Mike Bezel
Well-Known Member
Just curious what I can expect from first LST job.
What to expect for first LST job
- Thread starter Mike Bezel
- Start date
trafficinsight
Well-Known Member
Expect to have to explain what LST is.
T/O w/FSII
Well-Known Member
Dumping the lav.
Getting lav juice on your body.
Getting Jet-A on your body.
Getting 100LL on your body.
THE HONEY BUCKET.
Your laundry smelling like Jet-A
Poor pay.
WHAT? I CANT HEAR YOU?
Learning the lingo and how to talk to ground.
Having a great office view.
Getting paid to hang out at the airport and eat leftover catering.
The occasional tip.
Watching rich people make a fool of themselves.
Meeting some of the absolute dumbest pilots.
Meeting some of the absolute best pilots.
Getting to ride in your first business jet.
Getting free hours in cool planes.
NETWORKING!
Learning the necessary skills to find todays Russian/ Moscow newspaper three hours before departure in Southern California.
Figuring out the fastest route to the time machine to punch out and go home incase as you put two wingtips together.
Getting your first flying job thanks to the network.
5 years at a big name brand chain for me. Now at a cushy p91 gig thanks to the contacts I made. I'd do it again.
Getting lav juice on your body.
Getting Jet-A on your body.
Getting 100LL on your body.
THE HONEY BUCKET.
Your laundry smelling like Jet-A
Poor pay.
WHAT? I CANT HEAR YOU?
Learning the lingo and how to talk to ground.
Having a great office view.
Getting paid to hang out at the airport and eat leftover catering.
The occasional tip.
Watching rich people make a fool of themselves.
Meeting some of the absolute dumbest pilots.
Meeting some of the absolute best pilots.
Getting to ride in your first business jet.
Getting free hours in cool planes.
NETWORKING!
Learning the necessary skills to find todays Russian/ Moscow newspaper three hours before departure in Southern California.
Figuring out the fastest route to the time machine to punch out and go home incase as you put two wingtips together.
Getting your first flying job thanks to the network.
5 years at a big name brand chain for me. Now at a cushy p91 gig thanks to the contacts I made. I'd do it again.
Tiptank
Well-Known Member
You forgot deicing fluids depending on where he's based
But yeah, expect to bust ass in all weather conditions with dangerous equipment without killing yourself, or anyone else, and be ready to bend over backwards for the customers who are paying the bills. Have a good attitude and be friendly with the flight crews and go above and beyond their (seemingly) silly demands.
Don't forget that you're just a peon in pilots eyes.
Best of luck, it's a rewarding job if you take it seriously.
Colin Levy
Well-Known Member
I was a LST at a large FBO while in college. I had a blast. Got to meet a lot of cool people while getting to be around what I love best, airplanes.
Yeah, some of the duties suck, dumping lavs or deicing heavies in the cold, blowing snow at midnight. Sometimes you get treated like sh*t, while other times you can get some pretty cool perks. Had multiple Netjet crews invite me up in the plane after their arrival. We chilled out, ate, talked, etc
At the end of the day, it pays the bills (or part of them)
Yeah, some of the duties suck, dumping lavs or deicing heavies in the cold, blowing snow at midnight. Sometimes you get treated like sh*t, while other times you can get some pretty cool perks. Had multiple Netjet crews invite me up in the plane after their arrival. We chilled out, ate, talked, etc
At the end of the day, it pays the bills (or part of them)
BEEF SUPREME
Well-Known Member
PositionAndHold
Well-Known Member
If we're talking Line Service Tech, then all of the above.
I try and help the guys at my home base as much as I can. If they're busy I get our coffe/ice/papers. At the same time if I need a little help with some thing I expect them to be there. Take care of the passengers first, the pilots second. Never bring up the crew car before the passenger cars. Never. Make the crew look good and if they're decent they'll make you look good or at least tip well. Some crews will be complete dicks but hopefully the decent ones will out number the bad. We do are best to be one of those good crews. Good luck. Have fun. And rule number one, airplanes don't fly without fuel, coffee, ice and papers.
I try and help the guys at my home base as much as I can. If they're busy I get our coffe/ice/papers. At the same time if I need a little help with some thing I expect them to be there. Take care of the passengers first, the pilots second. Never bring up the crew car before the passenger cars. Never. Make the crew look good and if they're decent they'll make you look good or at least tip well. Some crews will be complete dicks but hopefully the decent ones will out number the bad. We do are best to be one of those good crews. Good luck. Have fun. And rule number one, airplanes don't fly without fuel, coffee, ice and papers.
T/O w/FSII
Well-Known Member
And trust me. I know no one will EVER drink the coffee. But I need it anyway
PositionAndHold
Well-Known Member
It's literally the most wasted resource in Corp aviation. I think our water problem in CA could be solved by not making coffee for every flight. It's insane.
JMK
Well-Known Member
You guys forgot about airplane tetris. If you're tugging an aircraft by yourself and you aren't sure if the wings or tail will clear an obstacle, get off the tug and look, and keep doing that as many times as you need. You might get some flak for being slow but it beats the alternative.
It's been a while but I can't hardly remember any jet crews being jerks, it was always the owner of Bonanza or something like that.
It's been a while but I can't hardly remember any jet crews being jerks, it was always the owner of Bonanza or something like that.
Tiptank
Well-Known Member
I remember a guy who had a Turbo Lance who would always ignore our marshallers and just park right in front of our busy hangar doors. When we'd confront him and tell that we'd have to move the airplane immediately to get a Gulfstream out he'd tell us "you need to wait 20 minutes for the gyros to spin down so you won't destroy them". Our whole line-staff was a bunch of CFIs and we all almost went on disability caused by the excessive eye rolling caused by that guy.
Blackhawk
Well-Known Member
I thought the US Navy retired all their LSTs?
Rumour is that you did a lot more than that on your overnights...
Hard but rewarding work. Enjoy the ride and get your network mode on as stated. I managed to meet some great contacts around the airport which further led to my first break in aviation.
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Mike Bezel
Well-Known Member
Burrito
Position And Hold My Beer
LST for 4yrs here at a regional airport in New England. While the money wasn't too great without an extra bit of OT each week, there was ALWAYS overtime to be had. Management (wasn't great) would use and abuse those who volunteered for the extra hours, and the tasks quickly became routine. Expect the equipment to break -- just expect it to happen. And when it does, don't freak out. Keep your head on a constant swivel - if your radios are junk, the cellphones come out (airport-wide) and then people forget they are driving tugs around multi-million dollar aircraft.
The best advice I received in initial training goes like this: Treat every aircraft like someone you love is on board. Seriously, read that sentence again when you're de-icing -- because no one cares how green that airplane is as long as it's SAFE. Learn Air Florida 90 (or expect it to be driven into your head).
If it isn't green, it isn't clean.
Anything else you need to know, feel free to ask.
B
The best advice I received in initial training goes like this: Treat every aircraft like someone you love is on board. Seriously, read that sentence again when you're de-icing -- because no one cares how green that airplane is as long as it's SAFE. Learn Air Florida 90 (or expect it to be driven into your head).
If it isn't green, it isn't clean.
Anything else you need to know, feel free to ask.
B
Will3506
Well-Known Member
Oh an a good way to get tips when doing lavs, is if the crew is inside cleaning up before you unhook the lav go ask the crew if it looks good. They would say yeah and hand you $5 usually. If you don't ask them, you are done with the lav before the crew is even out and they don't even have the opportunity to tip you.
