Comments on: bush pilots

Question: bush pilots

Snyder — Fri, 20 May 2005 15:10:59 -0800

Does anyone know a bush pilot, have contact with one, or know anything about the becoming one? I'm thinking about becoming one, and while I've found a great deal of narratives about bush pilot adventures, I haven't found anything that that talks about it as a career path, which is what I'm primarily looking for.

By: airguitar

airguitar — Fri, 20 May 2005 15:29:05 -0800

For those with a more adventurous spirit in addition to basic tailwheel instruction, we also offer a bush flying course. Learn the advanced techniques that professional bush pilots use/learn how to utilize the edges of the airplane's performance envelope. Fly our bush equipped Husky A/A with vortex generators and tundra tires. Even if you never fly in the bush, the techniques you will learn will increase your proficiency and improve safety.

Good luck.

By: airguitar

airguitar — Fri, 20 May 2005 15:39:35 -0800

I'll assume by "bush" pilot you mean someone who does a lot of off airport work. You are in for a long, expensive ride, ghost. It will take a couple thousand hrs, I think, and alot of off airport practice to be safe and competent. Probably will take you that much time in your flight log to get a job also...

By: airguitar

airguitar — Fri, 20 May 2005 15:42:02 -0800

"There's no place else in the world to get the kind of training you'd get flying on floats that compares to the course I give in my own backyard. Right where I live in Moose Pass, Alaska is as spectacular a mountain setting as you'll find anywhere." Vern Kingsford, ATP, CFII

By: five fresh fish

five fresh fish — Fri, 20 May 2005 16:23:57 -0800

why are we whispering?

By: smackfu

smackfu — Fri, 20 May 2005 17:51:47 -0800

Are you a pilot at all? That seems like an important first step.

By: Snyder

Snyder — Fri, 20 May 2005 23:13:19 -0800

No, not a pilot yet. But I wouldn't mind trying to plan this out in advance, becasue it be a radical departure from my current and previous non-career/un-educational path.

By: cardboard

cardboard — Sat, 21 May 2005 00:37:56 -0800

I don't work for a bush-pilot organization, but we generally hire pilots who have flown for them.
Bush piloting is near the lowest rung of commercial flying, so generally what you need is a commercial pilot's license, maybe a hundred hours of PIC time in your log book, and the willingness to fly for shit pay in unspeakable working conditions. If you call up some of the bush airlines, they'll tell you what their minimum requirements are, which will vary depending on how well the airline business is doing and how hard it is for them to find pilots.

By: Elvis

Elvis — Tue, 24 May 2005 10:05:16 -0800

If you're doing this for the romance, be forewarned that all things lose their romance when you start doing them for a living.

If you're sitting in your cubical and working up a Plan B in your head, it would serve for you to be a bit more pragmatic.