Working up from SEL
 

I'm a recently certificated vfr private pilot that is eager to keep learning. I learned in a 172 with a G-1000 and my end goal at this point is to be able to fly VLJ's. I know that is a long way down the road but I want to map out the right way to go about getting there. What are the obvious things like the order of ratings to get: IFR, MEL, etc. and maybe some of the not so obvious things that someone wouldnt think about when going through this process?

I'm currently a college student so I'm not able to work full time on it, but It's something that I'm really getting passionate about and loving more and more now that I have my certificate. With that in mind, flying at school is a little tough, but if there are maybe online courses or things I could do to prepare for getting ratings, what do you guys reccomend? Thanks for any and all advice.

-Travis

Congrats on the PPL.

The IR would be the next step, do it as soon as you have the XC time. It will make you a better pilot, give you a safety margin if you get stuck in Wx, and give you more flexibility with your flying.

ME flying is very dangerous for non-professionals when things go wrong, having IFR skills first will give you an extra edge for ME ops. The typical doctor/lawyer/CEO who rolls over and noses his twin into a smoking hole is in the habit of assuming that both engines will always work fine.

- Professionals always assume an engine WILL fail and are thinking about what to do...on every TO. In the turbine world it will likely never happen to you, but with piston engines it's only a matter of time.

- Light piston twins do not have to be certified to fly on one engine: always give yourself a gross weight margin so you have extra performance.

- If you totally start to lose it in a twin, pull both throttles to idle, nose down, and fall back on your ASEL training. A horizontal power-off landing is waaaaay better than a vertical arrival with one engine producing TO power.

Rant Off.

After you are comfortable in piston twins, you need some turboprop time (kingair, etc) to get used to kerosene, higher performance, and pressurization. Turbojets after that. The VLJ manufacturers may have a transition plan to go directly from pistons to VLJ...it could be done with the right training.

Hope you have some cash laying around...

If you want to start working toward your instrument rating get some videos on Instrument Flying. I recommend Sporty's Instrument videos, or the ASA Instrument videos. The King Instrument videos are of high quality, are a good bit more expensive, but they are not usable as reference or refresher materials after the initial course is taken because they are structured so one must go through them sequentially.

As far as building time toward your instrument rating, you can split some of the costs of it by working with another instrument trainee as a safety pilot. One of you flies under the hood (in vfr) while the other logs safety pilot time, then you land somewhere and reverse roles. Consult your instrument instructor on the details and you will need to have had some instrument training before you can fly approaches under the hood unless you have a very competent safety pilot.