Cargo pilot life

[profot]

Please don't scream at me if this subject has already been done to death. I did a search using the usual mediums but didn't come up with much information.
If so a link to the threads would be appreciated

I am curious about the average day if there is such a thing of a cargo pilot. I am a bit of a night owl and am not that keen on hoards of holidaymakers so thought it might be the ideal area of aviation for me.

Thanks in advance ladies and gentlemen

[vipero]

Same as per other pilots, but no cabin crews and 99% of times boarding almost completed when you arrive at the aircraft.

Ah: you do the dishes

[Boingboingdriver]

I loved flying cargo...nothing better than overnight sleeping in a FBO meeting room floor, waking up at 5 am, have a cup of coffee and cigarette,tie your shoes while taxiing cause you were bit in a rush..spent 10 minutes looking for milk by the popcorn machine(your dinner maker)..and then AHHHHH taking off in a clear morning and checking the long lines of car lights commuting to work

I flew turboprops single pilot/no autopilot(Be1900s/SA227),it was a blast most of the time..sometimes the weather was bit tricky as flights were in the US midwest at low levels..in that aspect 737 700 NG at 41000..nice:-)

So i think 747 cargo must be quite a blast!!!

great school for start ..youll enjoy the shiny uniform later,and when you made it youll look behind with a feeling of luck and happy moments..

[Loadshifta]

The life of a cargo pilot around Europe is probably much the same as elsewhere. Most freight flying is done at night, either postal services or the express parcels businesses. There are advantages, not too much in the way of of ATC delays, though some airports have night time curfews. As most integrators want their flights to leave close to the curfew it can add to the already intense pressures to operate on time. There is also a strange desire to depart on time with very little pressure on whether you arrive on time. A 10minute delay will mean penalties even if you arrive early!
The lack of additional crewmembers is not really a problem, unless you only started flying to meet the mindless sweeties who think the captain is the route to a life of idle luxury! You may even have someone make you a cup of tea, but most of the F/Es and loadies I've met tend not to
be as kind on the eye as in pax flying!
The biggest downside is the hours or so in some crewroom together with up to 20-30 other crewmembers. The only topic of conversation then seems to be how crap the management is, the maintenance is, the hotels are ad nauseum. Another downside is that most freighters tend to be old passenger types converted to cargo. What then happens if you find yourself looking for work in a downturn such as now, you don't have a type that is currently used by anyone who may be hiring.
On the positive side again, if you night / day stop the hotels tend to be of good standard, (crappy hotels tend not to be able to cope with night time cleaning etc, and most operators understand the need for decent rest) The time off can be better than pax flying. You also tend to get some time to discover some of the destinations. Rome is good, Luton maybe not...
It is a completely different lifestyle, some cant cope with the nights, most eventually move on to flying pax. It can however be a most rewarding time if you have the right attitude and enjoy what it has to offer.

[yanafrica]

Use to fly cargo now flying SLF. thinking of going back to cargo .
as said previously if you don't mind the night shift no problems,.
and and and ........boxes never complain have fun !!!

[S44]

Can't speak for shorthaul freight.... but longhaul freight is excellent. The 744F upper deck configured as crew rest with separate bunks, no locked flight deck door. Quite a few late night departures, but then there are with pax long haul, so no real difference. Many sectors have relief crew on board... hotels generally excellent, fairly long trips but plenty of time at home....oh and on arrival at the airport get collected in a Merc limo and not a crew bus!!

[CargoMatatu]

You know, that's too big a question!

It's like asking "what is life like?"

Everyone seems to concentrate on the short to medium haul regional night freight when asking and answering this question. That is by no means the accurate measure of the freight world .

The freight side of aviation is world-wide, 24/7, and I have been lucky enough to spend almost all my adult life in the long haul wide-body world.

And, in that respect, it is no different from the pax world, except there are no flight attendants and no whining slf

There are nearly as many tailor-made, straight off the production line freighters as there are converted ex-pax birds.

Whether air-dropping relief supplies from an L-382 in Africa, or taking a nice shiny 744F to Singapore, it's all good .

[eliptic]

How many crew members in a cargo flight as ex HK-Europe?

eliptic,

Depends on the time of departure and the time of year.... 4 pilots, sometimes only 3

Thanks S44

[S44]

eliptic,

Depends on the time of departure and the time of year.... 4 pilots, sometimes only 3

[superspotter]

"And, in that respect, it is no different from the pax world, except there are no flight attendants and no whining slf "

As a loadie though, I have to put up with moaning flight crew

...and they wake me up, banging the catering trays etc....

[profot]

Thanks guys, it sounds perfect for me, I come from a shipping background where I am woken up in the middle of the night smoke a cigarette( given those up now) grab a bad coffee and then work hard for a few hours before getting a crap wage and even worse accomodation, call me a sicko but I love that lifestyle.

Definitely decided that is the best use of my newly acquired flying qualfications, now I need the world to sort out their financial problems so I can get a job.

[vipatr]

avoid farnair!!!... trust me

[profot]

Care to divulge?

I was planning on taking any job that pays me but that is typical newbie desperation that I am trying to keep under control

[superspotter]

It's the only thing we get to first!

[maxfly1]

Cargo flying

My flying was any time of day or night. It depended on aircraft arrival, fueling and loading-unloading. Duty days were long, but it was worth it. Longest flight was 12 hours. since there are no passengers, you can get up any time to go to the bathroom, stretch you legs, exercise and fix something to eat. And with Heavy crews go to sleep on the bunk. And then you have about 3-4 days in 5 star hotel in an interesting place.
Pay was not great but it was the best time in my life.
Then you get furloughed.

[LarryDCableGuy]

Everything that Maxfly1 said is true except the last 2 sentences. (for me)

[dada]

if your a pilot for janes aviation you have the life of really. no work in over a year!

[onehotflyer]

Cargo pilot

Its great, no painful pax. I work for a great bunch, beautiful planes, well looked after, aircraft and crew, not worked too hard. No cramming into a bus with 20 other crew. Usually a nice car to take us to and from the airport since there is only 2 or 3 of us. Although like in any airline there are still some old women who complain but then they complain about everything anyway.
I couldnt ask for more. Love it!

[BetpumpS]

From 21-24, I spent the best years of my life on the 742-F. Moved to the 744 and regretted it ever since.

Salt-of-the-earth pilots. Constant laugh in the cockpit. No locked door. Playing keepy-uppy with a football on the top deck.

Cargo pilots on 74s playing games of Hide-and-seek on the main deck are unfounded rumours

[davidaz68]

Flying cargo can be very different from one airline to another.
I flew MD11 for alitalia from 2001 till january 09. The last 5 years we only fly the freighter and it's been the best experience i had in my 20 years of flying. On the minus side, there was a very uncertain roster with very frequent delays, change of schedule and cancellations and many days out of home, but, if you don't mind this and also flying at night (remember: sun down-gear up / sun up gear down) it's the best job of all.