sqwkvfr

The XC time required at this point in a person's career counts for what is important.....the ATP. There is no requirement that one land at another airport, just that one flies at least 50NM away from the origin airport.

The point-to-point time required for 135 mins is another story.

EDIT: Oops...is there an echo in here? Sorry.

GunnerV

You won't get any ME time and very little if any IFR towing banners, keep that in mind as you make your decision.

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WEACLRS

Banner tow to pay the bills if you must. But instruct! CFI/II/MEI time is looked on more favorably by an airline interviewer than pure banner tow time. You can get hired with just banner time (or pipeline patrol), but you will be behind the guy with equivalent time instructing, and overall you will probably need more of it. You will do better in training generally with quality instructor time than just banner towing. Having a CFI is always better for an airline interview than just the commercial alone.

Ewfflyer

In the end, it is up to you and what fits your lifestyle, and goals. With that being said, the obvious answer is that being a CFI will not only build you the hours, but will give you additional skills and experience because you are a CFI. The banner-tow gig would be something I'd use to get through a slow time, but definately keep the CFI thing going! Good luck

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Normann

I was talking about 135 requirements not ATP. I don't think I have ATP mentioned in my post. For a reason btw.

135 is often the next step after CFI-ing when the regionals are slow. Most 135 places are happy if they have pilots meeting 135 mins no matter what they have flown. They will not care about an ATP unless it is a jet PIC position which you will never get without time in type. If the industry is doing well you can skip the 135 part and go straight to a regional without an ATP. When regionals were really short just now... you could go to TSA with multi commercial and 200-300h. That was just a year ago. If it is a real bad job, and the rest of the sector is hiring nobody cares what you flew before. ATP just does not seem to be a huge plus, but breaking 135 min surely opens many doors.

Still banner towing is nowhere near the experience of flying 135 or teaching. That is just beyond argument.