Sunday Deep-dive! 🤿

This is a company I am particularly interested in after survey season ends…

I love learning about aviation small businesses. At Brewton, Freddie (owner and pilot) talked to me about the basics of the pipeline patrol business: why it makes financial sense, what the current challenges are (mainly politics) and how they got to where they are at today. That discussion was arguably the most fun I had during my trip there.

Since Ocean Aerial runs two aviation businesses, banner towing and cropdusting, if nothing changes, they’re my top pick next summer, when survey ends.

But as always, it’s my pleasure to share what I know about the company with you. And it sounds like it is a nice one. You can take a look at their website here. They are currently looking for a trained banner cub pilot (more info at the end).

Let’s dive in.

“This is my second summer here. I started working here in May of last year. I had my commercial multi, and was working on CFI at the time. I don't remember how many hours I had, I was somewhere around the 250-mark. They don't necessarily have a criteria for requirements. I didn't even have my tailwheel endorsement when I applied, all they asked was I obtain it before they brought me on. Bare minimum TW experienced, they brought me up to speed. I found the job through a listing on barnstormers and contacted them. As for future plans, I'm still exploring options and figuring out what's next. I'd like to get into charter or cargo next.

Season runs from Memorial Day to Labor Day…

On a typical day we head to the hangar around 8am, check the weather and pull the planes out to fuel up. We get a game plan for the day, sort of an idea of how many banners we have to tow and where we'll be flying. Our workday can be as short as 3 single passes over the beach to as long as two four-hour tows. It's seven days a week, weather permitting. We fly local banners only, so have have a set of routes that we stick to. No out of town or overnight missions. We have a ground that crew takes care of the banner setup.

I particularly appreciate working for a family owned business. The work culture is great, and we look out for each other. Pilots aren't pushed to fly beyond their limits, money is never prioritized over safety. It's a small crew, so you get to know everyone very well. As for the work, it's very rewarding and you will undoubtedly come out a more skilled pilot. The Cubs are great fun, and the ocean view never gets old. It can get tedious at times flying the same routes every day, especially on longer assignments, but there's usually enough variety and excitement on the farm to keep it from getting too stale.

Training is free and housing is provided, no contracts to speak of. In return, the pilots usually help with chores around the farm before the flying picks up full time. Training time varies, two weeks is probably a fair time frame from the first checkout flight to picking up a banner. By the end of the season, pilots typically accumulate around 500 hours. The pay is fair and enough to live on in my experience, it's paid per tow rather than an hourly rate.

I mean I've got a car payment, credit card bills, and student loans but it worked for me last summer. This place is kind of unique in that they have other work for us beyond the banner towing. They also have an aerial application business (crop dusting) and they pay $20/hr if we load for them. I didn't do any side work for them last summer and it looks like my total pay for the summer was $7,600.

My advice for someone looking to apply for a banner towing job in general would be to earn your tailwheel and, if it's feasible before applying, become proficient in it. In my experience, many banner tow companies are much more likely to hire based on personality than a polished resume. A good attitude and the right motivation are the most important things to have. I'd say they're probably not the best spot for someone looking to build hours as quick as possible and head directly to the airlines, simply because there are more efficient means of doing so. However, it's a great way to improve your stick and rudder skills, and if you're with the right company, it's some of the most fun you could have in a professional flying career.

Not all banner operators are created equal, so one last piece of advice would be to do as much research as possible before hiring on with someone. Speaking with former employees is one of the best ways to vet a place. Know the hazards that come with banner towing and know when to walk away from a red flag.

I can't recommend Ocean Aerial highly enough! Great place with great people.”

We then proceeded to talk about another banner towing company he wanted to work for, but quit shortly after starting, because of how bad the operation was ran.

That’s a story for another day I guess…

There’s a very nice article about Ocean Aerial by AOPA, called Summer camp for pilots, if you want to read more.

Funny thing, while doing some additional research about Ocean Aerial, I came across this job posting of theirs.

It seems one of their pilots lost his engine above some trees. He’s fine, but he’s probably done flying for the season. So they need an experienced banner tow pilot to fill in on the week ends.

I don’t have my tailwheel endorsement and can’t get it in a rush, otherwise I would’ve jumped on that opportunity. It’s all yours, click here to apply on barnstormers.

But that’s it for today. Hope it was insightful. I’m always happy to hear some feedback.

Talk soon! 🫡

If you enjoy this newsletter and would like to support it, here are 3 ways you can do so:

1️⃣ Get the 2024 Ultimate pilot jobs database. It’s currently the only way I monetize this newsletter and I continually put A LOT of effort building it.

2️⃣ Leave a review of The Road to 1500 newsletter on our Facebook page, so people know actual pilots read & enjoy it.

3️⃣ Forward it to a pilot friend!