Nice analysis then Zippy. Yup, PS isn’t perfect and what company is. I’ve said it before - I enjoyed my time there. A lot of people there work hard to make it enjoyable.


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Far from a glorified arrow. I thouroughly enjoyed my PC12 time. I and many of my former coworkers are now at major airlines, in no small part due to the time we got in that airplane.

I got my 1000+ TPIC out of it and worked incredibly challenging schedules flying into and out of airports that Gulfstreams could only dream getting into. We didn't have dispatchers doing our performance paperwork. We routinley flew into airports that had runways that should have been labeled driveways, 25' wide with more potholes than a teenagers face. Always stuck flying in the weather and dealing with real ice/snow and never truly getting above it.

In all of my hours as a pilot, flying a jet has by far been the easiest. All the paperwork is done for me, all the performance is calculated by a computer and all my weather planning is done by someone else in an office.

As long as you don't get 'comfortable' and spend too much time in the PC12, it's an incredible way to build your time and experience.

 

I see PS raised their hiring mins to 1000TT. Would this be due to the increase of FO's hired? Any chances the mins would come down? Would love to get on after 500TT.

Would a four year degree, CFI, CFII and glass cockpit look good to them?

 

Four year degree has 0% effect. Only thing that really matters is total time, and how far are you from 135 IFR mins.

 

Nope. 1000TT is what matters. They're being pretty tight on that requirement.

 

Thanks for the info. Guess I'll be sticking to instructing.

 

Keep checking back. Send in your resume anyway. You never know.

 

What would the path to the left seat look like for someone at 135 ifr mins be?

 

If you meet the 135 pic mins, you could try the direct entry captain route. Not sure what the DEC hiring mins are though. Be advised however the DEC route is no joke. You'll be trained as a PIC, but I believe there is also a right seat component to the training as well, so you have a good idea of what the job is like from the other side of the cockpit.
I've heard that some people who didn't quite make the cut for direct entry were given the option to continue training as an FO, then go through the regular upgrade process after some time with the company.
Someone also said earlier in this thread that some people who far and away exceed PIC mins have come to the company in an FO slot, but weren't comfortable jumping right into the left seat. Usually, these people upgrade pretty quick.
It depends on how confident you are in your skill set and your level of proficiency.

 

We mainly fly 91k which has a 1500 hour minimum. Minimums for DEC are currently 2000TT