Hi Dave,
I've been flying survey for about 3 1/2 years now. I'd say it's definitely not to everyone's taste, but I think it's the best thing that ever happened to me!
I've seen just about all of Aus, a couple of very unique foreign locales (with more in the pipe), laughed my @rse off, and met heaps of very nice people (and a few "characters") and done a fair bit of honest hard flying.
I have an odd preference for handling 70's era piston a/c and remote places, so i'm usually pretty happy to go to another point on the map, wherever it may be.
Maybe it'll help me not ramble if i put down some of the pros and cons in point form???!!!
Negatives first
* You will be in remote camps, communities and small towns 90% of the time. You've gotta be able to "amuse" yourself during the copious downtime.
*It's hard to do this job and maintain a relationship. 6-8 weeks away is standard......but you can never really know what's going to happen. That usually drives partners batty in short order.
* As mentioned above the flying is labour intensive! It is very tedious in the beginning. Extreme heat, turbulence, discomfort and boredom make the first few weeks hellish. It is only human to zone out and daydream......@ 100'!!! DANGER WILL ROBINSON!
*Your IFR skills will deteriorate over time. Basically all the work is VFR, and you have to stay motivated to keep your hard-won skill up to standard. There is scope to fly multi-crew turbines under IFR in my company, so it is worth doing if you stick around.
*Most of the survey companies are not run as flying set-ups. They don't think a/c and pilots / flying ops like a pure flying mob would. Be prepared for some breathtakingly stupid and or tight-arsed behavior on the part of management.
Positives
*The total focus on hand flying and terrain following will make you a dab hand in the stick-man stakes. That is always good.
*There's the potential for travel to some exotic destinations. You name it! It could happen. You'll also see a lot of iconic Australian places. Sometimes I can't help but think "people pay $$$$ to see this, and i get paid to see it!".
*The pay can be pretty good if you work a bit. You get Perdiems in the field to do with what you will. You also get good chunks of time off. A good chance to cash up and travel if you want. Eat noodles and stow cash or Drink JD's and eat steak.....up to you
*The experienced guys and gals are all very cool. HEAPS of experience to learn from, no airs and graces. Some have been EVERYWHERE, and had every seedy, dangerous experience under the sun. Lots of stories!
*The nature of the work is sure to remove a few wanky pilotesqe tendencies. If you've done any bush work, you'll know being a pilot doesn't get you into anyone's pants except the chief pilot's!. After a year or so, you'll be able to walk into any rough pub in the country and the locals will just think you're another barfly. You know you've made it!
I hope this is helpful.....
PM me if you like, maybe i can help you with contacts...
Cheers
Jonesing