Swayne Martin

My first flying job was 9 years ago at Pacific Wings, the Maui based competitor of Mokulele. As an SIC we were paid by the duty hour and I'd net $1,200 a month. $600 of that went to rent and the other $600 was for Ramen noodles and beer. Those were lean times but in my 6 months there I made lifelong friends and got hours to move on to bigger and better things.
 
I like the videos. It's fun to see someone his age that's just starting out in the industry. He should have a long and great career and that's cool to see.
 
I like his videos also. I wish I had the time and equipment to capture my journey from start of training until now

There is also another guy on YouTube called Mr. Aviation He has good videos also.
 
A300Capt said:
He'll move up to bigger and better things rapidly in the current job market. Personally, I wish I had a way to document my journey along the way like he's doing. Would've been fun looking back. He'll do well....great attitude and enthusiasm.
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I want to quickly thank you guys for being so supportive of what I've been up to with these videos. I know not everyone will like them (or me for that matter!). While there's not a ton I can do about that, I feel really fortunate that I've been able to influence at least a few people and push them towards becoming pilots themselves. Yes, my videos do make me look like a huge dork sometimes, but aren't we all? I don't make a huge amount of money off of my videos, but I have screenshotted and saved well over 300 emails from people saying they were directly inspired to begin flying because of my videos. That's my biggest payoff.

If any of you have questions about Mokulele or UND Aviation, feel free to shoot me a message through the "contact" tab on swaynemartin.com. I'm new to posting on here, but since I saw my name pop up I figured I'd give you guys a reply. Have a good summer,

-Swayne
 
Swayne,

35 yrs or so ago I was you starting out at my first airline (Air Illinois) flying Twin Otters. Thought I had it made and I couldn't wipe the smile off my face. Unfortunately, they went under during my IOE but I quickly moved on to Chautauqua flying BE99's and Metros and now 30 yrs at UPS. Fast forward to today and at the twilight of my airline career, I wish I had documented my journey like you have. Of course, it's much easier to do so nowadays than in the past with smartphones, GoPros etc..

Watching your videos and enthusiasm for flying brings back early memories I had long since forgotten. Good to see young folks like you getting into the biz. The industry certainly needs pilots more than ever before and at all levels.

Don't ever forget why you got into flying in the first place. It's easy to get jaded from all he ups and downs during a career. Still beats diggin ditches or sitting in a cubicle all day.

I've almost come full circle now in my career choice and believe you actually have my dream "retirement" job...flying a small (to me anyway) Caravan or Twin Otter (preferably on floats) around paradise like Hawaii or the Caribbean in shorts and flip flops. And doing it because I want to not because I have to or looking at that next rung on the career ladder.

Enjoy the journey!
 
In addition to what Swayne's doing, I think props (hehe) should be given to Mokulele as well. They could have easily gone "corporate CYA" and not allowed any of us on the outside see what it's like there.
 
ShyFlyer said:
In addition to what Swayne's doing, I think props (hehe) should be given to Mokulele as well. They could have easily gone "corporate CYA" and not allowed any of us on the outside see what it's like there.
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That wouldn't do them any good. They're obviously desperate for pilots and saw this as a new cutting edge recruiting effort. ExpressJet is doing something similar making videos with BoldMethod now.
 
A300Capt said:
Don't ever forget why you got into flying in the first place. It's easy to get jaded from all he ups and downs during a career. Still beats diggin ditches or sitting in a cubicle all day.
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Amen to that! Done the first but never the latter.
 
kryan11 said:
That wouldn't do them any good. They're obviously desperate for pilots and saw this as a new cutting edge recruiting effort. ExpressJet is doing something similar making videos with BoldMethod now.
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True, however never underestimate the willingness of a company to pass on an opportunity out of fear or lack of understanding.
 
A300Capt said:
I've almost come full circle now in my career choice and believe you actually have my dream "retirement" job...flying a small (to me anyway) Caravan or Twin Otter (preferably on floats) around paradise like Hawaii....in shorts and flip flops. And doing it because I want to not because I have to or looking at that next rung on the career ladder.

Enjoy the journey!
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Having learned to fly in Hawaii I can totally relate. Now I am too old: but you are not....go do it.

http://www.barnstormers.com/Float+Plane, Business+Opportunities Classifieds.htm
 
Jordan93 said:
It's got to be tough to live on a Caravan FO salary in Hawaii. Maybe he has like 10 other roommates or the company provides some sort of housing.
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I know he works for Bold Method and those YouTube videos will give him some extra money as well...not a lot but something.


I don't know how I feel about being "internet" famous when you're trying to move up. Will a recruiter like it? I don't know, I've always been curious. The kid is enjoying life, I don't see a problem with it. Would I do it that way? Nah. But everyone is different so I'm not going to be annoyed that's how he wants to do it. Good for him that he does what he does. He's had a hell of a lot more experiences flying than I did as a normal civilian so the videos clearly work.

The only time I read something annoying was his article about "unprofessional" radio calls and on his list he said don't say "Um"...like we are perfect talking robots and not human beings. Unless you're making a 2 minute radio call I'm not OCD about an "Um" to call someone unprofessional. That's about all the kid has done to make me think anything but good about him. I thought he was in school at UND, didn't even realize he's right seat in a Caravan now. Anyways, why is there an entire thread on one kid? Lol. Must be doing something right.
 
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