month
Piper Aztec pilot pay: $60/day first 90 days then $65. $30 per diem every calendar day. DOUBLE escalating monthly production bonus based on hours flown each month
Top C172 monthly pilot bonus this past season was $1,062. Top Aztec pilot bonus this past season was $1,738. The more you fly, the more you make.

Company paid single occupancy hotel rooms and rental cars
Health Insurance Reimbursement Program (HIRP):
Company reimburses you for a portion of your qualifying health insurance premiums.
$1000 Season completion bonus
Paid as W2 Employee - not 1099 contractor
Possibilities exist for extending season out to 9,10,11 months per year
Pay raises for pilots returning for the following season


The process:
I do not take phone calls for job inquiries.
Here's the link to our employment page: http://www.skylensaerial.com/pilot-employment.html
Follow the directions EXACTLY to submit your resume and cover letter or yours could be lost in the black hole of my many email boxes. Qualified candidates will receive an email back from me with a pilot info sheet/ application in MS Excel format, to fill out and return. After the application is reviewed, applicants are separated into hiring tiers based on qualifications and our specific criteria. If I am interested, I will email a copy of our Pilot Operations Guide for your review, and ask you to reply if you are truly interested and able to take such a position. Myself or my assistant will call to arrange a phone interview. At the end of that phone call you may be offered the job. We do not fly you to HQ for a final interview or have an “interview contract” Our hiring is done over the phone. We will airline you into New Orleans or Baton Rouge and bring you to Hammond in October for training, at which point the job will be yours to lose. Housing and transportation is company provided during training. Your flying and IFR skills will be evaluated during training. Aztec pilots will be qualified in one of our aircraft with our MEI/DPE. We are planning two classes again this season starting Oct 2nd and Oct 16th. The early class will have a two week longer contract as all end May 31, 2018


Some suggestions:
While the lack of a multi certificate and/or little to no multi time is not a disqualifying factor, having your multi and 40+ hours multi time will likely put a candidate into the top hiring tier. Our Aztec fleet will be expanding so we will be getting the 172 pilots qualified as Aztec backup pilots and migrating them into the twins as necessary.

Other qualities that will improve your chances - A&P Certification, previous Pictometry rig flying experience, MEI, Aztec time, previous commercial pilot job of any kind, mountain flying experience.

Understand that you will likely not see home for 7 months. There is no going home for the holidays. Please make sure you have discussed this in depth with family/significant others, before applying.

By the time we are calling you for a phone interview, we are 90% interested. You should have done your homework and be ready to accept.

If you get a call from a 985 area code, you should answer it.

We take our contracts very seriously and you should too.

You do not need to be IFR current to be hired but you do need to be rated, comfortable and competent flying instruments. We can get you current during training.

I give special consideration to former military men and women however you must be free of ANY obligation for duty for the span of the entire 7 month contract.

FYI -I will be on vacation from Aug 5th - 13th so I may not be making interview calls until after that.

I hope I’ve just about covered everything but please ask your questions here in this thread and not with a PM to me. I'm sometimes days between logging on to JC and some of my current and former pilots can likely answer your questions before I do. In fact, I invite any of my former pilots to pipe up here and relay the SkyLens experience to the prospective new pilots or let me know if I left anything out.

Good luck, all!

Bryan Porter
Flight Ops Mgr
SkyLens LLC
 
One question I am getting from some of the multi-engine applicants is "Which airframe will I be flying?". Generally, new-hires start in the C172 while returning senior pilots man the Aztecs. I may need to hire directly into a couple of the Aztecs at season start but all pilots will be trained in the Cessnas and some qualified multi-engine rated pilots will be checked out in the Aztec and designated backup pilots for the Aztecs while initially flying the 172. The decision about which pilots will get into the twins will not be made until arrival at training and pilot skills are evaluated. We are expanding the Aztec fleet by 2 or 3 around the first of the year so some of the backup pilots will be migrated into those twins. Those mid-season assignments will be based on many factors such as total multi hours, but also on observed performance/work ethic. The upside of flying the 172 is that they do tend to fly more hours on average than the twins, mostly due to the intense maintenance and AD schedule of the Aztec. The bottom line is this: If you are a multiengine pilot applying for this job you should be prepared to fly either airframe.
 
Hello Bryan. It's great to see you're still running SkyLens. It was one of the best jobs I've ever had. I also noticed you still have my testimonial. You're going to have to update that to captain now!

If you're applying for this job, be sure to read and follow the instructions exactly. The flying is the easy part. This job is more about reports and data recording, so accuracy is important. You don't want to miss a great opportunity because of a spelling error or improperly addressed email.

Good luck.
 
Hello Bryan. It's great to see you're still running SkyLens. It was one of the best jobs I've ever had. I also noticed you still have my testimonial. You're going to have to update that to captain now!

If you're applying for this job, be sure to read and follow the instructions exactly. The flying is the easy part. This job is more about reports and data recording, so accuracy is important. You don't want to miss a great opportunity because of a spelling error or improperly addressed email.

Good luck.
Congrats Captain!
 
