Thinking of moving to Alaska...
- Thread starter PFGiardino
- Start date
hattrick
Well-Known Member
so it is winter here already. once the cold starts setting in you can sure tell the plane doesn't like it. little things start breaking and sometimes the big things take a **** too. the coldest so far this year that i have been in was -36*F. and that was mid October. this flying is not for everyone. if you want to do it cause you think it will be a lark then do us all a favor and don't. if you really want the experience then by all means go for it. the weather has been mentioned and the type of flying that we do. those fresh to the industry up here are often too eager to prove themselves and flying in ridiculous weather is one common method of doing that. this will teach you just how far one can go. you will learn your personal minimums and they will very per person. there are going to be times when you do something and kick yourself for being that stupid later. learn from it and move on. as far as blatantly breaking rules, maybe maybe not. i will tell you though i know just how far i am willing to go and i wont cross that line ever. now when i first started a few years ago i did some insanely stupid things and thank god i lived long enough to realize that you don't have to be a cowboy to fly up here. the biggest words of advice that i can give are: always leave yourself a way out, learn what you are comfortable and safe doing and never go past that, and you don't have to make it. there are some companies that don't follow that last one and try to punish people that don't get somewhere due to weather. my company says ok we will try later. not one of our pilots will take a flight after someone else returned or canceled because of weather. not for a while or if there has been a huge improvement at least. we rely on each others judgment and stand by it. if at a company that pushes you into unsafe situations i suggest you leave. its not worth the paycheck.
on a side note, tell me if this sounds like something you would enjoy. i am writing this from the school of a village called allakaket. it sits right on the arctic circle and has a population of about 80 i think. its just southwest of bettles and the brookes range on the koyukuk river. it is almost 1800 and i am sitting waiting for an airplane to fly a mechanic up here. fairbanks is about 157nm southwest and the chieftain that is coming this way is going to galena(230nm) then huslia (50nm) then finally here another 100nm seems like the long way around but oh well at least they are coming for me tonight. then ill have to help maintenance replace the turbo charger that bit the dust as i leveled at 7500ft. keep in mind there is no hangar and its sub zero and dark outside with about 8kts of wind which is really going to bite. really thinking that i may have made it to fairbanks but then to i was probably losing oil and so this is the safer place to be. so its friday night and i was supposed to be heading to a hockey game and knocking back a few cold ones yet here i sit. oh well.
on a side note, tell me if this sounds like something you would enjoy. i am writing this from the school of a village called allakaket. it sits right on the arctic circle and has a population of about 80 i think. its just southwest of bettles and the brookes range on the koyukuk river. it is almost 1800 and i am sitting waiting for an airplane to fly a mechanic up here. fairbanks is about 157nm southwest and the chieftain that is coming this way is going to galena(230nm) then huslia (50nm) then finally here another 100nm seems like the long way around but oh well at least they are coming for me tonight. then ill have to help maintenance replace the turbo charger that bit the dust as i leveled at 7500ft. keep in mind there is no hangar and its sub zero and dark outside with about 8kts of wind which is really going to bite. really thinking that i may have made it to fairbanks but then to i was probably losing oil and so this is the safer place to be. so its friday night and i was supposed to be heading to a hockey game and knocking back a few cold ones yet here i sit. oh well.
ppragman
FLIPY FLAPS!
Done that before. I've quit a place already because of that. But yeah, this is an incredibly truthful indication of what its like up here. I will admit that at times, I can tend to hyperbole, but bump on this previous post. Who do you fly for dude? Warbelowes?
LOGS
Well-Known Member
After my time here in India, my next step is Alaska. I'm not doing to further my career but for the experience. Its been my dream to fly somewhere up there and I plan on doing it even if I step down to a 207.
=Jason-
PFGiardino, love your sig picture, I have a Force 5 sailboat myself.
=Jason-
PFGiardino, love your sig picture, I have a Force 5 sailboat myself.
ppragman
FLIPY FLAPS!
Figure between $45 - $60/hr starting, or about $200/day or so. It varies naturally.
LOGS
Well-Known Member
HAHA, that's what I was thinking which is why I decided no. Glad I dodged that bullet.
=Jason-
Velocipede
New Member
The shining city on the mighty Kuskokwim? Who are you kidding?
ppragman
FLIPY FLAPS!
Wellllll, its better than all of the surrounding locales. It beats out Eek, or Akiachak. But really, none of these places are good. Emmonak would definitely be on the bottom of my list in terms of pilot bases, with bethel a close second. Aniak doesn't look that bad, and the north slope would be good.
ppragman
FLIPY FLAPS!
I'd still go for it, if I wasn't going to school I'd be out in Bethel flying sleds right now just cuz of the pay, and the flying is fun.
retread
New Member
Thanks for the info. At the risk of being a pest......How many days a week would a person fly, on the average, and do most operations continue year round?
ppragman
FLIPY FLAPS!
MOst bush operations are year round, and when you're out on a hitch you can expect to work everyday you're out in the bush, then a lot of guys get recalled so they can fill in someplace. You'll work seven days per week when you're in the field and depending on the rotation you have you could even be "month on month off" Just count on whatever it takes to fly 800-1400hrs per year, with 1000-1200 being th average.
There are seasonal operators too, especially the float operations, if you've got a float rating you can expect to fly about 600hrs in the summer and then have the winter off. If you fly the park (McKinley operators primarily out of PAIN, and PATK) you'll work in the summer then have the winters off. Plan on about $30k in the summer, and winter off. After I finish off college, I want to work either a 2 on 2 off and live in hawaii, or fly in hawaii in the winter and fly the park in the summer.
I would love to be back in Aniak.
ppragman
FLIPY FLAPS!
sounds like ACE. How do you like it over there at warbelowes? I heard mixed reviews.
ppragman
FLIPY FLAPS!
Aniak is cool. Steve Hill, and the Inland guys are really cool. I was stuck there last summer for a week, and I didn't even know the guys and they put me up in the pilot house for free, and gave me all the beer I could drink.
ppragman
FLIPY FLAPS!
no prob dude, if you want anymore info, feel free to PM me, and I'll give you a call fill you in.
pilotben1986
New Member
What are Hagelands minimums. i was thinking about flying for them but not sure if they will take me. I have 400 hours...well you can read my stuff bellow. anyways I graduated highschool in Galena, then joined the airforce did my four years and just separated recently. Now I am back up here and really want to fly again. What can a low time guy like me do. yes I know tourist season is over so the jobs are low but I will take anything anywhere (I love the interior). lots of alaska time. oh and I teach at Elmendorf Aero Club. I am sure some in here are familiar.
