Way2Broke said:
I would recommend them to any 1200hr CFI looking to get out of the right seat of a cessna and into a really, really, fun plane!
True, I'd recommend them too..., but also like FutureSNA said,
"Having been trained by some quality places, if you are a 1200 hour CFI wonder going there, god help you if your run is difficult and the weather is bad. Their training is short, if you don't have the skills prior to coming, you could be in trouble."
I was thankful that I had a lot of prior single-pilot, hard IFR, 135 experience before getting on there. I ended up being somewhat of a training captain for several new-hires during my last couple of months there.
OMG some of those guys they hiredwould have bit it if they would've turned them loose. I had to fly with a guy, who had been
hired and passed a checkride, for 3-4
weeks before he was safe to go solo! He was an MEI, CFII as well. We started the first night with him in the left seat (remember, after passing the checkride) for a quick night of IOE and then he'd take over the run... he couldn't hold straight and level
VFR! I had to retrain him to fly instruments in the middle of winter at its worst.
In situations like those, guys with no real weather experience can get into a world of hurt in the blink of an eye, and I'm sure y'all would agree. I'm not knocking the training there at all, but it's just like most 135 freight ops...it's quick and over before you know it. Everything changes outside the training environment. The Commander is a very docile and forgiving airplane, thankfully, but make sure your instrument skills are sharp!