Fellow ARFcommers.  im looking for a pilot job in Alaska.  Anyone have any leads?

I have 2200 total, 460 multi. commercial and instrument ratings.

i have lots of time in Cessna 206 and 207 and would be happy to fly the "sled".
Most of my multi in in a Twin Otter, and i have several hundred in a Caravan too.  I can also fly tail wheel.

Im looking for anything just to get my foot in the door.  

Thanks, Ben

I would contact Frontier, seems like the are continually growing

All of the cargo companies seem to be looking for people on a regular basis.

Good luck

Cape Smythe just got bought/merged by Frontier Flying Service

Some of the following may be small one man opertions but most are not
Air Logistics of Alaska 452-1197
Alaska Flyers 474-8400
Alaska Flying Tours 457-4424
Arctic Circle Air 474-0112
Bettles Air Service 479-7018
Brooks Range Aviation 1-800-692-5443
Caribou Air Service 479-2189
Circle Air 520-5223
Coyote Air Service 479-5995]
Everts Air Alaska 450-2350
Forty Mile Air 474-0018
Frontier Flying Service 474-1749
Kenair 459-8848
Larry's Flying Service 474-9169
Marina Air 479-5684
Servant Air 456-3140
Shadow Aviation 457-7194
Stalder Aviation 474-9481
Tamarak Air 479-6751
Tanana Air Service 474-0301
Warbelow's Air Ventures 474-0518
Wright Air 474-0502
Yukon Air Service 479-3993
Larry's Flying Service Inc. 474-9169
PenAir 243-2485
FS Air 248-9595
Security Air 248-2677 (my favorite, executive class planes, high class)
Northern Air Cargo 243-3331
Reeve Aleutian Airways 243-1112
Transnorthern Aviation 245-1879
Pacific Sea Flight 770-6405
Lyndon Air Frieght 243-6150
 The following may be one man/float plane operations
Avion Capitol 245-0093
Bellair Inc. 245-0271
Branch River Air 248-3539
Flight Alaska 248-2640
Great Northern Air 243-1968
Ketchum Air 243-5525
Merchant Charters 345-4481
Pacific Jet 770-2743
Sportsmans Air Srvice 248-3181
Spernak Airways 272-9475
Trail Ridge Air 248-0838
Wings 345-7121
Bigfoot Air 245-1449
Regal Air 243-8535

There's 656424 square miles of area in Alaska, including water bodies (float planes) and winter may require ski's.  That's a lot of area so there is a LOT of bush pilots.  People do the bush pilot thing until they can get on with a major carrier and fly heavies.  If you like something in between, there is a lot of Air Cargo that use things like Electra's, DC-6's, L-100's, Sky Vans, and much more (sorry, I'm not a plane guy, I don't know what these things are), and even old bombers used for firefighting.  For a small plane pilot, this is THE place to be. Good luck.  You might end up being the pilot of the plane that flies to where I work in the bush one day.  See you then.

P.S. There are many I didn't list to include cargo and tour companies, I was just flipping through the phone book.

Call Pen Air . They are  always looking .

