I am on the hiring board at a virtual airline and I would highly recommend that you obtain a CFI.....



























Note: For those of you who do not have a sense of humor, the above statement was an attempt at such (albeit, a bad one). Thank you, move on now, move on...

I learned more about how to handle an aircraft in the first 100 hours as a CFI than I have in any 1000 hours doing anything else.

There are four reasons to get a CFI....
-You WANT to instruct
-You want another salable skill
-You collect ratings
-You want to be a more well rounded pilot

Some of the things I learned as an instructor:
It takes at least 12 hours of work to earn 8 hours pay
On salary, fly fast; if you are hourly, save fuel (same for under or over guarantee)
The time the guy next to you is most dangerous is when you start to trust him
No matter how many times we train engine failures, the first one that quits gets your attention
Good rudder control can get you out of many bad situations
If in doubt, drop the nose

I got it. Its sad you had to put that note, but I understand. Some people just troll here to eat people alive for no reason.

Not meaning to sound like I am picking this apart, but after spending a few rounds on the interview board at my previous airline I would like to expand on your above list. And mind you this only goes for regional level experiences... havent had the experiences of interviewing on the major level.

Total time is important, but we would rather see 121 time experience first. If we dont see that we would like to see Turbine 135 time. Ok, maybe you are a bit weak on that end... lets now look at your total and multi time (dual given helps ALOT here)!

So with just that brief run down of what regional recruitment and interview board members look at here is a catch. If you have previous 121 experience and you are interviewing at another 121 carrier.. whats the catch? Why would you leave one regional for another? I.e were you fired, released, etc?!? So 121 time is great for a applicant with a clean record and good intentions, but it can also spell trouble real fast for those with a smudged record.

135 time guys are great. very good experience in the thick of it all. Mostly humble guys ready to have a bit more stable life, and that is respected. But the question remains... are they going to fit into a dual crew environment? Most of the time, not a problem.

Total time/CFI's... they have some good time built up and some great life and death stories, but for the love of god guys please remember how to brief an approach, not teach it. Sometimes I found the more simple things would be over analyzed by this group leading them to melting down in an interview. So sometimes the numerous hours spent in the pattern staring off into the distance bored out of your mind, while the student is subconsciously trying to find a way to plow that plane into the ground can backfire.

Basically what I am getting at is, CFI is a great title to carry with you. Just make sure you take advantage of what you are doing at the time. Do not show up to an interview with the required hours thinking you are a shoe in. It will be very demanding to get the call over the next few years I have a feeling, so it should come as no surprise that you have to be at the top of YOUR game.

Lets not forget internal rec's are HUGE! I dont care who tells you otherwise. Who you know can never hurt in this industry.

As far as the college degree, it can never hurt to have it. A few years back it was not a requirement... but who knows about this next time around. Could be a different story. It for sure proves the point you can go the extra mile when it comes to book work/academics.

I hope my rant can be of some value to those wondering what those on the opposite side of the interview table are thinking about. It does not by any means represent the entire regional industries value of experience for new hires, just how my little group viewed our applicants at the time.

Best of luck!

SUX4U

Order of preference for regional airline hiring boards:

1. Total Time.
2. Total Time.
3. Total Time.
4. Multi Time.
5. 121 Time(or RJ sim training)
6. Pt135 Time
7. Turbine Time
8. IFR Time.
9. CFI Time.
10. College Time.
11. Good Personality, just say yes to everything.(optional at the regionals)

Only get the CFI if you want to instruct, most who know they want to fly 121 get it to build time but it looks like that's not your problem though. Best of luck.

+1

pathetic, indeed.

this depends on what you want to ultimately do. multi time is important, not just for the resume', but for insurance req's of your potential employer as well. outside of the 121 world, mins are set by companies based on whatever their insurance provider requests. all the CFI time in the world won't get around that issue. these req's aren't set in stone however. they change from company to company. i have known some to get away with not getting a CFI ticket. right place, right time is the only explanation.

although being a CFI does give you an all around mastry of ground knowledge as well as the abiltiy to effectively teach new ppl, it doesn't really hold much water on a resume (if that's the only thing on it), outside of 121 during ridiculous hiring booms. you may, and many have, get lucky with a charter outfit on whatever field you are teaching on, but those days are few and far between during this period. things may be a little different after age 65.

25 hrs of multi time isnt' going to get you a job, especially now. it will open the door to new opportunities though. maybe you'll be at the right place and right time. who knows? your sister's friend's uncle's cousin's father may be looking for somebody to swing his gear in a king air some day. without the multi engine rating, that opportunity wouldn't even be an option.

*if you already have a decent amount of TT, i'd suggest getting the multi rating first. take that FWIW......

It will speak volumes about you as a person. Committed individual, team player, works well with others, can handle stressful situations, learns quickly, able to think, function, and adapt in a complex and ever changing environment, can follow rules, knows what being a professional and having responsibility means, procedure orientated, possesses leadership skills. The list can go on as far as what a person with military experience brings to the table. As long as you don't pooch the screw in the interview.

Now, for the part you don't want to hear. Rarely, if ever, does WSO/RIO/BN/Engineer time count as far as checking off or filling out flight time qualifications go. I know, it sucks, it would be nice if some credit was given. But that's just not the way it is. An even bigger injustice is that helo time is often disregarded as well. Although some regionals used to count helo to a certain point. In 1999/2000 era SkyWest used to give a 1 for 3 credit on helo time with a max given of 750. In other words, 300 helo would count for 100 towards total time. But their mins back then were still 1000/100. So you'd still have to have the 250 FW and 100 multi.

My former employer however gave FULL credit for helo time. Lot's of guys hired that only had a mulit/comm airplane ticket and a ton of helicopter time.

I was a CFI for three years before flying 121-and now that I am a Captain, that experience has taught me how to be a better and more patient Captain. New FOs (captains in training)are students too, and some teaching does go a long way in helping new crew members become better pilots. (especially ones that have less than 500 hrs tt)

WORTH EVERY PENNY. The only person who would say it is not is the person who doesnt have it.