Did I find a 500-hour unicorn?

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Lamarr_jr@reddit

I worked there. There are lots of good reasons not to go, but I got 1300hrs in 18 months and I have zero regrets. Shoot me a message if you have any questions.

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JDawg0107@reddit

I tried to send private messages to a few STAR alums so not to clog the main chat but Reddit restricted me.

I am very interested in flying for them but cannot get a response. I have all the mins met and former USAF pilot so I have 300 ME jet hours (not that it matters for this job but should set me apart from the other 500 hr guys). I even offered to sign on for 12 months.

Do you have a contact you recommend me reaching out direct to? Other than the pilot jobs email?

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Lamarr_jr@reddit

Unfortunately I don't know who does the hiring these days. When I was there they would hire a group of 2-4 pilots at a time, and there would be a few months between hiring periods. Also if your resume is too good they might think you're overqualified and would leave too quickly? I remember when I was there we passed on a few people that were close to 1500hrs because the owner thought they wouldn't stick around.

And of course the whole industry isn't hiring much right now so you could be a great candidate but they just have 300 resumes to look at. 🤷

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EagleE4@reddit

I had an amazing time out there easiest most fun job I ever had

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sjpilot1994@reddit

I don’t think most people’s idea of the “unicorn” is flying a single engine piston for $27,000 a year

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TxAggieMike@reddit (OP)

Comment of unicorn aimed at idea of wet CPL certificate versus elsewhere that insist on 3x the time

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CorrectPhotograph488@reddit

2300 a month and there is a contract 😭

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Mao_Kwikowski@reddit

It is only a 6 month commitment. For a young, single, pilot with no experience this could be a way to build a lot of time and experience.

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CorrectPhotograph488@reddit

I agree. Just crazy that this is the normal & it used to be way worse. You could go wash dishes at mcdonalds for 2500$ haha.

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the-lady-doth-fly@reddit

It’s not about the pay. Look up how much you’d have to pay to get that many flight hours. That’s money you’re not having to pay. You’re saving that. Now you’re getting pay on top of it. If you need another 1,000 hours and down own, you can rent a Cessna (using a plane I know the local price of, that’s on the low end for aviation) for $120/hr, and pay $120,000. Let’s say you got a job doing whatever. Flying around some islands. Whatever. Even if you were given no paycheck, that’s $120,000 you aren’t paying. That’s as good as $120,000 earned. Being given money is on top of that. That McD’s job won’t pay for more than 14-15 hours.

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CryptographerRare793@reddit

That's a BS way to think about that. People qualified for any job flying airplanes spent alot of money to get the training and professional certifications required. A professional in any industry should get paid because they have the experience and certifications to qualify for the job, not because it's "cheaper than paying for more experience."

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Redfish680@reddit

It’s not paying; it’s investing.

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dontbothermeimatwork@reddit

Im so glad my profession isnt like that.

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busting_bravo@reddit

I think of my pay as money to put towards flying where my job isn't telling me where to go and what to do. You have it backwards my friend.

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CorrectPhotograph488@reddit

Yes I understand how it works lol. That was not my point at all

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theboomvang@reddit

I'm losing money by not buying that sweater while it's on sale.

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InvestigatorShort824@reddit

How much flight time can I get at McDonald’s?

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Mao_Kwikowski@reddit

You also get to live in the South Pacific and island hop. Talk about some unique flying.

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NoPhotograph919@reddit

Single engine piston island hopping isn’t my idea of a good time.

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Mao_Kwikowski@reddit

lol then don’t apply…

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CluelessPilot1971@reddit

At that salary, the lucky captain won't be able to afford a flight back to the US anyway.

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countjeremiah@reddit

And it’s a three month commitment to not have to pay back training costs. 6 months gets you a bonus for your ticket back home.

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theoriginalturk@reddit

But you get to fly the mighty Cherokee 6 though

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kiloalpha@reddit

Don’t chase the metal.

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554TangoAlpha@reddit

That Shiny Jet syndrome hits hard when its a Cherokee 6

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CluelessPilot1971@reddit

And relocate to CNMI.

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theoriginalturk@reddit

But they give you $900 dollars to help relocate: what else could you ask for?

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CorrectPhotograph488@reddit

Hey I’m not hating. It’s honestly probably a great opportunity. Just kind of crazy that it is a great opportunity given the pay and I’m sure the hours are horrible. But yea I’d drop what I’m doing right now if I could work there 😭

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theoriginalturk@reddit

I’ll just say that there are some pilots out there that are really privileged to afford not being paid and these great opportunities

If you have a spouse, kids, dogs, financial responsibilities, etc: you need not apply

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Why-R-People-So-Dumb@reddit

Hey man, I pay to fly my mighty Cherokee 6 and I have all of the above.

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40KaratOrSomething@reddit

Same same. Also, pay to maintain mine too!

