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The 1500 hour rule only applies to air carrier operations—scheduled airlines. A commercial pilot can fly charters, survey, banner-towing, skydiving, sightseeing

The 1500 hour rule only applies to air carrier operations—scheduled airlines. A commercial pilot can fly charters, survey, banner-towing, skydiving, sightseeing, demos for sales, even corporate (business jets). Add a flight instructor certificate and they can teach, logging all their teaching time.

ticmasta 8y ago
Is this why commercial carriers pay so much better than all the rest? Or is this no longer as true? Also, is the influx of commercial pilots into the western markets from other countries analogous to the software development "We can't find enough good developers / You don't want to pay what they demand" trends we see in tech?
- markdown 8y ago
  > is the influx of commercial pilots into the western markets from other countries analogous to the software development "We can't find enough good developers / You don't want to pay what they demand" trends we see in tech? If by "western markets" you mean the US, it is probably the other way around. There is a shortage of pilots in the US because their citizens are flying in other parts of the world where they get paid much more than they would in the US. And unlike in tech, when a pilot changes employers he starts again at the bottom of the seniority list which means lower pay, the worst routes, last pick of vacation days, etc.
dsfyu404ed 8y ago
>skydiving You misspelled "elevator operator" I used to work at an airport that had a skydive operation, we jokingly called them elevator pilots (because they just go up and down all day). They used to only pump a the required amount of fuel to get the aircraft to altitude and idle back because carrying more fuel up and down is a waste of fuel. Occasionally they would run out of fuel and glide in. One time they ran out of fuel really short and landed in the pond.
- danaliv 8y ago
  I love them. Without exception they are absolutely nuts. :)
- bdamm 8y ago
  I used to fly out of an airport that had the same frequency as another airport that was a very popular skydiving destination (Lodi, Ca). One of the pilots for that outfit was on frequently; weekday, weekend, it didn't matter. Same radio calls, same slight drawl. Day in, day out. He sounded completely bored out of his mind. Even the announcement that he was dropping meat bombs ... "Skiy-diivers in the skieee over Low-die Airport, 18 thousand feeet.." like he'd said it ten thousand times. And I think he may have!
  - dsfyu404ed 8y ago
    I find that if the airport is quiet you can hear the skydivers screaming, then opening their chutes, then more screaming.
    - jschwartzi 8y ago
      I certainly yelled as loud as I could on the way down.
  - nradov 8y ago
    Were they actually at 18000 feet? I'm not a skydiver myself but I thought they usually jumped from lower to avoid the need for supplemental oxygen.
    - bdamm 8y ago
      I think you're right. 12 or 14,000 feet perhaps.
- jefftk 8y ago
  This sounds like excellent practice compared to something where much more of your time is in level flight.

ticmasta 8y ago

Is this why commercial carriers pay so much better than all the rest? Or is this no longer as true? Also, is the influx of commercial pilots into the western markets from other countries analogous to the software development "We can't find enough good developers / You don't want to pay what they demand" trends we see in tech?

markdown 8y ago
> is the influx of commercial pilots into the western markets from other countries analogous to the software development "We can't find enough good developers / You don't want to pay what they demand" trends we see in tech? If by "western markets" you mean the US, it is probably the other way around. There is a shortage of pilots in the US because their citizens are flying in other parts of the world where they get paid much more than they would in the US. And unlike in tech, when a pilot changes employers he starts again at the bottom of the seniority list which means lower pay, the worst routes, last pick of vacation days, etc.

dsfyu404ed 8y ago

>skydiving You misspelled "elevator operator" I used to work at an airport that had a skydive operation, we jokingly called them elevator pilots (because they just go up and down all day). They used to only pump a the required amount of fuel to get the aircraft to altitude and idle back because carrying more fuel up and down is a waste of fuel. Occasionally they would run out of fuel and glide in. One time they ran out of fuel really short and landed in the pond.

danaliv 8y ago
I love them. Without exception they are absolutely nuts. :)
bdamm 8y ago
I used to fly out of an airport that had the same frequency as another airport that was a very popular skydiving destination (Lodi, Ca). One of the pilots for that outfit was on frequently; weekday, weekend, it didn't matter. Same radio calls, same slight drawl. Day in, day out. He sounded completely bored out of his mind. Even the announcement that he was dropping meat bombs ... "Skiy-diivers in the skieee over Low-die Airport, 18 thousand feeet.." like he'd said it ten thousand times. And I think he may have!
- dsfyu404ed 8y ago
  I find that if the airport is quiet you can hear the skydivers screaming, then opening their chutes, then more screaming.
  - jschwartzi 8y ago
    I certainly yelled as loud as I could on the way down.
- nradov 8y ago
  Were they actually at 18000 feet? I'm not a skydiver myself but I thought they usually jumped from lower to avoid the need for supplemental oxygen.
  - bdamm 8y ago
    I think you're right. 12 or 14,000 feet perhaps.
jefftk 8y ago
This sounds like excellent practice compared to something where much more of your time is in level flight.