Are there are other options available beside instructing. I know instructing is the cheapest and quickest way to build time but isn't it possible to find a pilot job with a small charter, freight, or commuter operation with less than 500TT. I know pilots who have networked and found small jobs to build time for the regionals. Plus from what I hear, internships will cut your hours in half with a regional airline. Any advice?

Chuck

There are very few options other than flight instructing. You can try flying skydivers, banner towing, pipeline patrol, or traffic watch. Those jobs are few and far between and really depend on where you live.

To fly VFR only Part 135 charter you need to have certain minimum hour requirements. I believe it is 500 hours. The problem is that it is so limiting that not many operators have positions for that.

TP

The last post is true. After I got my commercial license, I thought I would try flying skydivers to build my time. That lasted 2 weeks. I decided to get my CFI. The problem with flying skydivers or doing traffic watch is that you don't get any cross county time. If you can find a company where you can fly some co-pilot trips as well as fly taffic watch that would be better. I would definately recomend getting your CFI though. You'll be glad you did in the end.

In my experience, you'll do yourself a favor by instructing a bit. I have flown with captains who have not instructed, and those who have. You can definitely tell a difference between the two. There is no faster way to build quality time. I have done aerial photography, skydive flying, and flight instruction and have gotten the most out of flight instruction. In the end it is somewhere between 1 and 2 years of your life, but you'll learn a WHOLE lot.

Chuck,

The way I did it was I found an FBO that had an flight school and a VERY active charter / commuter operation. When I did not have students on my schedule I would ask to go sit right seat on one of our 9 Navahos or Chieftains. This resulted in some great experiences at only 300 hours and allowed the management to gain enough confidence to "upgrade me" to a VFR Captain on the single engine charters when I hit 500 hours. It just grew from there.

But dont try to avoid Flight Instruction. It greatly enhances your people skills and personal knowledge base. I truly feel like the guys who miss this step in their career are missing out on some valuable teaching skills that they can use later in the training department or other opportunities that pop up in the road.

Cheers,
Walt

Flight instructing was probably the biggest favor I did for myself too. You'll learn more about flying in thos 1-2 years, at least in my case it was 18 months, than you did the whole time you were working on all your ratings. What I found was that my flying skills were increased 10 fold....although you sit and watch your students for the most part. Your scan and stick-n-rudder tehniques will be top notch. I left flight instructing to go sit in the right of a BeechJet, with my whopping 75 hrs of multi. I ended up a few hundred hours of ME time, however, all that time was good for was to get me an interview at a regional. Doing that and just that alone probably would not have gotten me through sim training, since all my "skills" came from instructing earlier on. Just my own personal experience, FWIW....

Good Luck

Don't poo poo flight instructing. I did it for about a year and learned quite a bit. You have to fully understand a topic to effectively teach it. For example, I never had a really good grasp of the rudder until I taught primary instruction. Spin training really brought it home. I can honestly say I have a very sensitive feel for the rudder today.

Consider buying a cessna 150. The cost of getting all your ratings is close to what it costs to buy your own plane. With an autogas STC you could be flying for less than $20/ hour. Depending on where you live it can take quite a long time to build time these days. It is just another option.


SkyHigh

Where do you get your autogas???????

haha

Hey IFLYJETS:

I agree 100%. I've seen so many posts on here asking "how can I get the time without instructing?" I'm disgusted.

check6