Multi-engine time

[Horizon]

Just wondering:

How much ME time is considered competitve to get a decent cargo job, or perhaps your foot in the door at a regional?

About how much would you have to spend to buy all this time (rent a twin)???

 

[gkrangers]

The checkhaulers seem to take people with whatever it took to get your commercial multi...10-20-30 hours? As long as you meet Part 135 mins...

Probably start out in a single, and upgrade to a twin in a few months to a year, or even start out in a twin, even with low multi time.

Regionals are typically 100-200...

Cost?

Figure 150-200 per hour.

 

[RefugePilot]

100 minimum

I got in the door at Ameriflight and an interview at airnet, with less than 80 hrs Multi, but I had a lot of total time and experience.

As a rule you need to have 1000 total hours and 100ME to get an interview at the regionals and be competitive at most cargo places. You can get hired with less, but your options will be limited.

If you have the 135 minimums you can work at Flight Express. You start out in a Cessna 210 and will get into a Baron within a year. If you work at a school, with a multi get your MEI and teach. It would be stupid to pay for 100 hours of multi when you have very little chance of making more than $24k your first year outside flight instructing.

 

[mcjohn]

Don't buy the multi time. If you're creative and able to network you'll be very glad you stayed out of that unnecessary debt. There are many things you can do that lead to opportunities without building multi time.

 

[Lear Wanna Be]

I see check haulers that are just looking for 1200TT and a multi engine rating. 1200TT and 25 MEL probably would do the trick for some cargo haulers. 1200TT and a 100 MEL would get you in the door of just about any freight hauler.

There was a recent thread (at least in the last couple months) that said Pinnacle the regional airline was taking guys with 600TT and a multi engine rating.

You can probably find some sort of twin to rent under $200 an hour. Travelair, Senaca, Dutches they would all work just fine.

 

[Foxcow]

Get your MEI

 

[sleddriver71]

It all depends on how bad they (cargo) need pilots. When I was hired on at a 135 freight company they required 200 hours multi. That is always subject to change (in other words, a lot less multi than that) so check around and see what different operators want right now. You may already be qualified, don't waste your money and buy the time.

 

[dardar]

people will always tell you to get your MEI. Not so true. Even after getting your MEI you still need considerable time to meet insurance requirements to teach in the plane (at least this is what I found)

There are plenty of 135 operators that will take you with little mulit time. At some you can go straight into a twin as well. It may sound like you're wasting a year and losing senority over others, but when it comes time to an interview at a major, how many of the other applicants flew single pilot IFR?

 

[sleddriver71]

quote by dardar "There are plenty of 135 operators that will take you with little mulit time."

Hey, I resent that comment, I got rid of my mulit long before they hired me.

 

[tinman]

Got rid of mine over ten years ago, and I still got hired.