The value of ramp work in a pilot career
- Thread starter Victor Squawk
- Start date
Autothrust Blue
"Well, on the Brasilia..."
care reacc
bimmerphile
Sidestick Wiggler
Mu2
bLizZuE
Calling for engine starts en français
Good guess but no. The MU2 gave me an irrational fear of ladders.
Autothrust Blue
"Well, on the Brasilia..."
That was how I got my first Jet A bath.
DE727UPS
Well-Known Member
I had an MU2 wing tank sit down on my ladder once. Had to go find a bigger ladder.
///AMG
Well-Known Member
MD500? That's what caused me to drink jet A
Roger Roger
Bottom of the list
gotta be Beechjet
gopherdx
Well-Known Member
Not a pilot (dispatcher) but nonetheless, started on the ramp and worked through different functions at my airline before finally becoming a dispatcher and the ramp really made me appreciate the hard work that it takes to upload these heavy heavy flights I’m planning, especially to the Caribbean. My airline doesn’t fly wide bodies so no containers, only physical bag loading which I remember was a PITA to bulk out. Add in some cold sub 45 degree rain and wind, it’s miserable. Really humbles you as you grow in your career.
bLizZuE
Calling for engine starts en français
DING DING DING
Oxman
Well-Known Member
None.
smack300
Well-Known Member
If you have your ratings already, working at an FBO is a great way to connect with owners/pilots for potential jobs. (135/91)
If you're a ramper for a 121, most likely you won't have the same networking opportunities with airline pilots. But If you worked for Southwest as a ramper and then a go to apply for a pilot position, I would think they would like that as you know their system a little bit more than the average joe.
"But im asking about how it practically contributes to becoming an airline pilot, in terms of actually becoming one."
Not much, unless whatever company you work for has some pathway program and they will pay for some of your training if you work on the ramp. But I don't know of any such companies.
If you're a ramper for a 121, most likely you won't have the same networking opportunities with airline pilots. But If you worked for Southwest as a ramper and then a go to apply for a pilot position, I would think they would like that as you know their system a little bit more than the average joe.
"But im asking about how it practically contributes to becoming an airline pilot, in terms of actually becoming one."
Not much, unless whatever company you work for has some pathway program and they will pay for some of your training if you work on the ramp. But I don't know of any such companies.
DeltaAlphaNovember
Well-Known Member
The only Beechjet I liked to fuel is the Air Force version. Single point made it so easy.
Roger Roger
Bottom of the list
Do any majors even still have their own rampers? Having worked for swissport or Menzies probably doesn’t really help your application at all…
Screaming_Emu
Joe Conventional
Nor very helpful if you enjoy things like food and shelter
JordanD
Chinese Food Enthusiast
I believe a lot of them do in the major hubs. Unless it's changed I know United and Delta definitely do in some places. And of course Southwest if you count them in the major category.
Autothrust Blue
"Well, on the Brasilia..."
Yellow has or had its own people in Fart Louderdale too.
gopherdx
Well-Known Member
JetBlue has their own in most cities and 100% in all focus cities (JFK, BOS, FLL, etc)
knot4u
Repeat Offender
I remember back in the olden times we'd have to fuel Lears (back when Lears had tip tanks) and I think it was a mandate that you could only put 100 gallons (my memory is foggy so that number is likely to be incorrect) in one tip tank and then put fuel in the opposite fuel tank. If your truck only had one hose it was a huge pain in the ass, if your truck had two hoses and you were by yourself it wasn't quite as painful, if you had two people and a two hoses it was seamless. There was also the added complication of adding PRIST, it was an anti-icing additive that came in an aerosol can with a flexible tube that would be clipped to the end of the nozzle that would mix the product with the fuel as it was dispensed. There's always a "genius", one night the graveyard shift guy called in sick and the AM supervisor answered the call to cover that shift. He had a genius moment in the middle of the night, he needed to top off a Lear and he had a truck with two hoses and decided to put both nozzles into the tanks with the PRIST nozzles clipped and the aerosol cans jammed into the handles to keep the levers pulled. You can probably guess where this story is going. It was a mess, it just so happened when it all went wrong an airport cop was driving by and saw fuel spurting out of the tip tanks in a 3' geyser and a hapless line guy questioning his decision making. Happily we had, what was for the time, a fairly robust video surveillance system and we all got to watch this happen after the fact. This person kept his job. I also watched him get his ass blown off a ladder trying to clean the windshield of a Gulfstream that'd just parked and and marshall a Convair 580 wingtip into another Gulfstream. Decades later I was back at KBUR doing some engine work on a Falcon 900 and guess who I ran into? Same dude, but he had no ambition regarding aviation back then, it was just a job so he could pursue his acting career, and now he's running the place and all of his dreams have been shattered and recalibrated. Don't get stuck in that job, it's a stepping stone to other things not a career.
arkflyr
Well-Known Member
The FBO I worked for was a Beech dealer, service center, and charter and aircraft management operator. We were staffed well enough that there was always two of us on a fuel truck, it was always a game of slow chicken to see who would wind up on the trunk tank. Always worked best with a new guy.
