Alpine Air Hiring
#51
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I had a friend who worked at Alpine for a little over a year recently and recommends flying for Alpine. I'm looking to settle down a bit and plant roots, hopefully in the Salt Lake area. Would 1700 hours be competitive? Though a lot of my time was spent instructing, so I do lack in the 500 CC department and I do not have much multi time, 15 hours.
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#52
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I had a friend who worked at Alpine for a little over a year recently and recommends flying for Alpine. I'm looking to settle down a bit and plant roots, hopefully in the Salt Lake area. Would 1700 hours be competitive? Though a lot of my time was spent instructing, so I do lack in the 500 CC department and I do not have much multi time, 15 hours.
#53
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If you’ve been keeping track of the amount of point to point cross countries you’ve been doing, that’s what they are looking for. If you landed at some other airport, even if it were less than 50 n.m. away, then that will suffice for 135 xc. Does not have to be over 50. I don’t think they specified a multi time requirement, so you should be good. I recently turned down an offer due to the very high cost of living in some of their bases, namely SLC and Denver area. I’ve heard good things about the company though.
Last edited by jairfly03; 10-24-2021 at 12:10 PM.
#54
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#55
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#56
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Got a couple questions for you on the operation if I may. Loading, you said is done by the ground crew at the hubs. I've heard (yeah, the grapevine) that the Alpine pilots do a lot of the work at the outstations, depending on the available ground crew. What is the actual situation, in your experience?
Also, I live in the Denver area and am considering applying for one of the positions there. I've got the qualifications and experience they're looking for, and am considering a move away from charter, which is daily chaos, to a more predictable schedule. What can you say about the routes & schedules out of DEN?
Appreciate your perspective.
#57
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Originally Posted by JLTD;[url=tel:3320430
3320430[/url]]Thanks for the great pics, Alpine Pilot! Nice to see.
Got a couple questions for you on the operation if I may. Loading, you said is done by the ground crew at the hubs. I've heard (yeah, the grapevine) that the Alpine pilots do a lot of the work at the outstations, depending on the available ground crew. What is the actual situation, in your experience?
Also, I live in the Denver area and am considering applying for one of the positions there. I've got the qualifications and experience they're looking for, and am considering a move away from charter, which is daily chaos, to a more predictable schedule. What can you say about the routes & schedules out of DEN?
Appreciate your perspective.
Got a couple questions for you on the operation if I may. Loading, you said is done by the ground crew at the hubs. I've heard (yeah, the grapevine) that the Alpine pilots do a lot of the work at the outstations, depending on the available ground crew. What is the actual situation, in your experience?
Also, I live in the Denver area and am considering applying for one of the positions there. I've got the qualifications and experience they're looking for, and am considering a move away from charter, which is daily chaos, to a more predictable schedule. What can you say about the routes & schedules out of DEN?
Appreciate your perspective.
I wouldn’t be worried about the loading and unloading. It’s standing outside in the cold while they load that’s worse. I’d go air ambulance for QOL myself, but that’s my take. Equipment would be much nicer then most things with props sitting on the DEN cargo ramp.
#58
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In Denver if you need to warm up you can jump in the mx truck that has heaters running, you can also wait there for the loaders if they aren't out yet. In Salt Lake we have an old airport shuttle bus converted to a crew bus that you can sit in. Fortunately, even people like myself that grew up in the deserts of Southern Utah and really don't like snow, can usually handle the ramp in the winter. Just dress warm and use layers that you can shed if you need to.
I mentioned what wear before and here it is again, some of the other pilots think it's overkill but like I said I'm not a big fan of winter.
In cold weather I wear fleece lined black pants under fleece lined snow pants. I also wear a big black bomber style jacket, over a light down jacket, over my work polo. On my feet are Merrell arctic grip boots with an ice tread that can handle the ramp at Jackson, which is one of the slickest ramps I've ever dealt with because they don't treat the ice on the ramp. They basically just maintain it like an ice rink and more than once I've left a retarded coffee stained snow angel on the ramp after taking a fall. In the winter I also wear a warm Russian ushanka (made in Russia, complete with Soviet pin) on my head because it's warm and fun to wear in Idaho where people either laugh and love it (especially in Hailey), or look like they want to scream "RED DAWN!" which in turn makes me laugh.
