Ewfflyer

I know exactly what you're talking about. I work for a TBM/Piper distributor, and we get all kinds of good/bad that want to fly and think they can handle the step up to the Turbo-Props, even the Malibu(Matrix/Mirage) can be a handful for the folks moving into those from fixed gear(usually Cirrus) planes.

At least you are with just one person, although I do get a variety, you sometimes have no idea what they are going to throw at you. Good luck, it doesn't sound terribly bad, but not suprising neither given what's out there. Can anyone imagine how bad it's going to be when the G3000 gets released!

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BoilerUP

You mean the iPlane Touch?

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BushwickBill

He paid for the type. I was the pilot-owner's flight instructor from several years ago. Last year I trained him for the multi-engine rating and he announced that he was purchasing a Citation Mustang and wanted me as his mentor pilot. Off to Flight Safety we went . BTW, thats a whole "other" story![/quote]

Do some hand holding during the training? I did this for a Pilatus operator / owner. Overall I regretted sitting there in the right seat of the sim and helping the guy through the training. I'm not legally responsible for anything that happens but now when I hear about things he has done I feel bad about helping the guy through training. Honestly I thought he would improve over time but he hasn't improved much. Fortunately the hard times are forcing him to sell the aircraft.

One of my mentors said never sign off on an instrument pilot that you wouldn't trust to fly a family member. By the time I had been a flight instructor for a year I knew what he was talking about. Plenty of guys can fly fine in VFR conditions but as soon as they get into IMC they show their true colors. At least the guy has enough sense to keep you in the right seat and keep him out of trouble. I wish you the best. Just keep in mind that the guy who owns the mustang is going to be insurance qualified with your help. Most likely he will get rid of you when that happens.

There isn't much satisfaction in reading a NTSB report about someone who has fired you...

crazyjaydawg

+1

300 hrs in a mooney and the guy can't tell the difference between nav on the radio and nav on the autopilot.

He also refuses to learn what a VOR is because he has GPS and those things never fail these days.

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gflynt

Shouldn't this be something he is learning to do also if the goal is to get him to be able to fly solo?

bcrosier

I was thinking the same thing myself. If he wants to play pilot that's fine, but he needs to recognize he's just playing and hire a real pilot to do the "dirty work" and keep him safe. I've known several owners who did just this with good results (though it can be a frustrating job for the hired pilot who seldom flies).

I've never done it in a VLJ, but I having flown with a few of them in everything from Bonanzas to light jets. As was said previously, typically they could fly the aircraft VMC in uncongested airspace, but when things got busy (particularly IMC) they were quickly task saturated.

I have nothing against owner pilots, but I'm deeply concerned that too many of the VLJ buyers aren't going to step up and attain/maintain the level proficiency necessary to safely operate in the flight levels and congested terminal airspace in a jet (for their safety and mine).

Given the entry price of most VLJ's, the stereotypical profile of the businessman owner/pilot, and the availability of pilots, I really don't understand why there isn't more of a push for the purchasers to just hire a pilot to do the work they don't want to and keep them out of trouble.

BushwickBill

The way that these aircraft are marketed is a large part of the reason that owner pilots think they can "step up" to a jet. That's the way that the Adam Jet was marketed. All types of VLJ's are sold as aircraft that are easy to fly.

What people dont understand is that it takes quite a lot of work to fly a turbine aircraft to a new airport. If the mission profile is a lot of different airports and weather it is a full time job. Now your telling me it's the businessman's full time job to fly single pilot IFR and run a business that can pay for a turbine aircraft?

These owner pilots don't understand that it is going to take a lot of their undivided attention. Also it will take a lot of time commitment. I go to recurrent training once every 6 months gladly. Once a year isn't enough in my opinion at least for myself, maybe it is my lack of experience. We are talking about relatively inexperienced pilots right?

X121FO

The guy I fly with carries an SIC type rating and has hopes of upgrading to PIC with SIC required. The potential is there but will require considerable more time than the 100 hours FSI told us to expect. The PIC type is likely out of the question with him because of his conservative approach to flying, ie, he has only flown without me once since the PPL checkride.

As stated in my earlier post, he IS capable of preflight duties but usually elects to defer them to me because "flying the jet" is why he bought it.

From what I've seen at FSI, witnessing other owner-pilots struggling through SIC type training, and in the cockpit with my guy, those VLJ articles in the pilot magazines are misleading. The $ is going to hit the fan when these things are in the lot waiting for acceptance. As the last poster said, it's a WHOLE other world flying turbine powered aircraft...