Man...there were people with DEFO quals taking DESO slots/interviews the last few hiring cycles from what I heard. This is not late 2007 anymore. Even back then, from my sources the US peeps getting hired were US guard/mil pilots and RJ captains.

You would be lucky to get on at a regional making $20/hr in this market with 1000TT/150ME...if you can find one that's hiring!!!

If I were you I'd check out CAE's sim support internship/program and get a biz jet type...then go to the middle east on a biz jet contract, then get some experience and try to get on with Cx.

Flight Training Adelaide prob won't hire you as an IP unless you have Aussie conversions and work permission/citizenship.

There is also a Uni in Dubai called Dubai Aerospace University that was paying mad cash for IPs with some good instruction times.

Check that out or go to Sierra Academy in Atwater, Cal.

You could also check out instructing in China on wasinc.net...be careful what a Chinese flight school promises you, but you might be able to get into something like Shenzen or HK Express after doing a stint as an IP there.

 

PS> Just a piece of constructive criticism for you proskuneho (what's that mean anyways??? ...from everyone I know who has been through the process at CX (successfully and unsuccessfully), if you want to make it through the hiring process and training at Cx you're going to need a whole ton of preparation, even if they were hiring peple at 1000 TT...there are decades of gouges and info you need to know, especially for someone with no 121/int'l experience. Maybe you were joking, but the fact that you seemed to think an SO merely needed to be a flight director baby-sitter tells me you need some more prep for CX...getting signed off to fly a 50 seater is tough enough, much less a 74 that costs more than many developing countries entire GDP.

 

Thanks for all the great feedback nicholasblonde.
I have indeed been reading gouges. Here on my desk I have a file two inches thick of printed gouges and interview prep. I have D.P. Davies book, "Handling the Big Jets", "Preparing for your Cathay Pacific Interview", and several other items on the suggested study list. I hope I didn't seem disrespectful of what a second officer has to do. I have tremendous respect for those that have earned the position. Studying the gouges makes me realize that there is a huge knowledge and experience level difference between even the best flight instructors/training managers and a Second Officer at Cathay Pacific. I was pretty successful as a flight school manager and flight instructor, but these gouges make me feel like a complete idiot. I have taped to the wall next to my computer a list of Cathay questions that I can not yet answer, like "Why does the 777 not have winglets?"
The point is, I am well aware of my lack of flight experience. I just don't know how I can afford to get some now that I am almost 34, married, with two kids, and student loan debt. I will look into your idea of flying corporate overseas. I have also already applied at Dubai Aerospace Enterprise Academy. The problem is that they train in the Eclipse jet, which is under investigation and may soon actually lose its FAA type certification. (Supposedly the test pilots had recommended that the aircraft not be certified for single pilot ops, but management pushed forward anyway.) DAE also requires a 3 year contract.
By the way, I hear that there is an unpublished age limit to the DESO program. The career website says, "age commensurate with experience." Does that mean that I should have 8000 hours now that I am almost 34? I was a manager for a decade!

 

Would anyone else please care to chime in about these questions?

 

I hear that Cathay does not plan to hire more DESOs until about 2010. I have met the published minimums, but these forums have shown me how naiive I was to think they actually would hire a light twin instructor to fly a 747 across the Pacific at night.
All that said, I understand the need for turbine PIC time. This might be a silly question, but will they consider Twin Otter as adequate for twin-turbine PIC time? I would like to work for a Regional, but I am exploring all avenues. Thanks.

 

If you want an SO spot than just Twotter time is fine.....if you want a DEFO spot, my guess is solely RJ time isn't gonna cut it until the industry is in full swing again. This company likes big airplane pilots so if you can get on at any company with big planes yur chances are better.

 

Thanks. I just realized that the main problem with most Twin Otter jobs is that the vast majority of that flight time is DAY VFR (skydivers, Caribbean tourists, Grand Canyon tourists, etc...) I'm sure CX wouldn't really care for that, right? It seems like I might need to go to the regionals after all. Nothing against the regionals, I just don't want to be that poor again. I am currently sitting at 1030 with 260 multi. I had hoped to hit 135 mins by now, but work is drastically slowing down.
I would be so thankful for more advice on which route is best to the DESO program at Cathay.

 

While flying a Twot in the arctic is better experience than day VFR, in the end CX hires flight instructors into their DESO program.....the experience gradient in the SO seat is enormous.....meet the mins and apply.

 

Somewhat misleading there Marcal,

CX may have taken the odd Aussie or Brit CFI over 5 years ago but not a hope in hell of a US CFI getting a DESO slot.

Proskuneho, if you sift through all the BS on the various boards, you'll find that CX have taken guys with Turboprop time from Canada, Australia and the EU, for the DESO program. BUT, I've never come across anyone from the US who's had anything less than Jet Turbine time.

Now, we could debate the reasons all day but right now, or more to the point when they start hiring again, everyone applying is pretty much going to have Jet Turbine time and hell of a lot of it.

A good mate of mine who's been there almost 20 years, says that all the SO's he flies with, other than the cadets, have had Jet time and been Captains in a previous life.

If you call HR in HKG, you'll find that the unofficial mins are 3000TT and 1000 Turbine. Apply before then but I wouldn't expect to get a call until you have those numbers.

If CX is really all you want, at some point taking a trip over there, is probably what you're going to have to do.

 

proskuneho,
I talked to a CX SO, he was a former ATR guy, he had 4000hr total time, 3000hrs PIC, 200hrs jet time.
I am in the same boat as you, once i get my TB time up and get some PIC, i will send them my resume.
Good luck