Originally Posted by
fwillette
Stupid question but how does it work there, do they even need FO for all aircrafts? For example I have seen
Bemidji Aviation fly PA-31 single pilot
They're 135 freight, so no they don't require it. They were doing some pax charter awhile back, and maybe they still are. For that you need an exemption from the FSDO (requires an autopilot, headset with boom mike, etc.) to operate single pilot. Pretty much 99.9% of 135 pax operators have this exemption, so I'm sure they do if it applies to them. I used to fly a PA-31-350 single pilot for a 135 pax charter operation, it was not a big deal as far as the checkride and FAA signoff for the exemption.
Even with the single pilot exemption, many 135 pax operators choose to operate with a 2 pilot crew for a variety of reasons (pax comfort, insurance, safety, etc.). Some real cheap scumbag operators charge the right seater money to sit there, and actually use it as a money maker for the company. That seems to be more common with the freight operators than the pax charter guys.
If it's pax charter, the right seater can log SIC time ONLY if they've had a
135 checkride and oral from a designated check airman (FAA, chief pilot, etc.). It gets a little trickier for 135 freight, but I know Airnet had a legitimate, FAA approved way for right seaters to log SIC time.
As far as working for Key Lime, doing a thorough search on them would be smart.