Out of Aviation 6 years; BEST ROUTE BACK? ANYONE have any IDEAS or ADVICE?

[RobHG]

Greetings and thanks for reading my post.
I am an ATP pilot with about 3,800 hours, CFII/MEI and some 135 experience flying Chieftains in Alaska, and for Air Ambulance flying a King Air C-90 in Kansas; both single pilot operations....However, I have been out of aviation now for the past six years now.
Can anyone suggest the best method for getting back?
I would GLADLY pay for my training "ANYWHERE" to get back in the saddle.
DOES ANYONE KNOW if there is ANY COMPANY out there that 'might' hire someone as myself if I paid for my own training or for went through Flight Safety and got current or a type rating an aircraft a 'prospective' company flies?
For example...I talked to a company yesterday and they said they fly King Airs but all pilots must go through Flight Safety...
Realistically, if I were to go to Flight Safety and pay for example the King Air training....would anyone out there be willing to hire me off that particular training from Flight Safety with no previous flying time in the last 6 years?
I WILL GO ANYWHERE where there is an opportunity.
Any FBO's with a BUSY 135 CHARTER department where I could get current again and possibly get a foot in the door?
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!
Email is [email protected]
Thanks and fly safe!
Rob

 

[D8Ball]

Greetings and thanks for reading my post.
I am an ATP pilot with about 3,800 hours, CFII/MEI and some 135 experience flying Chieftains in Alaska, and for Air Ambulance flying a King Air C-90 in Kansas; both single pilot operations....However, I have been out of aviation now for the past six years now.
Can anyone suggest the best method for getting back?
I would GLADLY pay for my training "ANYWHERE" to get back in the saddle.
DOES ANYONE KNOW if there is ANY COMPANY out there that 'might' hire someone as myself if I paid for my own training or for went through Flight Safety and got current or a type rating an aircraft a 'prospective' company flies?
For example...I talked to a company yesterday and they said they fly King Airs but all pilots must go through Flight Safety...
Realistically, if I were to go to Flight Safety and pay for example the King Air training....would anyone out there be willing to hire me off that particular training from Flight Safety with no previous flying time in the last 6 years?
I WILL GO ANYWHERE where there is an opportunity.
Any FBO's with a BUSY 135 CHARTER department where I could get current again and possibly get a foot in the door?
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!
Email is [email protected]
Thanks and fly safe!
Rob

Someone would definately hire you even though you've been out for six years. I would take it easy on the "offering to pay" idea.....save that for last resorts! I was a CP for a corporate company in New England for four years and we didnt have an issue with hiring someone who hadn't flown in a while (even 6 years) as long as they had substantial past training and proof of past professional training such as FSI, ect. The thought is that if we liked you enough and you were compatible attitude wise we could train you to what we wanted. Attitude was everything for us! If you were easy to get along with it was a big plus. We had waived min's in the past to hire someone who presented themselves well and was well liked.

The only disclaimer that I would have to kick in is that you should expect to fly as an F/O for a while and willingly accept that. Since you're a CFI, I would even consider doing some part time CFI work just to get back in the air also. Flight schools are hurting for instructors in some locations right now.

 

[nosehair]

Flight schools are hurting for instructors in some locations right now.

This is the best way to get back. Renew your CFI and get students to get you current.

...oh, and why are you shouting? ..feel like you're falling?

 

[tathepilot]

Greetings and thanks for reading my post.

I would GLADLY pay for my training "ANYWHERE" to get back in the saddle.

Rob, I'm not sure how old you are, but please don't pay for your training..!! There are many companies out there that are hurting for pilots that will pay for your training..

The regionals are hiring pilot's that have not flown in years.. This is not an assumption, this is factual..

One reason why pilot's get small paychecks is because people like you are willing to pay for training.. In return you'll get a salary of 25k..?

No need to SHOUT

 

[rfresh]

Renew your CFI and get back into flying that way. After awhile of doing that, you can scout around for other job opportunities and feel more confident and current when you interview.

