Part 135/91 Job

[fussle]

I am a 320 hour CFI (single-engine airplane). I was wondering what type of jobs I could get 91 or 135 on top of being a CFI to build time a little faster. I also will probably be getting my mulit-engine commercial soon. What is the best way to go about finding jobs like these (where should I look)? I am in the northern indiana area, and attend college (2nd year). Thanks.

 

[propilot1983]

First of all, you will not find any part 135 work until you reach 500 hrs. And then you will be limited to SEL VFR 135 until 1200 hrs. Your best bet is finding a bunch of students and flying your pants off until you get your 1200 hrs. 135 operators that will hire a VFR SEL 135 pilot are few and far between. But they ARE out there...I'm with one of them. my suggestion is to find a skydive outfit to help you build your time. However, beware of shady operations at skydive places...they tend to neglect mx.


just my .02

 

[avbug]

Limited to VFR under Part 135 until 1,200 hours...but not SEL.

 

[100LL... Again!]

True- you can fly MEL vfr at 500TT.

Which brings up an interesting theory question:

Could a 500 hr pilot fly a 1900 as pic under vfr part 135?

Never happen, but good bar trivia.

Answer anyone?

 

[generaltso]

Yes a 500 hour pilot could fly a 1900 under VFR, if that person has a type rating in the 1900. Also, insurance would be crazy.

 

[Sctt@NJA]

Don't know about your location, but in general.

- Sky diving (can be shady, I did it a bit, was shady)
- Traffic watch
- Banner tow

hmmm pretty slim options...

Most oddball low time job I have seen was a young instructor who got set up to do fish spotting. There were some old timers in super cubs with 14hr endurance who could make a killing by just having a few good days per year. They could make 30k in an afternoon when they got lucky.

My friend wasn't lucky. He flew all summer and didn't make a dime!

At a charter company I worked for we hired a 19 yr old kid with 300 hours as a cheyenne co-pilot. Yeah single pilot airplane, but he could log PIC time on dead-legs. (I know, I know...not the kind interviewers like to see)

 

[FracCapt]

Don't know about your location, but in general.

- Sky diving (can be shady, I did it a bit, was shady)

What was shady about it? It all depends on the operator...so you must've had a bad one. There ARE DZ's out there like that, but luckily they are not the majority. I have flown for many DZ's, and most are not even close to what I would consider "shady".

BTW, as an experienced skydiver, I would not want a 320 hour pilot flying an airplane I'm in. Of course, this is more than likely the pilot in me talking rather than the skydiver...but I want a fairly experienced pilot flying when I'm sitting in the back. I've had to get out of an airplane at low altitude because of a low time pilot doing EXACTLY the opposite of what he was trained to do when the sh!t hit the fan.

 

[Sctt@NJA]

I can only speak from my experience which was only with one place. Hopefully it is not the norm. Lots of wrench turning with no a&p for miles around. The worst case was the mixture cable and knob replaced with some kind of tractor assembly. Lasted about a week before it broke and caused a dead stick landing.