Quoted: Cape Smythe just got bought/merged by Frontier Flying Service Some of the following may be small one man opertions but most are not Air Logistics of Alaska 452-1197 Alaska Flyers 474-8400 Alaska Flying Tours 457-4424 Arctic Circle Air 474-0112 Bettles Air Service 479-7018 Brooks Range Aviation 1-800-692-5443 Caribou Air Service 479-2189 Circle Air 520-5223 Coyote Air Service 479-5995] Everts Air Alaska 450-2350 Forty Mile Air 474-0018 Frontier Flying Service 474-1749 Kenair 459-8848 Larry's Flying Service 474-9169 Marina Air 479-5684 Servant Air 456-3140 Shadow Aviation 457-7194 Stalder Aviation 474-9481 Tamarak Air 479-6751 Tanana Air Service 474-0301 Warbelow's Air Ventures 474-0518 Wright Air 474-0502 Yukon Air Service 479-3993 Larry's Flying Service Inc. 474-9169 PenAir 243-2485 FS Air 248-9595 Security Air 248-2677 (my favorite, executive class planes, high class) Northern Air Cargo 243-3331 Reeve Aleutian Airways 243-1112 Transnorthern Aviation 245-1879 Pacific Sea Flight 770-6405 Lyndon Air Frieght 243-6150  The following may be one man/float plane operations Avion Capitol 245-0093 Bellair Inc. 245-0271 Branch River Air 248-3539 Flight Alaska 248-2640 Great Northern Air 243-1968 Ketchum Air 243-5525 Merchant Charters 345-4481 Pacific Jet 770-2743 Sportsmans Air Srvice 248-3181 Spernak Airways 272-9475 Trail Ridge Air 248-0838 Wings 345-7121 Bigfoot Air 245-1449 Regal Air 243-8535 There's 656424 square miles of area in Alaska, including water bodies (float planes) and winter may require ski's.  That's a lot of area so there is a LOT of bush pilots.  People do the bush pilot thing until they can get on with a major carrier and fly heavies.  If you like something in between, there is a lot of Air Cargo that use things like Electra's, DC-6's, L-100's, Sky Vans, and much more (sorry, I'm not a plane guy, I don't know what these things are), and even old bombers used for firefighting.  For a small plane pilot, this is THE place to be. Good luck.  You might end up being the pilot of the plane that flies to where I work in the bush one day.  See you then. P.S. There are many I didn't list to include cargo and tour companies, I was just flipping through the phone book.

Emu:
Your Caravan time would be good with Penn Air if you don't mind starting in some less than exotic locations.  You will find that Alaska time on the books carrys more weight.  Most of the air taxi's in my area require float time.

Thanks guys.  I appereciate the help.  

Does anyone know anything about Grant Aviation?  They have offerd me a job.

Whats Bethel like?     I may be an new Alaskan soon...

Ben The_Emu

Although I have never been to Bethel, I have heard that it is a significant hub for western bush Alaska.  Everything goes in and out there

Shouldn't be too bad for a short stint

Ahhhhh....    Good old Bethelhere
Bethel is not that bad if you give it a chance.  Unlike other Bush villages you can't drive 4-wheelers or snowmachines on the roads there, so if there's not a company van for Grant pilots you'll need a car.  EVERYTHING in the Bush is expensive.  Everything has to come in by air, but that's one of the reasons you're getting a job right?

Grant is a pretty good sized outfit and if you stay there for a while and want to try a different village you could probably move to Kotzebue or something like that eventually.  All depends what you're there for.  Don't kid yourself, things work differently in the Bush.  Realize that, and understand that you're expected to get creative sometimes (legal and safe, but creative).  If you don't like it though, don't let yourself get pushed out the door.  If you fly up there, you WILL get pushed to fly when you shouldn't.  IT HAPPENS EVERYWHERE.  Just realize that some places are better about it, and some are worse.  One nice thing in BET is that most if not all of the planes there have Capstone in them.  The moving map feature is nice when you're new and getting used to the area.  You just don't want to get too dependent on it (especially in  bad wx, cause Murphy says that's when it will croak).  Remember if you really don't want the MFD to croak for several minutes that you shouldn't use your marine radio (it's how you call the village agents) because it can cause the MFD to reboot or shutdown all together.  

It's also pretty flat out there, so there isn't near as much to run into as there is in a lot of Alaska.  Don't get me wrong though, it has just enough elevation to kill you.  Also be aware of the fact that in winter after a good snow, with low overcast it's like flying in a milk bottle.  Weather might be 500 to 600 overcast with 2 to 3 miles, but it will look like you're flying over a white abyss.  You won't be able to tell how far below the ceiling you are, and there will be no visible horizon.  Not a big deal, but it takes a little getting used to.  You need to be profficient on the gauges if you fly in that because you can't tell which way is up otherwise.