I'm back to working on the line full time during peak, I'll be taking some pictures and maybe some video of what it's like.
Last edited by Alpine Pilot; 11-15-2021 at 08:27 AM.
#59
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Here's what I can tell you guys about loading and unloading. My information comes from flying the lines in Salt Lake City, and occasionally Denver. Also, this is the reply I said to look for in my last PM JLTD. Sorry it took a few extra days to get back to it, I came down with Bronchitis last week and kind of stopped being a functional human for a few days.
The morning load at the hub or base is all done by UPS loaders. In Salt Lake it's a mix of UPS teamsters and contracted temp crews from a company called Quantum, and in Denver it's something similar. They use belt loaders on the 1900's and hand to hand passing on the 99's like we did in my Navy days for stores loads.
After the load you fly to an outstation, my last flight I was in Idaho Falls. That morning just before departure I sent a text to the AM driver to tell him how much I was bringing and my ETA. After landing I was met by a large box truck and 3 small vans. I didn't bother helping them unload because there were 4 drivers and only 1300 lbs to move. By the time I finished my post flight, paperwork, and installing prop snubbers they were already almost done. I like to BS with the drivers, which I did for a few minutes, and then they finished and left. On all of the 1900 runs I've flown it's a similar situation. Jackson Hole arrives with a couple trucks and 3-4 drivers, Twin Falls a couple trucks and a few drivers, etc. Also, the 99 runs usually get at least 2 drivers.
At the end of the day it's time for the outgoing cargo to arrive. Usually at least a couple drivers arrive if there's more than a few hundred pounds, or enough to fill about half of a cargo bay. There are some exceptions like Sun Valley where only 1 driver comes out in the evening, but he also seldom has more than a few bags and a couple boxes. Jackson always brings 2 drivers but they can have a few thousand pounds going out in the afternoon if something like the Buffalo farm is sending another meat shipment out. During my last trip at Idaho Falls it was a “Melaleucia Day”, the Melaleucia company is based there and they had a big air shipment going out, so 2 guys arrived in the truck to load 1600 lbs of mostly Melaleucia boxes into the aircraft.
I keep saying usually. Sometimes our plane is really late arriving at the outstation. This could be because the morning jets were late getting into the hub, bad weather happens, or something else. For example, last week and I held over Jackson for an hour and a half on 8 mile legs due to fog in the valley below. When this happens some of the drivers might not be available anymore but the truck usually still arrives with at least 2 people. Something similar might happen in the evening when it's time to load at the outstation due to sick calls, drivers stuck in weather, whatever. In either case if only one person arrives at the plane with a pile of cargo I have a choice, help them load/unload the plane, or tell them “good luck” and wait for them to finish while I’m in the FBO drinking coffee. Personally, I like many of the drivers I work with and I try to help as much as I can when this happens. At one outstation the air driver always brings me coffee the way I like it when he meets the plane. Sometimes his partner also throws in an empanada. I’m not going to tell either of these guys to pack sand if they arrive alone and need some help once in a while, which has only happened a couple times in the past few years I've flown there.
On the other hand, once in a while somebody makes a funky decision based on “the pilot will help”. If only 1 driver shows up with something like 1600 lbs to load and his new manager told him to “just have the pilot help you”, then it’s a different situation. Pilots can and have gone into the FBO and left a single driver frantically calling for more help to load a full truck into the plane if they feel like their kindness is now being taken advantage of. This has only happened a couple times that I remember. Most drivers and managers do not take advantage of the fact that many Alpine pilots are nice enough to help load in some way.
Basically, we are not required to handle the boxes. Some pilots never touch the packages, others help a bit. I have a messed up back and the VA is still trying to fix it with physical therapy, so I don’t get inside and do any heavy lifting while hunched over or anything like that. But sometimes I help move things in or out by doing something like sitting at the door and shuffling the boxes from the aircraft rollers to the truck rollers, or helping an evening driver toss a light load into the door bay.
