How valuable is Caravan time?

[scubabri]

I've been flying now for about 2 weeks in a Caravan, lovin every minute of it. I'm wondering. I've got about 250 hours multi, if I have, say, 3700tt and 2000 van time, is that going to be appealing to my next venture of getting a jet job in like a Citation as SIC or maybe a PIC in a King Air?

sb

 

[falcon20driver]

I would consider it gold, I haven't flown in a year. I would love to have a job flying a Caravan.
It's not as good as having twin turbine PIC time in your logbook, but I've heard recently of pilots with only single engine turbine PIC getting hired at Southwest.

 

[wingnutt]

... maybe a PIC in a King Air?

...and thats exactly what my van time got me

 

[Airpiraterob]

enjoy it if you get it. one of the most fun planes to fly. one of the most capable planes. (its useful load is almost its empty weight). flys like an A36 bonanza when full and a 172 on steroids when empty.


useful time? shoot in that thing youll be in the soup all the time and behind a turbine. its valuable.

 

[bobbysamd]

Caravan time

Absolutely, Caravan time is valuable. It is turbine PIC in scheduled ops. Such time does not grow on trees. I have a friend who had great total time and fair to middling multi, but no turbine. He got on with Westair, a freight operator in Central California, flying Caravans. He built about 800 hours of Caravan time in a year with much of it IFR. He then got a class date with a fractional. More importantly, he talks about how it was such great experience and how much he learned.

You are a little light in multi, but your turbine PIC time in the Caravans still should make you competitive down the road. Enjoy the job!

 

[scubabri]

I'm having a blast, and I even get to fly in the clouds more than I thought. The van is a great plane and I am excited to be flying it, but it doesn't negate the need to have a plan to move on when the time comes. Always looking forward

52 hrs and counting.

sb

 

[350DRIVER]

maybe a PIC in a King Air?

It is somewhat valuable ( I guess ) but do not hold your breathe on this one.
This is highly improbable young one, most operators will require you to have much more multi-engine time than what you currently have, not to mention time in make and model.

We had a caravan operator across the field, guys with lots of time in them tried to make the jump into the King Air as PIC, insurance company just about laughed them right out the door.

3 5 0

It is all about the turbine planes with "two engines"... The insurance company IS the dictating factor.

 

[wingnutt]

...most operators will require you to have much more multi-engine time than what you currently have.

thats true, i did have something like 700 multi at the time i got the King Air job.

but youve got the right idea, once you get into a job, start looking for that next one. as soon as i got the van job, i was looking for a King Air gig, then once i started the King Air, i was hunting a small jet...etc.

always have someplace you want to go to, and someplace you can go back to

 

[Mason]

I too fly the Caravan. Great plane--sturdy, easy to fly, and makes cool turbine noises. As to whether or not the time is valuable, if you are flying for a 135 operator the time is very valuable. Throw in turbine time (albeit single-engine) with the PIC-NIGHT-IFR-Xcountry thing and you are building some quality EXPERIENCE which will inevitably open more doors in the future.

 

[BoilerUP]

semi-thread hijack

It is somewhat valuable ( I guess ) but do not hold your breathe on this one.
This is highly improbable young one, most operators will require you to have much more multi-engine time than what you currently have, not to mention time in make and model.

We had a caravan operator across the field, guys with lots of time in them tried to make the jump into the King Air as PIC, insurance company just about laughed them right out the door.

3 5 0

It is all about the turbine planes with "two engines"... The insurance company IS the dictating factor.

Not to be a smarta** or ask a stupid question or anything, but how would one go about adding multi-time in a situation like this? Seems like you can't get a job with make and model time, but how do you get the make and model time without a job I know a guy who got a job as a BE90 PIC flying parachute jumpers in Minnesota with around 1100/150, but this seems the exception more than the norm.

I'd like to work my way into a King Air job in the next 2-3 years. I have (a little) BE20 experience and would like get a right-seat job, but I don't want to log shady time. Can you log SIC in an airplane such as a BE20 if the 135 certificate the plane is on requires an SIC?

Didn't mean to hijack the thread, just look for advice for people higher up the food chain that have "been there, done that". Thanks for the advice.

 

[bobbysamd]

Multi time

I know a guy who got a job as a BE90 PIC flying parachute jumpers in Minnesota with around 1100/150, but this seems the exception more than the norm . . . .

The original poster is light on multi and insurance indeed is the true regulatory body. But offering good quality turbine PIC time as the Caravan would provide can certainly open far more doors than not having it.

 

[350DRIVER]

Not to be a smarta** or ask a stupid question or anything, but how would one go about adding multi-time in a situation like this? Seems like you can't get a job with make and model time, but how do you get the make and model time without a job I know a guy who got a job as a BE90 PIC flying parachute jumpers in Minnesota with around 1100/150, but this seems the exception more than the norm.

I'd like to work my way into a King Air job in the next 2-3 years. I have (a little) BE20 experience and would like get a right-seat job, but I don't want to log shady time. Can you log SIC in an airplane such as a BE20 if the 135 certificate the plane is on requires an SIC?

Didn't mean to hijack the thread, just look for advice for people higher up the food chain that have "been there, done that". Thanks for the advice.