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theoriginalturk@reddit

Well yeah, I mean I’d pay for it to if it fit my mission: but my Mooney fits it better

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Why-R-People-So-Dumb@reddit

It's my SUV, if it fits it ships, and damn those kids, dogs, wives, etc. all pack a lot of shit on our trips. When the kids get a little older and stop wanting to go everywhere with us, and/or we can actually just get up and go without them, the next plane will prioritize either getting there quick, or a more off strip capable beast. If I had the time to, I'd build a Bearhawk 5.

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andrewX1992@reddit

Yeah and if they are based out of Guam there is absolutely no way you could survive on 2300 a month...I've lived there and it was VERY expensive. Beautiful island though.

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flythewayz@reddit

Guam is not Saipan.

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jrwit@reddit

More than I made my first year at Mesa on the E175….

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MLZ005@reddit

Great if you’re single with no kids, don’t mind humidity, and bumming it around the islands. It’s isolated and expensive but fun.

I flew out of Guam and around the Mariana’s for half a year and all the STAR guys sounded fun on the radios

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theoriginalturk@reddit

Nah if you’re not willing to move your family around for any opportunity or networking your clearly not trying hard enough: there are still plenty of jobs out there if you want them

/s

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biggy-cheese03@reddit

“Just walk in and hand them your resume” and “apply in every state, be willing to relocate” in the same damn post

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jrwit@reddit

I mean you might not like to hear it, but it’s somewhat true. I wouldn’t be where I was as fast as I was if I didn’t move from Canada to Florida to NorCal, to SoCal, to IAH, to JFK

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Mercury4stroke@reddit

How on earth did you move from Canada to the states for work so easily? I heard it’s super difficult for pilots to get in on a work visa.

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jrwit@reddit

Dual citizen. Grew up in the states, went to college in Canada. Didn’t want to be a pilot in college, but changed my mind after graduation and went to ATP in Florida.

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theoriginalturk@reddit

How’d your family handle that many moves? How’d you guys handle day-to-day finances, how’d you pay for flight training?

I’m genuinely curious. Success stories rarely exist in a vacuum

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jrwit@reddit

Was single and in my early 20s, then not single but was with someone that had a job that could be done anywhere. Lived as cheaply as possible in the cheapest (read: shittiest) housing including living part time in Crashpads or couch surfing. Took out a loan. Parents didn’t financially support me, but were both pilots so understood, and did things like stored my belongings in their basement and helped me network.

Basically gave up a “normal” life after college in my 20s so that I was set for life (assuming no unexpected things like loss of medical) in my 30s.

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Any_Understanding824@reddit

Good job dude

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frostyhongo@reddit

Do your scuba training with aqua connections if based in Saipan. The guys are good

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Littleferrhis2@reddit

I had a friend that did this. Basically you’re going to live in a single apartment complex with all the other pilots. Flying a Cherokee 6 from one place to another basically making no money. But hey flying time in a tropical Island isn’t that bad.

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Dont_crossthestreams@reddit

No

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kd_butterballs@reddit

A guy I just flew with on the airline that flew for them, said he really loved it.

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Miserable_Client_989@reddit

I worked there at the end of covid. Some guy on facebook messaged me and told me I should applied. Had a killer time there. Schedule was 4 days on 2 days off. 7am-5pm. We got like a 1.5hr lunch break at noon where we’d either go to the gym or spear finishing on one of the beaches. After work, we go back to the beach drink beers and smoke cigars.

On our offs days, we went spear fishing/scuba diving. Then we’d sit on the beach again lol and drink beers. We’d travel to other island do some exploring and some hiking.

I cried the day I had to leave the island. It will probably be the best flying job I ever had. It was legit a 6 month paid vacation. Though I got paid like shit, 110% beat flight instruction. Plus, it was truly a once in a life time opportunity.

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Oculosdegrau@reddit

How was the management like? And maintenance? Sketchy AF planes or all good?

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Miserable_Client_989@reddit

Very safe operation. Managent doesn’t want you to be a ‘weather weenie’. But never forced you to fly into anything you don’t want to fly into.

The big thing about the operation is 99% of it does not make any sense. I once flew the plane 3 legs without any pax or cargo. If you try to make sense of the operation you’d drive yourself insane. The only thing that made sense, is that none of it made any sense.

The planes were good. Not great, rarely did I ever feel like the plane was unsafe. And they were extremely chill with switching you into a plane that you felt more comfortable flying.

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EsquireRed@reddit

How many hours did you rack up in 6 months there?

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Miserable_Client_989@reddit

Just shy of 750hrs. But I really half assed it. I was in no rush to get hours at all.

