Ep.2 – What new pilots are looking for in an employer

Author: Brent Fishlock

Today’s topic is ‘What new pilots are looking for in an employer?’.

Business aviation is under pressure from all sectors of aviation and other job sectors to attract and retain qualified people.

Business aviation can be a very dynamic environment with an unpredictable schedule and often extra tasks being assigned as a part of regular duties. Business aviation is very different from airline flying in that a high level of emphasis is put on customer service and customer satisfaction. Our goal today is to gain some insight as to what new pilots are looking for in an employer and what they think about business aviation as a career.

Today we are talking with Santiago Ardila who is a pilot and business degree graduate. Welcome Santiago to the Business Aviation Training Report!

Questions

Please tell us about your aviation experience so far?

What do you look for in an employer?

What would you look for in an employer to remain long term?

What conditions would attract you to the business aviation sector over the airlines?

In your opinion, what are the most desirable aspects of being a business aviation pilot?

In the news segment

(‘In the news’ is a segment of the podcast where we change topics for a few minutes to talk about other events in business aviation.)

Wake turbulence is something we can come into contact with as separation limits are reduced in the terminal area and with more accurate navigation systems in the enroute airspace structure. In fact, navigation systems are so accurate that I experienced my radar altimeter bouncing off the fuselage of a slowly overtaking aircraft that was 1000’ below in oceanic airspace.

Last year a Challenger 604 past an opposite direction Airbus 380 which was one thousand feet above while crossing the Arabian Sea. Less than one minute later the Challenger rolled numerous times resulting in the loss of 9000 feet of altitude. The inertial reference systems, the flight management system and the attitude indications also failed. Also, according to the German Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation report, the left engine had to be shut down due to an increases in the interstage turbine temperature. The crew regained control, declared an emergency, restarted the engine and diverted. Two passengers were seriously injured and the aircraft was deemed unrepairable by Bombardier following an inspection.

This highlights the need for business aviators to be aware of wake turbulence at all times and for operators to take a keen interest in Upset Recovery Training. Refer to the TrainingPort.net website for more on Upset Recovery Training.

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Brent Fishlock is a technical advisor for TrainingPort.net. Currently an airline pilot, he also has an extensive background in corporate aviation.