What was your first flying job?

[sixtiesrelic]

I got a few crumbs from the flying school I got my Commercial at, in the way of the very odd charter. I sat in the office all day being the booking clerk and charter quoter, while the boss watched TV in his lounegroom over the road. His wife was happy. He was with her for a change instead of always being at the aerodrome.

Because I was at the aerodrome and could network with the aircraft salesmen I cracked a job flying a brand new Bonanza.
Sold my car... the job supplied one and accommoodation (under the boss's house) and went off on the start of my career.
Four days later I was back home 'Let go/resigned' after I'd had two arguments with the boss.

Me... VIRTUALLY FRESH OUT OF FLYING SCHOOL dreadfully under-qualified to be the 'chief pilot' of a brand new charter company (We could and did that, back then). I was also a product of the time, where older men were to be respected and ALWAYS RIGHT, so I accepted being pushed about that people don't now.

The boss... a self made, bush, businessman who overcame obstacles by bulldozing over them. He'd started out as a fencer with his brother and both had become big men in town in other country industries. He couldn't understand my working within the rules.

We had a bit of an argument about my saying no, to flying over 900 NM from base in centralish Oz to the NW coast with a part for a machine, have a bit of a sleep in the arvo, then fly back night VMC.

Night VMC had just come out and I had it. Told him at the interview I could fly at night ... thinking of a couple of routes east that it was quite legal to fly.
He couldn't understand why I wouldn't fly over two deserts with two NDBs at the only two towns between departure and destination.
I pointed out that if we had an engine failure we'd be dead. He flared up at my insinuating that his brand new Beech could possibly have an engine failure (but we were taking a gene over to an equally iconic machine) and I decided I better get to hell out of it before I died.
He had mentioned a number of laws I'd be breaking in normal ops. He didn't understand the rules and there were blokes around with much more experience than me, who would bust them.
I returned home with my tail between my legs thinking 'I was a bit of a girl really'.
I got a charter to the town a couple of months later (Back at the flying school getting crumbs I was paid for, but unpaid for the days sitting behind the desk) and said hello to a few people I knew.
They told me that the boss had gone through three more pilots before he got the present bloke who was an old bush pilot.

He told the boss he was the pilot and would do what he deemed safe and the boss wouldn't interfere or he'd lose his pilot.
They were about the same age and background, so the operation prospered.

The boss lived a pretty wild, western life, where it was fun to give each other a bit of a scare.
Some one gave him a scare which went wrong and he was killed.
Sad really, he was a good bloke who you had to admire.

I later cracked a job because a man 'knew me' and I was away, landing up with a most lucky 'blessed by bein' in the right place at the right time' career.