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Old 12-24-2008, 05:38 AM
  #2  
Cubdriver
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Joined APC: May 2006
Position: ATP, CFI etc.
Posts: 6,056
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It depends on your hours and time in type what's next.

First of all, you are going to eventually need your multiengine instrument commercial ticket, your CFI ticket and most likely a CFII and MEI at some point to build time. I would get to work on those no matter what else you do, and start with your CFI immediately. The CFI/CFII/MEI certs are traditional ways of building time.

If you are lucky, you may find or discover someone with a light twin that wants to share it with you once you get your ME ticket. Get the ticket and see what happens. You can get an ME add-on in a matter of days, so if you have the money then go ahead and do that even before getting your CFI since the latter takes a fair amount of time and effort. I had not one but two guys with their own planes pop up out of nowhere wanting to share a twin once I obtained my ME ticket. You need it anyway, so not is not a waste of effort. Most people are not so lucky though, and end up having to get their MEI in order to build time in a twin. I may still do that myself.

If your total time is low (<500) and your C182 time is low, nobody is going to hire your for much of anything except maybe domestic ferry flights. Good luck finding those. Even the smallest skydiving firms require 25-50 hours time in a C182. If you do not have it and they are eager to add a pilot, you may be able to work up to it as a trainee. That's what I did, and it took a while but it cost nothing.

You may also investigate banner towing and 50 hours time in type is typical minimum there. A couple of firms in New Jersey hire low time banner pilots and train them, but this is not the time of year, wait until March. Traffic patrol, ferrying, and pipeline patrol jobs depending on your willingness to travel and so forth. We even had a skydive firm advertise on APC last week, so these jobs pop up from time to time.

Sightseeing work begins at 500 hours, the FAA minimum. Ag pilots are not super low-time either, I do not think they will train anyone for that without a thousand hours or so. Glider tow outfits sometimes are willing to train from zero hours in type, so look into that too. They do not have much in terms of minimums, but towing is not a very fast way to build time either, so keep this as a last option.

Good luck!

Last edited by Cubdriver; 12-24-2008 at 06:00 AM.
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