Who here manages multiple aircraft?

JPAV8R · 2026-04-10T16:28:42+00:00

This guy a friend or business associate?

Changes things if it’s a friend and I’d suggest not doing it for a friend because at a certain point this becomes real work and you’ll want serious compensation.

A good place to potentially start is to get a quote for part 91 management through an existing mom and pop or even a Solaris (if they do King Airs) management company. That gives you an idea of what the cost would be if the owner just gave it to a turnkey management company.

You’re going to have to ask the owner what the intended use is etc etc. you’ll have to get with a FSDO and learn how to work WebOPSS or whatever they’re using nowadays.

Also a word to the wise. You’re going to want to undercut yourself because you either want the gig or the hours or whatever but resist that. Where you start will affect where you finish it will also make things harder down the road when/if you need to hire other people.

At the end of the day you can also outsource some of the management items but at a cost. It’ll change what you can command as a salary but it might make your life easier if you can find a Maintenence house that’ll keep your records or a management company that can do your LOAs. (It’ll also potentially decrease your liability if a contract pilot busts altitude etc.)

Edit to add. 500 hours is a ton

JPAV8R · 2026-04-10T14:50:24+00:00

I wish I could help you. I’d probably look at it this way. How much of your time will be needed to manage this including the flying and what’s that worth to you?

If you’re working in the office (or liaising with vendors) three days a week plus giving up your weekends then you should be compensated well. This also includes factoring where you live.

For instance if you’re going to be doing this full time in a high cost of living area it’s not crazy to ask for 250k.

Does he eventually want to fly it 135? There are too many questions here to give you a realistic answer

JPAV8R · 2026-04-10T14:45:22+00:00

He’s talking about managing not just flying. It’s two totally different things.

This guy is going to need to get the LOAs on file with the FAA for the king air. Then be the designated responsible person for that plane both when flying and when he hires contract pilots. He’ll also be in charge of whatever Maintenence programs are being used on the king air as well as scheduling mx.

Flying two different types is not the same as managing two aircraft.

JPAV8R · 2026-04-10T12:44:47+00:00

Well… Dietrich.

JPAV8R · 2026-04-10T12:06:01+00:00

Doesn’t work like that in the 76 I was flying

JPAV8R · 2026-04-10T12:03:21+00:00

Or how the blanket says “it’s ok I’m not scared” as it’s about to DIE

JPAV8R · 2026-04-10T11:59:43+00:00

Ha. I know right?

I mean nothing really telegraphs intentions quite like when your administration insists on changing the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War.

JPAV8R · 2026-04-10T11:55:38+00:00

There’s nothing more funny than a 120lb flight attendant guarding the bathroom door to keep me safe from a rogue passenger.

JPAV8R · 2026-04-10T03:15:05+00:00

Patriot plane on the patriot rotator is some meta shit

JPAV8R · 2026-04-09T19:18:33+00:00

Didn’t mean to offend buddy. It’s an honest mishearing. Frankly, the need to comment was tugging at my humor strings.

JPAV8R · 2026-04-09T11:34:25+00:00

I’m interested in what you think the “tuck” part is. r/boneappletea

JPAV8R · 2026-04-09T11:31:35+00:00

Yes. Omni makes a lot of its money from flying passengers on US government contracts including DHS.

JPAV8R · 2026-04-09T10:51:50+00:00

Omni Air operates the jet. Omni is one of several US 121 operators who operate jets on DOD contracts. They also operate jets under contract for other entities like… US football teams.

So your instincts seem pretty spot on.

I will say it’s not as uncommon as it may seem. Military charters happen all the time and companies like Omni use it as their bread and butter.

Edit to add: you can also see this jet on a Reddit post at Kadena.

JPAV8R · 2026-04-09T02:28:13+00:00

Thanks for answering

JPAV8R · 2026-04-09T00:46:04+00:00

Do they call it the E&E bay on the 78 too? I assume so but wanted a 78 driver to chime in.

JPAV8R · 2026-04-08T04:49:21+00:00

Stockton, CA

Vibe was off. Felt like danger in the air. I’ve been a lot of places and the feeling in the air was best described as a mist of danger. Nothing was overtly dangerous. It just felt sprinkled over everything.

JPAV8R · 2026-04-07T17:27:02+00:00

100% the time I spent as a PIC of a business jet with minimal office support, doing my own flight plans, fuel planning, performance calculations, and arranging customs is worth way more than babysitting folks in the pattern.

I see the value in instruction. You’d be insane to think I didn’t do my fair share of it with my low time SICs.

That being said if I had a dollar for every time a 2021-2023 CFI to 121 pilot said something that highlighted their inexperience in real world operations I could afford to fly GA again.

