Flight Instructor
Becoming a flight instructor is an obvious choice. It's also one of the best part-time jobs going, and positions are fairly easy to come by.
It wasn't long ago that aviation hiring was at a crawl. In 1994, only some 5,000 pilots found jobs as compared to the near 20,000 last year. Today, with the airlines gobbling up loads of CFIs, there is a need for some stability in the ranks of flying's trainers. That stability can come, in part, from a corps of professionals who have other careers but spend some weekends and summer evenings developing wisdom and skills in flight students.
The part-time CFI has a number of options. The individual can affiliate with a local flight school, a relatively simple process for someone who already has a relationship with a school as a regular customer renting airplanes and making purchases. Part-time CFIs may also choose to market themselves as independent training consultants through newspapers, club newsletters, and word of mouth.
Whether you choose to join the staff at a flight school or teach independently can have a big impact on your earnings. Although staff CFIs in the Rocky Mountain region are earning $15 to $25 per flight hour, one independent instructor is charging $60 per hour from hello to goodbye. This chap, a former jet driver for a big-time express cargo hauler, works out of an office at a large general aviation airport and keeps plenty busy.
Contract Pilot
The rent-a-pilot concept is hardly new, but very few general aviation pilots ever explore the possibility of affiliating with an organization special- izing in fulfilling temporary flying assignments with qualified flight personnel. Surfing aviation job sites on the Web (www.climbto350.com ; http://willflyforfood.terrashare.com ; www.fcilax.com ; etc.) will reveal any number of services like IASCO, a flight crew leasing and management company. The services develop a pool of qualified pilots. Then, when a need arises, the pilots are contracted for short or long periods of time. Similarly, a growing number of businesses are using outside providers of both aircraft and crews for transportation.
Chances are that with a little perseverance you can develop contract pilot work on the local level. This path to part-time work may take some networking. There are any number of air-taxi and corporate operators who could probably use the services of an on-call pilot to act as a first officer on a King Air or Citation now and again. You will not captain such a ship without a type-rating and lots of experience, but there are many stories of low-hour general aviation types filling a right seat from time to time because of vacations, illnesses, and quick-quits.
Banner Towing Pilot
Check out the telephone directory under the heading "Advertising - Aerial" and you may discover a handful of companies that deliver advertising messages above parades, sports stadiums, and beaches. Not only might you find some weekend work circling over 70,000 football fans, but you could develop aerial promotions into a little cottage industry for yourself.
True story. Shortly after marrying an uncommonly understanding woman named Cindy, I couldn't shake the sickness known as airplane fever. I decided to seek additional revenue so that I could own my own airplane. I contacted Gasser Banners in Nashville, Tennessee, and ordered a tow hitch and a supply of letters and numbers.
After searching for a while, I found a 1969 Cessna 172 with a newly overhauled engine. With $2,000 down and a bank loan of $10,000, Phillips Aerial Ads Inc. was born.
The next step involved applying to the Milwaukee FAA Flight Standards District Office (FSDO) for a waiver of the federal aviation regulations (FARs). (Towing anything from an airplane is not allowed by the rules. However, you can get a waiver.) After demonstrating banner pickups and drops to an FAA inspector, I was on my way.
My first client was the chamber of commerce in the resort town of Wisconsin Dells. Every summer from the mid-1970s through the 1980s, the C-172 droned over Chicago-area attractions with a sign urging the earthbound to "Follow Me To Wisconsin Dells!"
That part-time business followed me to every city I called home for 15 years and ultimately led to flying promotional messages over Denver's Mile High Stadium for $350 per hour.
Scenic Tour Operator
This path to part-time flying is a no-brainer if you live in a place where nature's wonders can be viewed best from aloft. FAR Part 91 allows a commercially certificated pilot to fly scenic tours within a 25-mile radius of the departure airport. By the way, the FAA requires aerial scenic tour pilots to participate in an approved drug-testing program. Your local FSDO has details.
After working out an aircraft rental deal with an FBO, visit a print shop to develop slick color brochures. In almost every tourist destination, a provider maintains brochure racks in rest- aurants, hotels, and attractions. Sign up and get those "rack cards" distributed.
