info on the "small plane" freight companies

[mikecweb]

Originally Posted by butt

I guess what I'm saying, is that am I likley going to regret working someplace where I am limited to piston time? Are there many places where you can make 6 figures, and will hire you with just a ton of piston time?

Usually not.
Freight is a different kind of life. You gotta be sure you wanna do this first. It's good to look out for the best path for your career but you might be thinking way way to far ahead. At Airnet you can technically stay in the props and get to Southwest. Southwest doesn't have a multi-turbine requirement, just want turbine time so a Caravan will work.
If you wanna fly freight and then go right to a major and thats all you care about Flight Express probably isn't your best option. Flight Express would work if they have a base near your home and you care about making a decent living while trying to get to the next step which won't probably be a major. What is that next step?? I don't know I don't fly there nor can I tell what someone wants to do with their life. I've already said in this thread that I envy their Pay. Our (airnet) second year pay sucks.
If your deadset on your next step after freight just look at the requirments for the airlines/companies that are on your wish list to fly for and see if the freight company you are going to will satisfy your need.
Kinda vague to come on here and say I don't wanna a fly an RJ and I'm willing to fly freight but wanna make 6 figures, where do I go. There are a ton of options that will get you that route but alot of them depend on your personal preferences and YOU can only know what you want.

[butt]

My original question was "where do most ex-Flight Express people go?"

Do most of them stay with the company until retirement? Do they work there for a few hundred hours, then go off to some place to get turbine time? Do they work there until they get enough time to work for United or Delta?

I'm not at all certain what I want to do in the long-long run. Looking at what Flight Express does (pay, their bases, the planes they fly), it seems like a place I want to work at as of now. But being stuck flying the same planes, and capping out at $50,000 would get old after a while.

I'd hate to see myself in 5 years with 5000 hours of piston time, and not be able to get a job because it's all piston, while some of my friends, who went with Airnet are walking on to Southwest and making twice as much as me. Maybe that won't be the case, but that is what I'm asking.

[mtsu_av8er]

[quote=butt;569632]My original question was "where do most ex-Flight Express people go?"

NOBODY retires at Flight Express.

Where do FLX pilots go? I know of former FLX guys that fly for United, Southwest, FEDEX, lots of regionals, several fractionals, Pt. 91 Corporate flight departments, Pt. 135 charter outfits, etc, etc.

You can fly at FLX, get all of the multi time that you want, then go fly somewhere and throw a little turbine time in, and you're set.

Do most of them stay with the company until retirement?

That would be a miserable retirement . . . lol. We have a couple of guys that have already retired, and do this to stay flying, though.

Do they work there for a few hundred hours, then go off to some place to get turbine time? Do they work there until they get enough time to work for United or Delta?

Some don't have to make the decision - they can't hack it more than a few hundred hours. Some stay for a few hundred, and the ones that stay for the Baron tend to stay for 1000-2000 hours, with 1400 probably being the average.

But being stuck flying the same planes, and capping out at $50,000 would get old after a while.

OK

I'd hate to see myself in 5 years with 5000 hours of piston time, and not be able to get a job because it's all piston, while some of my friends, who went with Airnet are walking on to Southwest and making twice as much as me. Maybe that won't be the case, but that is what I'm asking.

Airnet is hiring!

[Trybysky]

Originally Posted by Cessnaflyer

I want to fly for AMF on the Seattle, Omak, Grand Coulee, Moses Lake route. Thats what I do nearly everyday to get up to the 141 commercial time minimums!

I did that run for a while, actually still get stuck with it every once in a while...

Good run. Fun (m)VFR flying too.

[DE727UPS]

Grand Coulee? Are you kidding me? Isn't that where your mom said I took you up when you were a baby, during that youth group thing, and that's why you got hooked on flying.

OMG. I just looked in my logbook and on 7/30/1983 I got an entry that says "C-150, N16167, EAT-Grand Coulee-EAT, church youth group, 3.9 hours"

That was it. That was when I took you up when you were a baby, dude. I had about 570 hours and owned this old beater, yellow, 1972 Cessna 150.

Dang...is that not cool....

[Trybysky]

Originally Posted by DE727UPS

Grand Coulee? Are you kidding me? Isn't that where your mom said I took you up when you were a baby, during that youth group thing, and that's why you got hooked on flying.

OMG. I just looked in my logbook and on 7/30/1983 I got an entry that says "C-150, N16167, EAT-Grand Coulee-EAT, church youth group, 3.9 hours"

That was it. That was when I took you up when you were a baby, dude. I had about 570 hours and owned this old beater, yellow, 1972 Cessna 150.

Dang...is that not cool....

3W7 aka Coulee! You're right Don. My first flight You didn't realize you were going to be teaching the ways of the master 20 years later !

How things been, I'm working M-Th BFI-PDX-OAK and back... night owl.

It's about time to get together for a beer or three I think.

[Cessnaflyer]

Wow very cool guys.

Trybysky, what did you fly on that northeastern Washington run? I only see the 99 or chief at Columbia Pacific.

[Trybysky]

It's a 99 run. In the summers it goes to Coulee, winters...just MWH and Omak (when you can squeeeeeze through the WX!)

[Cessnaflyer]

Very cool. Right now that is my dream to do an Eastern Washington run out of BFI.

[fishrichard]

Guys I've kinda done it backwards.. I was "lucky" enough to be hired by a company with about 500 hours; I went straight into the right seat of a lear. I now have about 1600 hours, 1100 hundred of which are multi turbine jet. I'm getting grey haired at 29 because of my schedule, or lack there of. Gone three, four, five dyas at a time, on call 7 days a week, no hard time off.. See where i;m going with this.. Everone pays there dues, if you aren't wealthy... But please make a job decision based on your happiness and well being, not on what aircraft you fly.. BTW, I here some company is looking for a lear SIC, schedule sucks, but hey, it's a lear.. Lloyd, check your pm's