Advice needed.

[mcjohn]

I could use some advice. Here's the abbreviated sum up. (take into account my wife and I are trying to have kids right now, we own a sweet house in AVL, and...oh yeah, only money would be credit card ~10%apr)

I can't decide:

1. Take $4,000 - $5000 to Atlanta's ATP flight school to get my CFII and MEI and then go where ever.

2. Take $1,800 - $3,400 to Conway S.C. for training to fly banners over Myrtle Beach for season beginning end of March.

3. Take my wife with me out west to work at a flight school that offers health insurance IF I can convince them to hire me (i.e. - MAPD)

4. Start working at home at a strange little 141 flight school with a small student base that might give me a few more students and return to my hotel job (bellman) part-time to maintain benefits.

The first two options leave us w/o health insurance so we would have to buy it privately.
I was considering training to tow banners in Florida but after reading some info I decided that southern Florida would be a little straining for me and my wife. Cost of living too high w/ pay too low. Myrtle Beach on the other hand is only 5-6 hours away from my home and I'll probably just get a travel trailer if I go. I have some folks trying to talk me out of towing due to lack of building X-C and instrument time.

Lay it on me! (advice that is, or just pick a #1 - 4)
Thanks.

 

[RUNNINHORN]

where are you now?

 

[mcjohn]

Asheville KAVL instructing very little at K0A7 www.hendersonvilleairport.com

 

[Alex429595]

I could use some advice. Here's the abbreviated sum up. (take into account my wife and I are trying to have kids right now, we own a sweet house in AVL, and...oh yeah, only money would be credit card ~10%apr)

I can't decide:

1. Take $4,000 - $5000 to Atlanta's ATP flight school to get my CFII and MEI and then go where ever.

2. Take $1,800 - $3,400 to Conway S.C. for training to fly banners over Myrtle Beach for season beginning end of March.

3. Take my wife with me out west to work at a flight school that offers health insurance IF I can convince them to hire me (i.e. - MAPD)

4. Start working at home at a strange little 141 flight school with a small student base that might give me a few more students and return to my hotel job (bellman) part-time to maintain benefits.

The first two options leave us w/o health insurance so we would have to buy it privately.
I was considering training to tow banners in Florida but after reading some info I decided that southern Florida would be a little straining for me and my wife. Cost of living too high w/ pay too low. Myrtle Beach on the other hand is only 5-6 hours away from my home and I'll probably just get a travel trailer if I go. I have some folks trying to talk me out of towing due to lack of building X-C and instrument time.

Lay it on me! (advice that is, or just pick a #1 - 4)
Thanks.

1.) Do you really think having a CFII and an MEI is going to bring you more students, or make you more money? I personally do not know, Im just asking.

2.) I agree with the lack of XC/Instrument time, and might further add that having to drop that amount of money for training seems pretty shady. You might not want to work for someone who charges you for training.

3.) Sounds like a decent plan, although I havent heard great things about MAPD in particular.

4.) Maybe look into that flight school a little deeper- how many students can you really expect? Would having your CFII/MEI help you in this situation?
Just my personal advice. Take it for what its worth, coming from a commercial pilot in training UND student.

 

[EMBATP]

Ii

i did not have my cfii, but it would have come in handy. mei i never would have used as there was no multi or students. if you are thinking of buying block time, might as well get the mei. it is possible to build time without having mei/cfii.

have you thought about keeping the job with benefits and buying a plane (150) for building time?

 

[Stifler's Mom]

Not sure what is best for you, but towing banners or buying a C150 will only bring you a ton or single engine VFR flying. Somehow you need to get your multi-engine time moving upwards.

Is ATP's hiring people from the outside? I thought you could possibly get a job there if you received your MEI or CFI's from them? Anybody familiar with that route these days?

 

[mcjohn]

1.) Do you really think having a CFII and an MEI is going to bring you more students, or make you more money? I personally do not know, Im just asking.

2.) I agree with the lack of XC/Instrument time, and might further add that having to drop that amount of money for training seems pretty shady. You might not want to work for someone who charges you for training.

3.) Sounds like a decent plan, although I havent heard great things about MAPD in particular.

4.) Maybe look into that flight school a little deeper- how many students can you really expect? Would having your CFII/MEI help you in this situation?
Just my personal advice. Take it for what its worth, coming from a commercial pilot in training UND student.

1. CFII probably would. MEI would once I climb the ranks at a flight school
2. Safe banner towing ops is done predominately by tail wheel aircraft so you have to pay to get trained for tailwheel flying and banner ops. Very dangerous and not easy, some wash out. 600-700 PIC hours obtained in a long summer.
3. MAPD ab-initio training is considered some of the best training (Complex Beeches from day 1) Their PACE program is considered shady by some and the Airline is hated by some. Great instruction opportunity w/ benies.
4. CFII/MEI would help, they have a Seminole but very few fly it. Very, very expensive.

