Central Air Southwest?

[TS6M]

Talked to the guy the other day and he said no PFT, just for the SIC though. Seems decent for some one with low time to get good expierence...

 

[CJII]

the experience is great but nothing else, i know from personal experience.

 

[Nightowl]

Central is a great place to go if you want to get experience that will actually mean something. I was there for 8 months and had a blast. True the pay is low but what do you expect for only having about 1200 hours. The commanders are old but very reliable and the Maint is good. I have talked to many employers who appreciate the value of the part 135 night cargo experience. The management is not hard to work for if you simply show up and do the job. The contract is six months and you really ought to stay for that long if your word means anything. If you want to be a better pilot this will help.

 

[Cuban B.]

CAS still have the SIC program listed on their website and imply that they prefer to hire to the left seat from that program. How does it work and would one be blacklisted for the duration of their career and chastized by their peers? Or is it an ok deal? GIA and Alpine seem to get quite the beating for their PFT programs, but this one seems to have avoided the hellfire? Airnet also hires SIC below 135 mins. Perhaps some sage aviator could clear up my confusion?

 

[T-REX]

CAS still have the SIC program listed on their website and imply that they prefer to hire to the left seat from that program. How does it work and would one be blacklisted for the duration of their career and chastized by their peers? Or is it an ok deal? GIA and Alpine seem to get quite the beating for their PFT programs, but this one seems to have avoided the hellfire? Airnet also hires SIC below 135 mins. Perhaps some sage aviator could clear up my confusion?

GIA PFTs displace what should be paid pilots. Airnet, Central Air Southwest SICs are flying Commanders, Caravans, and other aircraft that do not require SICs. The time is legal to log but most people look at this time as worthless experience.

 

[wheelsup]

GIA PFTs displace what should be paid pilots. Airnet, Central Air Southwest SICs are flying Commanders, Caravans, and other aircraft that do not require SICs. The time is legal to log but most people look at this time as worthless experience.

Don't forget that Airnet actually pays its SIC's, something the other companies listed don't do.

~wheelsup

 

[Nightowl]

At CAS they do prefer to hire pilots from the SIC program for obvious reasons. They are not looked down upon if they do indeed become a pic. While I am against PFT in general I think you will get more bang for your buck at CAS. When I flew with the SIC's I always made sure that it was a learning experience for both pilots. It teaches good CRM to the PIC's and if you demonstrate the necessary skills most guys will let you fly every other leg. For 30/hour it's some pretty cheap time if you just lack the 135 requirements.

 

[T-REX]

Yes, cheap time and good stepping stone. But your 1000 hr pilot with 700 SIC Commander time will get laughed out of most airline interviews.

 

[Cuban B.]

Awesome. Thanks for the clarification. Commanders seem like fun too.

 

[Jump Pilot]

Anybody know the routes they are flying out of Dallas and Lubbock?

 

[T-REX]

Havent seen the CAS plane out of Lubbock, but there is a Telesis Aerostar and C310 operated by a company in ABQ there--cant remember the co. name sorry. They both fly into ADS at night.
Out of Dallas both Telesis and GTA are hiring, no Commanders but hope this helps. What DZ are you working at?

 

[EatSleepFly]

the commanders they fly do have the TKS (alcohaul) anti ice system which kicks butt compared to planes with boots.

TKS sucks! One of the airplanes I fly has it, the others have boots. I'd much rather have boots! I guess if you could climb above junk, you could turn it on before going into it, then off when you get on top...that'd be alright. For slugging it out down low with no ability to climb above the crap, TKS is next to useless, in my opinion. You have to have it on before accumulating ice for it to be really effective and there's a limited quantity of fluid until you land and can refill it (which also sucks).



Edit: Sorry to stray off topic...

 

[staledog]

TKS sucks! One of the airplanes I fly has it, the others have boots. I'd much rather have boots! I guess if you could climb above junk, you could turn it on before going into it, then off when you get on top...that'd be alright. For slugging it out down low with no ability to climb above the crap, TKS is next to useless, in my opinion. You have to have it on before accumulating ice for it to be really effective and there's a limited quantity of fluid until you land and can refill it (which also sucks).



Edit: Sorry to stray off topic...

I guess everybody has a different opinion about what sucks and what doesn't. All I know is that on those really icy nights, I would land in the baron covered in the stuff and those old commanders would come in with the wings clean as a whistle. I think they hold enough fluid to keep it on for a few hours, too. HOWEVER, I myself never flew any planes with the TKS so I really don't know if it sucks or not. I will take your word for it. Peace.

 

[Flyin Tony]

You have to have it on before accumulating ice for it to be really effective and there's a limited quantity of fluid until you land and can refill it

Isnt TKS a anti-ice and not a de-ice system, I would love to have any kind of de-ice anti-ice system because now im afraid to go in the clouds when its cold out. I just hop on Flight sim

 

[Slippery Wing]

The commanders hold about 17 gallons of TKS fluid if I remember right, and go through just over 4 gph on the normal setting. The system works great so long as you turn it on BEFORE you get into the crap.