Contents
- A realistic look into the life of a fixed-wing tour pilot
- Exact steps to become a fixed-wing tour pilot
- A dive into their pay and if that's enough to support you in Hawaii
About Marcus
- Marcus is a pilot who conducts fixed wing tours in Kauai, Hawaii
- He grew up in Minnesota and after high school he attended a college program at the University of North Dakota’s Flight School
- The 4-year program included his training and certifications to become a commercial pilot, in addition to a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical aviation
- As he gained more certifications during college, he began working as flight instructor and tour guide for his flight school
- When he graduated college, he planned to build hours and eventually start working for the major airlines
- He ended up taking a vacation to Kauai to visit friends. During his visit there he there he went on an air tour and was somewhat jokingly offered a job
- After emailing and eventually interviewing with the company, he relocated to Kauai and has been flying with the same company for 11 years
- He’s a father of 3 with a 4th on the way, and loves how his job is a essentially 9-5, Tuesday thru Saturday, enabling him to spend lots of time with his family
Baseline Info
- Conduct air tours on Kauai, safely flying their aircraft and guests
- Give verbal air tour mid flight
An Average Day (8 hours)
- Check weather (usually before work)
- Show up at 8:45
- Catch a ride to the plane, then taxi the aircraft to the loading zone
- Introduce yourself to passengers, take group photos, and load up
- Fly five flights per day, each one about 65 min
- Typical flights/timeline: 9:30am, 11:00am, lunch break, 1:00pm, 2:30pm, 4:00pm
- Taxi back, park, and secure the plane
- Leave work at 5:30pm
Schedule
- Tuesday-Saturday, 8:45am - 5:30pm
- Tours run year round
- Expect to continue flying on most holidays
- If you want to take time off, you will probably need to coordinate someone to cover you
How to become a fixed-wing tour pilot in Hawaii
- Get your private pilots license (Avg. $9,000-$17,000)
- To save money, consider joining a flying club
- If you are in high school, consider joining the Civil Air Patrol. This could help you get your pilots license at a low cost. Additionally, it would allow you to affordably fly as a teenager, while participating in important search and rescue service missions
- Timeline: 1-3 months (full-time) to 1 year (part time)
- Get your instrument rating
- Allows you to fly in conditions of poor/no visibility.
- Timeline: 1-3 months (full-time) to 1 year (part time)
- Get your Commercial Pilot rating
- Allows you to generate income from flying; the step from hobby to a legal job
- Timeline: 1-3 months (full-time) to 1 year (part time)
- Get your CFI - Certified Flight Instructor
- Certifies you to teach others to fly; build up your flight hours while getting paid to teach
- Timeline: 1-3 months (full-time) to 1 year (part time)
- Build hours up to at least 350 (500+ is preferred). Good jobs include:
- Flight Instructor
- Banner Towing
- Skydive Aircraft Pilot
- Aerial Photography
- Ferry Piloting
- Hunt for a job!
- Networking is crucial. Visit as many tour operations in person as possible. You can call, email, and submit applications to outfits that interest you. Consider talking a support job with a company to get your foot in the door. Make a list of the companies you would enjoy working for and call them monthly, be persistent! Try to position yourself so that when an spot opens up, you are next on their list.
- The pilot job market is very competitive right now. The market cycles between not having enough pilots and having too many pilots, and right now it's in a phase of ‘too many’ pilots. Causes include things like Spirit Airlines shutting down and their pilots re-rentering the job market as well as the aggressive push to get more pilots qualified in the last 15 years. It will settle down, but right now there are a fair number of qualified pilots looking for work.
What Companies Want to See
- Appropriate ratings
- 350 to 500+ hours (as many of those as Pilot in Command as possible)
- People person, good with guests and coworkers
- Experience in the service industry, so you’re accustomed to taking care of people
Can this Career Support you in Hawaii
- Bottom line, working full time will be enough to support you and your family if you live a modest lifestyle.
- On Kauai, expect a a bare bones studio apartment to be $2,000+ per month and a house to be $3,000 to $5,000 per month
- Taxes are high, and food and gas are expensive. Many people shop at Costco for food and fuel.
- You’ll find that most people in the tourism industry in Hawaii have a side hustle. Marcus’ happens to be his videography gig, where he films and edits his guest’s flight experiences for a fee. If you want to earn more, get creative!
Pros
- You get to see the most breathtaking views every day
- You have a stable schedule and are always home for dinner
- You get to meet people from all over the world (66+ countries so far!)
- You have freedom in the sky. There is a list of scenic places to fly to, but if you want to make a detour, you can
- You get paid to fly
Cons
- Hawaii is very expensive
- Sometimes there is an undertone that if you’re not Hawaiian you’re an outsider (haole)
- Flying the same path and hitting the same talking points 5x/day can feel repetitive
- A pro and a con: Kauai has a very small town feel, not a ton of action happening
Danger Score
- 3 out of 10
- The weather changes quickly
- You’re flying in a busy area with lots of air traffic
- If something goes wrong, it can go very wrong. However, with fixed wing aircraft that is extremely rare.
Reality Check
- You fly the same route potentially 1,000 times per year. You will probably go through phases of growing bored then loving it again.
- There isn’t much room for career progression if you stay for the long term. Because of that, the average tenure in this role is usually only a couple years. If you have dreams of flying for the airlines or in other larger aircraft, this won’t be your forever job.
Now you have an idea of what it takes, and how it really is! Enjoy!
If you want to ask a question/leave a comment, I have the highest chance of seeing it if you leave the comment on the my Instagram video series posted by @dangerousjobs_ . Posts will be live at the end of May.
Chris Barnett
Founder and author, DangerousJobs.com