Originally Posted by
wingedmunkie
Upgrade minimums are as follows:
Total flight time (Fixed Wing): 3500 hours
Total PIC time (Fixed Wing): 2000 hours
PIC time in type: 250 hours
Total Muli-Engine: 1500 hours
Multi-Engine PIC: 500 hours
Turbine Engine: 500 hours
Instrument Time: 300 hours
Yes, guys are upgrading at around a year (some in less) and you don't need to worry about the upgrade train stopping so long as attrition keeps up. That said, if you have less than 1000 PIC you're probably looking at a 4 year upgrade. They will allow you to count "sole manipulator" time towards your PIC requirements but if you're only flying 500 hours a year (typical) and swapping every other leg, 2000 hours is a long way off. Even if every captain you fly with gives you every single leg, you're still probably looking at 2 years.
PIC time is probably the biggest hangup for the regional SICs that have come over; there's a number of them who have sat (or are currently sitting) in the right seat and barely making a dent in that 2000 hour PIC number. A few guys have also been burned on instrument time because they stopped logging it after they got their instrument rating, another thing to think about.
Those mins—posted above—only apply to crew members hired on or before 4/25/2014.
Everyone hired after 4/25 is stuck with:
Total flight time (Fixed Wing): 4000 hours
Total PIC time (Fixed Wing): 3000 hours
PIC time in type: 250 hours
Total Muli-Engine: 3000 hours
Multi-Engine PIC: 2000 hours
Turbine Engine: 500 hours
Instrument Time: 300 hours
To put things in perspective: if you currently have about 1000 PIC, and therefore need 2000 more, you can expect it to take over 6 years to upgrade.
I derive this number from well known policies and some other assumptions:
TMC recognizes legs flown by FOs as 'PIC' time by virtue of the 'sole manipulator' concept.
Most guys expect to fly about 600 hours per year—half of which can be reasonably assumed to be 'PIC', as one can expect to fly half of the legs in most cases.
Thus: 2000 additional hours 'PIC' = (600/2)X
X=6.666
I'm sorry to say it, FSUpilot, but unless the man changes his tune and drops Wyvern Wingman minimums, TMC would probably be a very stagnant sutuation for you.
Any pilot with very low total time, PIC time, or ME time, should weigh the above minimums heavily when considering the job.
Personally, I believe they may have to drop the mins again to continue hiring, but that will probably be far in the future.