Part Time Aviation Jobs

"Curt Fennell" wrote in message
news:GRRhc.18535

Thanks for all the info about CAP. It's very interesting.

But what about the other part-time aviation jobs? Any thoughts...?

LOL! It became a CAP thread. I'm curious about the other jobs, too.

-c

Curt Fennell wrote
What kinds of part time jobs are available for pilots besides CFI/II?
Is charter and or ferrying something one can do part time?

There are all sorts of part time jobs out there, but getting one isn't
really easy. Here are some ideas.

Towing gliders. A commercial operation is best, because a club will
usually expect you to pay to join the club and possibly pay monthly
dues as well. Realize that the planes are generally not very well
maintained.

Towing banners. This business is way down since 9/11 and all the TFR
nonsense. Also, the maintenance tends to be even worse than for
glider tugs.\

For both of these, you usually need signifiant tailwheel experience
(25 hours minimum, but 100-200 isn't rare) just to meet the insurance
requirements.

Dropping jumpers. Usually the insurance company wants to see 25
flights dropping jumpers before they will cover you. How you get
those flights in your logbook is up to you. Some DZ's operate without
insurance, but generally those guys want to see aerobatic experience.
About the maintenance...

This is about it when it comes to part time opportunities. Part time
charter is generally not an option in the light piston world. You
have to have regular checkrides, be on an approved drug testing
program, have training - and all those things cost just as much for a
part-timer as they do for a full-timer. What's more, a full-timer is
a better bet because he really needs the money and flight time, and is
less likely to turn down a flight for mechanical or weather reasons.

Ferrying is possible, but unless you have access to deeply discounted
airline tickets or experience (and thus insurability) in the higher
performance stuff, you're probably not competitive.

Basically, when it comes to non-instructional part time flying jobs,
if you have to ask about it on the net you probably can't get one.

Michael

"Michael" wrote in message
om...

Basically, when it comes to non-instructional part time flying jobs,
if you have to ask about it on the net you probably can't get one.

All true with one addition although it is not really a "flying" job: I have
heard that airports which require manual weather observations often prefer
to hire pilots to be weather observers. There is a relatively short
training program and then the hours are part-time as-needed or as-available.


--------------------
Richard Kaplan, CFII

www.flyimc.com