With the Caravan time Grant might be a good one for you.  Hageland would be another.  Don't know what Grant has offered, but most of the places will start you in the 207, and you'll go from there.  

Sorry that this got so long, but it's probably the coolest flying job I'll ever have.  I fly a jet for a regional here in the states now, but I'd love to go back up there.  Good luck and fly safe.  E-mail me if you have a question, but warn me here or I'll probably wind up deleting it on accident.

GlocknAK, thanks.

Yes i'll be starting in the 207.   i bet its going to cost me a fortune to get my truck out there.  i hope i dont need to.

Ben

Ben,

You may be able to employ a barge transport to get your truck there.  I have forgotten if Bethel can get them being that far inland but most mass cargo shipments and vehicles come by barge in the summer if possible, it's far cheaper than flying it in.  In the winter, people actually drive on the ocean ice and drive to many villages (but I think it's insane).

GlocknAK is very correct about being pushed to fly.  The customers you will encounter don't seem to care so much about safety as getting to where they want to go and small airlines need their planes to fly to make money so the pressure can be considerable.  I've seen natives demand the plane fly, told it's unsafe, demand their money back and walk down to another airline that will fly them.  It wasn't safe for the first airline, it wasn't for the second.

Capstone kicks ass!  I am so happy Alaska was the first at getting something, which is very rare.

You will get to experience the whole enchilada working Bethel and will give you a good understanding of how things work up here, and what it costs.  Then you will be prepared to make moves if you care too.  While there are generalities, the situation and people differ from place to place and you will be experiencing the extreme.  

Stay in touch with us, Alaskans are very supportive of our own no matter the distance as we are few but close knit.  Good luck and good flying - welcome aboard!

Hey Emu, I'm not sure what your status is going to be.  Living in BET all the time? To and from Anchorage?  To and from WA state (a hulluva commute, and pricey)?  But you might consider buying a Bethel car if you're not going to live out there full time.  If you're moving there full time, that's different.  It's nice to have a vehicle that you know is reliable.  

Mike is right about the barges being cheaper, and they do come up the river to Bethel, but only in the summer.  I dunno when the last barge comes up, or if they run em until the river starts to freeze, but if you decide not to go the barge route, then it will have to come out on Northern Air Cargo (727 or DC-6), Air Cargo Express (DC-6), or Lynden (C-130).  I've seen em load trucks into the DC-6, but it's tight.  I was told that my jeep would only fit in the 727 because it was too tall.  If all else fails there's always Lynden.  If you can't get it into a Herc you don't need it!!!  LOL

The folks out there will often do exactly what Mike said, threaten to go down the street to another operator, and then do just that if you don't fly em out right then.  In the words of my hero Warren Thompson (in his 70's in Kotz, has lived and flown out of there for over 50 years), "Sometimes you just gotta say 'Fuck Em!'"

Like Mike said, stay in touch.  

I don't think that you'll have a real problem flying for Grant and being pressured by management, but if you do you should track me down on here.  At ATS I always knew that if I called my chief pilot and told him that I didn't like what I was being told to do, there would be a come to Jesus meeting with him and whoever was pushin us out the door.  Never came to that, but he would back you up all day long if you needed him to.

I'm just guessing from the kind of aircraft that you've flown that you have dropped a lot of skydivers.  The environment is completely different, but both jobs require you to think on your feet, and say no when somebody is going too far.  I think you're going to have a blast up there.

Fly safe and have fun.  

Im told i'll be working a 20 day on, 10 day off schedule. Im hopeing there will be campany tranportaion in bethel. i know i'll be in company housing.  im not sure where i'll be when off.  i was told they may have jumpseat on Alaska soon so i may be able to go home to Spokane when off.

the planes i'l be flying have Capstone.

This has all been a bit overwhelming.   Thanks for the advice and encouragement.

Ben, the Emu

I'd take a chainsaw to my nutsack to be able to fly Alaska.  Or hell, even to have the 135 minimums so I could do a single pilot op.

It can be a long hard road to get enough time for a job, but I don't ever remember it being that painful...