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HbrewHammrx2@reddit

Reading this post makes me want to leave my airline job to apply lol 😂

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21MPH21@reddit

100% me too

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Safe-Toe-5620@reddit

this has been posted several times throughout the years on this sub, they go as low as 250 hours depending on the market

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Elegant-Author2301@reddit

Must hold an unrestricted FAA Airline Transport Pilot Certificate with Multi Engine Land Privileges.

How can you get unrestricted ATP at 500?

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Elegant-Author2301@reddit

Ah just read it, it was for a different plane

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DicklessRuthtator@reddit

I worked the tower there a while back. Hung out with all the pilots for Star. Most of them weren’t there more than a year building time. Tinian and Saipan are awesome places to live especially if you happen to be young and single. Message me if you have any questions!

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Pleasant_Security235@reddit

Which tower did you work?

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DicklessRuthtator@reddit

Saipan

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arnoldinio@reddit

I got about 700 hours over 9 months of flying with Star late ‘23 to early ‘24. Of the people I flew with out there including myself almost all of us have been hired at a regional after finishing our hours there.

The flying is pretty easy and if you want to or need to stay longer to build hours there is the opportunity for some multi PIC.

If I get divorced and lose my regional job I would go back there in a heartbeat and fly Navajos for $80k (that’s what they paid their ATP pilots).

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doomed43@reddit

Do you know what the schedule was like for the Navajo ATP pilots? I moved away from Saipan in 2020 and my wife and I want to settle in Guam.

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flythewayz@reddit

When I left in 2019 pay was 60k 2 days on 2 off.

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arnoldinio@reddit

I think they typically did 3 round trips a day. No Guam base though so I don’t know house realistic it would be to live there and work for Star.

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Passer2300@reddit

Don't just don't.

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xplanematt@reddit

I read about this a few months ago and honestly it sounds pretty lit. If I weren't as far along in life (family, house, thriving little self-employed gig) I'd probably go for it. Actually if I sold my business I might still go for it. :)

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3Green1974@reddit

I had one of those. $18,000/yr part 91 to start. Hired with 425 hours and a fresh commercial multi. Started right seat in a 1974 KA C90, and 16 years later left that job from the left seat of a 2008 G550. But I got very, very lucky.

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x4457@reddit

Helps if you point out this was 2008 at the latest.

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3Green1974@reddit

2001 actually. But yeah, it was a while ago and I only got it because I had an in at the company. So, make friends in flight school folks. It can pay off.

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redditburner_5000@reddit

It's one of those "out there" jobs that low-timers can do. I explored a first-job on Guam flying Sixes with a path to a Chieftain when I finished college and got to the point of looking for a room to rent out there. It just didn't pencil out for me because they had no path to a multi-turbine, and were quite up front about it.

Star Marianas is legit from everyone I've talked to about it, but it's way out there. That's a lot of over-water flying in a well-worn SE Pipers! But they do it every day and have got years and years.

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Drunkislandtrex@reddit

I worked there twards the end of Covid. Ama

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More_Drummer_3933@reddit

What was the living situation like? Crash pad/renting with other pilots, or company provided living quarters?

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Drunkislandtrex@reddit

When you first get to saipan you fly to Tinian and there is a company provided apartment and car that you use while youre going through training and trying to find a place of your own. Be warned that you will share it with any other new hires and theres only two rooms in that place. You can live on Tinian or Saipan but almost everyone chooses Saipan cause theres more to do there. I rented a house with a couple other pilots for a few months when I first got there for about $500 a month. Our landlord was super sketchy tho. After that place I got a 1 bed 1bath with a huge living room for $800 a month. I had that place till I left for the regionals back in the mainland.

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reloadhealth@reddit

how many hrs on avg a month?

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Drunkislandtrex@reddit

About 100hrs a month was pretty typical while I was there

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Red_Bengal_Cyclone@reddit

"Updated on 11/21/2022" 🤔

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Aerodynamic_Soda_Can@reddit

I think the implication regarding "scarece low time pilot jobs" is that they pay money, and don't require you to live in the other side of the world. I saw that add many months ago.

What's the cost of living and quality of life there? I'm going to guess there's a good reason it's not a popular vacation destination. Probably the same reason they're perpetually looking for pilots.

I'm making way more than $2300/month living at home with my family and no contract. CFI.

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flythewayz@reddit

Spent about 3 1/2 years out there flying for STAR. Definitely enjoyed my time there. Left with about 2500 hours and my ATP. Not for everyone, but if you're single and no commitments, it's a no-brainer!

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fallstreak_24@reddit

I’ve spent time out there flying military stuff and United 737 flights. If I was just starting out and not joining the Air Force, I would look into it. Sounds like an adventure to me.

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TxAggieMike@reddit (OP)

United out of Guam… ever come across a CA named Greg Bockleman?

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LinkedIn pushed towards me a "captain" position in a Cherokee Six for Star Marianas Air in the Marianas Islands.

I'm not interested, but those curious can click this link to see details

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