To anybody,

Currently I am sitting on 268 hours of flight time with 136 being Multi.
Starting next week as a flight instructor to build up that time!

Several questions here that I am currently debating in my head:

1. How long should Iflight instruct for? (Hour wise)
2. Should I build up enough hours to get my ATP cert before applying out.
3. And then, where should I attempt to go? Regoinals, Freight, ????
4. Where would be the best place to go be after instructing that would give me the most amount of quality hours in as few years as possible. This being so that I can get the rougher part over with earlier in the career. (building PIC time) To ultimately prevent myself from having to jump around and losing seniority earlier in the career. I would like to be at a solid company in 5 years and stay there, best case scenerio.

P.S. The wife is catching on about the pay and is starting to get pretty ****ed. She is a math and economics major who looks at the big picture and the low pay!!!!

Thanks for the input.

 

Good questions...

I will assume that you are a navy officer but not a winged aviator with fixed-wing time.

Fair to crappy regionals will hire you with slightly less than 1000 TT and 100 ME (maybe even less). Good regionals will often hire folks with 135 or 121 experience from not-so-good regionals. This can change fast however, so don't miss the boat while it's in port...historical hiring mins at the regionals have been as high as 2500-3500TT in the past

FAA ATP requirements are fairly low, but sometimes it's hard to get all the x-country as a CFI. I would not wait for ATP mins except make sure you have ther PIC, which should not be an issue anyway....when you get hired at a regional you will meet all the other mins in a few months. If for some reason you need an ATP while still a First Officer, you can just go do it out in town.

Most freight jobs could be considered stepping stones to the regionals. You could probably bypass freight in today's market. A very few guys stay in freight, upgrade to twin-turbine equipment, get their PIC and go to the majors from there. But night freight involves single-engine, recip, single-pilot, night, IMC, mountains, icing...get the picture? There is a real risk of death. Any regional is going to at least be safe, regardless of how crappy the pay or work environment.

The southwestern US (and FL) has weather that supports year-round GA flying. If you want to build time quickly as a CFI, go there.

You want to be at a career destination in 5 years...if you mean a good regional, you can probably be there in 2-3. If you mean a major, you will need to cfi your @ss off for a year, go to the crappiest turboprop commuter you can find with a 6-month upgrade, get the PIC, buy a 737 type, do the SWA interview, and hope you are in the lucky 20%.

Oh yeah, make sure your wife has a good job and plans on keeping it...worked for me

 

Just tell your wife that you are going to be poor and miserable for at least 7 to 10 years. Outside of that I don't think it matters. It is impossible to figure a magic formula. The world changes to fast to be able to put together a realistic plan. In the end you must be able to react to whatever opportunities that come your way.

SkyHigh

 

Hi navyman_tx,

I think you got the hard part of the hours requirement out of the way, which is to say your multi-engine time. You're going to have to get a few more once you get to the point of looking for a job with a regional, charter, or corporate, etc. They like to see currency. So to answer your questions...

1. Instruct to build as many hours as quickly as possible to reach the magical 1000 total time and 100 multi-engine (which you already have). Some regionals are looking for 1200. Once you get over the 1000 mark, you're more than competitive given your naval background.

2. Don't bother with the ATP bit. You'll eventually need to study and take that written. Just remember there are different versions of that exam (121, 135, etc) and you need to take the right one. Like other writtens, the exam is good for 2 years and if you get hired on with a 121 or 135 operation, that exam is good as long as you're employed by that operation. From there, you build your time past 1500 hours and the rest is a walk in the park (so I hear).

3. Flying is flying is flying. See response 4 for details.

4. Go where you can move to get turbine PIC as soon as possible. It doesn't matter what plane you fly as long as it's got turbines and weighs more than 12,500 lbs. (the heavier the better). Most people hit up the regional route because it is supposedly faster, but these days, who the hell knows.

Since your wife is getting hints on the pay scale, you might as well direct her to the pay scale data on this web site (www.airlinepilotcentral.com) and be honest with her about it. She'll probably pass out and tell you that you are out of your fracking mind. But that's a domestic battle you'll have to handle on your own. Good luck. I hope she's got some sugar mommie gene in that blood of hers for your sake.

Best of luck!

 

Actually the best regional may not be what you think. For you, it may not be about hours, it may be about quality of life. Or some combination of both. The wife may not mind the small paycheck as long as you're home often enough for her to remind you of it.

I had a 2-leg commute as a first year FO. I recently moved within driving distance of my domicile and life on reserve is so much better. Consider the QOL factors when choosing a regional/freight job not just the upgrade time, etc.

Plan on instructing for 1-2 years. If it ends up being less, fantastic, at least you are mentaly prepared. Most regionals are hiring at 1000/100 now, but in two years that could all change. Anything can change in two years. Todays winner could be tomorrows chump!

Good luck, enjoy the ride!

 

So is this what the airline life has become. Just like any other non-flying job where you have to move to where the job is. I thought one of the cool things about an airline pilot job was that you could live anywhere in the country or the world (if you really had balls) and commute (fly) to work at your domicile.

Yeah, I remember when "free" or "discounted" air travel was one of the selling points to the job. Now you’re lucky to get a jumpseat to Toledo Ohio, never mind getting to Hawaii or somewhere cool like that. However, I can sympathize with those who commute and understand why some people chose to move to domicile, but it is just a shame that it has become such.

And the lifestyle continues to go to crap. Maybe the industry will eventually turn around so the profession can go back to what it used to be, but I doubt it will change (the profession that is).

By the way circadian I’m not picking on you, I just have seen the same statements from other people all over this board about moving to domicile or people recommending getting a job that has a hub where they live. It just struck me odd compared to how it used to be.

 

No worries.

Not that living away from my domicile was that awful, it's that living near my base happened to be much better. I had it where I could commute in late the night before and leave the day of my reserve period, thus maximizing my time at home. I happened to have the opportunity to move closer because of my fiancee's new job, so advantage me.

Besides, what works for me is not necessarily what works for the next guy.

Unfortunately it is what it is right now. And when its time to change I have but one vote.