Am I employable to fly as a bush pilot this year??

DEL · Post by **DEL** » Sat Feb 18, 2012 8:02 pm

Am I employable to fly as a bush pilot this year??

Total time 1473 hours,
floats 128 hours (Otter, Beaver, C-206, C-172),
67 hours multi.
CFI/CFII with 452 hours dual given.
Worked years at two different bush operations as a pilot/dockhand.

Looking to fly, not do the dockhand position again. With the hours I have, I have talked to a few chief pilots and none will hire me as a dockhand with the hours I have.

So any leads for a strictly a flying position??

SuperchargedRS · Post by **SuperchargedRS** » Sat Feb 18, 2012 8:19 pm

I would say yes and if you have that many hours you should know what to do... DRIVE, shake hands, call old colleagues, old flight school buddies etc.

trey kule · Post by **trey kule** » Sat Feb 18, 2012 9:23 pm

When I look at the numbers and experience posted, a couple thngs jump out at me, which I think, may also jump out when you future potential emplyers look at your resume.
the first, which is rather minor is that you have 1400 hrs...300 for a CPL, ,instructer rating and multi...450 as an instructor. What about the other 700? I know you post was not a resume, but it might be good to explain that time, particularily as you have worked two seasons on the dock.

the other thing is that is very odd to see someone with 128 hours of float time who has flown a Beaver and an otter. Very odd. and I think that it just might raise some red flags with future employers (potential). If you have not had a proper company groundschool, dedicated dual on type, I would be hesitatnt to claim beaver and otter time unless there are some magic circumsatnces.

Despite what people think riding around in the right seat, it takes only minutes to actually tell pretty much how much experience a pilot has on a Beaver, or even more clearly, on an otter.

If all is well and good, getting a job flying should be quite easy for you this season. But, if any of the above applies, you will find your chances almost zero..Operators dont like pilots who think they can bluff their way into a job, or worse, think they can actually fly an otter on floats after 128 hours of float time. BTW..I would not bother with the 172 notation, but that is just my opinion.

Best of luck. I would polish the old resume up so it does not raise questions with employers. When they are in doubt they usually round bin the resume.

Redneck_pilot86 · Post by **Redneck_pilot86** » Sun Feb 19, 2012 2:20 am

I'm with Trey, don't be calling time spent swamping as time in a beaver/otter. If you were left seat, PIC, then congratulations but I strongly doubt it. There is no harm in saying you have some time spent swamping, but don't try to make it seem like more than it is.

JMACK · Post by **JMACK** » Sun Feb 19, 2012 6:00 am

The previous three posters nailed it clean up the resume and hit the road you'll be fine. Flying in no time!

J

DEL · Post by **DEL** » Sun Feb 19, 2012 1:16 pm

Trey,

The Otter and Beaver time is from being PIC in it as I got it years ago when you could get time in these airplanes. The good old days when having less than fifty hours of float time, got you into a Beaver or an Otter. At the time I flew the Beaver I had only a fresh seaplane rating, 5 hours and I was flying it. None of the insurance requirements like they have today. Yes, only two times in the bush and I did get these hours and they are signed off in my logbook. As for flying them again I would have to take a refresher in them. As for the 700 hours, much comes from working on my American commercial, IFR rating, CFI/CFII rating plus moving airplanes plus doing sightseeing when someone wanted to go up. I will say working as a CFI/CFII over the past five years, has certainly help my flying.

I understand the questions that my hours might have raised but they are clearly logged and can be verified. All someone has to do its ask and I can provide.

Groundloop · Post by **Groundloop** » Sun Feb 19, 2012 9:20 pm

The question may not be if your time is verifiable, but why it didn't last longer? Some may question if they ran you off from getting more time before you had an accident or you didn't work well with others. Limited experience that doesn't continue sometimes signals an issue or a lack of intrest.

sarg · Post by **sarg** » Mon Feb 20, 2012 10:03 am

DEL wrote:Trey,

The Otter and Beaver time is from being PIC in it as I got it years ago when you could get time in these airplanes. The good old days when having less than fifty hours of float time, got you into a Beaver or an Otter. At the time I flew the Beaver I had only a fresh seaplane rating, 5 hours and I was flying it. None of the insurance requirements like they have today. Yes, only two times in the bush and I did get these hours and they are signed off in my logbook. As for flying them again I would have to take a refresher in them. As for the 700 hours, much comes from working on my American commercial, IFR rating, CFI/CFII rating plus moving airplanes plus doing sightseeing when someone wanted to go up. I will say working as a CFI/CFII over the past five years, has certainly help my flying.

