2015 Float season.

[Rowdy]

Hows it shaping up so far? I know a few people are job searching and a few operators are already on the hunt for good crew.

I may be looking. Have a good friend (one of the only ones I'd personally recommend) who is too. Would be fun to work together for a season.

[Invertago]

Bump... has the water turned liquid up north yet? Seeing a lot of float driver adds showing up in the job postings.

[Duffman]

Bump... has the water turned liquid up north yet? Seeing a lot of float driver adds showing up in the job postings.

Still at least 2 months to go for that. Last year I was dodging chunks of ice at the beginning of June. New pilots starting flight training don't really seem that interested in floats so it looks like it's becoming a pilots market. Guys with even a couple hundred hours on floats shouldn't have any trouble finding something this year.

[Cat Driver]

Real pilots fly twin engine airplanes IFR.

Float planes are for beginners who are not smart enough to fly multi engine IFR.

[Duffman]

I agree Cat. Per month I make nearly double what a Q400 captain at Encore makes, they can keep their smart people and i'll keep driving my little 9 seat floatplane

[Cat Driver]

Exactly !!

[Prairie Highway]

Bump... has the water turned liquid up north yet? Seeing a lot of float driver adds showing up in the job postings.

Still at least 2 months to go for that. Last year I was dodging chunks of ice at the beginning of June. New pilots starting flight training don't really seem that interested in floats so it looks like it's becoming a pilots market. Guys with even a couple hundred hours on floats shouldn't have any trouble finding something this year.

That's what I like to hear! Want job, will travel...

[Adam Oke]

I agree Cat. Per month I make nearly double what a Q400 captain at Encore makes, they can keep their smart people and i'll keep driving my little 9 seat floatplane

A six figure float driver? Well done. I left floats for spraying because I didn't think their was money in floats....then again it was Red Lake Nothing beats seasonal work and getting paid more than the suckers who works year round! I tell everyone I'm semi retired.

[shimmydampner]

Double per month doesn't necessarily mean six figures when you figure a float season is 4-6 months. Not to say there aren't six figure float jobs out there, but there's probably more to those than just a 6 month float season.
Double per month is all well and good, but at the risk of sounding greedy, it's still not really enough. Even if you're making $10k a month for six months, $60k for a year doesn't reflect how much of a grind a float season can be. Generally at those wages you're on something like a caravan or turbo or twin otter and working like a dog. There are lots of jobs out there that'll pay $60k or better that are pretty cushy by comparison and despite being year round, are actually a lot less work.
I for one hope that companies continue to have a hard time finding float drivers and the market value for ones with experience starts going up.

[Duffman]

Yeah you're spot on shimmy. We do really work hard during the summer. I'm still fairly young but not sure I want to be humping drums around when i'm older.

It is nice to be able to work for 5 months a year and then travel and screw off to Florida or wherever for the rest of the year though.

[awitzke]

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[awitzke]

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[Cat Driver]

. Totally different ball game than float flying though. I'd consider floats fun overall and relaxing VS. IFR.

Once you get to experience both fields of flying you will find flying IFR is really not all that difficult because it is a paint by numbers method of operating an airplane, whereas float plane flying is more demanding of airplane handling skills and one has to think for them self rather than flying by rote with ATC clearing the road for you.

Once you get through the ab-initio training part of flying IFR and become familiar with using the instruments rather than looking outside you will find flying in cloud to be way easier.

That being said I would take a job doing either at this point.

Excellent.

[Groundloop]

I for one hope that companies continue to have a hard time finding float drivers and the market value for ones with experience starts going up.

It seems like that time should of arrived by now, wonder what's taking it so long to catch up?

[awitzke]

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[Cat Driver]

It will only get easier once you get to multi crew I'm sure.

Yes and then it will get so God Damn boring and routine you will wonder why you ever decided to earn a living this way....

... so have a back up plan.

[cloudrunner]

Double per month doesn't necessarily mean six figures when you figure a float season is 4-6 months. Not to say there aren't six figure float jobs out there, but there's probably more to those than just a 6 month float season.
Double per month is all well and good, but at the risk of sounding greedy, it's still not really enough. Even if you're making $10k a month for six months, $60k for a year doesn't reflect how much of a grind a float season can be. Generally at those wages you're on something like a caravan or turbo or twin otter and working like a dog. There are lots of jobs out there that'll pay $60k or better that are pretty cushy by comparison and despite being year round, are actually a lot less work.
I for one hope that companies continue to have a hard time finding float drivers and the market value for ones with experience starts going up.

That's well said IMO. From what I know, there is really only one company in Canada where you can make $75-100K, live in a decent city and not blow your back out or burn yourself out in a summer doing month after month of 12-14 hour days, that would be Harbour Air. My understanding is that senior guys at HA are pushing $100K or better for 4 on 3 off and plenty of time off in the winter… that's called a lifestyle. Seair regulars make decent coin I am sure but all but a few will be on a relatively short season.

Internationally, the market is a lot tighter but the jobs can be a lot more enjoyable and very well paid. With housing allowances and other perks, $100K+ worth of remuneration is the norm. As shimmy said, experienced drivers are becoming harder to find and this will eventually lead to an across-the-board boost to the average float pilot in Canada I would hope. I believe HA has the right approach and pays even the -2 guys pretty good in order to try to retain them.

If there is anyone in Canada flying a -3T or 208 on floats who is not demanding at least $8K per month plus housing for a summer, you are doing yourselves a disservice. Even that for 4 months is peanuts if you have a family. At that point it just becomes a bit of a "leave your family for the summer, get your rocks off in a cool airplane and then go back to your real life" kinda thing…

Part of the problem is that there seems to always be a supply of young guns who will fly a Beaver for peanuts for the obvious reasons.. they are young, horny to fly and Beavers are a cool and easy…. that's a hard nut to crack and there is absolutely no point in opening up that can of worms...

[awitzke]

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[Cat Driver]

Hopefully you have themoney to afford it now, because it might take a very long time to save it working as a pilot.

[awitzke]

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