How Being an Airshare Pilot Offers Unique Experiences

A pilot’s life on the road seems glamorous, traveling to fascinating destinations near and far. When time permits, pilots are able to go out and enjoy some activities. For two Airshare Pilots, Bill and Austin, they were able to enjoy a day off on the road visiting an auto auction.

“When our customers fly late in the day, followed by an early departure the next morning, creative time management is essential. These quick turnarounds often limit our ability to explore the many locations we find ourselves. While nourishment, rest, and flight planning are our top priorities, we occasionally find moments to enjoy the beautiful scenery around us. When more time is available, the world awakens.

Enter Scottsdale on a perfect winter weekend with sunny skies and temps in the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s. Arrival on a Thursday afternoon with the plane secured by 1615 local was followed by two full days to romp around and play hooky. My partner in crime was Austin T., who shares my insatiable passion for all things mechanical. So, we quite naturally landed on the most obvious chicanery on display, the Barrett-Jackson Auto Auction.

While listening to auctioneers rattle off incomprehensible syllables faster than Air Traffic Controllers at the Oshkosh fly-in is the main event, that made-for-TV chaos is only the tip of the iceberg. Behind the scenes lies a panoply of vintage, modified, and present-day go-fast hardware that will likely put a heavy dent in your pocketbook.

I tried to get Austin to pool his resources with mine so that we could at least buy a spark plug out of one of these rare birds as a souvenir, but he wasn’t having any of it. Satisfied to roam the acres of glistening mechanical perfection as he was, I decided at least to capture the moment with as many images and videos as my 128-gig iPhone has storage for.

We set about to meet our steps goal for the day while weaving our way through the masses, also admiring the eye candy on display. Austin seemed to have more of a plan than I did (I had none) on how to sample it all, so I followed his lead. We went from tent to tent enjoying the beauty of everything Barrett-Jackson has to offer.

We both marveled and salivated over fully restored vintage foreign and domestic hardware, and modified muscle-cars from the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s. We daydreamed about taking the wheel of the factory fresh one-offs, all of which will run with the best at LeMans, Daytona, or your friendly neighborhood NHRA drag strip, while still being street legal. We repeatedly checked our bank and credit card balances with both of us failing to find sufficient resources to get to the next level. Looking, but not touching was as good as it was going to get for us.

At one point we toyed with the idea of paying the premium for the drift track experience but decided that decorating the interior of a Dodge Charger with regurgitated portions of our lunch would likely put a damper on the day. We were satisfied to watch more hearty souls enjoy the cacophony of Chargers, Mustangs, and Supras, drifting through the maze of orange cones on a wetted surface.

All in all, we both gave the experience a 5-star rating. Worth the price of admission and a good excuse to burn a few calories.”

Check out a few pictures from their adventure below. Interested in getting experiences during your rotation like Bill and Austin? Take a look at our pilot openings and apply today!