Flying a Caravan for Turbine PIC

[TexasPilot]

What does anyone know about single engine pic time in a caravan? I am thinking about leaving Eagle after 4.5 years. With an LOA of course. What does anyone know about caravan time leading to a decent career job? My friends at Southwest are begging me to do this...

 

[IslandDriver]

F-16 is a single engine.....there sure are a lot of ex F-16's at SWA!

 

[propilot]

DON'T DO IT! If you're going to leave, leave for another Multi-turbine job. Caravan PIC will get you nowhere... Southwest may allow it, but no one else does... You'd be severely limiting yourself...

 

[BIGGOAT]

Go for it! What good will more 121 SIC time do for you?

Goat

 

[JustaNumber]

Most airlines want 121 PIC. The idea is they want to see crew command skill. I would view it as a step backwards.

 

[GLEXPilot]

You thinkin corporate or bigger 121. If corporate it will help you. If bigger 121 I think they would rather see you coming from a current 121 gig then flying around single engine part 91.

 

[pilotyip]

Any PIC is better than SIC while in the job hunt, especially if you don't have much PIC. It will take you approximately 10 years, of course with what is being called the "lost decade" it may take longer. However the hiring boom is coming it will allow you to get to a job that will allow you to start making QOL a goal in your job search.

Pilots get hired at good places because they have Turbine PIC, you must build turbine PIC to have control over your career. You have to go wherever that job is that gets you turbine PIC. You stay in that job until you can get another job that gives you better turbine PIC, i.e. Bigger airplanes, Turbojet, 121, etc. It is called paying your dues everyone must do it. Some do it in the military, some do it at the regionals, and some do in the on-demand business. Everyone pays his or her dues.

 

[ackattacker]

IMHO at this stage of your career Caravan time is a huge step backwards. It checks a box on an application but will leave most interviewers scratching their heads, and trying to figure out what went wrong at Eagle that you had to leave to go hang out with a bunch of 500 hour wonderkids flying XL Cessna 172s.

You should be looking for something that will give you PIC in a multi-engine turbine with a crew. King Air or better, or stay where you are.

 

[paid4training]

I just helped one of my students and a business partner buy a king air f-90 yesterday. They want to send me to Sim Com for training, is there other options? I expected about 250-500 hours a year flight time in the f-90, I really lucked out on this one!!!

 

[pilotyip]

IMHO at this stage of your career Caravan time is a huge step backwards. It checks a box on an application but will leave most interviewers scratching their heads, and trying to figure out what went wrong at Eagle that you had to leave to go hang out with a bunch of 500 hour wonderkids flying XL Cessna 172s.

You should be looking for something that will give you PIC in a multi-engine turbine with a crew. King Air or better, or stay where you are.

Bum gouge, as a hiring manager I would be much more impressed with the Caravan PIC than I would be with more RJ SIC. Having hired a few Caravan drivers, who now all have their choice in jobs, CA at Air Canada, Corp pilot at a Fortune 10 company and DC-9 Captain with JUS.

Too early to even make QOL a consideration in the next job. Go for the Caravan time to build resume fluff, you can always move when a better job comes along