Q. I like the emergency service idea, how do I obtain these services from your company?
A. When we first start working with your company, we will arrange for a visit or phone conference
to discuss your needs, and what solutions that we will be able to provide you. Companies differ in
many important ways, we will need to become familiar with your products, training, and your
policies at the inception of our business relationship. Some products are simple, and a minimum
of training will do, others require extensive training. Bottom line is that before we go on one of your
jobs or service calls, we want to be certain that we will be able to accomplish the mission set
before us. We represent your company in your customer's eyes, we absolutely must make sure
that we do things right, the first time.
Q: Isn't private aircraft travel expensive?
A: Not as expensive as you might think. The airplane that we fly is a 4 person, piston driven
engine, that burns about 9 gallons per hour in fuel. To bring this into perspective, suppose we
flew that airplane for your service call to Chicago (say Midway airport--MDW). The trip is 359
Nautical miles (NM) from our home airport, we fly at around 105 NM per hour (called Knots, 105
Knots is equal to 121 MPH), thus taking us roughly 3.5 to 4 hours to reach Midway. Fuel is
approximately $4 per gallon for aviation (AVGAS) these days, so it would cost us approximately
$137 (assuming 3.8 hours of flight) to fly to Chicago. Conversely, if we drove a service van to
Chicago, it would take 11 hours (with stops) and is 567 miles statute. Knowing the service van
gets approx 15 miles per gallon, it would cost us $110 for that trip at $2.90 per gallon of gas. Of
course, there are additional expenses to consider such as a rental vehicle (avg $30) when we fly,
and ramp fees (approx $10) at the larger airports. However, the fact that we can actually get to
Chicago and back home in the same day (if performing a simple 3-4 hour service call) would save
the cost of hotels and most meals. Aviation has a real advantage here. Although "expensive" is a
relative term as anyone who has looked at a gas pump lately will tell you!
Q: Do you hold any industry certifications?
A: Yes, We hold VSAT certifications from HNS, Starband, and WildBlue. We also have other
satellite industry certifications with SBCA and Dish Network. In addition we also hold a
certification from Tandberg (video conferencing, over IP). We have worked on Nortel, sensormatic,
Muzak and others, however, we have not pursued certifications with these companies because
they are either not offered or were not needed. If your particular system or product requires
certification training, we will gladly participate.
Q: How reliable and safe is private airplane travel?
A: We believe (as well transportation board [NTSB] studies) have shown private air travel to be a
reliable, and very safe method of transportation. Reliability is around 90% for our program,
meaning that nine out of 10 flights that we intend to make will go as planned and not be delayed
because of weather or mechanical considerations. Our absolute number one priority is safety. If
the weather is questionable, or the airplane is not in top shape, we will not make the flight, period.
Pilot in command for the mission has the final authority for go or no go. When we do scrub a trip
due to weather it is usually due to widespread storms or Icing conditions (airframe ice on our
airplane is a very bad thing) Icing is usually only a factor in the winter, and is the number one
reason we cancel or scrub a mission. Thunderstorms, especially ones in the summer, are
usually easily circumnavigated and outside of delays and a few inconveniences poses only minor
threats to our travels. You have a better chance of being injured or killed in an automobile verses
an airplane like ours. I certainly feel better at 10,000' than I do on I-285 with a semi on either side
of me doing 80 MPH.....Want to now more? Check out GA Serving America
Q: Small airplane, how much in tools can you carry?
A: Short answer, about 400lbs worth. We have enough room in the airplane to carry a 17' ladder,
plus all of our hand tools and supplies. Most roof lines are well within our reach. We use a Little
Giant ladder that folds up and stows in the baggage area of the airplane, it also fits well into trunks
of cars.
Q: Can you only fly into big city airports? We have customers way out in the country!
A: WE LOVE IT OUT IN THE COUNTRY! We have over 5000 airports across America to choose
from! We actually PREFER the out of the way, rural airport to the big city. We usually have no
problem finding ground transportation, and there are usually no "ramp" fees and the gas is
cheaper. There is usually an airport within 30 minutes drive time of the site that is our ultimate
destination. We can land on paved and grass strips as short as 1500'. In the past we have even
flown into a customer's private grass strip, talk about convenience, and one satisfied and proud
customer (Pilots love bragging rights, and when a company flies into their back yard to repair a
DTN site for a farm, they love it). After hours calls, especially those late at night usually require us
to fly into the larger airports, unfortunately. We sometimes can still use the smaller airports if we
know in advance, but with emergency type work, knowing in advance is just not possible.
Q: Our company has it's own uniforms and ID badges that we like to have our contractors/
technicians wear.
A: No problem here either. This goes back to the fact that when working with your site, we
represent YOU, your company, your image, and most of all your reputation. The same holds true
for company ID badges and the like, all of us have stacks of ID cards that we have collected over
the past years, if you need pictures for your badges, please let us know and we'll be happy to send
you pictures of our technicians.
Q: Our clients need updates on tech arrival ETA's periodically, is there a method to contact
you in flight, or track your flight progress?
A: Kind of. There is no RELIABLE way to contact us in flight, although I usually leave my Nextel
phone on, and it will usually receive text messages pretty well, I can reply sometimes. There is a
site on the web that you can TRACK our flight most of the time (provided we actually file and
receive radar services, which we do most of the time) You can link to the tracking website
www.flightaware.com you will need the tail number of the plane flying your mission in order to
track it, we will provide that to you (you can track many flights on airlines, and other GA aircraft
using this site.
