Turboprop or Jet
 

I'm currently a cfi with 1000 TT and 100 multi and I cant really decide if i want to fly for a company like xjt or comair and get in a jet or fly for like colgan and get a faster upgrade but suck it up in the turboprop for a while any thoughts or advice on this issue or the companies would be greatly appreciated thanks guys!

Go with the first one to hire you. Then decide from there. The jet option is always nice, but not if you have to sit in the right seat for too many years.

apply now, and then keep your options open and start researching. you can always say no when they call you for an interview

yeah i'm researching now and i'd prefer to only apply to airlines that i'd want to work for so i can take the first one that calls

Who cares. Airplanes are basically the same; go for pay, upgrade time, and QOL.

I keep reading how important PIC time is. Will the time you log at Colgan as PIC help you get hired at majors / national airlines?

Also, isn't a turboprop a jet engine?

-LAFF

a turboprop is a turbine engine, but its not a jet (turbofan or turbojet etc) engine. airlines will accept multi turboprop but i dont know to what extent it will help you. jets are more desirable because the larger the airplane the better it is for experience.

as far as flight characteristics go, turboprops give you relatively instantaneous power corrections while jet engines have a lag/lead due to longer spool times from the inertia of big turbofan engines. when you go from one to the next you will DEFINITLY notice the difference. once you get used to one or the other you never even think about it though

i dont know why i never really considered colgan or commutair but logic tells me to go there thanks for the help guys

Nobody can answer your question.

I am guessing you are from the east cost. If I were you my first choice would be XJT. I'd also apply to CHQ for the (hopefully) quick upgrade. (You need more hours for them though). If you can relocate to the west coast then also apply to Skywest. You may upgrade really fast with them in the turboprop, and then wait until you can move to a jet.

Anything else at this point is a really tough choice. Colgan can work out ok if you upgrade and then get lucky and get hired by a major. In fact that may be your fastest way to a major. The downside is that if you don't get lucky then you'll be stuck in a prop.

I think you have the right idea about deciding first where you want to go. There is no need to apply to companies such as MESA if you have no intention of ever working for them (and you shouldn't). Apply where you want to work and then stay put – being a CFI while building more hours is not bad at all considering all options.

Keep in mind the pay aspect. Second year FO's at my company are making $43,000/yr here if you want to work, and that's just based on 90 hours of credit and 300 hours of per diem/month. If you're in it for the $$ some second year FO's are clearing $4k/month (and no, not the senior ones either, they normally go for commutable schedules and days off :D).

Also keep in mind generally with the better companies you'll get better health benefits, retirement, (401k here is 7% matching dollar for dollar, unheard of for a regional, it's a LOT of money after a few years) treatment by management, longer overnights (I've never done an overnight less then 10.5 hours, vs. some friends at some bottom feeders who routinely do 9 hoursvor even reduced rest) etc.

I've seen reports upgrade at Colgan is now more like 20+ months. That's a long time making $20-25k/yr (and with no per diem, flying an airplane with no APU, etc.). "Fast Upgrade", maybe, but maybe not. A friend of mine was at CommutAir and left just prior to the annoucement of the Dash's - upgrade was over 3 years - to the 1900! Some people go to CommutAir though, get some time in the 1900, and then go to Gulfstream as a street hire CA.

Pick a company, if it doesn't work or you see it's not working out start up with a backup plan before you lose your job.

This is kind of mentallity is the reason why some folks end up at BlowJets. I do agree that you should pick the path that gets you were you want to be the quickest, but don't sell your soul in the process. Be picky, you owe it to yourself.

As far as actual equipment life style is concerned, well, my only experience is in the Jet, and I enjoy only doing 2 or 3 legs a day, as well as, the international destinations. I don't know what the life on the prop is like, but I'm pretty happy with the Jet.

i'm not sure about the 2 or 3 year upgrade though a friend of mine at commutair is being upgraded now and hes been there for a little over a year and its much faster than xjt or comair which i hear can be 4-5 yrs

I hear commutair is a good outfit, and they do have quick upgrades. Here at XJT is anybody's guess...currently 2 years, but subject to change pending a few announcements....we'll see. Either way this is an awesome place to work at.

Yes, it is faster NOW because of the new Dash's. Did you know they were "rumored" to get cabin class planes 15 YEARS AGO!! It took 15 years for it to happen.

What am I getting at? That stuff could change tomorrow. The company was EXTREMELY close to being in bankruptcy court do to default on airport fees it owed several counties prior to getting the financing available to get the Dash's.

I'm glad he upgraded that quick. 12 months ago the upgrade was over 3 years. 12 months later it's 12 months. 12 months after that = ??

I guess what I'm saying is you are taking a gample by chasing upgrade times. You could end up a 3 year FO making $18/hr. You could also end up a 2 year captain making almost double that. Roll the dice..... :D

Hold on there boss, you seem to have misunderstood the gist of my post. SJS is one of the reasons people go to crappy regionals. Instead of worrying about the type of airplane you fly, just look to work for a good company that will not treat you like scum. Some great airlines have tons of turboprops.

