A foot in the door...

[Little_Wing]

Hi Folks,

I'm new to the site and seeking the wisdom of the pprune community! I am currently around half way through training for my PPL at my local aero club, and hope to have my CPL in a year or so. While i still have a long way to go before i am qualified, i was wondering whether it would be a good idea to try and find a job with a local charter outfit (washing planes, loading baggage, working in admin etc.) now with the hope that when i am more experienced i may eventually get a flying gig there? It seems like a good idea to make myself known as early as possible. Is this realistic? I am in the Auckland area and was thinking along the lines of GBA/Mountain Air etc. but would be open to anything really. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[sthaussiepilot]

Yes, I think it is a good idea,

Head out and Washing the planes, check in and baggage etc, you need a Dangerous Goods certificate, so washing the planes is a great idea, you would need an ASIC (or equivilant over there) to be airside....

Also can get some good scratch out of it, or some free flights, or if they're really stingy no money, or benifits, but they might help you get a job later on

[DeltaT]

Air NZ is looking for baggage handlers for the xmas season.

[mattyj]

Don't bother offering to wash mountainairs planes..if you wash them the paint just comes off and exposes the corrosion:E

[sthaussiepilot]

How Do You (matt) Wash A Plane? :confused:


Truckwash can help, go over it with that and a number of rags and brush brooms, and a hose...

Comes out all nice and shiny, and if you did it properly should have all the paint still attached.... :cool:

(I started out at 14 helping out in Adelaide washing some twin pistons)

[Digaf]

Even if you don't end up getting a job with the company, at least you will walk away with some operational experiences. Its amazing what you will pick up which will end up beneficial to you in the future.

A pilot with 200 hours who has had 1 year of baggage throwing/cleaning a/c, loading a/c will have a much better chance than someone with just a plain and simple 200 hours in gaining their first job.

And hey if you end up with a job at the company, its a bonus!!

Have fun

[Pilotette]

Yes its definitely a good idea..not only does it beat working in hospitality (or elsewhere for that matter) while doing your licence, but as Digaf said, its amazing how much you can learn. I'm doing check-in, dispatch, trim sheets, GPU starts (and every now and then they use me as a right hand seat filler for taxiing the metros to and from maintenance etc) for a small regional airline. I'm just at the end of my CPL training now and and have learnt stax and made heaps of contacts through working there...and even if you don't get a job with them, you can ask them to be one of your referees and it looks good on your resume and shows initiative.
Have fun :ok:

[TexanPilot]

I think its a great idea... thats how I got my start... plus it shows future employers that you are keen and are willing to work for your career rather than just sitting back and waiting for something to fall into your lap.

[Little_Wing]

Thanks very much for the responses everyone, i'll definitely have a look and see if anyone is willing to take me on!