To Take Advantage....?

OnTheFly7

OnTheFly7

Well-Known Member
I have said many times that I may never become a "professional pilot"; a person who makes their living by flying airplanes. However, I always will have an interest in aviation. Therefore, I will be looking into training and in the future my goals may change. However, I think I may want to fly for a state Game & Fish agency or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife agency.

Now to the meat of this title..................

The company I work for has an aircraft, a 2004 or 2005 model. Apparently the company, upon a successful probation period and full-time employment, will allow employees to utilize the aircraft for personal use, including training, for the cost of fuel (zero hourly rate)! From what I gather, this option is rarely utilized.

If this is infact the case, how many of you would jump on this opportunity, be it as a career step to "professional pilot" career or as a hobby? I believe the airplane is an Archer. If so, Private, Instrument, Commercial, CFI and CFII can be earned in this airplane, yes? If all of this is true, I see MAJOR savings here, with regards to earning the ratings!
 
contactground.9 said:
I would absolutely jump right on this!
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Yeah, that's one hell of a deal. Especially if you find someplace nearby with cheap gas. And do your cross countries at 55% power ;)

You can do everything up to CFI/Commercial, which you'll need at least 10 hours in a retractable gear (no big deal at that point, just worry about it in 250 hours...)
 
drunkenbeagle said:
Yeah, that's one hell of a deal. Especially if you find someplace nearby with cheap gas. And do your cross countries at 55% power ;)

You can do everything up to CFI/Commercial, which you'll need at least 10 hours in a retractable gear (no big deal at that point, just worry about it in 250 hours...)
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Any issues you foresee with going to a FBO or "Academy" to get the hours for that complexed portion since most other training will not be done there?

I have thought about how it would effect my CFI-ing down the road (with regards to pay and location. However, if this is a legit opportunity, I say I am just going to worry about getting the ratings on the cheap. Then pick up the ME and MEI down the street. Then, head an hour north and pick up my float add-on!
 
PGA07 said:
Any issues you foresee with going to a FBO or "Academy" to get the hours for that complexed portion since most other training will not be done there?
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No issues at all. Other than having 10 hours complex, there isn't much else you need it for. You can do 90% of the commercial ride in the archer.

None of the training "academies" are going to be interested in doing a complex checkout for you - just rent one from an FBO when the time comes. Any FBO will be happy for the business - complex aircraft don't get a lot of use (other than commercial checkrides).
 
Ok, I found out a bit more about what I had heard through the grapevine.

The company does in fact have a newer (2004 or newer) Archer that it lets employees utilize, including for flight training. The aircraft is available at no charge to the employees! The company also has two or three CFI's who work there and instruct on the side. I am not aware of the hourly rates, however, I imagine they are $50 and hour or under. On top of this, do to a great relationship with the FBO, my company gets a discount on fuel (which is just over $4 a gallon currently). I am not sure what the discount is, but heck.........free airplane, discounted fuel and an in-house instructor.

Crap, right when I though I had it figured out................what to do?
 
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I'm curoius, what kind of company is this, that you work for? That's pretty generous of them to eat the bill for maintenance and other associated expenses...
 
I'll decline to publicly mention the company. However, it is an aviation company that offers a variety of services including charter and mx.

Coming home to a beautiful woman, neked on your bed is not a comparison.

The debate is whether or not I will utilize the certificates down the road. It is a hell of a deal, however, if I am not going to utilize the certificates as a "professional pilot", I wonder if I would ever use them. In all reality, if I don't turn to the pilot career, the odds of me using the certificates as a hobby is next to nil given the expense to fly as a hobby.
 
PGA07 said:
The debate is whether or not I will utilize the certificates down the road. It is a hell of a deal, however, if I am not going to utilize the certificates as a "professional pilot", I wonder if I would ever use them. In all reality, if I don't turn to the pilot career, the odds of me using the certificates as a hobby is next to nil given the expense to fly as a hobby.
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They never expire, so who knows if you will ever use them. My guess is that you eventually will.

When you have a commercial ticket, lot's of opportunities to fly open up.
And even as a hobby, it ain't that expensive. Especially if you have access to an aircraft where you only pay for fuel.
 
PGA07 said:
In all reality, if I don't turn to the pilot career, the odds of me using the certificates as a hobby is next to nil given the expense to fly as a hobby.
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Higher level certificates, whether the privileges are exercised or not are merely learning milestones in continuing education. They make you a better, smarter, safer pilot regardless of what you do to pay the mortgage.

I tend to agree with the above posters but moreso that if you don't take advantage of this oportunity how many doors might not be opened in the future because of this chance (I talking not just professional piloting but people you meet and places you go because of doing this). Personally I wouldn't want to spend the rest of my life wondering... or telling every pilot I ever meet from here on out "yeah, I could've been a pilot, but I didn't do it"
 
drunkenbeagle said:
They never expire, so who knows if you will ever use them. My guess is that you eventually will.

When you have a commercial ticket, lot's of opportunities to fly open up.
And even as a hobby, it ain't that expensive. Especially if you have access to an aircraft where you only pay for fuel.
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I am fairly sure that I will take advantage of the opportunity. The difficult part will be the flight training not so much while working, but while I am going back to school (online for Natural Resources Management - Fisheries and Wildlife) while working as well as traveling to archery tournaments.

Over time, I have become aware of many good opportunities to fly commercially. During the short time that we have been out west, it seems as though there is more money than in the Midwest. Meaning, there are more private owners of turbo-prop and turbo-fan aircraft. The ones that I have seen, the majority have their own private pilots, so who knows.

I would be VERY content to fly a King Air for a living. I would also love to fly bush up in Alaska. If I never touch a jet, I would be fine, a bit disappointed, but no big deal. To me, it would be all about the type of flying (not what I am flying) and maximizing my time with family and friends. That is why in another thread I mentioned wanting to fly for a Western Game & Fish department or Fish and Wildlife Service.

Another job that I think would be fun and that would combine a past career with a possible future one would be in aircraft sales for a company like Piper of Beechcraft.
 
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