A pilot has revealed how much he makes and it might make a lot of people dream of taking to the skies.
YouTuber and pilot Garrett Ray (@flywithgarrett) has shared a video explaining how much he earns flying for a major airline in the USA.
Garrett is a first officer, sometimes known as a co-pilot, which means he acts as second-in-command to the captain on the plane.
He explains that he makes $213.97/£157.24 per hour as a first officer.
But then it starts to get a little more complicated.
Garrett reveals that he aims to ‘maximise my time at home’ and ‘maximise my pay when I’m away from home’.
The pilot explains that although he really likes flying from JFK Airport in New York to Phoenix in Arizona and back, with a 24 hour layover in Phoenix, the route won’t earn him the ‘best bang for the buck’.
This is because Garrett will end up spending around 40 hours away from home, but earn money for just over 10 hours of flying.
YouTuber and pilot Garrett Ray ( @flywithgarrett) has shared a video explaining how much he earns flying for a major airline in the USA
The pilot reveals that he is now focusing on trips that earn him the most money for the shortest amount of time.
He says: ‘Today’s trip I deadheaded from LGA (LaGuardia Airport) to DFW (Dallas Fort Worth) and then I operated DFW to LGA.’
Deadheading is when a pilot is onboard the plane to reach their next flight but not involved with flying the plane.
The pilot reveals that he is able to spend around four hours on his laptop while deadheading, enabling him to get other work done.
Garrett explains: ‘I was paid $1,556 (£1,143) for just over seven hours and my time away from base was just over nine hours. This is a phenomenal scenario. Yeah, I had to get up super early but I’m back by 3pm.’
The pilot then explains that he made around $17,109 (£12,571) a month working 80 hours as a first officer.
And pilots can earn even more once they’re promoted to captain.
In another video, Garrett reveals that a captain might make around $338.95 (£252) per hour.
Garrett is a first officer, sometimes known as a co-pilot, which means he acts as second-in-command to the captain on the plane
This means that Garrett could earn $27,116/£19,961 per month if he worked for 80 hours as a captain.
Another experienced pilot has revealed why one particular part of flying makes those in the cockpit most nervous.
Answering questions on his YouTube channel, commercial pilot Steve Schreiber – a former US Navy officer and regular plane crash analyst – was questioned about whether he was ever on edge when flying.
@coleuploads asked: ‘Are you more nervous taking off or landing typically?’
In his typically jokey fashion that has helped him garner more than 640,000 subscribers to his @CaptainSteeeve channel, Schreiber said: ‘Cole, it’s Captain Steve, I’m not nervous.’
However, he went on to say that if he had to pick one of the two situations that are more nerve-racking, it would be taking off.
