Do you have the mandatory retirement at age 60 like the passenger pilots?
:dubious:
Not having somebody to talk to is worse than your cargo catching fire???
Do you know this guy? *
He must be an interesting presence in the cockpit.
- I’m not sure if this link is going to work because it may be a member site. Just ignore me if it’s bad.
Starting with D-bear and working through the rest…
Yes, we have reciprocal jumpseat agreements with most other airlines. This means that I can hitch a ride with just about anyone, but my chances of getting a seat depend on how full the flight is. I’m always better off flying on FedEx, but sometimes FedEx just doesn’t go when or where I need them to!
As to catching a ride on FedEx, yes, most of the airplanes have additional seats in back. The 727 does not - all it has is two jumpseats in the cockpit. The widebodies (A-300, DC-10, MD-11) have anywhere from 2-6 seats just aft of the cockpit. These are normal airline seats, but sometimes they face backward or even sideways. It all depends on how the cargo modification was done on the airplane.
American Airlines no longer flies 727s. The last revenue passenger flights were at the end of March 2002 (I flew on of these). I also flew one of our 727s to Mojave on April 1st, 2002. If anyone other than Champion is still flying pax in a 727, I don’t know about it. I know that UPS still flies 727s, but in the US and Europe the 727 is getting very rare.
N9IWP, the flying depends…most of the FedEx “Express” flying is at night (one leg that gets into Memphis at around midnight and another leg that leaves at about 2:30 or 3:00 AM), but most of the US Mail flying is during the day. Right now 55% of FedEx flying is night flying, and 45% is day flying. The international stuff works differently…but who really cares what time that 16-hour flight to Tokyo leaves? You’ll be tired no matter what at some point!
Yes, we have a mandatory retirement age of 60. We are governed by the same FARs as passenger carriers concerning medicals, fitness to fly, etc.
Ethilrist: 
Well, since having cargo catch fire is an extremely rare occurrence, and it has never happened to me…I’ll stand by statement! Ask me again if and when I ever have a cargo fire and I’m sure I’ll tell you differently!
Mach Tuck…yep, that AOPA site requires registration to work.
Caprese…any advice I give you would be based solely on my personal experience, and may not work for you. That being said, you should decide if you want to fly for fun or fly for a living. Flying for a living involves many sacrifices; the most visible of these is the time away from home. Others include continuous training cycles, being subjected to a medical exam every 6 months that determines whether you can earn a living or not, varying schedules, etc. Of course the benefits include having a view from your seat that can’t be beat!
If you want to fly for a living the first decision you need to make is how to get your flight experience: through the military or going the civilian route. Going through the steps of CFI, CFII, flying checks at night, getting on with a commuter, etc will probably get you to a major airline at a younger age than going through the military. But flying in the Air Force, Navy or Marines will give you experiences and friendships that will last a lifetime. (Note to Army guys: I didn’t forget about you, it’s just that VERY few Army rotorheads make the jump to fixed-wing airline flying). You should explore all of your options. If I had to do it all over again I would still fly in the Air Force, but I would have done the Air National Guard or Air Force Reserve thing instead of 10 years of active duty. Look into any Guard/Reserve flying units around your home and start pursuing that if you want to get the best of both worlds.
My buddy is a pilot (captain? not sure, he gets to fly the thing) on a FedEx 727, maybe you will fly with him some day. His name is Jess R. (don’t really want to give his full name here) A bald (shaved) little guy, mid 30’s.
If you ever hear a controller from Memphis center (not the tower at the airport, but the FAA regional control) who does a spot on Hank Hill, I know that guy, too.
Duke of Rat, suddenly I’m imagining Boomhauer as an air traffic controller.
“I tell you what, man, november-niner-whiskey-foxtrot-dang-ol’-echo, man, cleared for, thunderstorms, dang ol’ descend and maintain, vector, notify, uh huh.”
What airports does cargo fly out of? I live pretty much exactly between DFW and Love Field and pass by them from time to time. I don’t often see FedEx or UPS planes. I also don’t recall seeing much in the way of FedEx or UPS trucks on the ground to take the cargo to sorting centers/warehouses when I’m driving around DFW airport. Are they in some far off terminal which normal travelers never see? Do they have some dedicated access roads for cargo traffic in and out of the airport?
Enjoy,
Steven
I had a feeling that wouldn’t work. Anyway, it was an AOPA Flight Training article about a FedEx pilot from Tennessee named Bob Briggs. He holds the record for the most type ratings earned, having gotten his 100th last fall.
Ever see him around the pilot’s lounge in Memphis? He must have some stories to tell since he’s apparently flown just about every large jet ever built…
Does FedEx now take extra precautions flying over the South Pacific?
ducks & runs
Mtgman FedEx flies out of DFW and Alliance airports. The FedEx ramp at DFW is on the far north side of the airport - if you ever drive by the airport while on 114 you’ll see the airplanes out there. The bigger operation is out at Alliance by the Speedway. Both airports have dedicated cargo sorting facilities with access roads. You won’t see many FedEx or UPS trucks going in and out of the tollbooths at DFW!
