Expert: David A. NewMyer - 3/1/2004

Question
I am considering paying for an internship with a reputable company and possibly getting hired by that company. The cost for this internship is slightly more than the cost of obtaining a single engine add-on, CFI, CFII, and MEI. I have some airline pilot friends that say this method of building hours is looked down upon by the "old timer" airline pilots/administration who do the hiring. Is this opinion out of date, considering the valuable experience you get from doing an internship in a high performance multi-engine aircraft, as opposed to instructing in mostly single-engine aircraft. As long as you eventually get the required number of multi-turbine PIC hours required, do airlines really scrutinize the route that you took to get to a job flying PIC of a multi-turbine aircraft.

Answer
Hi,

Yes, unfortunately, it is not so much the companies but the UNIONS at those companies who have a dim view of what is called "pay to fly."  There are companies such as American Trans Air and others who do not care, but, there are others that do....students at the university where I work (Southern Illinois University Carbondale) have gone on to Mesa, which is essentially pay to fly, and have done well.  Others have had problems with that image problem you refer to.  Gulfstream was here from Florida talking about their program and, while it sounds good, you do SOMETIMES have a working commitment (a minimum time to work) to that company to repay them for the training and work options they give to you.  So, READ THE FINE PRINT IN ANY SUCH CONTRACT.

One thing to keep in mind is that IF this is the only way you can come up with that gets you where you want to go, then, by all means, go for it.  I have always found that there are normally always at least two alternative solutions to any problem, so, what is the other alternative you were thinking about?

So, my thinking is that, if you are at an aviation university right now, think about using the contacts of that university to obtain a NON pay to fly internship that has some sort of interview or regional pilot placement connection.  These are normally free of charge and are NOT looked down upon by companies or unions (they once were, but, not now).

If this did not answer your question completely, please email me with a follow up via Allexperts.com

Best wishes to you,

David A. NewMyer, Ph.D., Professor and Chair
Aviation Management and Flight
Southern Illinois University Carbondale