I'll also get some pictures and maybe some video that show all of this better soon.
The morning load at the hub or base is all done by UPS loaders. In Salt Lake it's a mix of UPS teamsters and contracted temp crews from a company called Quantum, and in Denver it's something similar. They use belt loaders on the 1900's and hand to hand passing on the 99's like we did in my Navy days for stores loads.
After the load you fly to an outstation, my last flight I was in Idaho Falls. That morning just before departure I sent a text to the AM driver to tell him how much I was bringing and my ETA. After landing I was met by a large box truck and 3 small vans. I didn't bother helping them unload because there were 4 drivers and only 1300 lbs to move. By the time I finished my post flight, paperwork, and installing prop snubbers they were already almost done. I like to BS with the drivers, which I did for a few minutes, and then they finished and left. On all of the 1900 runs I've flown it's a similar situation. Jackson Hole arrives with a couple trucks and 3-4 drivers, Twin Falls a couple trucks and a few drivers, etc. Also, the 99 runs usually get at least 2 drivers.
At the end of the day it's time for the outgoing cargo to arrive. Usually at least a couple drivers arrive if there's more than a few hundred pounds, or enough to fill about half of a cargo bay. There are some exceptions like Sun Valley where only 1 driver comes out in the evening, but he also seldom has more than a few bags and a couple boxes. Jackson always brings 2 drivers but they can have a few thousand pounds going out in the afternoon if something like the Buffalo farm is sending another meat shipment out. During my last trip at Idaho Falls it was a “Melaleucia Day”, the Melaleucia company is based there and they had a big air shipment going out, so 2 guys arrived in the truck to load 1600 lbs of mostly Melaleucia boxes into the aircraft.
I keep saying usually. Sometimes our plane is really late arriving at the outstation. This could be because the morning jets were late getting into the hub, bad weather happens, or something else. For example, last week and I held over Jackson for an hour and a half on 8 mile legs due to fog in the valley below. When this happens some of the drivers might not be available anymore but the truck usually still arrives with at least 2 people. Something similar might happen in the evening when it's time to load at the outstation due to sick calls, drivers stuck in weather, whatever. In either case if only one person arrives at the plane with a pile of cargo I have a choice, help them load/unload the plane, or tell them “good luck” and wait for them to finish while I’m in the FBO drinking coffee. Personally, I like many of the drivers I work with and I try to help as much as I can when this happens. At one outstation the air driver always brings me coffee the way I like it when he meets the plane. Sometimes his partner also throws in an empanada. I’m not going to tell either of these guys to pack sand if they arrive alone and need some help once in a while, which has only happened a couple times in the past few years I've flown there.
On the other hand, once in a while somebody makes a funky decision based on “the pilot will help”. If only 1 driver shows up with something like 1600 lbs to load and his new manager told him to “just have the pilot help you”, then it’s a different situation. Pilots can and have gone into the FBO and left a single driver frantically calling for more help to load a full truck into the plane if they feel like their kindness is now being taken advantage of. This has only happened a couple times that I remember. Most drivers and managers do not take advantage of the fact that many Alpine pilots are nice enough to help load in some way.
Basically, we are not required to handle the boxes. Some pilots never touch the packages, others help a bit. I have a messed up back and the VA is still trying to fix it with physical therapy, so I don’t get inside and do any heavy lifting while hunched over or anything like that. But sometimes I help move things in or out by doing something like sitting at the door and shuffling the boxes from the aircraft rollers to the truck rollers, or helping an evening driver toss a light load into the door bay.
I'll also get some pictures and maybe some video that show all of this better soon.
#60
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Air ambulance is rewarding for sure, did that in Montana for 2-1/2 years. But I'm past the point in my career where the
"hurry up Go! Go! Go!" is fun, I'd just like to enjoy flying again.
Alpine Pilot, thanks for the detailed writeup! Glad you beat the bronchitis...and looking forward to the photos from the line.
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