Flight Training - April 2013 - 46

CAREER PILOT»

after touchdown, I was exiting at
the same high speed. “Skyhawk
Four-Four-Niner, thanks for the
quick exit, contact ground point
niner,” the tower instructed.
Flying into big airports is an
important part of flight training and
shouldn’t be avoided because of
intimidation. The key is to prepare
and be ready for any number of
things that can happen. On your
end, the best thing you can do is

study the airport diagram, know the
layout of the taxiways, and figure
out your taxi plan. Telephone the
TRACON or tower that controls the
airport you’re planning to use. They
can tell you when the best time
is to come and go as well as what
to expect in terms of routing and
landing runway based on weather
conditions. They can also give you
the frequencies of all the sectors
you expect to converse with.

The FAA’s heightened awareness
of runway incursions has put a magnifying glass on general aviation,
as pilots of light aircraft cause the
majority of these infractions. We
all have skin in this game, and if GA
continues to blunder operations at
large airports, get ready for the cries
to banish the little guys.
Much of what you can expect to
occur at a large airport can be practiced at your local, less-busy airport.

CAREER ADVISOR

FROM MILITARY TO PRIVATE SECTOR

What are the corporate hiring prospects?
» By Wayne Phillips

» Q: I plan to retire this summer from the
U.S. Air Force with 4,000 hours of flight
time, most of which is in jets. I’m trying to
decide what direction in aviation to take.
Corporate flying appeals to me based on
the premise that you are flying to different places all the time and, in general, it is
more interesting flying than the airlines. I
have been told that it is very hard to break
into that industry and usually requires 500
hours in type to get hired. Is this true, and
can you provide any advice? Also, I’m having difficulty determining the typical pay
range. I don’t expect to make as much as
the majors, but I do need to make enough
to support my family. Thanks!

» A: You are a blessed man! Some 4,000

hours, mostly in jets, should be your
ticket to just about any professional flying
career that suits your fancy.
There are essentially three ways to
satisfy your goals of flying business jets:
traditional corporate flying, a career with
jet management companies, or fractional
flying. You are certainly correct that
breaking into a corporate flight department with high-end jet equipment—and
a salary that goes with it—isn’t easy. An
ATP and time in type are musts. The
essential strategy is networking, which
also can provide information on hiring
minimums.

46 /

FLIGHTTRAINING.AOPA.ORG

Think about it. If you are the aviation
director of a sizeable corporate flight
department, turnover is probably quite
low. When someone does leave or retire,
that manager will ask his pilots, “Say, do
you know anyone who is a good stick?”
Sure, it may be a long shot that your
résumé will be retrieved from the stack,
but knowing someone is a good thing for
career advancement. Perhaps some of
your Air Force buddies are now flying the
big iron and can help. But, also consider
downsides such as being on call when
the boss gets the urge to fly; long layovers
while the brass tends to business for days
at a time; jets become expendable when
profits deteriorate.
The next possibility is flying for a
large jet management company. Stop
by any big general aviation airport such
as Oakland County International in
Pontiac, Michigan, or Van Nuys Airport
in Van Nuys, California, and you will
find several companies with a stable of
jets. Typically, these aircraft are owned
by wealthy individuals or companies—
when they are not transporting owners
and execs, in many instances those same
airplanes are being used in FAR Part 135
charter flying. Here, pilots are employed
by the management operator, have a
fairly predictable schedule, and fly more
often because of charter business. Your

résumé may have a better chance of
floating to the top if you don’t have any
internal connections.
Finally, there are the large fractional
companies such as NetJets. Flying for
this kind of company would be my
personal first choice. NetJets pilots fly
great equipment, have very predictable
schedules, and get into a wide variety of
airports. They fly often; they can live just
about anywhere; and they interact with
the rich and famous. Certainly, hiring
at these companies has peaks and valleys, but as the economy improves, the
demand for this type of personal travel
should increase.
As for salaries, much like the airlines,
pay truly is a caste system based upon
the size of equipment flown. Certainly,
pay can be well into six figures for
tenured captains on large machines,
but for first officers, these are typical: Falcon 2000—$65,000; Gulfstream
G200—$52,000; Lear 31—$38,000; King
Air 300 (captain)—$52,000. The Internet
is full of information on corporate flying, including job postings and salary
surveys. Dig in!
Wayne Phillips is an airline transport pilot with
Boeing 737 and Falcon 20 type ratings. Send your
career questions to careers@aopa.org and we’ll
publish the best ones here.
http://FLIGHTTRAINING.AOPA.ORG
Flight Training - April 2013

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