 

[flylowman]

Have you tried Air Cargo Carriers Inc. I had a friend get hired with them with about the same ammount of time you have. The pay is not much but you are building multi time and 135 expierance helps with regionals. good luck

 

[mcjohn]

Not sure what is best for you, but towing banners or buying a C150 will only bring you a ton or single engine VFR flying. Somehow you need to get your multi-engine time moving upwards.

Is ATP's hiring people from the outside? I thought you could possibly get a job there if you received your MEI or CFI's from them? Anybody familiar with that route these days?

My thoughts exactly. If you're a total bad @ss they may remember you but people are lined up for that gig. They do occasionally hire from outside. No benefits though and I think pay is low. Maybe someone else has the facts.

 

[HMR]

You're a bellman? That's usually a great gig for working around a flight training schedule. I was a doorman at a swanky beach resort when I decided to get serious about flying. It wasn't until last year (at a great corp gig) that I made more money flying than I did standing in front of that hotel saying "Hi" to people all day.

I'd skip the banner towing and do as much CFI'ing as possible until you meet PT135 mins. You will NEVER regret the skills you learn as a CFI. I had little trouble transitioning to the world of hard IFR flying in a single-pilot, turbine environment thanks to the skills I learned as a CFI/MEI. I can't imagine what a banner tow pilot does when faced with a DME Arc in IMC for the first time?

Your pay is going to suck for the first few years so save as much during your training as possible. Be wary of buying multi-time and NEVER pay to warm a seat. It's much better for you and the logbook to be an MEI and build time instructing. I got hired at a school with a Duchess but no multi business. I started shaking hands and striking up conversations with every pilot who walked through the FBO's door. 12-15 months later I had 1250TT, 500hrs multi and got hired into the left seat of a King Air.

Be smart and Good luck!

 

[mcjohn]

Yeah, the bellman gig is good but it I've been doing it for 5 yrs. I'm totally burnt out from it and I just turned 30 so I really want to quit (I'm on a temp. layoff now). I slowly paid my way through all the ratings I have now w/o financing much thanks to that job. At the 4 star hotel we are super micromanaged and make twice the amount of money as our immediate supervisors, so you can probably imagine why I don't want to do it anymore.

One thing special about getting into banner towing is that it sets you up well for ag ops (crop dusting, bug spraying, etc..) Not that I really plan on doing that stuff but it's true. PIC stick and rudder skills become the cream of the crop in the tailwheel world. I think it would be fun and a new challenge but the pay is bad.
Great advice, I really appreciate it.

 

[luvz2fli]

HMR how did you get to do left seat in a king air? That just seems to be rather odd to go from a Duchess to flying a King Air as PIC.

McJohn, ya I sorta hear where you are minus the wife and all. I do not know which route to take and I am looking at every possibility. I just can't get into CFIing like I should. It's like I got the rating because it looks pretty, whatever that means.

Also as far as knocking the banner towing, there are plenty of people who have done that and then flown for other companies that are 135 operations and stuff. Tailwheel time certainly makes you a better pilot when it comes to flying I believe. I am speaking from first hand experience yet it hasn't improved my IFR skills obviously. I just wanted to add the IFR thing in before someone gets to hassling me.

Good luck in whatever you do.

 

[HMR]

HMR how did you get to do left seat in a king air? That just seems to be rather odd to go from a Duchess to flying a King Air as PIC.

It's not that unusual. I got hired at a PT135 operator in SoCal. No problem with insurance. I was at SimCom for King Air school 3 days after my last flight in the Duchess. The hardest part was flying from the left seat again after a year of sitting on the right side as a CFI.

 

[HMR]

McJohn- Do you seriously want to do Ag work? Your family would probably appreciate a different career path. The customer service skills you learn at a nice hotel are very valuable in the PT135 and Corp worlds. One of the reasons I got hired into my first jet was because of the famous hotel I worked at. The owner knew I'd do well with the clientele. Guess what? I regularly ran into the same customers from the hotel all over the country. They knew me by name from the hotel. It's pretty funny walking into an FBO far from home and having an old hotel guest say, "HMR, what are you doing here?"

Also, when I flew charter I got tipped more than any other pilot at our company. It wasn't because I was a good pilot, it was all about those skills I learned over the years as a bellman/valet/doorman. I think you know what I mean.

 

[spudskier]

Have you tried Air Cargo Carriers Inc. I had a friend get hired with them with about the same ammount of time you have. The pay is not much but you are building multi time and 135 expierance helps with regionals. good luck

How in the world did that happen? The guy posting has 400ish hours and the web site has mins of "1500 hours total time, 200 hours multi-engine, 75 hours actual instrument." I know I hear stories all the time of people getting in to places under mins, but 1100 under mins seems a bit rediculous. Now I'd love nothing more than to believe this since I'm about the same time of over 400 hours and not knowing when if ever I'll get hired by anybody while accumulating hours as a CFI and shaking hands with whomever I meet.