The point that I was merely making was that this "caravan" time will not open many doors for King Air captain positions in this case since this poster is obviously making light of the fact that he is rather light on his multi-engine flight time(s) & experience. The insurance company is the dictating factor and in most cases they want quite a bit of total time (which the caravan will help him), decent amount of multi-engine time, time in make and model, etc. When I was a 135 captain our insurance company wanted atleast 2000+ total, I think something like 500 turbine time (MULTI-ENGINE), etc, obviously not time or experience that will be obtained by flying a caravan, but hey one has to start somewhere in this industry.


The regionals will just about take anyone with a pulse so if you are young, dumb, and happy, and willing to fly for peanuts and coke's then this would be a step that would work as well.


IF your company's ops specs requires that a part 135 qualified SIC is required to be onboard, you are trained & checked out per 135.293 and other regs. then you bet you sure can log the time as SIC time, no question about it hands down. If this is the case then in reality you are only hurting yourself.


3 5 0

 

[Wang Chung]

always have someplace you want to go to, and someplace you can go back to

I don't really have anything to contribute as far as Caravans or anything, but I just needed to point out that this quote is one of the smartest things I've ever seen on this board.

 

[vetteracer]

Quote

We had a caravan operator across the field, guys with lots of time in them tried to make the jump into the King Air as PIC, insurance company just about laughed them right out the door.



This is a point that many people seem to overlook. Could you fly a King Air after the Caravan, sure. But like many industries the insurance companies dictate the requirements. After 9-11 insurance went through the roof for turbine equipment. Our company required 2500 TT, 1000 PIC multi- and an ATP. This was for insurance plain and simple. The other scam is simuflite. Although the training is great and they are a first class operation it cost our company 60,000 a year to run all the pilots through. But from what I am told, the make most of that up in insurance savings.

Look at the job boards, this will be a standard ad

Wanted, King Air Captain, Sim trained and Sim Current with certificates for the King Air 200. 4000 TT, 2500 multi and 1500 in type. If you don’t have the requirements don’t bother applying. First year pay, $35,000.

This is an insurance driven ad. The operator or owner got insurance quotes and about craps and finally gets a quote that he can live with and the insurance tells them the kind of experience that he will need to find. Notice that they don’t even offer to get you recurrent in the aircraft.

 

[sleepy]

I have about 600 hours of Part 135 in the C-208B. It has not hurt my career yet. I went from there to a B20, then to a BA-4100 and LR-31A. I just landed my dream job as Captain on a Falcon.

 

[wingnutt]

Wanted, King Air Captain, Sim trained and Sim Current with certificates for the King Air 200. 4000 TT, 2500 multi and 1500 in type. If you don’t have the requirements don’t bother applying. First year pay, $35,000.

unless youre thinking of the recent ad for that chief pilot slot out west, thats not necessarily true. i know of a particular operation that, even now, only requires 2000TT and 500 Me for single pilot ops in one of their many King Airs

 

[HMR]

Don't get discouraged. I got hired by a 135 outfit in SoCal in 2002 (when "NO one" was hiring) with 1200TT/500 multi (all dual given in a Duchess) and ZERO turbine. They sent me to SimCom and two weeks later I was flying single pilot in a 2002 BE20. Insurance wasn't a problem. The Co. had about 12 planes on their certificate so maybe they got a break. The pay was on the lower end of the NBAA scale (36K) and the management was bad but it was a great timebuilder.
The jobs are out there. It's not all about quantity of flight time. Put on your best suit and a good attitude and be persistant.

GOOD LUCK!

 

[JetBlast2000]

Most companies who fly Caravans usually have other equipment. If you can't make a jump to the a/c you want, look at other operators with caravans and other equipment. The 208 is an entry a/c so you should be able to make a lateral in hopes of building the multi. Good luck
JB2k

 

[scubabri]

Most companies who fly Caravans usually have other equipment. If you can't make a jump to the a/c you want, look at other operators with caravans and other equipment. The 208 is an entry a/c so you should be able to make a lateral in hopes of building the multi. Good luck
JB2k

We don't have anything other than Caravans. I'm really just trying to think way ahead on what my next move should be in a few years. Multi time is very hard to come by here (at least I think) and I don't have the cash to be throwing at the twin that's here on the field.

sb

 

[bobbysamd]

Turbine time

We don't have anything other than Caravans. I'm really just trying to think way ahead on what my next move should be in a few years. Multi time is very hard to come by . . . .

. . . . and so is turbine PIC time, always. Fly the Caravan, build your time, and bide your time until the next opportunity arrives.

Good luck and good flying.

 

[jetexas]

The Caravan was the most fun A/C I have flown to date. The turbine PIC is good but more importantly you'll have a great time flying that plane!

 

[Super80]

Interesting thread. I'm probably looking at the same situation except with a PC-12 instead of a 'van.

 

[flyer172r]

I believe one way to make it easier to go from the van to a king air would be to find a king air operator you would want to work for and get to know the people who work there, and let them get to know you. That way when you get more time and they have a position open, they may consider you because they know and like you.

 

[Sctt@NJA]

Not sure of current insurance requirements.

But I know in 98 I was typed and flying as PIC under 135 in a Citation II with 1800 hrs total time and about 300 multi.

I think insurance requirements vary from place to place and between insurance companys. Could be wrong though.