Sunday Deep-dive! 🤿

Not as popular as other aerial survey companies I presume: Kucera International Inc.

They seem to be as low time friendly as it gets. However, if LinkedIn is right, they haven’t hired since January of 2023. It would make sense because I also found an old job post from December 2022, nothing super recent.

All of that to say who knows if they’ll even be hiring anytime soon. Nonetheless, I’ll leave a link to their contact page (click here).

Let’s dive in!

HOUR REQUIREMENTS, what we know

• 300TT 50ME, lower if you start as a sensor operator

couldn’t get in touch with a more recent pilot, so these are as of late 2022

WORDS FROM A CURRENT PILOT

“I started working with Kucera International in July of 2022, shortly after graduation from Western Michigan University. WMU is a part 141 flight school, and I got all my ratings and certifications and flight time (prior to hire) from Western. I graduated from Western Michigan with about 230 hours of total time (~60 hours multi) and sent out dozens of applications. What they don't tell you in flight school is most of the available flying jobs are part 135, which requires a minimum of 500 hours, twice what most people graduate with, or because insurance is ridiculous these days, even part 91 operations require ATP minimums for entry level flying jobs. Despite that, Kucera was the only one that responded positively, and I was hired soon after as camera operator and the transition to full-time pilot. I was checked out to fly the single engine, Cessna 206s, and then about five months after hire, the Piper Navajo Chieftain. The Chieftain being our primary type of aircraft we use for survey. Got my final checkout flight with about 250 total hours, and 70 hours of multi time. I currently fly as a Navajo pilot, having now over 900 total hours and plan on stay with the company a few more years at least. I have no desire to go to airlines. I have been in the talks with the company to also get checked out for the Cessna 441 Conquest II as the only other pilots checked out for it is our chief pilot and a contract pilot that we fear may be aging out or not able to renew their medical certificate. 

about the job…

The daily life is very much dependent on the weather and the season. In the late fall through early spring, is our busiest time of year, since all the leaves are off, and allows for clearer and more accurate survey with our equipment. The days can be long, or short, and often on the road, but also home for long stretches. Flight missions can range from an hour to several hours. My longest flight was 7 hours non-stop. It all depends on the size of the mission, the ferry time, weather, and sun-angle window. Kucera has done missions all over the United States, as well as internationally. Just last spring (2023), we were in South Carolina for an extended period of time, doing photo survey of the entire state, and we were stationed there for almost three months. That's an extreme example though, and most of the time, if we're on the road, it's only for an overnight, up to a couple of weeks. Hotels and rental cars are covered by the company, as well as a per diem stipend. Rental cars and hotels are arranged by the pilot and they can pick where ever to stay, so long as it's within reasonable cost. Other daily task include weather observations/forecast, flight planning, and coordinating with various ATC organizations. Kucera often has to fly survey missions in Class B airspace, as well as MOA's and other special use airspace. Some of the work can also take place at high altitude, so being aware of oxygen requirements is a must. My highest mission was at 17,900 feet. 

the Kucera experience…

I've liked working here a lot, even though I did have to move to Ohio. The flying is great! The flights to and from a mission are more exciting in my opinion, but we travel all over the country, and I have been in all sorts of places I've never been before because of this job. The flight crew is great and tight-knit, and very goal-oriented. I built my flight time very quick, as the company was in serious short supply of pilots, and I went from 230 hours to 900 in just a year and a half. Sometimes getting 40-50 flights hours in a month. If there's one thing I dislike about the job, it's the lack of notice before going on a mission. I'm fairly lucky if I get 24 hours of notice. Especially since our job requires certain weather minimums for certain jobs. 

let’s talk numbers…

I'm a salaried employee, and thus can work from one day a month, to just about every day depending on the weather and number of jobs available. I was hired on at a starting salary of $43,000 as a camera operator in training to qualify for the PA-31. Once I was qualified on the Navajo, I got a pay raise to $55,000 and have been there for a year now. There are no guaranteed hours, but the flight crew is rotated fairly evenly, so there isn't one or two pilots always flying and the rest not. There is no set rotation however. 

for those thinking of applying…

This job isn't one for people looking to or have a family, unless they're okay with being on the road for stretches of time often. It is a great job however, for pilots looking to get a start in their careers and aren't tied down with relationships. Kucera, however, isn't looking for pilots that are just looking to get their their ATP minimums and leave. They want at least a couple years of flying so they don't have to keep training pilots.”

Quite shorter than usual yeah? haha

Tried to complement it with some research of my own but hey, there really isn’t much about them out there.

From what I’ve read on Glassdoor, the biggest con is the same for everyone in the flight department: sudden and frequent overnights.

If you don’t mind that, you should be peachy.

Hey, remember if you invite 5 friends, you get to help me pick our next deep-dive subject. Think about it!

Oh, and quick update for those interested in the notion website migration: got a stuck a bit, but still working on it.

That’ll be it for today though, until next time! 

🫡