Originally Posted by
Navmode
I have to disagree. I've checked out multiple people in several airplanes for a part 91 operation I worked for, and it was always immediately obvious who's time was 99% in a c172, pa28 flying in circles. op: time is time when it comes to getting your certificates, however after you have all your ratings, you really want to get time that is "useful". By this I mean different types of flying, weather, airspace, etc.
Keep in mind that someone who has a lot of multi engine time, has flown internationally, and is comfortable flying through weather and using instrument procedures is a lot stronger of a job candidate than someone with the same total time but all in a 180hp single flying locally.
I'm referring to the overall objective of building time; not comparing a C-150 pilot with a C-182 or Bonanza pilot. What I'm saying is build your time in whatever you can afford. Of course at a certain point, in order to progress up the ranks you are going to need some complex aircraft time as well as turbine time but build your total time as cheaply as you can. Remember, the new 1500 hour FAA screw job, which is nothing more than window dressing, is a total time requirement - not so much time in trainers, so much time in complex airplanes, so much time in multi etc. It is a "Total time" filter - that's all. Acquiring 1500 hours total time will get you into the right seat of an RJ in a few years.