Originally Posted by FlyerJosh
The type should be free (I'm basing this on the ability to convert military currency into FAA certificates through your local FSDO, although I haven't looked at that reg since about mid-1999).
"Free" is all relative. If you're already standing in the FSDO talking to the guy that can do it, then the price will be just the time that it takes. If you have no other purpose to visit the FSDO, then the price begins to go up. If the FSDO is in town, then you've got a minor expenditure for gas. If it's 200 miles away, the price climbs considerably. Since having the type rating is of so little value, it will be up to the individual to determine if the cost and hassle is worth it.
Originally Posted by FlyerJosh
Having a type is beneficial when it comes to certain future qualifications - first off it is an irreputable thing on your record ...
Reputable means "enjoying good repute" or "held in esteem." The prefix "ir-" is used to indicate the opposite of the root word, suggesting, in this case, that the thing is NOT "enjoying good repute" or NOT "held in esteem." Personally, I'd pass on anything on my resume that would fit that description. Lucky for you, the word irreputable is not actually a word, so we must assume a misspelling of a proper word. Perhaps you meant "irrefutable," meaning "impossible to refute" or "incontrovertible" as in "incontrovertible proof."
I alluded to the ability to effectively communicate with the written word in my previous post on this thread, specifically pointing out the need to be able to spell. I believe this skill is far more important than having a Type Rating on the resume, unless the employer operates that type.
Contrary to what rickair7777 said, I don't think having any particular Type Rating is a negative in any way. His comment would have you believe that such a pilot applying to, say UPS, would have a hard time explaining why he has a 737 Type Rating. HOGWASH. Anybody would be a fool to think that he should only apply to one single airline, and no other, and intentionally NOT prepare himself for possible employment with an excellent carrier. Nobody at UPS or FedEx or JetBlue or any other employer is going to disqualify a candidate because he was covering as many bases as he could. We all know what they say about the fool that puts all his eggs in one basket.
And as I also mentioned before, having the hours logged in the airplane is quite sufficient to meet the requirements of any employer, save an employer that specifically requires that type for employment. Nobody needs the "FSDO stamp" to make those hours any more real or any more valid.
Originally Posted by FlyerJosh
Second, IIRC, having a type rating allows you to complete training towards another type rating without having to complete a 15% ride in the actual aircraft if you use a level C simulator for your training/checkride.
Can you share a reference for that? I had a Type rating in a 707 and 720 (neither of which I have actually touched) that provided no such benefit. Having 300 hours as PIC in turbine aircraft DID provide a benefit when it came to High Minimums as a newly-minted Part 121 Captain, but the type ratings (those and the MD-11 type I had also acquired by then) did nothing to abbreviate the training.
- The truth only hurts if it should -