“Air Mail Pilot.” It’s not a title we see any longer. But it once described aviators with a single mission … to fly the mail. They were oddball pilots indeed. Looking back and hearing from those who actually did it might help give us some perspective about new ways on the horizon for flying the mail.
“Professional Air Race Pilot” is a rather unique job title. Thom Richard always knew he wanted it. In this conversation, you’ll hear how he worked his way up through flying and wrenching to eventually racing (and winning) at the Reno Air Races and the Air Race One World Cup.
EAA’s AirVenture Oshkosh is not only the biggest aviation event in the United States (and the most fun), it’s also a great place for oddball pilots to network and find potential employers. Marty Blaker spent his time there this year doing some recon on your behalf. Here’s what he discovered.
Marty had been intrigued by the Pilatus Porter PC-6 STOL for years, but had never actually seen one in person. But when he walked through the gates at AirVenture 2015 in Oshkosh a few days ago, there it was. Inspired, he couldn’t help doing some research. If you’ve ever dreamed of flying a PC-6, this overview will point you in the right direction.
We’ve been wanting to explore aerial firefighting for a long while. After all, it’s one of the most oddball flying jobs out there! Marty gets the ball rolling with this overview of some of the opportunities, and what it takes to get in the door.
Our new addition to the Oddball Pilot team, Marty Blaker, is headed to Oshkosh next week for AirVenture 2015, and that got him thinking about airshows and the pilots who perform at them. Here are the results of some research he did about becoming an airshow pilot. Think it’s impossible? We actually know someone who got there.
