Do Many Canadian Pilots work in the US

[Rekyeah]

Just wondering if many Canadian pilots fly the summers in the USA.

I understand that a FAA licence and a  Work Visa is needed.

Just interested if many pilots do it and what their experiences were.

😀👍

 

[HillerWhat]

Yup, work visa and FAA license. Or under NAFTA you can fly for a Canadian company with a Canadian License. 

The pilot shortage situation is more evident down here and in turn the rates are higher. 

If you can get on USFS, it’s pretty much a year round gig fighting fires nowadays.

[Diaper_Pin]

Getting a green card is another story all together. Especially under the current administration.

[Rekyeah]

Ok,

Thanks for the insight Hiller and Diaper. 

👍

[Amphibious]

I’m a canadain citizen/resident but also have a FAA CPLH-IFR, mediums, longlines, blah blah blah, and have found it pretty much impossible to work for a US company.   Even discussed it will a stateside immigration lawyer.   not that companies down there don’t want to hire me, but getting the visa is quite a thing.

FAA rego companies outside of the continental US is a different story.

[ramen rider]

On 11/14/2018 at 8:59 AM, Amphibious said:

I’m a canadain citizen/resident but also have a FAA CPLH-IFR, mediums, longlines, blah blah blah, and have found it pretty much impossible to work for a US company.   Even discussed it will a stateside immigration lawyer.   not that companies down there don’t want to hire me, but getting the visa is quite a thing.

 

I've heard the same of us Yanks working up there.

[pilot83]

Why would you wanna go fly in the states anyways it’s full of ’Murcans. Hahaha

[ramen rider]

22 hours ago, TheReaper2.0 said:

Hahaha yeah or maybe it’s the fact that your all trained by fresh graduates and have no real skill set so it’s like the blind leading the blind, teaching people how to fly.  The simple fact that once you get your commercial faa and don’t need endorsements and can fly any machine up to 13,500lbs is absurd no wonder there are more incidents in the US than any other place.  Wasn’t it you who said you work for free when you were an instructor or for like $300/month? 

Yes it is pretty stupid that flight instruction is looked upon as a time building job for entry level pilots, but not all of us were taught by fresh off the assembly line newbies.  My private instructor had well over a thousand hours teaching experience, and had flown in the "real world" for many years, as did the guy who did my stage checks, a retired LE pilot of twenty plus years.  My commercial instructor also had around four thousand hours, so experienced instructors are down here,...you just have to avoid the cfi factories.

,...and no I never worked for free.  The last job I interviewed for wanted me to (giving rides in a 44) for the first three months, but I was not offered it.,...and yeah I probably would have taken it, 'cause yeah it does suck down here!

,...but it still beats cleanin' toilets!

 

One more thing about this blind leading the blind thing down here.  As a pilot who is not a cfi almost all of my time is 100% solo stick time flying around a descent sized city (kinda like flying tours, only my pax are just me, myself, and I) and I have over 600 hours of that in my almost 800 hours total.  Yet to employers down here (primarily entry level turbine gigs flying tours) they actually value cfi time (where most of their "pic time" is actually guarding the controls while the student does the flying) more than my 100% "sole manipilator of the controls" time.  Even my over 350 night hours flying over that city hasn't opened a single door down here.  Yet if I were a cfi with only the standard 25 hours night (guarding the controls while the student flys) they'd be jumping to hire me to fly tours at night.  Sounds pretty f**d up if you ask me!