Just Crossed 500TT
 

I just crossed a little mile stone (claps) . I was just wondering if there are any places that are hiring people with 500TT . I am willing to leave the country. And I kind of want to leave the country. But if it's here in the U.S. I don't have any problem with that either. I am a CFI and CFII. But I am really looking for a gig That can get me some Multi Engine time. And a lot of it since I don't want to get my MEI. Does anybody Have any leads?

Don't let it get your spirits down, but you are eliminated from most types of flying because of your hours. You don't meet 135 or 121 minimums here in the states. As for leaving: Where the US was once the world standard for certification, other countries are now sometimes more stringent.

There are lots of people with ATP mins met that can't find jobs out of country.

It happens all the time where someone with low hours outperforms their contemporaries by being the WHOLE pilot, not just having certificates and flight skills. Be professional, make friends and network everywhere you go, and stay in contact with those people. Buying pilots lunch and making them think you're someone they'd want to go on a trip with matters greatly right now.

Keep your FB clean of politics and personal drama, send friend requests to every pilot you meet and exchange contacts with. Eventually, someone will think of you when it's time to hire.

As a street hire, you're not likely to move anywhere near the front or middle of the long, long line with 500 hours.

Apply at Ameriflight to become a Brasilia (EMB-120) first officer. They have hired people with 500 hours before.

He has 135 VFR mins. Why not look at working out in the Alaska bush? Kind of like leaving the country without actually doing it and there are plenty of places that will hire with 500TT.

Except for the little inconvenience that most Alaskan operators want you to have 100 hours of Alaskan time.

That and the season is winding down up there.

You can try Desert Wind Air Service Inc, its an aerial mapping gig.
Minimum is 500tt. They just started hiring for the upcoming season..

Good luck.

Sadly (or not, depending on your perspective...)...

Quote:

Ameriflight is pleased to announce that we are again screening applications and resumes of pilots that may be interested in opportunities with us. Pilots for these opportunities must meet the minimum flight experience defined in CFAR 135.243(c).

Ameriflight LLC


Quote:

"You should carefully consider whether you and your loved ones are emotionally prepared for you to be gone for 7+ months. I've had guys start to crack on me toward the end of the season and it's not pretty. There is no "Hard Time-off" or holidays off during the season (typically Nov. 1st through May)."

http://www.pilotbry.com/dwas

Brutal! How much time will a gig like this net in a logbook?

While this is published my most carriers, it is not usually the case in reality.

Many hundreds of hours per season.

Quote:

Ameriflight is pleased to announce that we are again screening applications and resumes of pilots that may be interested in opportunities with us. Pilots for these opportunities must meet the minimum flight experience defined in CFAR 135.243(c).

Ameriflight LLC


You don't need the 135 mins to get the Brasilia FO position. Ameriflight doesn't advertise the position because there are so few spots available.

Look into Air Associates of Kansas. Its not ME time but they pay fairly well, the schedule is 8 on 6 off, and you'll earn airline miles and hotel points as a bit of a bonus. I have a couple friends there that got on with 500 TT. PM me and I can put you in touch with them

You're 1/3rd of the way there!

I understand you're okay with leaving the country but, the only thing I can recommend within the United States would be an Aerial Survey outfit. They love LOW time guy because they know those Pilots will not bail out mid-season for a better opportunity. Now with a 1500 hour rule, they can be even more picky!

There are/were four main vendors that fly/flew for Pictometry and they're going to start hiring pilots NOW for October/November survey season so hurry up!

Landcare Aviation: Home (Rome, NY)
Northern States Aviation: Northern States Aviation, Aerial Survey, Reliable Airborne Platforms, Imaging, Sensing, (Idk)
Air America: Imagery | Air America Flight Center (Florida)
Desert Winds Air Service: No idea, sorry. (Mesa, AZ)

I worked for Landcare so it's the only company I can comment on.

