AFS aerial photo job

[Bingogas]

Pilots are not free and should not be working for less then minimum wage. The 400-500 hours you will get in your log book is NOT pay. Flying a 152 or a 177 is an entry level job but there is no reason D can't pay a reasonable wage. You had better get the Kraft Dinner on sale if take a job with AFS.

Maybe the boss posts what they are paying the pilots now? I hope it's better then it was a couple years ago, but I don't thinK it has improved.

[Regionuna]

Pay was pretty decent when I worked there years ago. A really cool experience as a first job as well and sure beats the hell out of instructing. You get to see a lot of Canada from a cool perspective - low level. You get the plane to yourself, fly all across Canada listening to your tunes. Can get boring at times, but its a good way to spend a summer as a first job. Definitely not a job for someone with a family, but for someone just getting out of school it would be hard to beat.

Pay from what I remember was more than enough for beer and dinner out every night and a couple grand in the bank after the summer was over. Don't regret a thing and it was an experience of a lifetime. You are gone for 4 months, so it's what you make of it.

[schnitzel2k3]

+1 on the last post.

To each their own, D can be pretty tough - especially if you aren't getting the shots, but overall, as a first job and four month contract, it's tough to beat to get your foot in the door with some bigger companies.

I think if I recall the compensation was:

100 / week
25 cents per photo (you shoot between 400-500 photos per day (and I wasn't the fastest photographer)
Hotels covered
Rental cars sometimes included
Per diems were low but manageable

400-500 hours might be a stretch due to weather days but it's more than 300.

You fly when you want (generally between 9-5 for shadows).

Good luck and have a safe summer to those considering this route.

S.

[rippey]

I have no complaints about the 2 seasons I worked there, I found pay to be reasonable for an entry level job - I am going to date myself here but I was paid by the roll of film (remember those?) - 8$/roll plus base pay IIRC. It was enough to cover my rent in yxu (hint - sublet from a student who's gone for the summer) and cover wings and beer a few times a week. A week of decent weather and I'd make way more than my friends that went the instructing route. I was always paid on time, expenses on the road were covered, and always found D to be very fair. Learned a lot - including how to keep lunch down when doing your 200th steep turn to the right in the low level afternoon thermals, scared myself once or twice, and generally had a pretty good time.

[Juamanix]

The pilot's work is paid quite well and is perfectly suitable for young people striving to achieve great success as soon as possible. But this is not a job for a person who wants a family. After getting married, I quit and became a flight instructor. Now I can afford a vacation with my family and photoshoots from https://www.wanderlustportraits.com/uni ... tographer/, and at the same time, I can devote enough time to my family. It is much more important to me now than the high earnings.

[Turboprops]

The pilot's work is paid quite well and is perfectly suitable for young people striving to achieve great success as soon as possible

Paid quite well? Did you work at some illegal third world child labour factory or something?

“Pay will be discussed during training”
The only discussion was after signing your “bond” to fly a C152 getting told it’ll be less than $100/day (25 cents per photo + 100/week)

Work 25+ days a month with 10 hour days, worry about hangaring the plane in the summer or else it’s your fault if theres hail damage, asking why you’re eating dinner before uploading photos after a full day of flying, getting the privately registered airplane shady maintenance, get up early in the morning because “i want you to go wheels up at 8am during relocation so you still have time to shoot photos” while hauling your suitcase from the hotel to the airport half asleep, because he wants pilots to share hotel rooms and someone was snoring last night.

All for less than $100 a day, yeah very well paid indeed

I’m not saying the experience wasn’t valuable, but paid quite well?

[ReducedSeparation]

The pilot's work is paid quite well and is perfectly suitable for young people striving to achieve great success as soon as possible

Paid quite well? Did you work at some illegal third world child labour factory or something?

“Pay will be discussed during training”
The only discussion was after signing your “bond” to fly a C152 getting told it’ll be less than $100/day (25 cents per photo + 100/week)

Work 25+ days a month with 10 hour days, worry about hangaring the plane in the summer or else it’s your fault if theres hail damage, asking why you’re eating dinner before uploading photos after a full day of flying, getting the privately registered airplane shady maintenance, get up early in the morning because “i want you to go wheels up at 8am during relocation so you still have time to shoot photos” while hauling your suitcase from the hotel to the airport half asleep, because he wants pilots to share hotel rooms and someone was snoring last night.

All for less than $100 a day, yeah very well paid indeed

I’m not saying the experience wasn’t valuable, but paid quite well?

All very true. Don’t forget about the secret pay decrease in Ontario (15 cents per photo) because there are “more houses to take pictures of”. That definitely takes a big bite out of the paycheque. And the $10 per diem! But since you’re paid as a contractor, you’re self-employed and your per diems ARE taxable income (not that you make enough to pay income tax anyway). Very incredible experience and wouldn’t change it for the world, but the pay is non-existent. Classic D, gotta love him.

[schnitzel2k3]

I can't believe he's still in business with those piss bucket aircraft.

It's a first job - it don't pay much, but at 200ish hours what are your choices, really?

Take the morning abuse on how crappy your rolls were, get out there and fire up, fly around for 4-7 hours, come back and upload your crappy photos while having a sub and crankin a beer, rinse and repeat.

End of summer you've got 4-500 PIC hours you didn't have to pay for. Bye D.