Mr Stillwater,
As I read the "Fair Labor Standards Act" a professional need not be paid a salary if they are paid not less than $27.63 per hour.
And "The Bureau of Labor Statistics",
www.bls.gov
In the category of Airline Pilots, Co-Pilots, and Flight Engineers the mean annual income for workers working less than 2080 hours per year is $129,000
In the category of Commercial Pilots the mean annual income is $57,950.
Click on it, It's a rather interesting page.