New Job!!!

[Stone Cold]

Well, as some of you know, I have been pursuing a job as a charter pilot down closer to home. I finally can say I have been hired into a charter job!!! I will be flying a Lear 60 based in St Augustine as an FO!!!

I'll go ahead and answer some questions that will pop up...

Why don't I stick around Airnet and fly Lears for them? Well, I've been waiting for something to open up close to home. I've been commuting for a year and eight plus months now, and frankly am tired of it. Hats off to all the commuters around here!! Travelling 1200+ miles, or whatever it is, gets old. It's definitely not for the faint of heart.

As of right now, the closest bases at Airnet are FLL, TPA, and ATL. All are a commute in themselves, but were manageable. However, nobody's moving. I've talked to all the crews, and yes, some people have resumes out, but are being picky about jobs, and rightfully so. So, there really was very little chance of me being within 400 miles or so of home.

I have been looking at numerous jobs all over Florida (wife's family is in JAX, and she has an awesome job, so FL it is), and most, as some of you know, are scum bag operators! There are some very low paying jobs out there. One job I seriously looked in to was in Ft Lauderdale, flying a C-208, and a King Air C-90, and managing both of them. So, it was going to be me and two airplanes. The last guy that had the job made $38K/year, which is absolutely pathetic for this job. I had expressed interest, and the guy wrote me back with the info on pay for the former pilot. I responded, since he was "negotiable" on pay, and asked about schooling for the airplanes and never heard back from him. So, either he found somebody to do it for 38K or less, or I scared him off by asking about schools for the airplane. No thanks!!

As far as times, I have 2400TT, 425ME, 850 Caravan PIC, 1100 night, and 350 IMC.

So, tonight I will be submitting my two week notice, and I start ground school on around 27 Feb.

I will be in DFW for Lear 60 school mid March for two weeks, so if anybody's interested in meeting up, if I have time, let me know. I'll post exact dates when I know them.

And, lastly, for those up here in MSP, I'll be posting a M&G for my last time up here on a regular basis, in a few minutes.

Anybody have any gouge on the Lear 60???

[Ian J]

I was waiting for this announcement! Congrats Joe!

[FiveO]

AWESOME. AWESOME. AWESOME.

Now I will have to hit you up on the way to JAX or on the way back. That is soo cool and nothing but the best of luck.

[mikecweb]

Good luck!
Too bad we never got to meet. I remember asking you about Airnet back in the day when I was just loooking at the time.

[Stone Cold]

Mike,

Were you in the reception area last night when a bald guy in a Cowboys jacket came through the door? That was me. I meant to come find you later on, but had to find Steve S for "professionalism" training, and ended up catching 114 back up to MSP.

I'm going to pass through LCK one more time to say good-bye's this next week, so maybe if you're not on your run yet, we can go get Subway. Otherwise, I'll be on my run. I'll hear you on the radio.


Thanks for the well-wishes, everybody. Yeah, I just received the official phone call a few minutes ago, and since I'm at the coffee shop, I figured I'd let the cat out of the bag!!

Five-O, not sure if they allow hitchhikers, but if they do, show some leg and I'll see what I can do!!!

[JEP]

Congratulations, Joe. Sounds like one hell of a gig. We'll miss you up here in the tundra.


Jim

[Seggy]

CONGRATS!

Is it a fractional type company? Corporate owned? Or somebody's toy?

[SIUAv8r]

SK Jets by any chance?

[amorris311]

CONGRATUALTIONS!!

[Stone Cold]

Originally Posted by Seggy

CONGRATS!

Is it a fractional type company? Corporate owned? Or somebody's toy?

It's a charter company, I am not going to mention the name for now, but all it takes is a little googling to figure out. They have 2-3 60's, 2-3 31's, a 25, and a 55, and a managed Beechjet, I believe, along with a couple of helicopters.

So, so long schedule...it's the life of a charter pilot for now. On call, all the time, pretty much. The good news is no more crashpad expense, a decent pay bump, and when not flying, I'll actually be home.

The bad is the schedule, which they are working on staffing for giving hard days off.

Edited to add, just see SIUAv8r's post.

[SIUAv8r]

Seems like a good place to work. A few of the guys from my company have moved on to them. Seem to like it, except the schedule. On call 24/7.

Congrats though!!

[GaTechKid]

Congratulations! Not commuting is going to be sooo sweet!

[wheelsup]

St. Augustine....drooool...........probably my favorite place in FL.

[surreal1221]

Rock on! I'll miss reading your blog about freight doging it, but perhaps a new blog with this new adventure?

Best of luck in school!

[Ian J]

Originally Posted by Stone Cold

It's a charter company, I am not going to mention the name for now, but all it takes is a little googling to figure out. They have 2-3 60's, 2-3 31's, a 25, and a 55, and a managed Beechjet, I believe, along with a couple of helicopters.

Whoa. Hold the phone there buddy. You're not going to forget about your good bud Chinook if they need a dual-rated type are ya!?

[n57flyguy]

Suweeeet!!! Nice to hear. Congrads!

[desertdog71]

Congrats you Bald Bastard!!!!

I left you a voice mail. This is awesome news, I knew you were looking forward to something closer to home and charter.

[Stone Cold]

Originally Posted by ChinookDriver

Whoa. Hold the phone there buddy. You're not going to forget about your good bud Chinook if they need a dual-rated type are ya!?

Yes, they are looking for helo pilots also...let me know when you're ready.

I haven't decided if I'll continue the blog...we'll see what happens. I might have to save it for a book due to nondisclosure agreements, etc. (I'm assuming there is one) for the rich people who can afford this type of flying.

SIU, yes, on call 24/7 is unfortunately seeming the norm in charter flying. We'll see how it goes.

DD, I'll call ya in a few minutes...

Thanks, everybody else. I'll keep everybody updated on the goods (and bads) of this gig!!!

[Toria]

Congratulations! Is it the 60 or the 60XR? Very nice plane from the pax standpoint.

[Aero_Engineer]

Congrats, I hope it works out for the best!!

[falconvalley]

New job! Awesome, man!!

[Stone Cold]

Toria,

It's a Lear 60.

Thanks again for the well-wishes.

[bwade210]

Great, congratulations my friend!

[FlySmiley]

Hey guys, I am new to the forums (posting anyway).. Looks like I just picked up where Stone Cold left off - I will be taking over his run and am waiting on Van school! Congrats!

[X-Forces]

Good job Joe!

Hope we get a chance to pay you a visit if we are in the St. Augustine area one day. (I love flying over the fort!)

By the way, I spoke to my aunt, and it looks like she hasn't crossed paths with your mom, or at least she is pretty certain she hasn't. It didn't even hit me before that your last name is the same as her mother's maiden name, so she say that she would have certainly remembered.

Anyway, she'll keep her eyes open for her.

Catch you later, and good luck.