Caravan PIC vs. The Regionals
 

I have been reading this forum for many a months and I have a question to pose to you guys. I have the opportunity to upgrade to a Caravan Captain job and gain a ton of PIC single engine turbine time. Or I can throw a resume to a top tier regional as I have over 1000TT and 100ME. Is it better to get into a regional at a young age, as I am 21, or is it better to get a 1000 hours PIC single engine turbine? My chief pilot is asking me what i want to do so I need your advice, and look forward to it. Thanks.

Take a look at the web pages of some of the majors that are hiring right now. Many say they accept single-engine turbine PIC to count for their PIC requirement. This can be misleading however.... the ONLY reason they allow SE PIC is so they can hire viper drivers.

Caravan time is generally considered slightly better than CE-172 time.

On a related question - how is Air Tractor time looked at? I am asking about the Turbine Air Tractors - and particularly the 800 series (800 gallon hopper, used extensively as an S.E.A.T. plane). These are cetainly NOT an equivalent of a C-172, if for no other reason than they have tailwheels...not the pansy training wheel...I mean nosewheel.:)

Never say never, but that type of flying is so different from crew/turbine/121/135 flying that you most likely will not be able to get a major airline job with that background alone. However most pilots respect the stick-and-rudder skills involved, so once you meet the realistic mins (ie 121/135 ME turbine PIC) then the ag-tractor time might be a bonus on your resume. But you're gonna need some regional (or at least 135) PIC.

There is no such thing as bad flight time.... SOme is better than others.. If you can get yourself into a ME turboprop instead of the 208.. that would serve your needs much better. Ameriflight is hiring for the Chieftain with a 3-4 month upgrade to the BE99. That will get you were you want to be much quicker... Just my .02

all the caravan time is gonna do is get you a job at a regional. Why not skip the middle man and go directly to a regional now? Unless, of course, you are looking to get into flying 135 freight or such. If that is the case, then go to the caravan.

Stay long enough to get an ATP in the Caravan. I forget but don't you have to be 23 to get an ATP? If so, I think I remember something like you can get a letter qualifying you to ATP skills so when you turn 23 you can take the paper to the local FAA and trade it in for a new ATP certificate. Also, don't forget to finish college.

Thanks for the great advice so far! I figured caravan PIC is not going to bypass the Regionals, but If I pick up a 1000 hours of PIC turb single engine, will that help me down the road. Say after a year or two of SIC multi jet? Also I knocked out college down in FL and did the CFI gig for a bit. Thanks in advance, your advice is proving very helpful :D.

it won't hurt, but the senority that you miss out on at XYZ regional will!

Do top tier regionals exist???