Time building
 

Question from a complete newbie. I am 15 hours into this life and I am questioning how to build "quality time". Is time equivalent to time? or is a 150/152 time qualitatively different than 172/cherokee 180 time. I understand the minimums in type, etc. From the insurance companies/employers perspective is time equivalent across the board?

I understand the major distinctions, but, all thing equal, is time = to time?

If I want to get to a big number, what should I fly?

Get your CFI/CFII and instruct.

Not everyone lives in an area that has great instructing potential. I instructed for 2 years and only accumulated 400 hours given.

In a few words; "Time is time" Getting 1000 hours in a Cessna 150 is just as good as anything else if that is all you can afford. Nearly 40 years ago I was a newbie trying to land an airline job. I bought an airplane and flew my tail off. I finally got my Pilot's license and then my instrument and then my commercial eventually working thru my CFII and Multi-I and ATP. Eventually I accumulated 1200 hours which qualified me to fly Part 135 Bank Checks and night freight. Well, I'm here to tell you that you will have some pretty crummy flying jobs along the way but eventually you will land an airline job - like I did. Make sure you get your college degree - in anything (Airlines don't care what kind of degree you have; just get one). I'm now a 747 Captain at a major airline and I am here to tell you, it is the best job anybody could ever want. One thing to keep in mind while you are working your way to achieve your goal: It's not necessarily the best pilots on the planet that land the airline jobs; it's the persistent and lucky ones. Best of luck!

I have to disagree. I've checked out multiple people in several airplanes for a part 91 operation I worked for, and it was always immediately obvious who's time was 99% in a c172, pa28 flying in circles. op: time is time when it comes to getting your certificates, however after you have all your ratings, you really want to get time that is "useful". By this I mean different types of flying, weather, airspace, etc.

Keep in mind that someone who has a lot of multi engine time, has flown internationally, and is comfortable flying through weather and using instrument procedures is a lot stronger of a job candidate than someone with the same total time but all in a 180hp single flying locally.

I'm referring to the overall objective of building time; not comparing a C-150 pilot with a C-182 or Bonanza pilot. What I'm saying is build your time in whatever you can afford. Of course at a certain point, in order to progress up the ranks you are going to need some complex aircraft time as well as turbine time but build your total time as cheaply as you can. Remember, the new 1500 hour FAA screw job, which is nothing more than window dressing, is a total time requirement - not so much time in trainers, so much time in complex airplanes, so much time in multi etc. It is a "Total time" filter - that's all. Acquiring 1500 hours total time will get you into the right seat of an RJ in a few years.