Samuel,
No, cargo pilots still get the same number of days off, they just have trips longer than 4 days. Atlas for example frequently has 10day trips.
Adam
Ah so graveyard shifts all the time. I was leaning towards cargo because of the great responsibility of flying people kinda scares me. Iâve done graveyard shifts before, Iâm not a huge fan of them.
Man 10 days away at a time is a bit too long for me.
Though it doesnât happen often, they can keep you out for 17. Thinking cargo might not be for you.
Adam
I will have to agree, I have two kids I like to spend time with. Thank you for all the help.
Flying cargo is no different. There is still another pilot, as well as sometimes other people on the airplane, not to mention a whole lot of people on the ground. Flying any airplane is a job that involves a huge amount of responsibility.
Chris
I guess I should have worded that more respectively. I understand that even placing yourself behind the controls of an aircraft holds great responsibility. I believe what I meant to say was there is an added responsibility because now there are families on board. So instead of just a few crew members now you are in control of keeping all those lives safe. That is what worries me. I myself drive a Semi truck and understand the great responsibility a heavy vehicle holds. I guess in the same way I am in control of all the lives sharing the road with me. So maybe I need to look at it in that manner and see itâs the same in a very small way.
Samuel,
Exactly. Any way you cut it, there is a huge amount of responsibility.
Chris
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I have a thought on all of this. How does a schedule look for someone that travels overseas? Iâm assuming itâs more sought-after and probably not achievable until you have seniority. Iâm obviously not even a pilot yet and have many many years if I even become one to figure this out, Iâm just curious.
Samuel,
Not sure what you mean by âwhat does the schedule look likeâ? It looks very much the same as a domestic schedule except youâre going to Europe, Asia etc vs NY or LA. You at correct, the positions are often more desirable but for most pilots itâs more about the equipment and money than the destination. International generally means bigger planes which means higher pay (incl higher per diem). I flew the A330 for about 2 years to Asia, Australia and the mainland. While it was definitely cool flying into those destinations I personally didnât enjoy being on an airplane 7,8,9,10+ hours. I subsequently returned to flying the 717 InterIsland which actually meant a paycut but I wasnât tired and jet-lagged all the time. On the flip side there are many pilots who love it.
Itâs personal preference and what your priorities are.
Adam
Sorry I meant days on and days off. I was thinking since the flights are longer that the days you work might go from 4 to 5 or more. Again thank you for all the info. I have an introductory flight scheduled for this Saturday. After reading all the advice on here it seams to be the first step. That is to actually find out if this is something I want to do.
Samuel,
International travel comes with the bigger airframes, and with that comes seniority. So yes, you wonât be there in your career for quite some time. However, as a goal to dream towards, my father is 62 and has been on the 777 flying internationally for 15 years. He has gone pretty much everywhere so now he is more about efficient flying. Getting the most hours of pay for the least amount of time away⊠typically he does 3, 3/4-day trips to China or Mumbai and gets a full 90 hour paycheck.
-Hannah
Ah so itâs not like cargo where you can be gone for 10 days. That sounds pretty good actually. Thank you for the information. I like to think ahead and try to set a path instead of going with the motions.
Samuel,
When I flew international, the vast majority of the trips were three day trips. They would be one flight over to Europe, spend the day there and then one flight back. Sometimes we would have two or even three days in Europe. So the schedules are really the same as far as days worked, but the schedules within the trips are less complex and have way less flights per trip.
Let us know how the introductory flight goes.
Chris
That sounds really fun. I wonder if I wouldnât mind flying for as many hours as you mentioned. Ok I will let all of your own how it goes. Thank you all for the help and knowledge.
The flight went really well except the high winds and nausea. I couldnât fly on Saturday because the weather was too bad, I flew today instead. The winds were still pretty bad today but it wasnât pouring rain. I donât understand why I got so nauseated. I have flown in helicopters in the Army. I have been skydiving at least six times. On none of those occasions did I have any bouts of nausea. Between the nausea I was able to take the aircraft from 2000ft to 2500ft and then back down to 2000ft. I was also able to just fly the aircraft a little bit and see how it handles in the wind. The instructor wanted to let me land the aircraft but the winds were too high and I ended up to nauseated.
Samuel,
First flight nausea is not uncommon. This is why I ALWAYS say, I donât care what youâve flown IN before or other experience you think you might have that will make you an AWESOME pilot. Until youâre sitting upfront with your hands on the controls and looking inside trying to focus on instruments you donât know what itâs like. The good news again is this is not that uncommon. More often than not itâs a combination of anxiousness, the flight conditions and the fact again this completely different than anything youâre used to.
I recommend you try another. Should be better. If not perhaps another. After that if it doesnât improve you might need to do some reflecting.
Adam
Thatâs what I was wondering if I should do as well. You are probably 100% correct. Nerves, instrument panels and flight conditions all effected me. Iâll do another one and see how it goes. Thank you for the advice.
Samuel,
I am with Adam on this, I think another flight, or maybe even a few more, might be in order to make sure this will not be an issue for you moving forward.
Chris
Ok Iâm gonna schedule another one and see what happens. I really appreciate all the feedback from everyone on this. I was thinking maybe I was doomed!