Airlines ... Corporate ... Airlines ... Corporate ... Airlines ... Corporate ...Enough already!You -- you're the odd one. You joined the aviation fraternity for something entirely different. Hauling 50 RJ passengers crammed into an aluminum tube from "A" to "B" as an air transport driver is not your cup of tea. Catering to the whims of a bunch of "suits" tucked into the back of a bizjet is about as exciting to you as watching paint dry. Damn the six-figure income -- you want to fly!Where can you get air almost every day and feel like you make a difference? Where can you get to know your regulars by name or have a sense of accomplishment when -- without this flight -- there might not be food on the table or medicine for the sick? Where, in the practice of your profession, can you feel the presence of the "Great Spirit" in towering mountain ranges or the vast tundra? Where can you fill your soul with the wonder of flight as it is meant to be?Alaska. Go north to Alaska.Nowhere on the planet is the need for air travel more pertinent to everyday existence than in the 49th state. In many regions of Alaska you just can't get there from here without wings. If you have the mind and the will to participate as an airman in Alaska's aviation system, it's just about time to start packing.Although there are a number of commuter operations flying turbo-props in Alaska -- and service provided by Alaska Airlines in its Boeing 737s -- the most common pilot employment is FAR 135 work in "stretch" single-engine aircraft such as the Cessna 206 and Cherokee 6. Those regulations specify that an aviator have acquired at least 500 hours of flight time and a Commercial Pilot Certificate to fly single-engine air taxi in VFR conditions. However, the large operators based near the popular cities of Anchorage, Nome, Fairbanks and Juneau typically require 1,000-1,500 hours of total time including some Alaska time. Although most job hunters heading northward from the "lower 48" may not have Alaska time, good mountain time -- say, in the Colorado Rockies -- might be a suitable trade to some employers. A seaplane rating is a definite plus since many enterprises operate both ASEL and ASES equipment.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.avweb.com/recent-updates/business-military/northbound