Flying outside of the Regionals?
 

As I near 1500 hours, I've realized that I do really enjoy flying GA aircraft and instructing, and I would like to continue to do so to at least some extent when I move on to the airlines.

Do very many (if any) regionals allow any type flying outside of the airline? I have a friend who recently got hired at a regional that said his company told him he 'wasn't supposed to set foot inside the cockpit of an aircraft that was not theirs,' and it didn't matter if it was a commercial operation or not or flight instructing. Is this really common among regionals? I'm aware of the limits on commercial flying, and that some people consider flight instructing to count against those limits, and it would totally make sense that an airline wouldn't want any of their pilots to do additional flying that would cause them to exceed those limits.

My passion is glider flying, and I was wondering if there are any regional airlines out there that will let me continue to fly, instruct in and tow gliders. I belong to a club, so I don't really get paid for this, just active CFI's and tow pilots don't have to pay monthly dues. It would be great to continue to instruct in airplanes, too, but I think time will be a limiting factor on how much flying I would realistically be able to do outside of working for an airline.

American Eagle's contract did not restrict us in 2011--I don't know about the current version. SkyWest does restrict pilots from flying for hire. I think the FAA considers flight instruction "for free" as if you are still gaining flight time, so it's not really "for free," in their eyes. I have not heard of any airline restricting ALL flying outside their airline--and I'm glad SkyWest doesn't do that.
Of course, if God wanted man to fly, God would have given them....


more money. :)

Nobody restricts recreational flying, you can do as much of that as you like.

But flying for compensation impacts your (legal) availability for your airline job, so all airlines restrict that, at least to the extent that you have to get permission to do it.

Flight instruction in and of itself is not inherently flying for compensation unless compensation actually occurs. If there is no hint of compensation involved (ie free PIC time) then it should be fine. But that pretty much restricts instructing to family members, unless you're a 63 year old 747 CA and can make the case that free ASEL PIC is of no use to you.

I think you have a great attitude, Celeste. A love of flying seems to keep people moving.


I've learned something from this thread, and it's a little disappointing, since many people want a second job to find a way to make extra cash.

Remember, your not being paid as pilot, you are an aviation consultant!!!!

If you do some research on the life of a regional pilot you'll see it doesn't matter because you won't have enough free time.

I've heard of regional pilots giving sim or ground instruction so that it doesn't count against their hourly limits. I've also heard of regional pilots doing ferry flights under Part 91.

I've seen some airline pilots as DPEs, though those tend to be more from the majors.

I came into the regionals thinking I would want to instruct on the side for more money. By the time I was two months in and forced to commute that idea had gone out the window. As a junior regional FO there's no way I would want to spend the 2 days or less that I get at home per week instructing.

I have met people who have gotten permission from the company to fly on the side. I would say that 99% of the people I know don't do it though. You don't get enough time off as it is.

:) Don't most people that work get two days off per week and isn't instructing often an advised way to build time while those people keep their *regular* job until they build enough time for other avenues?

Are you implying that sometimes airline pilots are not exactly in touch with the normal working world/reality?