am i insane to want to be a freight pilot?

[alistair_roman]

hi,
i'm currently interested in )at some point when the industry is better) becoming a freight pilot. but is it any good? i like the idea of short-haul flights flying the 747s or whatever for short periods (get bored with too long a flight!). what is it like? fun, dull? also, do yuo have to be a cigar-smoking big trucker type? or is it like passenger plane style pilots? also, what is the pay like? and where in europe is a good place to fly freight?
thanks, any info greatly appreciated.

[ironbutt57]

The industry is good with most major freight carriers expanding....it's a good stable life....done both before freight is great!!!

[aeroguru]

Insane? That may help some.And always remember to wear your full uniform when you go to the main deck as the horses and goats and the containers like to see the uniform.!!!:cool: :rolleyes: ;)

[Smokie]

Especially the 40 mission hat !:D

[I Don't Work Here]

I personally would not want to fly anything other than Freight.. it's very relaxed and fun flying..
but some say that a big draw back is that you have a life style as a BAT... awake all night and sleep all day... if you can live with that it can be great way to operate.... not many of the Pax airline perks.. i.e. cheap flights,, and positioning for great distances in the back of a freighter can sometimes be a drag.. but with a good crew it can also be a blast...

anyway.. if you ask me,,, and you did... Flying Freight "rocks !!".....

But, having said that.... i've never done anything else.:eek:

[A and C]

after the best part of 8 years as a freight dog I would no go back to it , I enjoyed they guys I worked with but the life style stinks.

[alistair_roman]

well, i do kinda like the idea of flying at night tho :)

what does freight flying pay?
and are there any FREE training schemes going on in the freight world?

[tailscrape]

Alastair,

I think u will find it unlikely that anyone in the freight world in UK would offer FREE training to be a pilot.

More likely you will pay your own licences and queue up like everyone else for that flying job.

Freight in UK seems to vary from :

Smaller operators with single fleets, such as Streamline (now part of Emerald Airways at LPL)

Mixed fleet players like Channel Express, where u seem to start on lowish wages and move from F27 to Lockheed Electra to A300 or B737.....

Large integrated operators like FEDEX,DHL etc who operate large aircraft like B757's or larger....... and you need experience generally to get on these.

However, I would not rule out someone like a DHL or the likes offering part sponsorship as the business grows maybe.

[GlueBall]

Outside domestic Japan flights, there is no 747 "short haul." When flying 74s (pax or cargo) forget about sleeping in your own bed more than 10 days a month.

[Hap Hazard]

:confused: Call me stupid, (ok leading ques!), but why do people regard frieight flying inferior to pax work?
Its not like they are all washed up pax drivers who cant find jobs flying for the airlines...for what its worth I currently fly for an airline, would love to give frieght a go...beats me?

[Burger Thing]

Flying freight is definately more challanging than flying pax. You fly most of the time at the limits. Typical day:

wake up 2am - you feel like sxxt

first sector: Maximum Take-off weight. Rate of climb somewhere between a C -152 and PA-28.

Landing at maximum landing weight, wet runway.... Hiaaah

Second sector: AC almost empty. I climbs like a rocket. Great fun.

Approach in bad weather, aircraft empty, the handling just doesn't feel right and you are bloodey tired...

But as you can see the flying envelope is much wider than on pax-ops and you gain more experience from it.

[Hogg]

Well thats sounds very familiar, except instead of really bad weather we get an approach into the early rising sun usually with lots of fog around, but we also observe the various cities dames going to work as we sip a beer !

Some folk just cant understand.

Hogg

[Smokie]

HOGG, I do ! :D

wen u cummin up da narth pal ?