kanianic

I was wondering if anyone has ever heard of Eagle Jet Intl. I have been debating if i should consider them but that would me another loan, however all that turbine experience could be worth it. Any ideas or insults for thinking it would be appreciated.

loudgarrettdriver

I wouldn't spend any more money to fast track. There's nothing to fast track to. Just a way to pile on more debt without much reward.

Invest in something that will give you a better return.

loudgarrettdriver

Get an $15 book on turbine engines and systems. Easier to pay back.

Purpleanga

You've got to look through all the neon lights, not to mention it's all BS, no one is hiring and will be hiring for a while. I'm assuming you're looking at the 250 hour pay for a job for American Eagle option correct? If you can afford to go 20K in the hole for a job at American Eagle then more power to you. I know someone that did this option it's basically a ride along program at Ameriflight. You don't need to pay 20k to get a job at eagle. You won't be qualified to get a job anywhere else unless you meet the mins. AE will hire you even if you didn't spend 20k as long as you meet the mins so what's the point? I know it's desperation time but doing another loan for a job that will pay you poverty for a long time is not very smart. Just take it easy, spend a few thousand get your CFI rating and built time that way. No one especially at the regionals will care about any of your experience as long as you meet their mins.

Pilotpip

As stated on this forum 107366261907 times:

Why pay for something that you'll be paid for later?

Everybody is furloughing, not hiring. All you'll be giving yourself is a fast track to the unemployment line.

Purpleanga

On a side note I just realized this is actually a cheaper alternative to the Gulfstream PFT. About 10K cheaper plus some guarantee of a job at a reputable regional....

Clue32

One of the 7 zillion things I've learned on this board are: when the airlines are hiring you can get on with any regional if you meet their mins, 100 multi piston hours are more valuable then 100 turbine single hours, people get hired from every background and pay to play "real airline pilot" guys are no more competitive then the guy up in Podunk, KY that's been teaching students in 172s so he can rent a seminol and build up his multi time and that this is the best board to be on and read a lot (you'll see trends quickly and they exist for a reason even if there are a couple dissenter in the ranks). Finally, when the airlines aren't hiring there are guys on the street with 2 or 3 or 10 Thousand multi-engine turbine 121 hours competing for the same job as guys that paid 20K for 250 hours of experience; the guy already experienced will take the few jobs out there and there will be a lot of guys unemployed and 20K further in debt.

Bottom line, put your money away because regional airline pilots don't make much the first year and find a way to get 100 to 250 ME hours in your log book the cheapest way possible (hint, pistons are a heck of a lot cheaper then turbines).

kanianic

ya i was just laying out any option i could think of this wasnt really an option unless someone said it worked extremely well. Sad thing is I got my CFI, CFII, and MEI but am getting so anxious to get back in the air. Just wondering if people had heard of the place, and ya purpleanga its cheaper and sounds way better than gulfstream haha.

cospilot

kanianic,

With every downturn there is an upturn and aviation is no different, but like someone mentioned earlier, you are better off building your multi-engine time and letting the airline that hires you pay for the turbine time.

I've been through a few downturns and upturns and it is amazing how quickly there can be an abundance of pilots resulting in furloughs and seatlocks, then BAM!, there is a shortage of pilots and everybody is getting hired again. One bright spot is that even though the retirement age was raised to 65, there are going to be a lot of retirements coming up in the next couple years and as the economy improves more jobs will come available.

Your primary goal right now is to have:

• better than the minimum number of hours required for an interview(including and especially multi-engine time)
• Good Work Experience
• Bachelor's Degree (pick something useful and that you enjoy)
• Stay Healthy
• No FAA or Moving Violations

These are the keys to getting hired at a regional if that is your ultimate goal.

And like someone else mentioned, paying for turbine time is generally a waste of money and makes someone else richer and you poorer. A lot of people forget that if you pay $10,000 (as an example) for training and you take a loan out on that $10,000 at say 7% over 5 years (again an example), you are really paying $11,880 for that training (source: http://www.bankrate.com).

Save your money, invest in yourself, keep your resume up-to-day, fly when you can and before you know it you will be attending ground school and soon after that you will be flying a jet.

Jeff