Working for free

[JONESING]

Just reading the PIREP forums for the first time, and stumbled across this one.
The articles about pilots working for free W
Very depressing!

[psycho joe]

These people should be dragged out into the streets and beaten to death . Then have their bloodied, decaying corpse strung up by the feet in the town square so that the crows can pick out their eyes. Their rotting corpse serving as a reminder to others that may decide to "fly for free".

[kimwestt]

Psycho Jo
Sounds almost as if you are a cautious person??

[neville_nobody]

How's the guy's form with the 73 endo??....... " oh I have a 737 endorsement but I want to know where I can build some hours " gimme a break what is this industry coming to??? :mad: go find a job like everyone else.

[Mr.Buzzy]

Indeed Neville!
What is the industry coming to when you can't tell when someone is "taking the piss"
Holding on too tight brother!

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[AIRWAY]

Funny, i had a friend the other day coming over and during several topics of aviation discussion, working for free was mentioned, he looked at me and said: "i would work for free given the change", i was like :eek: :mad: :*

[Dry_Twotter]

you gotta wonder why these boof-heads became pilots in the first place. Someone should tell them to get off there arses and find work the REAL way - by buying a car and driving around oz till work is found.
But i guess that is just too hard....................

[helldog]

Same old same old. Just a fact of life, you are always going to find guys with rich parents that will work for free. In the bad old days in the NT some of us had issues with our pay, one guys says "I dont care i can call my dad and I will have 500 dollars in my account tomorrow" :confused: Lots of things shoudlnt happen, like paying for type ratings even, but people are being forced into that. Also a big factor in Australia is that there is not many options at the end, I would say 90% of pilots at least are aiming for Qantas, so I guess they think "Well its only for a year or two then I find out if Qantas want me or not" Lets also remember that employers will seek these guys out. Imagine if someone came to your house as said "Please sir can I service your car for free? I want to be a mecanic"

[DeltaSix]

Hi guys, if you think working for free is bad enough, wait till you hear this.

An overseas company is willing to post you through a contact airline to have you train ( LOFT ) for 300 - 500 hours in Boeings and ScAirbuses as long as you pay 25k to 30k depending on aircraft.
That's you having your own self-funded type-rating first which they will refer you to with the likes of Pan Am Academy to get it then pay 30k for LOFT.

This is paying 30k to go to work, plus 25k for endo. Where do they draw the line ?

I know some companies are sharks but geeezzz...... this one tops it.


D6 :eek:

[Team Player]

Imagine if someone came to your house as said "Please sir can I service your car for free? I want to be a mecanic"
"And I will pay for the oil myself".
The difference there though, is cars are easy to come by, if you want to tinker with them - and that's where flying differs.
I love the justifications for doing it, though..."There is a queue a mile long, of others also willing to do it." "It will only be for a little while - one I get my first 50/100/500/1000 hours!"

[matana22]

When I was half way through my training in 2000 the topic of flying for free came up, I was totally against it for reasons above. Later after getting my licence and exausting all resources I had to eat my words. I am not lazy, my parents are not rich, for 3 months I flew for free. I left with twice the experience I started with and am certain it helped me get a paying job.
Mechanics work for free (almost) its what they call an apprentice.
I would rather fly for free than sweep hangers or work at Burger King, too many pilots are getting a licence only to never get a job because they are still unemployable.

[I Love This Show]

Well the way I did it was not completely shameful - I flew meatbombs for 8 months without flying pay, however I did receive free accomodation, DZ beers, and was set up for a job serving tables which kept me out of trouble. Had an awesome time with a couple of free jumps too!

But flying for free with no perks? Forget it!

[psycho joe]

I would rather fly for free than sweep hangers or work at Burger King,
:eek:
A lot of pilots started off by sweeping a hangar floor (And got paid for it.) Not only did they prove their work ethic to the company but also got to know the engineers and the inner workings of the ubiquitous Cessna singles and twins. This knowledge would serve them well during the time spent in GA (flying pristine airframes) by being able to readily identify and convey a problem in an unambiguous manner....

There's more to flying than getting a few numbers in the log book. Even your average GA Company recognizes that someone who's started in a hangar will cost them less than someone with an extra one or two hundred ham fisted hours. (One can safely assume that an operator utilizing free pilot labour isn't going to invest in check and training so during this time there's no flight standard being maintained.)

As for working at Burger King. What operator wouldn't want someone with experience in customer service of some sort?

There's NEVER an excuse to fly for free.

[disco_air]

There's NEVER an excuse to fly for free.

Exactly.

You should never have got a Commercial licence to fly for nothing. Stick with a PPL and go hire a plane.

"Whinge whinge oh I had no other choice, I had to.." Bullsh!t :yuk:

The more you let them (shonky no-pay operators) get away with it, the harder you make it for everyone.

...Disco

[18-Wheeler]

I find this sort of thing very annoying.
It's either working free, or working for nothing.
'Working for free' isn't gramatically correct - Weight of numbers still doesn't make it right.

Oh, and working for nothing is highly frownworthy as well. :(

[disco_air]

Apologies. I should know better than to speak less than the Queen's English!

Grammar corrected.

...Disco

[Team Player]

I think "Freeman's" boss knows what he's worth, a big fat ZERO.
His latest "confession" is mind boggling to say the least - flying a "talk down" approach through 8/8ths cloud into an airstrip that has no navigation aids!
Although I bet he isn't the first (or the last) to try that sort of stuff, it really makes me wonder where the word "professional" disappears, when guys come that caper.
I wonder if the use of global positioning equipment encourages this type of behaviour?