MU-2 pay rate?

[Flythis]

I would greatly appreciate someone posting the average going rate for a single pilot MU-2 position. I don’t have access to the NBAA stats and I no longer get pro pilot.

Thanks.

 

[GIVDrvr]

MU2 Rate

Part 135 pax or freight 35k to start 40k 2nd year etc top 50k

Part 91 corp 45-60k varies widely like any corp gig

Good luck...

 

[Flythis]

not so good with the math so how about a daily rate?

 

[GIVDrvr]

MU2 rate

Dude-

Is this 135 or 91?
Who will pay for your training/recurrent?
How much time in type do you have?

 

[Flythis]

Yo-

Part 91. No time in type, but plenty of time (121/135). Maybe 25 hours a month at the most.

I'm not sure if the owner will pay for initial training/recurrent, have not gotten that far yet. Just want to make sure I don't sell myself short or price myself out of a job. I love to fly and all but love doesn't feed the kids. This is a job and I just want to get paid what the going rate is for a professional pilot on a small turbo prop.

-out

 

[GIVDrvr]

mu2 rate

Due to the MU2 safety record and your lack of experience in type I cant see you getting single pilot PIC insurance without approved training. But given your background lets assume you can although I would not recommend it. I have transitioned many pilots into this airplane from other turbine a/c and everyone seems to struggle with it at first. The MU2 tends to be the entry level part 91 turboprop for those that would like a BE20 but cant afford it. Personally, I love the airplane but those tend to be the economic realities of MU2 operators. Given the above 350 a day plus expenses would be reasonable.

Good Luck

 

[FracCapt]

Due to the MU2 safety record and your lack of experience in type I cant see you getting single pilot PIC insurance without approved training. But given your background lets assume you can although I would not recommend it.

No sense in assuming....it WON'T happen, even with his time and background. No MU2 time or formal MU2 training, no insurance. The airplane has gotten a bad reputation because of the fact that it's an entry level turboprop, and not tolerant of unskilled pilots. Plain and simple - you fly an MU2 incorrectly when you have lost an engine, you will likely have a meeting with the ground shortly. You can fly the thing incorrectly most of the rest of the time with no serious effects....but you better be on your game when the sh!t hits the fan.]

I loved flying the MU2. Fun airplane, fast,challenging, and.....well....it was actually kinda fun when people would ask something like "why do you fly that deathtrap?!".. I tried to make up a new ridiculous story every time, but ran out of ideas after about a month..

 

[Fokkerflyer]

Rice Rocket pay in the NE should be 55-65K

Hope this helps.

FF

 

[Flythis]

Thanks. I think school is assumed (at least I would not fly it without it). As the saying goes, " A man has to know his limitations". I have no desire to cowboy at this stage in the game. However, the old catch-22 of "do you have any xxxx time" I see is still alive and well.

Thanks for everyones input.

 

[FracCapt]

However, the old catch-22 of "do you have any xxxx time" I see is still alive and well.

Thanks for everyones input.

In the MU-2 this is primarily because of it's bad safety reputation. It's an undeserved reputation, but a bad rep nonetheless. Most insurance companies will require a fair amount of MU2 time before they will cover you. The exception is normally only those operators that have operated MU2's for quite a while and have a good track record with their insurance company based on their training.

 

[Learjunky]

I have to agree with GIVDrvr....

I saw an MU-2 Roll right upside down on one engine and crash right infront of me.
I think the training is necessary...I honestly think if those guys had training they wouldn't have attempted a go around at 100 feet. I think it says in the AFM not to attempt a single engine go around that low.

 

[con-pilot]

I hate the MU-2. I have never had an airplane try to kill me more than that piece of crap MU-2.

I am very proud of the fact that I survived nearly 750 hours flying those pieces of junk. Long ones and short ones. I flew the G, J, K and the L models.

Flythis, be very, very careful in these airplanes. Get Flight Safety training, if they even still offer it and go to recurrency every 6 months.

The airplane is a killer. Keep up your airspeed and avoid any kind of icing what so ever. Add a minimum of 10 knots to any VMC speeds. Do not trust the engine to NTS (auto feather) unless you have a firm and positive NTS check before any and every flight. And I don’t mean just the first flight of the day, every takeoff.

The MU-2 has the highest accident rate of any, that is any, turbo-prop in the air.

The fact is that nearly half of all MU-2s built have crashed, most of them all fatal.

