Thank you for your interest in becoming an aerial imaging pilot for Air America Flight Center . The aerial imaging industry has grown considerably during the last couple of years which has provided many pilots a unique opportunity to gain valuable experience, quality flight time and excellent pay. Due to the specialized nature of this type of flying Air America has certain requirements that must be met to be considered for employment. Of course flying skills are important but there is much more to being an aerial imaging pilot than just the ability to fly an airplane. This job requires extensive travel and extensive time away from home. In most cases you will be completely unsupervised. To overcome these challenges Air America is looking for a certain type of pilot who possesses strong organization and self-management skills along with the ability to be “quick on their feet”. In a lot of respects, this job is the exact opposite of an airline job but if you are the type of individual who loves adventure and loves exercising your privileges as a pilot-in-command then this is the job for you.
Air America Flight Center is based in Daytona Beach , FL at the Daytona Beach International Airport (KDAB) and has been in business since August 2004. Air America 's original business plan did not include aerial imaging; instead we began as a flight school and airplane rental business. We were always interested in alternative methods of utilizing our airplane fleet and in early 2005 we had our first meeting with a company that owned imaging equipment but was in need of an airplane and pilot services. Since then we have modified several airplanes to this type of operations and with them performed nearly one thousand hours of aerial imaging work. We still continue to expand our flight school and airplane rental business but we strongly believe that aerial imaging represents the future of Air America Flight Center .
Being an aerial imaging pilot is unique from most other flying jobs with responsibilities far beyond the task of flying. The first unique aspect, and most likely the most difficult to adjust to, is the extensive travel and time away from home. Currently Air America is hiring pilots to begin working on October 15, 2007 for a seven month imaging contract that ends on May 15, 2008. These dates are not set and could change depending on if we experience an early winter or an early summer. For example, this past year the imaging contract was extended twice and ended almost two months later than it was originally expected to. All hired pilots are expected to work for the entire length of the imaging contract while understanding that the dates may either be extended or shortened slightly. During the contract period the pilot may not be able to go home. The second unique aspect is that all pilots are expected to fly all seven days of the week, including holidays with no vacations . The only exception would be in the case of illness or death in the family.
Although you are expected to fly every day the reality is the weather will determine if you can fly on a given day. Due to the unpredictable nature of weather it is impossible for Air America to tell you how many days you will or will not work. What we can tell you is that from our past experience it seems that weather is cyclical which means that you may fly for five consecutive days followed by three poor days. In the end, the past has shown that pilots usually fly an average of 80 hours per month and end up with a good balance of flying with plenty of rest.
The weather tolerances for determining favorable or unfavorable imagining conditions are quite liberal. The biggest enemy to imaging are clouds. There simply can not be any clouds below your imaging altitude. If the clouds are few or scattered it may be possible to work around them but if there is ground fog or a broken or overcast cloud layer below your altitude then imagining is not possible. There is no restriction for clouds above you except if there is precipitation over what you are imaging. Light precipitation is acceptable but anything more is not. The imaging altitudes vary from job to job but are normally within 3,000 to 5,000 feet AGL. Visibility is not a limiting factor assuming that it meets the basic VFR requirement of three statue miles. The only other weather concern that may prevent imaging is heavy turbulence which makes it impossible to maintain heading and altitude.
The imaging window for a given day is two and a half hours after sunrise to two and a half hours before sunset. The exact length of the imaging window varies slightly every day and changes considerably when the clocks change from standard time to daylight-savings time. Regardless, each day you will have the opportunity to fly for four to eight hours. The pilot is expected to utilize the flight window to its maximum potential. For example, if imaging is occurring in late spring the imaging window would be approximately eleven hours long and would start at 8:00am and end at 7:00pm. The pilot must use all of the available window. It would be a mistake to start at 11:00am in an attempt to fly from 11-7. Unforecast weather can move in at any time. Maximizing the imaging window is second most important behind safety.
Another important factor that may affect when your imaging occurs is ATC compliance. Sometimes the imaging flight plans may be located within an airport's airspace. If so, they may only authorize you to fly in certain areas at certain times. Of course you will have assistance from Air America in getting approval to fly in these areas but it is the pilot's job to coordinate the day to day flying schedule with ATC. Faxing maps to ATC and speaking with them on the phone prior to the day's flight may be necessary. Other jobs may be in remote locations where this is not an issue.
