RFT 076: International Charter Pilot Dave Fisch

Ready For Takeoff - Turn Your Aviation Passion Into A Career

Dave Fisch learned to fly as a teenager, soloed in 5 1/2 hours, and earned all of his certificates up to CFI in his first year. He worked his way through college as a CFI, then joined the Air Force Reserves at Travis Air Force Base and was sent to Air force Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT). Following UPT, he was assigned to fly the C-141 worldwide.

In between Air Force missions, Dave worked several desk jobs and kept applying to the airlines. Finally, he struck pay dirt at American Airlines in 1976. He initially started as a B-727 Flight Engineer, and was the number 13 pilot from the bottom of the seniority list for two years. At the 10-year point, he finally made Captain. He retired at age-60 as a B-777 Captain, and then went to India to fly B-777s for Jet Airways. After several years, Jet Airways terminated all the expat pilots.

Dave now flies a Global Express aircraft for a boutique charter company. Virtually all of his missions are long-haul international flights, some exceeding 12 hours. Most of his trips start with an airline flight to anywhere in the world to meet up with the airplane, then he will have a 1-2 day layover prior to starting his mission. His schedule is 20 days on and 20 days off.