Look when I was at Colgan very very few ever left for the big boys. The females always seemed to go places, but other than that we had like 1 go to JB, maybe one or two to SWA and like maybe one or two to CAL. PIC is great but letys face it not as valuable in a Turbo-prop, not saying you cant get there from T-Prop but slightly more challenging, and dont forget that the QOL at a place like COlgan is def not the greatest, and not to burst your bubble but flyng VOR to VOR is not really the kind of experience majors are looking for nowadays, but hey if you have a connection go to where you can get your 1,000 or 1,300 if ya wanna fly for SW

I WILL SAY THIS ( If I could do it all over agian I would probably still go to Colgan for a little while the SAAB & turbo-prop experience is priceless, and a blast glad I did it. I would say go to Colgan for like 3 months to get the T-prop lifestyle then jump but they will whack you for the contract ;)

saabarooswki. If you think that the type of flying we do isn't what the majors are looking for, than you know nothing. We lost 8 people last month to majors. 2 Cal, 2 SWA, 2 FEDEX, 1 UPS, 1 JBLU. Sure sounds like the majors like to type of pilots, and the experiance they are getting over here. Dont get me wrong, the ERJ is great. You got more stuff in there. I am looking foward to all that in the future in a widebody,not a RJ. The experiance here is great, and its the most fun you can have 121. Dont say we are only good for 3 months. To many kids flying a RJ, walking with there heads so hi, there in the clouds. Just remember. Doing less is not allways better..

Thinking of coming to Colgan
 

Hey Fluboy...I'm thinking of coming to Colgan...are they hiring into the 340 or the 1900? Or do you have a choice? Just wondering...

Hiring into both aircraft.

If you perform well during your interview and sim eval, Chuck will most likely give you a choice of aircraft.

Keep telling yourself that Kilo oh and by the way we are losing like 20 a month to CAL alone :). Kilo I felt the sameway you did. Slowly (you have not been there long enough) The MEL'd airplanes the crew schedulers hacking up your schedule, the not getting paid even after you fill out your stupid paysheets and the flying in and out of the the same airports gets really really old. I know you are excited becuase this is ytour first airline job, but believe me, you too will get sick of the way Colgan runs their operation. Have you had the oppertunity to talk to Tom Brink and have him ask you if what the Captain wrote up was "really" broken? Look 8 legs a day is great and flying "through" the weather is alot of fun and builds some great experience, but when you have recruiters from Airtran, aka Valuejet tell you that unless you have Turbojet time and have delt with complex systems, FMS's and been to more than a few places they really are not interested in Turbo-prop guys, sorry but its a fact. Next time you go fly ask Your Captain who probably has more than 1,000PIC and has his app out everywhere why he is still there? Have fun in 252CJ, last time I flew it, it had 9 MEL's :)

saabaroowski you seem pretty bitter towards colgan and maybe your view is skewed because of it, i've seen many guys complain a lot about situations when sometimes you just have to roll with the punches

Yeah it wasnt too bad I just got stuck on reserve for 6 months there and got dicked around a lot, but the guys I flew with were awesome, and the plane was badass :)

guy i knew just got hired a couple of months ago didnt sit on reserve at all got a line right out of training, thats what i'm hoping for

Jet Pic is more valuable than prop Pic. I wouldn't be surprised if it becomes a requirement for all airlines. However, if I was you I would choose the airline with the best base not the type of aircraft. QOL is more important than a quicker upgrade.

Ok flyguyniner11, I think you may have some misconceptions. Some turboprop regional airlines in the nation have upgrade times in excess of 5 years right now. What is fast about that? Also, why would flying a turboprop be considered "sucking it up"?

Go for what works for you!!

Really? I don't believe you.

yeah i know that some airlines that fly turboprops have high upgrade times but not the airlines i would consider, and your right burflyer QOL is important

A 19 year old pilot on the cusp of getting his instrument rating last night asked me what my "dream aircraft" would be. I think he was a little hurt when I said "The one that will pay me the most money to keep me home the most time. I'd fly a 172 if I could get a better paycheck out of it and be home more often." He seemed a little upset when I told him flying was a job and that just because it goes fast, doesn't mean you'll like it.

Moral of the story - Fly whatever is going to make you happy, pay the bills, and get you home.

I had the oppurtunity when I was an intern at CAL to talk with the hiring board and sim evaluators. I had 1900 time going into the into the internship and when I did my sim training they asked me where I had been flying. They told me flat out that they the best sim performances they see during interviews are from turboprop guys. Take that for what its worth.

DISCLAIMER to all the jet jocks (especially XJT guys): They didn't say anything about their CRM skills, decision making abilities, attitude or professionalism. Nor did they say how many turboprop guys got hired as a result.

I can't stress enough that it really doesn't matter what kind of time you have. What you need are the published mins. After that the amount of time it takes to get an interview is directly proportional to how high up your internal rec is.

well if there is one thing I can do its fly an airplane, The SAAB helped but either you know how to fly an airplane or you don't its that simple. I fly with guys that have been flying turboprops for years, and they blow so one has little to do with the other

The guys getting on with CAL/FDX/UPS all had multiple contacts there. If you have connections that can help you out when you get your 1500 TPIC then by all means go to Colgan. If you don't then I can say you won't make many flying day trips from ITH-LGA or JST-PIT every day.

Every regional is a crapshoot anyhow.