The actual flying and imaging is all done by a single pilot. The flying is as simple as being able to hold altitude and heading. Imagine that you are mowing the lawn with the airplane. If you make a mistake the imagining computer will identify it and you can then go back to correct only the places with errors. You will be given formal training on how to operate the imaging computer. It is located in the back of the airplane and controlled though the use of a mouse and monitor in the front of the airplane. The imaging computer contains set of hard drives that can be easily removed and shipped to a processing office after a day of imaging (approximately five hours maximum). Other pilot responsibilities are to e-mail a daily reports (PDRs), Hobbs sheets and mail fuel receipts.
The following is a daily schedule for a typical day. For this example we will assume that sunrise is at 6:30am and sunset is at 8:30pm.
6:30am - Sunrise
8:00am - Arrive at airport one hour before the imaging window opens. You should use this time to preflight the airplane, check the weather and coordinate with ATC if necessary. Then you should start the airplane, turn on the imaging computer and begin flying to the first flight plan.
9:00am - The imaging window begins two and a half hours after sunrise. The goal is to arrive at the first plan as the window opens and not to leave the airport when the window opens. Some flight plans may be several miles from your departure point and you will have to adjust accordingly.
6:00pm - The imaging window ends two and half hours before sunset. There are special circumstances when the imaging window can be extended even longer such as when a high altitude overcast layer exists that prevents any sun shadows from being cast on the ground. There are other times it may be shortened slightly due to camera underexposure. These special circumstances will be discussed in detail during training.
8:30pm - Sunset
During the imaging window the goal is to perform as much imaging as possible. You will have to stop for a fuel and lunch break approximately five hours after you takeoff. If the weather conditions are perfect then you are expected to fly a complete eight hour day which does not include the fuel and lunch break. If the weather at any time is not favorable, or if ATC does not grant approval (if required) then you are expected to be on standby through the imaging window in the case that conditions improve.
Sometimes determining if the weather conditions are favorable or unfavorable is difficult if you are in a remote area without weather reporting technology. This is also difficult if the flight plan is several miles from your departure point. Unless the conditions are obviously unfavorable the pilots are expected to attempt to fly by performing a scouting flight. You will never get in trouble for attempting to work, even if you flew around but did not perform any imaging. Weather is sometimes isolated and not widespread so there is always a chance the conditions might be poor at your departure point but favorable at your imaging point and possibly vice versa. There are some cases where it might even be necessary to file an IFR flight plan or at least get a local IFR clearance to get to the imaging area where the weather is better.
At the end of the day the airplane must be secured and put inside a secured hangar. These arrangements will be made for you by Air America. There are several camera access covers that must be installed every night. Beyond that the only other responsibility is removing and shipping any full hard drives and e-mailing a daily report to update us on your progress. Reporting is required every day regarless of flight time. How to deal with the hard drives and how to complete the daily report will all be discussed during training.
Now that you have read about an average day of imaging, we need to discuss pay. You will receive $20.00 per Hobbs hour. This includes all ferrying time to flight plans and scouting flights even if imaging did not occur. Every day you are guaranteed a minimum of 2.5 hours of pay.
In addition, when you are outside of Volusia County, you will receive a per diem payment of $120.00 per day to cover all living expenses. With this money you will be responsible for your hotel, food and rental car. This is the best situation for the pilot because it allows them the freedom of spending their money how they choose. If multiple airplanes are in the same location and the pilots share a hotel room and rental car they will both be able to spend far less than the daily per diem. In special circumstances the pilot may be working in a town where they have friends or family. In these circumstances the pilot will make a great deal of money. Regardless of the circumstances the per diem will not change. The only exception is if it is impossible for the pilot to meet their hotel, food and rental car expenses due to an excessively priced area. Air America would research it further to verify the high prices, but we can assure you that you will never be forced to spend more than your per diem to meet your expenses. Do not forget to save your receipts for your annual income taxes.
Any expenses incurred from airplane fuel, hangar fees, and airplane maintenance will all be paid by Air America. The pilot will be given a credit card for fuel and other purchases during the contract.
Interested in getting started in aerial imaging? Please use our contact page . We look forward to hearing from you!