Hey All,

I just got back into my office after vacation and we have well over 100 resumes and 80 returned pilot application/info sheets. A bunch came in while I was gone that I haven't been able to get to yet. We are still processing them as fast as we can but this is going to be a lengthy process. We are trying to give every resume a fair look. I have about 6 seats left to fill. If your resume submission email was done according to the instructions and it has not been bounced back by the server then we got it. I'm not going to be able to call everyone personally but we will at least be in touch via email in the next few weeks.

I am going to officially stop accepting resumes at midnight tomorrow August 15th so if you want in, now is the time.

Please understand this: The competition is incredible. There will be a ton of outstanding pilots that will not make the cut due to the sheer number of qualified applicants. I am looking for the best of the best. I need pilots with spectacular work ethic and an eagerness to do this kind of work. I get it - most of you are chasing your ATP hours but you'll need the drive to do your best work before AND after you have acquired your hour goals. If you are looking at this job as just a necessary evil to get there, then my company isn't the place for you. If you have any reservations about the 7+ months away from home, don't twist and turn to talk yourself or your loved ones into it. I 100% expect my pilots to honor their contracts to the end of the season. If you can't be 100% certain that this job is for you, please let me know so that the pilots with the proper attitude can have the opportunity to fill the position.

Best of luck to all!

Bryan
 
Bryan,

I'm a bit late on this comment.

I know you mentioned "no hard time off", "on the road entire length of contract".

For anyone wondering, that means no Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's, Easter, birthdays, graduations, or any other holiday you personally celebrate, you will be GONE. This season, I didn't fly any of those days because of weather though.

Good luck
 
To all who submitted resumés to SkyLens:


Thank you for the amazing response.


I have completed the roster for the 2017-2018 season aerial imaging pilots and all new-hires have been notified by phone. Congratulations to those who made it. I’m looking forward to seeing you all here in October.


I am keeping the remaining applications from tier one in a hiring pool just in case any on the roster wash out or quit during training or before their class date. I will notify each of you by email in the next few days of that status but if you were notified that you were in tier one, but did not receive a call that you were hired then that means you are in that pool.


I stopped counting and accepting resumes 10 days ago but I am guessing I received close to 200 just since July 27th. I tried to give every resume a fair eval but there was just no practical way to have phoned everyone for an interview. I am literally overwhelmed to the point where it will be weeks before I can personally respond to each email. SO, I do not want anyone waiting this thing out unnecessarily and possibly losing other opportunities. As I understand it, some of the other EagleView/Pictometry vendors are still making offers.


To those who did not make it, this may be disappointing but please do not be discouraged. I did not receive a single ‘bad” resume. In fact, there were 70 resumes with nearly identical hours and credentials. The first tier had nothing but pilots with 40+ multi hours, MEIs, personal recommendations from my current pilots and /or previous Pictometry rig experience and only 1/3rd of the first tier made the cut. With 5 veterans returning I only had 11 spots to fill.


If any of you who do not find a spot with one of the other vendors or elsewhere and are still available and interested, you might send me an updated resume AND the application you already filled out sometime around mid December or just after the first of the year as we are scheduled to expand the fleet by 2 in January. Keep checking here on Jet Careers for updates on our hiring status.


I say it every year, the worst part of my job is telling so many perfectly qualified pilots that I don’t have a spot for them.


Sincere best wishes to all of you!


Bryan Porter

Flight Operations Manager

SkyLens Aerial Imaging
 
To all who submitted resumés to SkyLens:


Thank you for the amazing response.


I have completed the roster for the 2017-2018 season aerial imaging pilots and all new-hires have been notified by phone. Congratulations to those who made it. I’m looking forward to seeing you all here in October.


I am keeping the remaining applications from tier one in a hiring pool just in case any on the roster wash out or quit during training or before their class date. I will notify each of you by email in the next few days of that status but if you were notified that you were in tier one, but did not receive a call that you were hired then that means you are in that pool.


I stopped counting and accepting resumes 10 days ago but I am guessing I received close to 200 just since July 27th. I tried to give every resume a fair eval but there was just no practical way to have phoned everyone for an interview. I am literally overwhelmed to the point where it will be weeks before I can personally respond to each email. SO, I do not want anyone waiting this thing out unnecessarily and possibly losing other opportunities. As I understand it, some of the other EagleView/Pictometry vendors are still making offers.


To those who did not make it, this may be disappointing but please do not be discouraged. I did not receive a single ‘bad” resume. In fact, there were 70 resumes with nearly identical hours and credentials. The first tier had nothing but pilots with 40+ multi hours, MEIs, personal recommendations from my current pilots and /or previous Pictometry rig experience and only 1/3rd of the first tier made the cut. With 5 veterans returning I only had 11 spots to fill.


If any of you who do not find a spot with one of the other vendors or elsewhere and are still available and interested, you might send me an updated resume AND the application you already filled out sometime around mid December or just after the first of the year as we are scheduled to expand the fleet by 2 in January. Keep checking here on Jet Careers for updates on our hiring status.


I say it every year, the worst part of my job is telling so many perfectly qualified pilots that I don’t have a spot for them.


Sincere best wishes to all of you!


Bryan Porter

Flight Operations Manager

SkyLens Aerial Imaging
Thank you for keeping us updated.
 
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