THE GOOD!
They had (I think) 15 skyhawks and 3 aztecs in 2009. The paychecks always came in and they covered rooms up the $85/night and gave us $25/night we shared a room with another Pilot. The airplanes were OK.

THE BAD:
If you have ANY attachments, it's going to suck really, really bad. Don't expect to go home for 6-7 months. Landcare was super cautious about their pilots flying at night/imc so don't expect that either!

Generally speaking, if you're single and don't mind a hotel/travel lifestyle flying a 172 and using POF.com to keep you "active" while you expand your logbook - it's OK.

Go apply at Seaport or Air Choice One. You'll be locked in for a year and be above 1500 at the end. It's all really good, solid, **** your pants flying time. Don't worry about posted mins.

There's always lots of advice from guys who haven't been on the job market for years. It's a totally different ballgame now. You can't just recommend people 'go work' somewhere, because there really aren't any jobs.

Go make friends!

My mistake, I will use better discretion next time someone asks for advice on the internet. I have no idea how any of this business works even though I was hired by one of the above mentioned companies within the last year. Carry on, nothing to see here.

This statement is incorrect.

I haven't been in the Part 91 market for a while, but there was a slow trickle of jobs to be had a couple years ago when I last looked and persistence was the way to get them. Subscribe to a job board, work the grapevine, develop a list of companies you would like to work for, hit them up repeatedly and in time a few will call you back. Have the attitude you may not get the job, but be ready for it as though you will get it. The aviation world is small so those who try again are usually noticed the second or third time they apply.

My comments weren't directed at you, but yes, the industry has changed dramatically since then.

There aren't any jobs? Thee are a lot of jobs, and one needn't look very hard.

The industry has changed dramatically in the last year? There's been a sudden decrease in the number of available jobs? Entirely untrue.

The jobs are there, and have always been there.

The jobs are out there; the question has always been though how much time they build and how much they pay. The higher paying low-time jobs will always be met with heaps of competitors.

I would offer the *opinion* that if hordes in the tens of thousands of pilots are battling it out over the handful of jobs posted every month, that means for all intensive purposes not every pilot can or will have a job. It might be more responsible to advise people of that in the early stages of pouring money at flying. There may be a few job openings out there, but the jobs aren't really realistic. The only common way for a newcomer to get turbine time is a regional right now, and it's a bloodbath getting in the door. With the 1,500 hour rule, you really can't be a newcomer and regionals are hiring mostly prior 121 now.

Freight Runners gave me and my friend interview opportunities to SIC with them last December. We both had less than 600hours. Sierra West will do the same thing. Want a multi engine job? Well it's not going to pay anything other than crap but that's how it works with 500hrs. Want to build hours quick? Go teach at one of the foreign puppy mills. Don't want to teach? go do aerial photography for one of the photography companies such as Air Associates of Kansas or Apature Aviation. There's tons of opportunities in Alaska. Only way to find out if youre qualified though is to apply. It's not simple but sometimes it is.

What?!? Hiring mostly prior 121? All the people I know who went to a regional in the last few months did not have any 121 time.

I know a lot of people contending for 121 jobs, and the only ones I know getting them are prior 121.

I'm glad to hear that about your friends. The hiring managers at Skywest and Republic both told me they don't hire that many people without 121 experience. Your friends are doing very well for themselves. My friends in class at republic right now don't have any classmates without 121 time.

If they don't hire without 121 time, then why fight for a restricted ATP... Nevermind

I know a lot of people at RAH and I think only one of them had prior 121 experience but was furloughed in his first year. He didn't have much prior experience. It's not really the kind of place you'd make a lateral move to from most regionals. Everyone else I know there was a CFI with no turbine time.

I guess that this is off topic, but which regional airlines tend to hire prior-121 folks?

