9 Min YouTube Vid Here
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
- He was on track to work for the airlines, but while on a vacation in Hawaii, he took a tour flight and afterwards was offered a job by that company. He took the job and has been at Wings Over Kauai 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
- They conduct air tours on Kauai, safely flying their aircraft and guests
- They give verbal air tours 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, about an hour lunch break
- 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
Pay
- $60k-75k/yr: Total pay you should expect flying as a fixed wing tour pilot full time in Hawaii
- Pilots are paid about $50 per flight. $50 x 900 flights/yr = $45,000 in flight pay
- Pilots are usually tipped.
- Some days, pilots make $100 or $200 per day flown. Other days they make zero! It depends heavily on where you work. Some places barely make tips at all!
- This is highly variable. Talk to the pilots at the place you want to work to get their numbers.
How to become a fixed-wing tour pilot in Hawaii
- 2.5-6 years: Timeline to go from zero to being a tour pilot in Hawaii
- $60k-$120k: Overall Cost to get all the ratings required
- Paying for your education
- Veterans: look into using your benefits/scholarships for flight school (or 4 year program)
- Teenagers: consider joining Civil Air Patrol or other junior flying program
- Slow: Fly on the weekends as you can afford it
- Fast: Aggressively save money at your job, then once you have enough, go to flight school full time, get certified and get a flying job as soon as possible
- Fast: Take a student loan
- Choosing a flight school: Inquire into the flight schools or colleges in your area. Consider using Claude or Chat GPT to "create a list of the flight schools, colleges with flying programs and aero clubs within ___ miles of my location"
- Reach out and tell them your intentions. Ask them how long their program takes, how available their flight instructors are, cost per flight hour etc. Make sure the school fits your desired timeline, budget and culture.
- Get your private pilots license
- Allows you to fly as Pilot-in-Command for non-commercial flying
- Timeline: 2-3 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 (highly recommended, not required)
- 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). Some beginner job options:
- Flight Instructing (preferred)
- Banner Towing
- Jump Piloting (drop skydivers)
- Ferry Piloting
- Once you have the ratings and hours, hunt for a tour pilot job!
- Use Claude/GPT to create a list of all fixed wing tour operators in your desired region
- Look into each of them. Send them an email containing your inquiry, resume and any questions you have. Consider a follow up call.
- Visit as many in person as possible. Show face, talk to people, you may learn valuable insider info like: 'We aren't hiring now but in about 4 months one of our guys is heading to the airlines, so a spot will open up'
- Timing is crucial. Like Marcus, you could just be in the right place at the right time. Other times, you may be the perfect fit, but they're full. Because of this, there is a relatively high chance that you reach out to several places you like, and they're all full
- Be persistent. Contact them every month or two. Make sure they know you are motivated and are the first name they think of when a spot opens up.
- Cast a wide net - your dream company may not be hiring for another year. But if you keep in touch with 10 companies, the scales are more in your favor
- Keep in mind: The pilot market is competitive in 2026. There was an aggressive push to create pilots for the last 15 years, plus some turbulence in the flying industry (like Spirit Airlines shutting down). Regardless, the go-getters will still find a way to consistently win. Get after it!
What Companies Typically 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
- Working full time will be enough to support you as a single in Hawaii
- If you have a family, expect to need a side hustle or have dual income w/ your partner
- On Kauai, expect 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, hustle and get creative!
Pros
- You get to see 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
Cons
- Hawaii is very expensive, and you are only paid on days you fly. Weather days = no income
- Flying the same path and hitting the same talking points 5x/day can feel repetitive
- Sometimes there is an undertone that if you’re not Hawaiian, you’re an outsider (haole)
- 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'll 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. If you are aiming for the airlines, know that you won't get the cross country, nighttime or multi-engine hours required for that at this job. The average tenure at this job is a couple years.
- Hawaii is expensive and to make it, you'll be flying a lot.
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, Marcus and I have the highest chance of seeing it if you leave the comment on the my Instagram video series posted by @dangerousjobs_.
Huge thanks to Wings Over Kauai for having me out for a flight with Marcus and their operation. If you're headed to Kauai, they'll take great care of you! IG: wingsoverkauai. WingsOverKauai.com
Photo credit: Marcus Madson (the pilot)
Author: Chris Barnett
Founder, DangerousJobs
IG: dangerousjobs_
Personal: chris.barnett_