Exemption to the CARs

[Colonel]

I just don’t understand how a really terrible pilot can still be alive after 10,000 (real) hours. Boggles the mind.

I’m sure you have hired more pilots than I ever will. I just hire engineers now. Nowhere near as exciting and demented.

[Squaretail]

Its not hard when you think about it. If one had your CPL at 20, flew 400 hours a year you'd have 10,000 hours at 45 years old. Then you could take five years off. Or fly less hours a year and have 10,000 at 50. So a 10,000 hour pilot maybe isn't as an "old hand" as you think. Now like many pilots its possible to get to those hours flying maybe only 4 different airplanes. a plastic bug smasher, the twin you get your multi IFR on, a king air, then maybe up to something bigger. How awesome is he going to be if he doesn't fly for a few years. Maybe ok, maybe not. Depends on what he learned in that time.

[Scudrunner]

In the corporate world I would say the average pilot in a pure corporate gig not charter or fractional will fly around 250-300 hours a year.

I know this because that is what I have averaged for the last decade or so and my friends on this side of the field are about the same.

My former charter company came up with a "brilliant idea" that tossed noobs in the right seat of a business jet. Then the plan was after two years send them over as skippers on the turboprop fleet.
Of course they where thrilled to fly a shiny jet at first. Then as they didn't fly much and sitting up in the flight levels on AP their skill progression was Nil.

Typically most of them left asap once their bond was up.

I could tell when they had interviews at other companies. They would suddenly take an interest in flying and asking lots of questions and poof off to Encore or Jazz.

[David MacRay]

I met a guy at a part time job who was also flying for a local company. I was excited to talk about his other job.

I guess it wasn’t fun. They had a couple of old planes and if you were unlucky enough, you would get stuck on one, then have to hand fly it because they didn’t have an auto pilot.

One time when I inquired how things were going he was happy they were letting him work in the office. I guess not everyone is like my buddy Chris who figured out he didn’t want to fly just after getting his PPL and quit.

[Colonel]

Don’t understand a young guy going corporate. That’s a nice part-time gig for an older guy with lots of experience and skill that doesn’t fly airline for some reason (born the wrong year, his airline went broke, etc)

I’m talking classical corporate flight department, not the new fractional ownership thing which looks like charter to me.

[Squaretail]

That’s a nice part-time gig for an older guy with lots of experience and skill that doesn’t fly airline for some reason

Those jobs are gone.

I’m talking classical corporate flight department, not the new fractional ownership thing which looks like charter to me.

Replaced by the above. Turns out people who can afford expensive airplanes, really chafe at having pilots that aren't working all the time. Then they come to me, thinking survey is a nice close to retirement part time gig. It ain't anymore either.

[Colonel]

Been gone a long time. I had no idea there was no more private (non-charter, non-sked) jet aircraft ownership in Canada. That’s sad.

Still lots here.

[Scudrunner]

There are a number of pure corporate gigs out there but you gotta know the secret handshake to get on. Typically we don’t advertise for jobs and there’s always the threat of some management company coming in and screwing it up.

From what I’ve seen when that happens it’s a CEO change or some bean counter gets involved and a salesman feeds them bullshit that they can make the airplane a revenue source not cost. Then bam gone and they don’t typically come back.

Also pilots have been really dumb in the past racking up costs like Staying in hotels that cost 3x what they normally do just because that’s where they always stay sort of thing. 100 dollar steak meals etc etc

Fortunately my gig realizes the value of the planes for time savings and utility. The entire pilot group finds the least expensive hotel (within reason) and will hit a chipotle instead of a steakhouse, Uber when it makes sense no rental car. Also tanker fuel and find the best price. We have all witnessed the above and don’t want to screw it up.

[Colonel]

If you wanna see lots of people still privately flying jets, just visit the local airport when there’s a NASCAR race or a golf tournament. Looks like a used jet lot.

[Big Pistons Forever]

In the mid 1950’s my father was a junior mechanical engineer at a pulp and paper company. There was a big management shake up and a new and very flamboyant CEO took over.

One of his first decisions was that the company should have its own airplanes so he directed that the head of engineering to make it so, ASAP. Since my father had a private pilot license and a 150 hours of flight time he was deemed to be the “airplane guy” and told to go find an airplane.

A bit of research led him to a turn key Lockheed Loadstar operation complete with pilots and mechanics. As soon as the salesman said it was faster than anything TCA was flying, the CEO was all in.

Within a year the company flight department had the Loadstar, a DC3, a new Twin Beech, and a Seabee. A year after that the big boss crashed and burned over a failed expansion and was fired. The first thing the new boss did was dismantle the flight department and put all the airplanes up for sale. Some things never change……