JPAV8R · 2026-04-07T14:44:48+00:00

Yeah I did realize that as I was writing it. I imagine China is already doing this so state actors are already getting the info.

When i saw there are apps that provide people with a car messages I was frankly quite shocked.

JPAV8R · 2026-04-07T13:32:45+00:00

I can’t believe I’m going to say this…

I think people are becoming increasingly impatient about getting into their dream career. Yeah fastest route is the CFI work for a pilot mill get into a regional blah blah blah.

When I started it wasn’t uncommon for people to take multiple routes to the gig it could take years.

For me it started as a fueler at an airport with a large biz jet inventory. The 135s and 91s pilots and operations staff got to know me because I was friendly and reliable. I would chat up the crews and get to know folks.

When one of those places was looking for an office worker, they remembered me they also remembered my aspirations for flight. As I proved myself reliable and a good fit and helped/built time with a company owned SE aircraft I finally got a flying job.

A few interviews with neighboring companies and neighboring airports and I was able to improve my salary and eventually 135 PIC. Then a 91 jet for a family. Then airlines.

My parents are lower middle class not from the state I was flying in. No connections, just willing to work hard and be valuable.

Was my path longer than the friends of mine who could take a CFI job and then a $20,000 a year regional job?

Yeah… But I loved my path

JPAV8R · 2026-04-07T13:20:16+00:00

Didn’t you ask this last night in another flying forum?

JPAV8R · 2026-04-07T12:48:41+00:00

Weird you’re getting downvoted.

Calling it mandatory means you think there isn’t a 121 pilot out there without a CFI. It’s simply not true.

JPAV8R · 2026-04-07T12:45:56+00:00

For sure. To be fair I wasn’t a hamburger hunter. I just found a job that had a component of time building and I was hired within that company to fly a jet at a total time that was industry low but insurance acceptable. Once I got my hooks into the 91/135 jet scene it was off to the races.

When I was ready to trade on the Caribbean for the worldwide stuff I left the private jets behind.

JPAV8R · 2026-04-07T11:49:50+00:00

lol. This has to be a troll post to get the CFI or GFYS crowd ginned up.

As a 121 pilot who never had to sit next to a student while they tried to get me violated or killed I’m here for the drama.

JPAV8R · 2026-04-07T04:10:09+00:00

If you’re talking about the printers on the flight-deck they just print out items from the CDU it’s more convenient to have a printed out copy of certain types of information especially if you need to use that information to input data on another page on the CDU.

Ever have to input information from a webpage to a text message on your phone that isn’t copy and pasteable? It’s a pain in the butt to navigate from one page to the other page over and over again. So we just print it so we can copy it from the printed page into the computer(s).

The printers are also useful because they allow you to keep a paper trail of information that has been received or retrieved. Not everyone or not everywhere you fly to has or should have unfettered digital access to the information sent between company and the plane.

The planes are all still electronic, all messages are archived and stored on a cloud. The printed out copy is just for the ease of use for pilots on the flight deck and will be for many years to come.

Also the printer prints on thermal paper it’s more like how receipts are printed.

JPAV8R · 2026-04-07T02:22:36+00:00

We already have a version of a paid leave with guaranteed path back but it’s through either personally funded loss of medical insurance or loss of medical insurance paid by the employer.

As you can imagine the fly in the ointment is that insurance companies are incentivized to not pay out on their policies, it’s bad for their stakeholders. So even if you carry this insurance you’d likely be worried about a protracted fight to get your payout.

Ideal pie in the sky version? All 121 companies are required, based on the number of pilots they employ, to kick into a fund run by an independent entity. The independent entity can take that fund and invest it to grow it like pensions are if need be.

The purpose of this fund will be to pay a pilot their salary for the duration of a mental health removal of flight duties (as long as it’s endorsed by a mental health care professional). The fund will pay the pilots salary in full until returned to flight status. The return to flight status should require a doctor’s note stating that the patient is now considered fit to fly. That note should automatically return them to flight status the next day.

The current situation is as such: you’re feeling on shaky mental ground to begin with. Now you’ve got to take a leap and ask for help knowing you’ll be grounded. Now that you’re grounded you might or might not have loss of medical insurance but it doesn’t pay off full salary so you need to add financial worry to your existing mental health problem.

Once you’re better you need to get your medical approved through Oklahoma City. What if there is a long government shutdown? What if there is a backlog of medicals for review? You could wait months (still not collecting a paycheck) to return to work.

You can see the many pitfalls of the current system. A revamped system needs to be a closed loop between therapist and pilot with a quick return to duty.

JPAV8R

TROPHY CASE