Application Advice for Pilots

When Applying for a Pilot Job

By Steve Alsobrook

This was originally posted in our Jump Pilot group on Facebook. Occasionally I will post a statement or conversation from one of our social media pages or groups here that I think will help some of our readers. 

One of our contributors Steve Alsobrook has been a pilot for 50 years. He started his flying career as a Jump Pilot for the Auburn University Skydiving Club in the 1980s at Tuskegee airport. He then went on to be a Corporate and Fractional pilot, attaining many Type Ratings including BE400, CE-500, CE-680, LR-Jet, LR-60 and ATR 42/72. Steve will be ending his flying career the way it started, flying skydivers. He is currently the Chief Pilot for Skydive Key West in the Lower Florida Keys.

To our readers Steve says: I am a crusty old guy that’s been around the block a few times and I’d like to pass on a little advice to up and coming pilots.

We receive inquiries from pilots often inquiring about job openings, which is great! However, most don’t seem to know how to properly ask about a job or write a resume. We get things like “ Hey I am a pilot, y’all hiring?” No resume, no information about qualifications.

Then, we get resumes that don’t focus on aviation experience.  Looking at the resume, you can’t tell if they are applying for a truck driver job or a car parts salesman.

These are some general guidelines.

Please, develop an aviation oriented resume! State the job you are pursuing near the top, just after your full contact information. Then list the aircraft you have flown. List all your hours. Show how you got those hours.

List all flight schools and flight training you have received and dates you received training. Any education you have received such as high school or college is generally appropriate.

Don’t include inappropriate personal information, such as, “In my spare time I enjoy sampling beers from around the world“.  Please use some common sense in this department.

Early on in my flying career I found a professional aviation resume I liked and used it and expanded on it as the years went by.  I encourage you to do the same. I have about 50 years of aviation experience, many years working in flight department management. I started my career flying skydivers and that’s the way I am finishing it up.

One day back in the 1980s I was flying skydivers at a small dropzone. A corporate Falcon Jet landed at our field. The Captain graciously gave me a tour of the plane. I told him it was really awesome!

He said, "To me, flying for a living is one of the finest professions someone can have“

It was certainly true for me.

Good Luck to you all!

SkydiverDriver.com

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Are Electric Airplanes the Destiny of Skydiving?

Are Electric Airplanes the Destiny of Skydiving?

By Augusto Bartelle 

As reported on augustobartelle.com

Over the years, there have been teams working to create electric powered airplanes. Eco-friendly initiatives are present in many facets of our daily lives. Having the opportunity to choose energy sustainable options is becoming more and more popular. And for a good reason! Many of us are aware of our unique carbon footprint. If given the choice of more energy sustainable options, we can take the responsibility onto ourselves to make more environmentally friendly decisions.

Electric airplanes are the next significant movement in eco-friendly transportation options. Although not quite around the corner, this initiative is progressing along. So what can this mean for the skydiving industry? Can we use electric airplanes in skydiving?

Environmental Impact of Aviation

I never really thought about the impact of an airplane on our environment. Skydiving for me was about fun until I watched Pete Allum and Roei Ganzarski discussing the Electric Caravan. All regular aircraft emit greenhouse gases in different stages of flight. It creates a unique form of distribution of those gases directly into the higher levels of the atmosphere. These gases contribute to climate change.

Noise is also a form of pollution. All unwanted sound is considered noise pollution. If the noise is causing any adverse human reaction, we can consider it noise pollution. We can find noise impact analysis on areas close to airports and drop zones. Average noise level maps are known as noise counter maps.

The air quality is another point that we can think about when talking about the difference that an electric airplane has over the ordinary plane we use today. Airports have different obligations for monitoring and reporting air quality. The primary pollutants monitored are Nitrogen Dioxide (No2), Nitric Oxides (NOx), and Particulate Matter (PM). Heathrow airport has an air quality dedicated resource to allow us to access data on local air quality.

Skydive Empuriabrava – The Land of the Sky – has Carbon Footprint Compensation

Eco-friendly airplanes and skydiving

As skydivers, we may or may not be aware of our skydiving activity’s impact on the environment. Each time the skydiving plane brings a load up, there are emissions released into the environment. In fact, some have figured out the math. Depending on the skydiving aircraft, they can calculate each jumper’s carbon emissions for that individual jump. When I heard this, I felt some guilt for my impact on the environment due to my skydiving. Although this knowledge does not mean that we need to stop jumping.

This is where eco-friendly airplanes come in. Electric planes help reduce carbon emissions. Now it seems the future of our sport may be a place with more eco-friendly options. Electric airplanes can be clean, low-cost choices of skydiving aircraft. And so in regards to skydiving, the idea is that electric airplanes would end up saving drop zone money in fuel costs. As a result, jump tickets could potentially be cheaper. As well as the aircraft would produce less noise, less vibration, and no fuel smell.

MagniX and AeroTEC put all-electric Cessna airplane into the air.

Transformation Carbon by C-Quest Capital

Transformation Carbon has been established by C-Quest Capital, a social impact project developer, to make it easy for anyone, and any entity, to neutralize the climate impact of their lifestyle while helping families in the most impoverished communities the world live healthier happier lives.

What is a Carbon Footprint?

Carbon Footprint is the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases emitted due to fossil fuels’ consumption by a particular person, group, or activity. A Twin Otter aircraft consumes -86 gallons of jet fuel/hr. One gallon of burned jet fuel emits -19 lbs CO2 into the atmosphere. Using 20 minutes as an approximate flight time for one load of skydivers, one load would emit -545lbs CO2.

What is a Carbon Offset Package?

A Carbon Offset package is a way to compensate for your greenhouse gas emissions by funding equivalent carbon dioxide savings elsewhere. It both helps to combat global climate change as well as to care for local communities around the world. Whatever your carbon footprint is, you can offset it by supporting projects anywhere in the world that reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

To offset your carbon footprint, your carbon offsets’ purchase is supporting our Transformation Carbon project portfolio and not one specific project. You can find more about Transformation Carbon and how to buy a Carbon Offset Package at transformationcarbon.com.

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