 

[D8Ball]

Rob, I'm not sure how old you are, but please don't pay for your training..!! There are many companies out there that are hurting for pilots that will pay for your training..

The regionals are hiring pilot's that have not flown in years.. This is not an assumption, this is factual..

One reason why pilot's get small paychecks is because people like you are willing to pay for training.. In return you'll get a salary of 25k..?

No need to SHOUT

Gotta agree 100% on the pay for training thing!!!

 

[RobHG]

THANKS to you and all who have responded with with positive thoughts and feedback for a direction.
My thought on 'pay for training' was more geared toward getting a 'type rating' OR 'current and qualified' in an aircraft for a 'prospective' company that would possibly hire me if I was checked out in the airplane they fly...for example a King Air or whatever....I don't see paying $20K plus to an outfit for what they call a 'guaranteed interview'
I am happy for all the responses that don't support this...as I WILL also STICK with what is right and the majority seems to think and believe this is NOT the way to go...so I will definitely stay away for the 'pay for training' idea.
You guys much more familiar with the industry (I have a 6 year absence) and that is why I posted my question..."HOW"?
I don't have a problem with CFI'ing if necessary...It helped me tremendously years ago for the next step...but if POSSIBLE to AVOID it...I most certainly would....I am over 50 now and need to act fast...
So thank you and everyone for sharing your wisdom with me....I hope to see more.
God Bless,
Rob

 

[Inconceivable]

I presume you are instrument current and proficient?

Go get a job with any 135 box hauler for a few months (weeks ) so you have that checkride paperwork and start looking for a good job from there. My $.02

 

[rfresh]

Just curious...what took you away from flying for 6 years?

Unrelated to you but it reminds me when I was a B-727 instructor for Delta - we had a fair amount of Second Officers (Flight Engineers) who were "chasing the money" - after spending 5 or 6 years riding side-saddle in LAX on the little three holer, they could almost hold a junior F/O slot on the 737 at another base but they elected to upgrade as an S/O on the DC-10 which paid a lot more money.

I assume everyone knows airline pilots are paid mainly by the type of aircraft they fly and the heavier the plane the more they make.

Anyway, so these S/O's would now fly side-saddle on the big three holer for another 5 years before finally deciding to upgrade to a flying seat.

They would come into LAX for S/O to F/O upgrade training and a few of them couldn't pass the course - they usually didn't fly on the side to keep current and after 10 years or more without any PIC flying of any kind, couldn't pass the initial upgrade course to co-pilot. They required additional training and as I recall they all did finally make it but they were sweating it all the way.

Back then the airlines had an "up or out" policy: once you started training for the next seat you had to make it or you were out on the street - they didn't let you fall back and fly your previous position.

 

[RobHG]

First of all I broke my leg working in Alaska...recovered and started working for an Air Ambulance company out of Kansas...
I had a 10 on 4 off schedule and I would always go home (SF Bay Area) on my days off...I could jump seat home with United or whoever and I always did.
Well, I had 4 days off commencing Sept 8, 2001...
Just so happens the day I tried to return (SFO-DEN then someone like Key Lime Air to Kansas) was...you guessed it...the infamous 9-11.
This got me in hot water because I didn't return for 5 days. I finally had to take a frikin bus...ughh! What a nightmare that was...
So I was already in the s--t house...everything went sour from there....Refused to continue one particular flight into Oklahoma because of squall line thunderstorm 400 miles long 60K ft high...was told "SHOULD HAVE CONTINUED" to make a long story short...was given the boot..
I was so disgruntled with aviation and the pressures...even though they always say "It's your call" it's really not as I experienced...no excuses just the facts...Also at the time my 'healthy' father was diagnosed with cancer (multiple myeloma) which was hard to take...I helped him and cared for him for a couple of years before he lost his battle...so I just didn't have the head for flying during those difficult times.
I lost interest to pursue it from there...now I realize that was a mistake and want very much to get back in...time flies..
When my dad died I went and lived in Brazil for 6 months at a time..on and off for 4 years...incredible place..but can't make a living out there....and Joe Louis summed it perfectly "You can run but you can't hide"
Anyway, here I am again pestering these guys for assistance on what direction to go...I've been very happy with the responses...
I have a long time friend who worked at Delta who was also a Delta 727 instructor...he recently took an early retirement however. His name is Harry Sharp and was based in SLC but commuted from SFO. He later went to the 757/767 and had the ATL-Santiago, Chile run...ring any bells?
Anyway, that's it in a nutshell...hope to make it back before I'm too old.
Rob

