I am with a 121 carrier and really desire the 135 lifestyle. I am currently employed with a 121 regional with the potential to upgrade however, am considering taking on a position with a carrier flying captain in a twin cessna, the catch is that it isn't turbine. The reason for this move is because I really like the company as I worked for them in the past and also I feel that they offer great potential to get really good time in hard IFR as a single pilot. The catch is that it isn't turbine and was wondering how much weight some of these fractionals i.e NJ, Flex place on that turbine time and recency of turbine time seeing that I might not be to "recent" if I take this other job. It is not that I am unhappy with my current job, I actually like it, I just want to move into the 135 world and feel that this is the way to do it. Any suggestions?

The folks in crew recruitment don't share these kind of specifics, but I think you can look at the application and make a couple of educated guesses. As far as recency of experience, they ask how many hours you have as a pilot over the last 6 and 12 months, and in what aircraft. The detailed matrix also asks for Total Time, Single-engine Fixed Wing, Multi-engine Fixed, Total Fixed Wing, and Total Rotary. It also asks you to break down your turbine time into Jet, Turboprop and Rotary. That tells me they care a great deal about turbine time. There are also columns for actual and simulated instrument time.

I wouldn't change jobs just for the instrument time, for sure. I hadn't been diligent about logging instrument time while in the military and barely had the minimums for NetJets when applying. I think turbine time, and recent experience in a complex jet or turboprop aircraft would serve you much better when trying to get an interview.

You didn't mention how many hours you already have, more specifically, how long longer you would need to be at either job before you'd be competitive at a fractional. The minimums are hard at NJA, based on insurance requirements, and I think that's universal. If you're happy at a regional, especially if you're close to upgrading, I would think it's worth a little more monotony to allow you to do what you want in the long run. There's no requirement for "breaking into" the Part 135 world when it come to getting a fractional job. The majority of new hires at NJA have no 135 experience. Get lots of opinions and do your research - it's obviously an important decision.

Good luck with whatever you decide,
-NTFB

It depends on what you want to do in the future. HR departments (who hire pilots) look at a few things including; Career progression and Industry Motivation. Your move would be considered a move backwards by some and you should be prepared to explain why.

As far as getting an interview, it's always been a matter of supply and demand.

I would guess that with the competition for a job at NJ going up, it would be better to have turbine experience. Again, this is just a guess.

Well the deal has been that I am at Colgan and been sitting reserve for the last two months, equalling about 40 hours of flight time, bummer.... My TT is 1200 and 550 multi 450 of which is SIC turbine. My fiance and I a are planning on getting married in Feb and already have a child together and I know she wants another. Seeing that this is the situation I feel that it would be in my best interest to take this job, if offered (cape air), and sit capt in a 402 for a few years before making any transition at all. I live south of boston, right in Cape Air territory and will be home everynight. If come time when I meet the fractional mins, I will apply, I am just wondering if they would accept piston time vs. turbine time. Like I said I think it is in my best interest to be a home body for a few years before making any transition. Plus not to mention I do have time on my side being 27. I've heard of people doing this before, I am just not liking sitting on reserve and being paired up with an IOE captain when I finally get a line, which has happened.

I recently got on with FlexJet. The majority of my recent time was in a Navajo, and my turbine time was in a Caravan (2000-2006), and a Beech 99 - from 12 years ago. I think our HR department would look favorably on time a PIC at someplace like Cape Air because of our strong emphasis on customer service.

The 2,500 hour minimum is a hard limit. If you have at least 500 turbine, you can go to the piston now and not have a problem. If not, make sure you stay at least until you hit that milestone.

Good luck....

Navajo31, Flex Jet and Citation Shares will increase pay in January in order to compete with NJ. I don't think they'll match NetJets, but they're going to come very close. Their applicant numbers are going to increase like crazy.

He will remain competitive because of his turbine time, but an applicant with piston multi-time only won't have much of a prayer after Jan. 2008.

I agree that a pay increase is in the works. Flex will continue to attract fewer candidates than NetJets because of the small number of bases - especially since there are none in the middle of the country. Although there is talk of some new bases, it will not be near NetJet's numbers simply because Flex has 1/7 the number of pilots.

IMO the thing that will increase competitiveness the most will be the age 65 retirement rule. I think it will slow attrition to a crawl all over the place, and make things much more competitive. Glad I got in when I did.

Does it matter if the turbine time is PIC or SIC?

According to the minimum standards, no. But I think some PIC turbine is....appreciated.