 

[El Bucho]

I was getting 250 a day in Virginia. Talked them into 350 a day until the chief pilot got put on Salary. I'm not flying it anymore though, was just a part time gig. They paid for all the training, which is an absolute neccesity. There isn't any airplane out there that won't kill you. The Mu2 ain't nothing to be scared of, but you must respect it, the numbers, and procedures. Great airplane, and I loved every minute of it.

EB

 

[con-pilot]

Well okay, for you guys that like the MU-2 that is fine, but I was already an experienced pilot before I crawled into a MU-2.

I had been a King Air 90, 200 captain, a Jet Commander (1121 and 1123) captain, and a Lear 24/25 captain before I flew a MU-2.

So I will share a few little problems I had with the MU-2.

1. Fire in the cabin. I was a single pilot in a corporate MU-2 and the cabin started filling up with smoke. It was a cabin interior fire coming from the baggage area in a J model, that’s by the only door by the way. I was lucky enough to have an ex-Air Force pilot in the right seat and the weather was VFR. I killed the busses and went back to the baggage area, pulled down the bulkhead and putout the fire, by the way when one kills the busses the door seal deflates and the cabin dumps not to mention the auto pilot no longer works. A resistor for the cigarette lighters caused the fire. 1st AD I was involved with the Mu-2.

2. A brand new MU-2 L, less than 100 hours. Took off and the right power lever (throttle) came back to nearly idle after I retracted the flaps. Now anyone that will tell the truth about these pieces of crap will tell you that any, I mean any change in flaps, gear require massive trim changes. Well I pushed the PL back to where is should have stayed and went on down the road. Second take off that day the same thing happened, yes I had tightened the friction lever down as tight as I could and the same thing happened. So after I landed I crawled under the throttle console and discovered that the wiring bundle for the auto-pilot had wrapped around the bottom of the right throttle and when nose up trim was applied the right throttle would come back to idle. 2nd AD I was involved with on the MU-2

3. On an ILS approach with reported light icing. I was at nearly full power when I hit the runway. The wings and tail surfaces were clear of ice. The problem was the gear pods and the tip tanks ice.

4. I was checking out a pilot on a J model and when he adjusted the friction lever for the throttles he came out of full flaps to (I think, it’s been a long time) to flaps 20 because his little finger accidentally brushed against the flap handle. I had to take the airplane away from him and apply full power to keep from hitting the approach lights. This incident I must take partial blame for, I saw what happened when his finger hit the flap lever and decided to teach him a lesson, it dang near killed us both. Later models of the MU-2 changed the flap lever to a positive lock system.

Those where just the serious stuff, I lost an engine, had a tip tank fuel cap fail (Top part was found on the runway, bottom half was on the bottom of the tank), had to crank the gear down twice because of ice on the gear sensors, three times after landing the main cabin door would not open due to the door seal freezing just to mention a few problems.

But the one thing I will remember more than anything else is the following.

One hot summer day I took off from Salt Lake City and as I went off the end of the runway the tower call and asked if I had lost an engine. I replied that no I had not and I was doing the as best as I could. He called back and said that he was sorry. I replied that he was not near as sorry as I was!

 

[GIVDrvr]

Con when I read your comments I find it hard to believe we are talking about the same aircraft series. I flew 3000 hrs worth in the MU2 in some of the worst weather in the NE and Midwest and loved every minute of it. I had my share of emergencies but I attributed them more to the marginal level of freighter maintenance than to any shortcoming in the aircraft. For what is worth I flew the marquise exclusively and maybe that model reflected a lot of improvements over the earlier models you flew. I had one engine fire, one inflight engine failure, one blown door seal at 29000, and two manual gear extensions. I regularly encountered moderate plus icing and never had a scary ride. I did have problems once or twice due to deep snow getting packed in the wheel wells preventing complete gear retraction. I found the a/c to be demanding but honest, and I dont consider myself a superpilot. I personally know an MU2 widow who feels differently, somedays I share her feelings because her husband was a close friend. I definately feel the MU2 raised my level of piloting skill if only because that was the only way she would have it. Although, looking back it seems like a goofy-ass airplane it was really the ugly duckling you grew to love. Now that am flying a highly automated machine I miss that sense of mastery that only regular single pilot raw data approaches to mins can give you. By the time I parked that airplane for the last time,when I flew it felt more like strapping it ON than strapping into it, if that makes any sense. Fly safe.