Mach Tuck I have never met that guy but he’s famous at FedEx. In the operations area there is a display that has copies of his certificates with all of his type ratings, including dates. The schedule he’s kept is nuts - he spends months at a time doing nothing but going through training on airplanes he will never fly again.
Mr. Goob - I think we screen all South Pacific cargo now and specifically remove volleyballs. 
Isn’t stating that you are based in Memphis, simply stating the obvious?
My wife is an FA for Pinnacle and I am going to pass on your statement about enjoying having them around for conversation purposes. She enjoys flying with most pilots, except those that stick strictly to “business”. Also from what she’s said it isn’t uncommon for the captain and the F/O not to get along very well. Some do, but others don’t.
Re the “nobody to talk to = boring flying” and “based in Memphis” things, what’s the repetition of routes like with your current job compared to the old AA job? Are you flying the same hub-to-hub back-and-forth over and over, or do they recognize the value of keeping things at least a little interesting?
Also, what’s security like? Presumably that map tube isn’t going to pull out a box knife, but there has to be some screening of the cargo. Does Fedex take care of that before the stuff gets to the plane, or what?
kniz - actually, we have pilot domiciles in Los Angeles, Anchorage, Alaska and Subic Bay, Phillipines. There is talk of opening a European base next year - probably Paris. The Subic Bay base is slated to close in three years when the China hub is fully up and running. No word yet on whether we will have a pilot base in China. So maybe not so obvious!
And yes, there are crews that will not get along. If I didn’t get along with the captain I was flying with at AA, at least I could talk to the F/As during our sit times. Now I guess I’ll have to make sure I have a book handy!
Cervaise the routes you fly depend largely on seniority. Since I’m still new at the company the places I fly to change every time I go to work. Some people stay in a particular aircraft for a long time because they can fly the trips they want - and that often means they fly to the same place all the time. Not a bad deal if, for example, you live in Colorado Springs and your trip starts there and has three nights of layovers there as well.
The opportunity for international flying is probably about the same as what I gave up at AA. The biggest difference is the length of the trips - most of the long-haul international trips at AA are one leg out, a long layover and one leg back. You might be gone for 3 or 4 days total, but you’ll fly that trip 3 or 4 times a month. FedEx puts it all together, so you might leave Memphis and fly to Tokyo, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Frankfurt, London, Paris and then back to Memphis. The trip might be 12 or 14 days long, but you’ll just fly that one trip for the month.
As to screening cargo - unless it’s actually a ticking bomb it’s probably not a problem. We carry all kinds of stuff that’s not allowed to be put on passenger aircraft - explosives, ammunition, compressed gas, infectious agents, etc. You should see the list of what gets on the flight to Atlanta every morning (the Center for Disease Control is in Atlanta) - lots of nasty, nasty stuff. But all of the screening of cargo is done well before it geta anywhere near an airplane.
How would you know? I thought you always got rid of the cargo mid-flight and landed empty! 
Don’t have a cargo question but when you were flyin’ for AA did you know a pilot named Dave M. who lives in Austin but flies outta Dallas? He just truned fifty and used to fly copters for the Marines. He’s a good friend of mine (and occasional rowing coach) and I just thought it’d be cool if there was a connection.
tremorviolet - do you know what equipment your friend flies? I flew the Super-80 (what AA calls an MD-80) while I was based in Dallas. If he’s a captain on the S-80 then I might have flown with him.
Next time one of FexEx’s planes flies low enough by my house, I’ll have to remember to wave at it. Eventually I’ll wave at one that pilot141 is on. 
And somehow I don’t think I can convince him to just shove any packages for me out the plane with a small parachute attached to them so I can get them sooner.
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Hey I’ll wave back, but I think you’re right about having to wait a little longer for your package!
Congratulations pilot141! That’s awesome. You’ve got the dream job of me and a lot of guys I work with. Did the time at AA give you a big advantage in the application/interview process, and how many hours did you have going into FedEx? How many of those were post-air force?
Okay, here’s possibly a question a bit out of your realm.
I considered applying for a FedEx cargo sorting gig a few weeks ago. The pay looked pretty good, only about ten hours a week, etc. It mentioned that as a permanent PT employee, I would be eligible for all of the regular FedEx benefits, including flight benefits.
For everyday “ramp people” like cargo sorters, what are the flight benefits like? Could I actually wave my FedEx employee ID, hop on an A-300, and fly to Brussels on the cheap?
Are there often people in the 2-6 jump seats behind you in the plane? How much luggage are they allowed to bring?