SE Alaska is a good option. You can get hired around 800TT if you have a good attitude and are willing to work hard... work hard meaning load/unload your own plane, fuel your own plane, help other pilots fuel, load/unload their planes, work 14 hr duty days and fly 8 with as many as 16 take offs and landings. Most 135 VFR operators up here prefer a 800 hour pilot with a good work ethic over a guy with an ATP who complains about working too hard. The pay in the SE is very fair as well with set daily rates between $160 and $200 irregardless of flight time in case you are weathered out. Also, with the two major companies that fly out of Juneau you will get a "airline crew" id which lets you jumpseat around and have some fun on your days off. My recommendation is to start bugging them first week of February since most of the hiring is seasonal.

Hmmm well I guess its just different views then. Prior 121 guys going to SkyWest is probably the case but the rest of the regionals are not finding anyone like that in there classes in great numbers. They have been lucky to even fill classes at all. Regional jobs are pretty easy to get now days if you have the mins. Right now a lot of regionals are having crew shortages and canceling flights because of it.

This has been the case for the majority of regional classes for sometime now. Now any hiring that happened 2010-early 2012 had lots and lots prior 121 guys in class but that's just not the case at all currently.

They do hire without 121 time, but you're largely outgunned by the hordes of regional pilots making lateral moves. Every single regional pilot I know has made at least one lateral move. Most start out flying beehes or Saabs then fight for the E-170 positions.

Just be good at what you do and don't have a single logbook or paperwork error.

Everyone I interviewed with at RAH was prior 121 making a lateral move to try to fly better hardware. Everyone i know working there is the same. The only people i know who got turned away were those without 121 time.

In fact, they interview non-prior 121 differently.

I have one friend that was hired at republic recently without 121 time, but I have 2 friends that left an airline flying t-prop for RAH, and three others that made lateral moves to other regionals.

I wouldn't make a blanket statement that they won't hire without prior 121, because they are hiring a few. But I'd say it's a uphill battle in the interview for anyone without 121 experience, and they definitely don't seem to be dipping down to the sub-1500 hour pilots that qualify for restricted ATPs.

I think your experience and observation are very accurate, and I very much agree.

I would tempted to say anyone who says 'none of my friends are prior 121 and we all got jobs flying jets this month' is an industry plant, or something. I don't know. It seems people are feverishly spreading misinformation on this forum. This is a very public website. I wouldn't be surprised at all if there were posters here representing the crooked interests of the unions and airlines. (adjusts tin foil hat)

...why would...

Anyways from my own experience since... lets say the past 10 months (the time I've been with my company) I have had coworkers get class dates at Republic, Mesa, Piedmont, Commutair, Expressjet, and Air Wisconsin. We are not a 121 company and the only two guys who had previous 121 experience interviewed at Commutair and Piedmont. Away from my job I've had two friends who as flight instructors, in the past year get hired at Trans States. Basically, as it appears to me at least, it doesn't matter at this point for the most part where your time comes from, it just has to meet the minimums. Yes places like Compass and Skywest will have their pick of the litter but everyone else... dunno how they have that luxury. Update your airline apps stuff and you'll be surprised who will call you at this point.

That's about the stupidest reason I've ever heard for a lateral move. I don't understand why there are people out there who would give up seniority and pay to fly an E170. It's just another RJ.

I make more money flying a turboprop than their 170 pilots make. There's no way I'd ever give up the pay and seniority just so I could fly another RJ.

No one? I'm clean, graduated college and have an ATP. I had one interview that didn't result in a job and one offer without an interview that wasn't worth it. Other than that, I regret spending the time on airlineapps, because carriers haven't shown much interest. The competition, like I mentioned before, was astounding on my 121 interview. Actually, that was with a company that wasn't even on airlineapps.

Maybe you need a different colored tie.

Well I made the rounds in this area recently having interviewed with several regionals with similar findings to Mr. Johnny. Present shortage? Definitely not. Future shortage? Don't know. I did get the feeling the market is slowly warming up for the better.

HA! I get told I'm wrong all the time by people who aren't out interviewing, who don't see the masses turned away and actually believe every regional has "people not showing up for classes".