 

[LJDRVR]

Rob,

You don't know me and this advice is worth what ou paid for it, but listen carefully:

You're a professional Pilot. You do not pay for your training, your employer pays for your training.

The type of operations willing to have you fund their obligations are the same bottom-feeding scumbag operators who will expect you to break the rules and risk your life in their poorly maintained crap..

You should however, present yourself as current. consider going out in someone's Seminole for a few hours and finish up with an instrument competency check. That would go a long way towards showing potential employers that you are serious about returning to the cockpit.

Good Luck.

 

[skygod75]

The best advice about going back is....."don't go back."

 

[great cornholio]

Rob,

Things are way different than they were when you left 6 years ago. If you were to ask this question this time last year the answers would have been totally different because the hiring environment was totally different. Over the past 6 months to a year the regionals have hiring like crazy and have even been hiring people with such low time as 250TT and 25 multi. With that being said most of these new hires don't have their CFI's anymore. Also schools are loosing CFIs at a high rate as the regionals hire the CFIs. With that said a lot of flight schools around the country are hurting for CFIs. If your CFI is current then I'd say one of the easiest ways to get back in would be to go to the local flight school and do some CFI work. You'd be home every night and the age 60 thing wont matter. If your CFI is not current and you don't want to do the CFI thing then I'd say it is NOT worth going thru the hassle of re-doing the CFI because you will be able to get a job with out doing that. One way you could get into a non CFI job would be to get current by renting a seminole or something like that. While you do that you could brush up on some FARs and instrument type stuff which would also get you ready for the questions that would be asked on interviews. With that you should be able to easily get on at the regional of your choice and would also be fairly competitive to find a decent charter/135/FBO type job.

As it was said before most companies should pay for the training and the ones that would want you to pay would more than likely be ones that would cut corners in the other aspects of the company and you would have a good chance in ending up in a similar situation to the one that drove you out of the industry in the first place.

 

[Midnight Flyer]

I would GLADLY pay for my training "ANYWHERE" to get back in the saddle.
DOES ANYONE KNOW if there is ANY COMPANY out there that 'might' hire someone as myself if I paid for my own training

A little disturbing to say the least.

One of the reasons airline pay has gone down the toilet is because people like this are willing to selfishly do whatever it takes to get that airline job.

Guys like this allow pft airlines (GIA) to remain profitable. uke:

 

[IFollowRoads]

Rob,

You don't know me and this advice is worth what ou paid for it, but listen carefully:

You're a professional Pilot. You do not pay for your training, your employer pays for your training.

The type of operations willing to have you fund their obligations are the same bottom-feeding scumbag operators who will expect you to break the rules and risk your life in their poorly maintained crap..

You should however, present yourself as current. consider going out in someone's Seminole for a few hours and finish up with an instrument competency check. That would go a long way towards showing potential employers that you are serious about returning to the cockpit.

Good Luck.

WINNER WINNER WINNER

Good luck to ya Rob. Go fly the 'nole for a few hours, get instrument current, and start firing off resumes. You'll do fine.

 

[skyaddict]

Per the responses to date, you shouldn't PFT nor, in this environment, do you need to. As far as currency goes, a BFR/PIC and/or a new rating or checkout should re-qualify you as "current" for interviewing in many cases, but most require some nominal sort of time in certain timeframes that might require instructing or something. Once meeting those minimums, you are hirable all over the place for now, at least as far as getting back in the game.