Flying club jobs?

[hingey]

I have just got my PPL, am 17 and living in Exeter. My long term ambition is become a professional pilot, but as I'm still doing my A levels career will have to wait.

Stacking shelves and driving checkouts at Tesco has some benefits, but I'd rather be flying. While I know I cant get paid work as a pilot until I get my CPL, I would rather get a Saturday job flying an ops desk somewhere local (Exeter, Dunkeswell, Plymouth)

What kind of work is there for a keen guy like me within the industry, that pays enough for me to keep my hours up or keeps me involved in any way with flying?

I would like to tow gliders or drop paras, but I imagine the clubs prefer pilots with slightly more experience. But I dont have much money and flying aint cheap!

What can I do non- professionally to keep my hand in the business, perhaps with the odd bit of cheap flying?

[eoincarey]

Pretty much in the same boat as you mate.

Last summer, I did a week or two at my local flying club manning the a/g radio all day. Quite fun, and a bit of hands on aviation experience; you'll need an r/t licence, which you get with your licence.

Pushing planes around, refuelling, taking bookings, basically being a general dogsbody is all in a days work up there, so ask up at your flying club.

About the glider towing or para dropping. Youre quite right, more experiece is needed, at least 150 hours. But in reality, most of these clubs want more expereince to satisfy insurance requirements, and my local parachuting club wanted at least 500 hours pic!!

Also, they would prefer it if you learnt how to fly a glider, or started jumping out of aeroplanes, to show commitment, or at least to get a better idea of whats needed from a tug/ para pilot.

Hope this helps

ETC

[stellair]

Boys,

Five years ago I was in exactly the same position as you and I'm now happily zooming round the UK and Europe in a turboprop. At your stage it's super daunting, especially considering the cash involved but your thinking about it at the right age and in a few years you'll be glad you trod the minefield young! Get down to your local airfield and ask for ground crew or ops work, you may even get some cheap hours. Even weekend work will keep you around people in aviation, that for me was very important as you'll make friends and contacts that will be able to steer you in the right direction while having lots of fun in the process. I loved my time sweeping hangers, hope you do too. Don't read much into the negative posts of others, start planning and researching your options now with the guidence of someone who's been through it, have a plan A,B and C to cover all bases. Aviation is what you make it and if it's the right thing for you then you'll make it, promise.............tailwinds

[Cavallier]

Go for it. I spent a very happy 18 months after I finished my A Levels working at my local flying club. Got up to all sorts of tasks such as taking bookings, filing flight plans refuelling aircraft, and most importantly drinking beer in the bar with all of the Cathay and Dragonair pilots who were members.
It has happily turned full circle for me as I am now awaiting a start date with Dragonair !

The Cav:cool:

[CAT3C AUTOLAND]

Tell you what chaps, it is quite refreshing reading some of this stuff, and it is good to see young guys like yourself making some mature comments and decisions.

Hingey, you will do yourself no harm at all by working on an ops desk at weekends. You will soon get to meet all sorts of people, from different levels of experience and backrounds, and before you know it you will be going on a jolly with one of the private owners to France. Personally I find flying such an enjoyable experience I don't care whether I am in the left seat, the right seat, or in the back :D. I have even had the benefit of flying with Cavallier, on the PA34 Seneca shuttle run to Goodwood, its quite fun bouncing down the grass runway, and both laughing about how horrible it feels!

Anyway, as Stellair said, it may all sound a bit daunting, however you are laying a good set of foundations for yourself, and in a number of years you will reap the benefits.

All the best.

[WX Man]

On the subject of glider towing:

It will put a shed load of hours in your logbook over the summer, but how much experience you need when you start is down to the individual Chief Tug Pilot at the gliding club. I got a tuggie job with 130ish hours, of which about 70 was PIC.

Because most larger gliding clubs will have a resident tuggie, you'll get accomodation and food thrown in. In return, you'll need to commit to being available 6 days a week between April and September. You might even get £50 a week for working behind the club bar, or cutting the grass on the airfield (in most cases, this money goes straight back into club coffers via pints of ale in the club bar!). Expect to put about 4-500 hours P1 in your logbook with a busy club.

Clubs that have resident tuggies, as far as I know are: London Gliding Club (Dunstable), Talgarth (mid Wales), Sutton Bank (N Yorkshire), Lasham (Hampshire), and Booker (nr High Wycombe).

What's a prerequisite for getting a tuggie job is a keen interest in gliding, preferably with some sort of gliding qualification behind you (BGA Bronze or Silver, or RAF courses)

[Cavallier]

So you are saying my landings are dodgy in the Seneca then CAT 3C ? I have just filled your first Saturday instructing with 8 trial lessons ( 4 have to be pukers ) to teach you to respect your elders !

the Cav;) :cool:

[CAT3C AUTOLAND]

Well master Cavallier, I will look forward to that!

May the twenty five knot cross winds be with you young skywalker ;).

Also Cav, I think it is about time you updated your profile to reflect that you are now a bus driver ;)

See you soon :ok:.

[adwjenk]

Hey


I did get a job at my flying school through work experiance and being a member there!!
Best thing i ever did im now working in ops, and the school in the summer when things pick up!!

But its great you meet loads of people and its just amzing fun!!!

Im currently about to start last year of A-levels then up up and away with my fATPL hopefully

Best of luck

ADWJENK

[Granger9]

Well the best thing to do is to write letters to the places you mentioned and see if they have any jobs going for you!

I work at a flying school and I get discount and enough money to fly at least once a week! Also im only 17 as well (and have my PPL)!

RAF is the best way to go commercial stuff is just button pushing! Zzzz

[Re-Heat]

RAF is the best way to go commercial stuff is just button pushing!
Shall we let you handle the engine out over Siberia on a 777 then...think you might find the VC10/C17 easier to plan for in that circumstance.

Go and hang around those places a bit to get known, and with the level of churn of staff at the moment, you be bound to land something sooner or later. I was out of my flying club for about a year, and having come back all the staff have changed.

Probably far more interesting at a flying club than something more commercial as well.

[CAT3C AUTOLAND]

RAF is the best way to go commercial stuff is just button pushing!

Mmmm....that is an interested comment. Flying a PA34 on a single pilot IFR charter, with half the kit dying on you on route at night in IMC. Yeah, think I can see where you are coming from Granger, not. Might be an idea to put your brain in gear before you make silly immature comments.

[Cavallier]

Don't forget the moderate icing when your boots aren't working properly and your autopilot u/s, and no GPS, with French controllers asking you to got to intersections you can't spell or find on the chart. Fun times !

The Cav:cool:

[adwjenk]

LOL RAF!!!!

Like the guys say single crew IFR in a PA34 is the way to go!!

On your own doing flights in the middle of the night flying medical flights!!

Thats flying!!

[hingey]

Thanks for the feedback.

I certainly like the idea of flying a Seneca at night doing medical flights. I have much respect for people who do that kind of stuff :ok:

Is there anyone from the Exeter region who can tell me if that sort of thing happens locally? I know there is Direct Flight who do the shipping reccies. Any potential desk jobs?

[Quango]

Hi Hingey

I also want to work in a flying club. Anyone know of any jobs going in the BErkshire area, or further afield, i.e BAFC, WLAC, CABAIR?

Thanks

Q