Next, visit every hotel and motel and schmooze the concierge, activities director, front desk supervisor, and manager. A good lodging host will always be on the lookout for unique and fun experiences for the guests.
For those who have the wherewithal to buy an airplane, this kind of enterprise can lead to attractive tax advantages. Visit an accountant and an attorney to explore how operating an aviation services company can minimize the costs of owning an aircraft. Mileage to and from your airplane for a commercial flight? Deductible.
Ferry Pilot
The job of ferry pilot may spark visions of long, lonely flights over a dark, forbidding ocean. That kind of aircraft delivery service is for the hearty few. For the rest of us, there are any number of fix-it shops and airplane sales organizations that could be in the market for a shuttle pilot.
One former ferry pilot I know began his career by pestering a local used airplane sales concern until the owners relented and gave him a part-time job moving airplanes. Within no time, he had enough time in a variety of light twin aircraft to land a front-row seat with Frontier Airlines.
Glider Towing
It may surprise you to learn that you can find part-time work as a pilot at small grass and dirt strips all across the country. If there is an active glider community or club in your area, you might be able to work as a tow pilot.
Many glider clubs have a tough time recruiting tow pilots. Although it's not a glamorous job and no way to make a living, launching gliders into the atmosphere can satisfy those flying urges while earning you a little extra pocket money. The pay rate can run anywhere from $4 to $10 per tow.
Skydiver Transport
Transporting presumably sane people to lofty heights so they can flirt with gravity is a possibility. Here, too, the pay is low and is based upon the number of flights made.
But the real point is that you get to fly, and the time builds up. The flying gods recently smiled on an acquaintance of mine. This fellow walked into a suburban jump club a year ago with surprisingly low time, but the owners put him into a doorless King Air. He built up more than 1,000 hours of turbine time carrying jumpers before leaving to take a job with a fractional ownership jet firm. Not bad for weekend and late-afternoon flying.
Government Flying
It is a little-known fact that independent, part-time contractors fly on behalf of Uncle Sam. The Department of the Interior, U.S. Forestry Service, and a host of other agencies use these operators for fire-spotting, pipeline patrol, conservation activities, and personnel and equipment transport (see "Flying Hot," AOPA Flight Training, May 2001). The catch: You need a FAR Part 135 certificate to be eligible to bid for contracts.
If you own or can execute a six-month exclusive lease on a single-engine airplane, you could be a candi- date for a single-pilot Air Taxi Certificate. Getting FAR Part 135 authority can be a test of patience, but your local FSDO can provide information and assistance. The good news: As a single pilot, single-engine airplane operator, you will not be compelled to maintain mountains of manuals.
Once you have the Part 135 authority, search an obscure publication titled Commerce Business Daily, available in most libraries. It lists virtually every government contract let for bid, including those requiring aviation services and support.
Volunteer Flight
Two outstanding volunteer opportunities await halftime or part-time pilots. Although it isn't possible to earn income flying for the Civil Air Patrol, the intangible benefits of building time at low cost and tax advantages provide a sound basis for joining this public-spirited organization.
Tax benefits? Yes! Although a tax advisor should be consulted, imagine renting a Civil Air Patrol aircraft for $50 an hour, 50 hours per year. Since all CAP flights are missions of sorts, whether search and rescue or flying for proficiency, it may be possible to deduct a good portion of your CAP flying expenses as a charitable contribution. To learn more about CAP flying, visit the Civil Air Patrol's Web site (www.cap.af.mil ).
Another thought: An army of pilots donate their time and equipment to bring ill, often under-privileged patients to medical facilities. Organizations like Angel Flight, AirLifeline, and the Corporate Angel Network bring flyers and patients together. A consortium of humanitarian flying groups has formed under the name Aircare Alliance. The group can be found on the Internet ( www.wolf-aviation.org/aircare ).
There are fabulous opportunities for venting your flying passions, even if you're tied to a career in a less-exciting field. These suggestions may be equally valuable to anyone trying to climb the 1,000-hour mountain so that the airlines will come calling. And the true beauty of halftime flying? When thunderstorms block your path or ice is forecast, you can say, "Uh, not today. I think I'll just sleep in."
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