Careers: Flying & Aviation/Commercial Multi-single

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Expert: - 11/11/2004


Question
I have the oportunity to earn the Commercial multi and single if I apply and am accepted for a loan, but will not be able to do an instructor course.  What are the opportunities available to a fresh beginning commercial pilot?  I live in Florida right now.  

Thanks in advance.

Answer
Hi, Tennison:

Nice to hear from you.  I will try to assist.

As for a beginning commercial pilot, it all depends on the amount of flight time.  Up to 500 hours total time (Pilot in Command hours), you have just a few employment options.  They would be things like flying aerial advertising (banner towing), flying tourists at the Grand Canyon or some other national park, and flying pipeline or electrical transmission line inspection flights.  Obviously, if you CAN get a flight instructor certificate, building flight time in the early years is a bit easier since there are LOTS of flight instructor jobs as compared to beginning commercial pilot jobs.

Once you reach 500 hours, charter (FAR Part 135) operators are free to hire you without insurance restrictions.  Also, some regional airlines will hire you at 500 to 1000 hours PIC flight time as long as you also have something close to 100 hours of multi engine flight time.  The regional airline segment has generally been quite "hot" in terms of hiring lately, much stronger than the major/legacy carriers (some of which are still laying off pilots).

Once you get up in the vicinity of 1000 to 1500 hours of total flight time and 300 or so hours of multi engine time, a larger regional airline flying regional jets may be interested in hiring you.  

At 2500+ hours of total PIC flight time and 500 hours of PIC multi engine turbine flight time (meaning captain time in a regional jet or turboprop or in a turbine-powered charter or corporate aircaft), then the larger airlines will start looking at you.

I hope that this is of assistance to you.  Please follow up with another question if you wish.

Sincerely,

David A. NewMyer, Ph.D., Professor and Chair
Aviation Management and Flight
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
http://www.aviation.siu.edu

Careers: Flying & Aviation

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David A. NewMyer

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Can advise people thinking about beginning and aviation career and espcially those thinking about an aviation university program. Can also help with aviation scholarship questions. I am particularly strong in questions related to starting a flight career, choosing a university flight or aviation management program, aviation internships and aviation scholarships. Also, I can assist with questions about airport management and planning careers and oveall aviation industry employment questions.

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Prepared In addition to aviation education, I work at a major university, I have worked as an airport planner preparing airport system plans, airport master plan and environmental assessment reports for the Chicago area in general and for several individual Illinois airports.

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