500 hours
 

Can anyone give some insight? I have been away from flying for 10 years and now with the pilot shortage, I am looking to reenter the industry professionally. I have a little over 500 hours and plenty of multi time, but I haven't been flying. I am pretty confident in the ground school portion of things since I've been reviewing for about 2 months, but now need to get back in the cockpit. I realize I will have to spend some money to get current again, but am looking for advice as what may be the best way to proceed. Like many others, I don't necessarily want to instruct. I know that there are part 135 operators that hire with as little as 500 hours but since I've been out of flying I am assuming they will want to know how much I have done in the past year and the competition will be tough. Any suggestions? Please, no comments about getting back into flying. The decision was hard enough already.

I am in the same boat. Went to school in the 90's with an aviation degree. Flew on and off for the past 20 years, owned a plane for a bit. Kept my CFI/CFII current (well not the ipc part). I went an got my BFR and flew a bit. Landed at a PT 135 vfr job - but I have to attest it to I knew the op's manager and used to live in Moab, UT where it's based out of. My thought is go out there and fly 20-25 hrs, make connections and start applying. I will say that many of the low time 135 job's do have stacks of resumes from what I am hearing. So if you have the opportunity to make connections where you are locally, that might help. But yes, you will need to go start flying.

It is appearing from non-scientific observation, that there are many of us in the below 1500hr's scrambling for anything - while the 'shortage' is real it's still not easy to get the entry jobs. Perhaps more so than before, but it seems to be random luck and who you connect with to find a slot.

Thanks for the input. Good to know about the stacks of resumes, I guess I'll have to stay positive and keep at it.

At 500 hours, there are companies that will hire you immediately. American Aviation in Page, AZ for example has openings in their next ground school class. 5 minute phone interview as long as you meet 135 VFR PIC mins, commercial single instrument required. OK'ish company to work for, awful place to live.
Finding a job with 500 hours isn't hard - it just likely won't be near home and it won't be commutable.

This is the part that Im finding it hard with. I have a wife and kids so trying not to move around too much!

Thanks! I haven't heard of them before. I'll check them out.

Understandable.

The resources you have to work with are time, money (spent and earned) and inconvenience. Enough of any of them can be turned into loggable hours.

Are you able to devote yourself 100% to flying, forsaking all other paid employment? If so how long can you keep that up at timebuilding wages?

That said, beat the bushes heavily at your local airport(s). Find anybody with an airplane under 12.5 and offer to fly human autopilot. See who needs extra help. You might luck into something .... but most local part 91 jobs are going to be a few hundred hours/year which would get you an ATP in 2021.

Look into banner tow jobs for the summer as well.

What part of the country do you live in? Have you considered Cape Air? for their FOs they work 4 days on 4 days off and the recruiting department is desperately trying to fill the next 2 classes before the summer.

I have looked at Cape Air, but I was just concerned about the lack of flying over the last several years and how that would look on an app compared to others. I guess it doesn't hurt to apply, I just didn't think I would be that competitive. I tried applying to an aerial survey company to build more time and experience but did not get so much as a "thanks but no thanks."

Cape is desperately looking for pilots to fill the classes before summer and fill the september class as well. It wouldn't hurt to apply.