Well, I’m headed back to Midland, and back to DVA (Denarius Ventures Aviation).
I’ve been flying FAR Part 135 flights in a Citation Bravo out of Austin, TX, since May, and the schedule has been grueling for this old guy! The plane is on a dedicated contract with Sentient, a “jet card” company. We did an 8 days on, 6 days off, rotation. During those 8 days, we routinely had 12-14 hour duty days with multiple legs, which kind of added up after a few go-rounds! I’ll be doing a couple more rotations, until they can find a replacement for me at my current company.
A former colleague moved on from DVA to move closer to his parents, so they had been looking for a replacement for him. I talked with both of the owners of DVA over the last several days, and we came to an agreement. I’ll be flying a King Air 200 (and possibly a 350) and a Citation CJ-2, primarily, and also occasional flights in a Kodiak 100, and SIC flights in Lear 45’s and a 31a. All of the flying is FAR Part 91, for the aircraft owners, and with a decidedly more relaxed schedule. An additional perk is that I’ll be living in a company house (which means any time the out-of-towner pilots are up to Midland, they’ll stay there, too, instead of in a hotel). It’s a large enough property, I’m told, to fit all of my vehicles, so I’ll be giving up my RV park spots and my storage units, which will save a good chunk of change!
UPDATE 3/2/2022: I’m officially back on the DVA payroll! I’ve already done several flights over the last 8-10 days, in a Kodiak 100, and yesterday in a Lear 31a. In a couple of weeks, I’ll be headed to Carlsbad, CA, for Citation CJ2 training, which will be a new type rating. I’ll be getting recurrent training in the King Air 300 series, soon, and will be flying a King Air 350 for 2 partners who were my employers when I managed the Citation Bravo in 2019-20. I anticipate flying that aircraft, primarily, and a CJ2, with occasional trips like yesterday in the Lear 31a or one of the Lear 45’s as SIC, and a few flights in the Kodiak (every couple of months or so).
I’m all moved back to Midland, and, as soon as the company house is done with the current renovations, I’ll get moved in there and hang up my RV living spurs for a while.