RJ fO to Key lime capt.

[jws717]

So i am a regional F/O on second year pay (one of the better regionals) However it will still take me 2 years to upgrade. I have in interview with Key Lime air, flying a Metro III single pilot cargo, same pay. Good choice? any Key Limers have input?

 

[belchfire]

So i am a regional F/O on second year pay (one of the better regionals) However it will still take me 2 years to upgrade. I have in interview with Key Lime air, flying a Metro III single pilot cargo, same pay. Good choice? any Key Limers have input?

The same money as you make as an FO to fly single pilot freight?

Frack that! Unless you are worried about age, your contract getting rewritten or something, stay put...just my two cents.

 

[FmrFreightDog]

I flew single pilot freight in a metro a long while ago, before I ever got into the airline world. What it will do is make you one of two things... either a very good pilot or a very dead pilot. What is will most likely not do is land you the job at the major you are most likely looking for. You'll probably end up right back at a regional sooner or later to get that 121 PIC time. I flew 135 freight, single pilot and crew stuff, for the better part of three years. I loved every minute of it and found it to be extremely gratifying work. However, I am currently a Captain at ASA and not an F/O at FedEx or UPS (although I am working on it....). 135 freight is rarely the stepping stone to a major that it seems like it should be.


So if you're looking for career advancement, I would say 135 freight is probably not a great move. If you're looking for a pretty difficult job that will, most likely, be rewarding in an "I got the job done" and an "I get to dress like a bum, smell like a hobo, and take pride in how many days I can go without shaving" sort of way, then the freight dog thing might be for you after all. It all depends on what you're looking for. I wouldn't trade my freight time for anything. I had a great time, developed some very useful skills, made some very good friends, and got a first hand demonstration of what a cherry bomb can do to a urinal in a seedy motel lobby. I don't think a guy in his mid-20s could have a better time while actually earning a paycheck. However, it wasn't much of a career booster in my case. I would probably be better off now in the "career" sense if I hadn't hung out hauling freight for as long as I did.

That's my experience anyway. All depends on where you are in your life. Married? Kids? Single and young? Looking for stability and career earning potential? Looking for a different kind of job than what you're doing now? It all depends on what you're looking for, and only you can answer than one. Hopefully that's somewhat helpful.

 

[BcPilot99]

The same money as you make as an FO to fly single pilot freight?

Frack that! Unless you are worried about age, your contract getting rewritten or something, stay put...just my two cents.

What he said, do a search about the company on here and you will see that there is not much good said about them....

 

[landlover]

I flew single pilot freight in a metro a long while ago, before I ever got into the airline world. What it will do is make you one of two things... either a very good pilot or a very dead pilot. What is will most likely not do is land you the job at the major you are most likely looking for. You'll probably end up right back at a regional sooner or later to get that 121 PIC time. I flew 135 freight, single pilot and crew stuff, for the better part of three years. I loved every minute of it and found it to be extremely gratifying work. However, I am currently a Captain at ASA and not an F/O at FedEx or UPS (although I am working on it....). 135 freight is rarely the stepping stone to a major that it seems like it should be.


So if you're looking for career advancement, I would say 135 freight is probably not a great move. If you're looking for a pretty difficult job that will, most likely, be rewarding in an "I got the job done" and an "I get to dress like a bum, smell like a hobo, and take pride in how many days I can go without shaving" sort of way, then the freight dog thing might be for you after all. It all depends on what you're looking for. I wouldn't trade my freight time for anything. I had a great time, developed some very useful skills, made some very good friends, and got a first hand demonstration of what a cherry bomb can do to a urinal in a seedy motel lobby. I don't think a guy in his mid-20s could have a better time while actually earning a paycheck. However, it wasn't much of a career booster in my case. I would probably be better off now in the "career" sense if I hadn't hung out hauling freight for as long as I did.

That's my experience anyway. All depends on where you are in your life. Married? Kids? Single and young? Looking for stability and career earning potential? Looking for a different kind of job than what you're doing now? It all depends on what you're looking for, and only you can answer than one. Hopefully that's somewhat helpful.

i know people that went 135 freight directly(they passed "go" and collected $200) to swa, continental, gemini, allegiant, ups, polar, atlas, cathay, jetblue. i'm sure there is more. however they were all pic in a jet, not a turbo-prop. could have made the difference

 

[be-400xpdriver]

Bad Idea!!! Bad Company That Does Not Give A Rats Ass About Thier Pilots!!!

http://forums.flightinfo.com/showthread.php?t=75475&highlight=Keylime

 

[Thedude]

i know people that went 135 freight directly(they passed "go" and collected $200) to swa, continental, gemini, allegiant, ups, polar, atlas, cathay, jetblue. i'm sure there is more. however they were all pic in a jet, not a turbo-prop. could have made the difference

I guess most of us don't consider most of the compaines you listed as a major to pass go and collect $200

 

[DrewBlows]

Yikes! I know two guys who left the Regionals for single pilot freight, both were dead within a year. No thank you.

 

[hoover]

So i am a regional F/O on second year pay (one of the better regionals) However it will still take me 2 years to upgrade. I have in interview with Key Lime air, flying a Metro III single pilot cargo, same pay. Good choice? any Key Limers have input?

Which company would you rather spend your career at if you never get another job?

I know a man who spent 18, count 'em, 18 years in the engineer and co-pilot seats of a Viscount, Caravelle, and DC8 before he could upgrade to a captain seat on a 737, and then spent another 10 years there. In that respect, 3 years doesn't seem that long to me.

 

[tathepilot]

Yikes! I know two guys who left the Regionals for single pilot freight, both were dead within a year. No thank you.

maybe they were bad pilots?