I understand the questions that my hours might have raised but they are clearly logged and can be verified. All someone has to do its ask and I can provide.

Verified hours or not, back when I was hiring for this type of company if I saw a resume with 128 hrs float time claiming to have flown a Beaver and Otter I would have thought the guy a liar and circle filed it.

I would clean your resume up dropping reference to the Beaver and Otter leaving just the C206 on it, maybe make a note in your cover letter that you have very limited experience on the Beaver and Otter.

phillyfan · Post by **phillyfan** » Mon Feb 20, 2012 2:17 pm

Back in the good old days we flew 128 hours in 3 weeks. Your numbers come across as "fuzzy math" I would imagine that is why the phone might not be ringing.

Lost Lake · Post by **Lost Lake** » Mon Feb 20, 2012 8:07 pm

Worked years at two different bush operations as a pilot/dockhand.

Does anyone else have a problem with this?? Flags go up in my mind.

Meatservo · Post by **Meatservo** » Tue Feb 21, 2012 11:39 am

DEL wrote:Trey,

The Otter and Beaver time is from being PIC in it as I got it years ago when you could get time in these airplanes. The good old days when having less than fifty hours of float time, got you into a Beaver or an Otter. At the time I flew the Beaver I had only a fresh seaplane rating, 5 hours and I was flying it. None of the insurance requirements like they have today. Yes, only two times in the bush and I did get these hours and they are signed off in my logbook. As for flying them again I would have to take a refresher in them. As for the 700 hours, much comes from working on my American commercial, IFR rating, CFI/CFII rating plus moving airplanes plus doing sightseeing when someone wanted to go up. I will say working as a CFI/CFII over the past five years, has certainly help my flying.

I understand the questions that my hours might have raised but they are clearly logged and can be verified. All someone has to do its ask and I can provide.

Yeah, sorry DEL but this Otter and Beaver time sounds fishy to me too. I don't remember any "good old days" in which a guy could come in with even the TOTAL time you claim to have and get a job flying an Otter. Are you talking about actual PIC time, as in, you're the only pilot on board, it's a commercial flight, and you're flying it on floats to deliver cargo or passengers to somewhere? Or are you talking about the kind of "PIC" time where you work for a company that has an otter, and the kind-hearted "real" pilot lets you take a spell in the left seat on an empty leg or a maintenance flight?

I can tell you, like the other guys said, that you are absolutely employable as a floatplane pilot based on your hours, maybe a nice entry-level job on a Cessna 185 or maybe even a beaver if it was just camp work, but you are making it harder on yourself if there is any funny business in your resume. I wouldn't put Otter time in a resume unless it was time that I logged during the time I was employed as an otter pilot, which doesn't sound true in your case.

I'm not seeking to offend you but I can practically guarantee you're being passed over for these jobs not because your current level of experience makes you overqualified to be a dockhand (it doesn't), but because there are some aspects of your story which sound like you are lying. Please note: I'm not calling YOU a liar. What I am saying is that I have met lots of guys who have made it sound like they have some real experience in things like Otters and Beavers, just because they went for a ride or paid for a "checkout", or flew one privately with the real pilot looking on from the right seat. Their knowledge of the aircraft always falls apart under close questioning (i.e, an interview) and they always come up with some shit like "WELL, it WAS years ago, so I don't remember too well", and right here, right now, you sound just like one of those guys.

You need to clean up your story a bit, or at least come up with some good explanation as to how you were hired to fly a Beaver and/or an Otter, with your time, and you nevertheless now only have a few hours on each type. You don't have to explain yourself here on this forum, but unless you do, people here are going to keep thinking you're not being honest, and keep saying the same thing me and the last four guys told you. Pilots are suspicious.

Dagwood · Post by **Dagwood** » Mon Mar 05, 2012 9:13 am

CFI/CFII with 452 hours dual given.
...
I will say working as a CFI/CFII over the past five years, has certainly help my flying.

Another issue might be your currency, or lack thereof. 90 hours/year is barely enough to maintain one's skills.