Tharr she blows!

[r22butters]

150 lbs to fly tours in a 44! Damn, just how fat are they getting in the Keys!

 

 

Job Description:

Seeking 500-1500 hr pilot for busy tour company in Key West, FL

(Available Dec. 15th-30th - flexible)

Brand new R44 clipper & laid back work environment

 

Conduct sightseeing tours around Key West, FL (average 10 to 30 minute tours)

Schedule: average 4 days per week

Must be willing to relocate to Key West a beautiful place to live, but also expensive, so please do your research on housing before you apply!

Minimum 12 month commitment

W2 employee (not 1099) with pay negotiable based on experience. Flat day rate + tips

Average salary $20k-$35k per year after tips. Pay increase after 90 days.

Typical workday is 10am-6pm

Single pilot operation - must be self-sufficient and able to manage normal day-to-day operations by taking phone calls, managing online bookings, loading/unloading passengers, marketing, etc.

Averaging 40-50 hours of flight time per month split between two pilots

 

 

ABSOLUTELY NO PHONE CALLS!

REPLY ONLY TO: HELICOPTERRECRUITER@GMAIL.COM

Job Requirements:

Total rotor-wing: 500+ hours - ZERO exceptions

Pilot weight 150 pounds or less preferred

 

Edited December 6, 2017 by r22butters

[TomPPL]

Jeez:

Single pilot operation - must be self-sufficient and able to manage normal day-to-day operations by taking phone calls, managing online bookings, loading/unloading passengers, marketing, etc.

 

.... They'll be asking you to supply your own heli next.....

[Thedude]

I'm sure all kinds of pilots will be jumping at the chance to make $12/hr cover the expenses of living in Key West.

[takefootoff]

With a flight dressed weight of 140lbs I was able to take up more 'average Americans' with a top'd off tank.

 

 

Lotta key lime pie eating going on down in Key West I figure?

[RisePilot]

150 lbs to fly tours in a 44! Damn, just how fat are they getting in the Keys!

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately Clipper II's are heavy and you can either have heavy people or full fuel - not both.

My Clipper II has a basic empty weight (BEW) of 1612 lbs; it was 1590 lbs before the bladder tanks. With full tanks that leaves only a 150lb average per seat. Four 150lb people and full tanks = 2496 lbs of a max 2500 MAUW. So only one of your skinny PAX can have big lunch beforehand.

The Raven II has a BEW 1510 lbs; so yielding over 175 lb avg per seat - doesn't sound like much, but makes a big difference. Even the Raven II with air conditioning is 1553 lbs BEW leaving more to work with regarding PAX weights.

[Nearly Retired]

Are you guys who are doing tours going out topped-off?? Why in God's name do that? How long can you fly an R-44 with full tanks? Do you need that much fuel? A gazillion years ago I flew tours in NYC in a "straight" 206L (C20B). Those pigs were so weak that we'd keep the fuel so low that we'd have to refuel every other flight or so. In the summer the water/alcohol didn't last long either. (Ahh, the good old days...)

 

So why not just refuel more often? Ooooooh, that's right, the R-44 is a piston and you boys don't want to hot-refuel. Welp, Robertson makes a perfectly-good(?) turbine called the R-66 that you can hot-refuel all day long. The even better news is that with an R-66 you can actually take two couples along with Mr. String Bean pilot. Or perhaps you should buy a brandy-new 505, the R-66 competitor from Bell that also costs "around" $1million. (Wait, what? It doesn't?)

[RisePilot]

Who are you replying to? I'm a private owner/pilot; I don't fly tours - or any anything commercial.

[takefootoff]

Of course we flew tours topped off, just progressively increase the allowable gross passenger weight?

[Jaybee]

Carried 500-550 lbs of passengers at 8000 DA at Mt Rushmore all the time. If you can't do that at Sea level there is something seriously wrong with your piloting skills. Oh yeah I weigh 185

Edited December 10, 2017 by Jaybee

[r22butters]

Geez 185! Guess you won't be bidding for that R44 news chopper slot that opened up recently,...they want 175 lbs.

 

At least Oceanfront is a more respectable 200 lbs, but then I doubt they fly topped off? I know Helislave doesn't,...but then they hot fuel their 44s.