A. When we first start working with your company, we will arrange for a visit or phone conference
to discuss your needs, and what solutions that we will be able to provide you. Companies differ in
many important ways, we will need to become familiar with your products, training, and your
policies at the inception of our business relationship. Some products are simple, and a minimum
of training will do, others require extensive training. Bottom line is that before we go on one of your
jobs or service calls, we want to be certain that we will be able to accomplish the mission set
before us. We represent your company in your customer's eyes, we absolutely must make sure
that we do things right, the first time.
Q: Isn't private aircraft travel expensive?
A: Not as expensive as you might think. The airplane that we fly is a 4 person, piston driven
engine, that burns about 9 gallons per hour in fuel. To bring this into perspective, suppose we
flew that airplane for your service call to Chicago (say Midway airport--MDW). The trip is 359
Nautical miles (NM) from our home airport, we fly at around 105 NM per hour (called Knots, 105
Knots is equal to 121 MPH), thus taking us roughly 3.5 to 4 hours to reach Midway. Fuel is
approximately $4 per gallon for aviation (AVGAS) these days, so it would cost us approximately
$137 (assuming 3.8 hours of flight) to fly to Chicago. Conversely, if we drove a service van to
Chicago, it would take 11 hours (with stops) and is 567 miles statute. Knowing the service van
gets approx 15 miles per gallon, it would cost us $110 for that trip at $2.90 per gallon of gas. Of
course, there are additional expenses to consider such as a rental vehicle (avg $30) when we fly,
and ramp fees (approx $10) at the larger airports. However, the fact that we can actually get to
Chicago and back home in the same day (if performing a simple 3-4 hour service call) would save
the cost of hotels and most meals. Aviation has a real advantage here. Although "expensive" is a
relative term as anyone who has looked at a gas pump lately will tell you!
Q: Do you hold any industry certifications?
A: Yes, We hold VSAT certifications from HNS, Starband, and WildBlue. We also have other
satellite industry certifications with SBCA and Dish Network. In addition we also hold a
certification from Tandberg (video conferencing, over IP). We have worked on Nortel, sensormatic,
Muzak and others, however, we have not pursued certifications with these companies because
they are either not offered or were not needed. If your particular system or product requires
certification training, we will gladly participate.
Q: How reliable and safe is private airplane travel?
A: We believe (as well transportation board [NTSB] studies) have shown private air travel to be a
reliable, and very safe method of transportation. Reliability is around 90% for our program,
meaning that nine out of 10 flights that we intend to make will go as planned and not be delayed
because of weather or mechanical considerations. Our absolute number one priority is safety. If
the weather is questionable, or the airplane is not in top shape, we will not make the flight, period.
Pilot in command for the mission has the final authority for go or no go. When we do scrub a trip
due to weather it is usually due to widespread storms or Icing conditions (airframe ice on our
airplane is a very bad thing) Icing is usually only a factor in the winter, and is the number one
reason we cancel or scrub a mission. Thunderstorms, especially ones in the summer, are
usually easily circumnavigated and outside of delays and a few inconveniences poses only minor
threats to our travels. You have a better chance of being injured or killed in an automobile verses
an airplane like ours. I certainly feel better at 10,000' than I do on I-285 with a semi on either side
of me doing 80 MPH.....Want to now more? Check out GA Serving America
Q: Small airplane, how much in tools can you carry?
A: Short answer, about 400lbs worth. We have enough room in the airplane to carry a 17' ladder,
plus all of our hand tools and supplies. Most roof lines are well within our reach. We use a Little
Giant ladder that folds up and stows in the baggage area of the airplane, it also fits well into trunks
of cars.
Q: Can you only fly into big city airports? We have customers way out in the country!
A: WE LOVE IT OUT IN THE COUNTRY! We have over 5000 airports across America to choose
from! We actually PREFER the out of the way, rural airport to the big city. We usually have no
problem finding ground transportation, and there are usually no "ramp" fees and the gas is
cheaper. There is usually an airport within 30 minutes drive time of the site that is our ultimate
destination. We can land on paved and grass strips as short as 1500'. In the past we have even
flown into a customer's private grass strip, talk about convenience, and one satisfied and proud
customer (Pilots love bragging rights, and when a company flies into their back yard to repair a
DTN site for a farm, they love it). After hours calls, especially those late at night usually require us
to fly into the larger airports, unfortunately. We sometimes can still use the smaller airports if we
know in advance, but with emergency type work, knowing in advance is just not possible.
Q: Our company has it's own uniforms and ID badges that we like to have our contractors/
technicians wear.
A: No problem here either. This goes back to the fact that when working with your site, we
represent YOU, your company, your image, and most of all your reputation. The same holds true
for company ID badges and the like, all of us have stacks of ID cards that we have collected over
the past years, if you need pictures for your badges, please let us know and we'll be happy to send
you pictures of our technicians.
Q: Our clients need updates on tech arrival ETA's periodically, is there a method to contact
you in flight, or track your flight progress?
A: Kind of. There is no RELIABLE way to contact us in flight, although I usually leave my Nextel
phone on, and it will usually receive text messages pretty well, I can reply sometimes. There is a
site on the web that you can TRACK our flight most of the time (provided we actually file and
receive radar services, which we do most of the time) You can link to the tracking website
www.flightaware.com you will need the tail number of the plane flying your mission in order to
track it, we will provide that to you (you can track many flights on airlines, and other GA aircraft
using this site.
That Pilot Tech, LLC.
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