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alaskan bush pilot questions?
I'm a freshmen in high school and I want to know how to become a bush pilot and how much/how long it will cost to get all the licenses and a good plane(float plane or tundra or whatever I will need). I know they don't make very much money but how much a year on average do they make(like around 50k a year?)? I would like to be a fly-out hunting and fishing charter and put a bunch of ads in brochures and whatnot(or would I be better off trying apply for a job somewhere?) also how many hours do I need to have and all that? My grandpa is going to teach me how to weld and so I should be making at least 80k a year as a welder but I want to be a pilot and don't want to be a welder for the rest of my life. I have mostly As and 1 B and am in all AP classes. PLEASE and THANK YOU!!!
Well Brady, I spent 6 1/2 years flying the bush in Alaska. To get a job working for an air taxi outfit, charter operator, tour company, or hunting / fishing lodge, nobody will touch you if you don't have at least 1,000 hours and a couple hundred hours of "Alaska Time", plus some experience in the aircraft they fly. This is simply so you can meet insurance minimums. The last job in Alaska I had was 10 years ago flying DeHavilland Beavers and Otters for a fishing lodge. Their insurance required 5,000 hours total flight time and 2,000 hours of Alaska time and 2,000 hours on floats, with a minimum of 500 hours in each aircraft type. I was earning $6000 a month plus tips and free lodging, which isn't typical. Rent is very high in Alaska. .
You'll need a commercial pilot certificate with an instrument rating and generally either a floatplane rating and / or some tailwheel experience. To get the pilot ratings will set you back around $30,000 to $40,000 for single-engine aircraft and about 250 hours of flight time. Then you'll need to get a flying job building 1,000 to 1,500 hours, which probably means starting out as a flight instructor for a year or so then moving up to "Part 135" charter or tour flying when you have at least 500 to 1,000 hours, and then a year or two of that for good measure. It would be wise to do some or all of your flight training in Alaska or the Pacific Northwest and also trey to get your initial work experience as a flight instructor there. A good alternative entry-level job in the "lower 48" after getting your commercial pilot certificate would be towing banners and / or gliders in tailwheel aircraft, meaning you should do a lot of your flight training in tailwheel airplanes. That will be helpful later in Alaska. You might even think about getting into crop dusting for awhile for the low-level and tailwheel experience while hauling heavy loads. Mountain experience (as in Rocky Mts or similar) would also be good experience as well as some flying in a humid or rainy maritime environment where visibility is rarely better than 5 miles. And, of course, you need some cold weather flying experience.
Don't even think of trying to start your own bush flying company until you have several years experience in Alaska working for someone else. For one thing, you'll never be able to get insured. Having an A&P certificate and a welding certificate will be great because you may need to get a non-flying job in Alaska for awhile and get to know people before anyone will hire you as a pilot (as I had to do). Those skills will be big assets.
An average starting wage flying a Cessna 206 on wheels is about $125 to $150 a day. Most "bush flying" is seasonal, so in a typical 5 to 6 month season you can only expect to earn $20k or so until you achieve journeyman level and build a solid reputation as a pilot. Then you'll start getting year-round work and better paying jobs. You'll actually make better money as a welder and mechanic for the first several years you are there during the "off season". Knowing people is also hugely important. Almost nobody hires from resumes. It is usually a case being there in person at the right time and / or having a personal recommendation from someone.
If I were you, I'd buy a tailwheel airplane to learn in and build flying time in. I'd move to Alaska after you're out of school and get a job as a welder or mechanic and build some flying time there. I'd also get the commercial, instrument and float plane ratings in ALaska too. The University of Fairbanks has a great A&P program that you should consider going to as well.
That's my 2 cents worth. Good luck.
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