multi-engine time building programs...

[rjag]

Hi,

I've been doing some research about multi-engine programs in the USA (Ariben, Wagner Airways, ASA, etc) These schools offer time building programs in multi-engine aircraft for as little as $54.95/hr, but time is flown under the hood and as a safety pilot. Under FAR's this is legal and honestly I don't see any problem with doing this, but is it really worth it .... I mean half of the time is actually flown PIC and the other half you are just a pax that switches the comm and nav radios.

I'd like to have your point of view and if someone out there done this before, would you recomend it? What is your advise.?

Would you rather spend the money doing actual PIC in a C-152 for time building or would you "invest" on this programs?

Thanks to all, take care and fly safe!

rjag

[dyermaker]

Hi rjag,
First of all, if you are just looking to buy cheap multi engine time, then come over here. But ask yourself this, do you just want say a hundred or two hundred of multi time to make your total time look better, or do you want to buy 500 or so multi time? Coz if you for example buy 500 hrs and half of this is safety pilot time, then I think its better to just fly a C-152 with no safety pilot time. But if you have little or no multi time at all, then I think it won't hurt to add 200 hrs of multi time, even if half of it is safety pilot time. I myself am a foreign student who came here to get my license and build time, and I have done the 100 hrs multi with half of it safety pilot time. Then I'd either do flight instructing (which by the way is not so lucrative these days given the lack of students) or buy a used C-152 to build total time, which is gonna be more or less the same amount of money you'll spend anyway to buy 500 hrs of multi time, but at least you won't have safety pilot time.

[FlyingForFun]

Just one problem with this...

Logging safety pilot time is fine under FARs. But it's not allowed under JARs - so if you have a JAR license you can't put it in your logbook. (Actually, you can put it in your logbook, because you can put anything you like in there. The capacity shoud be SNY - supernumary. But what you can't do is include the hours in your totals in any way.)

FFF
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[dyermaker]

Well, think of it this way, for $54.95 per hour ($5495/100 hrs., not including tax yet) assuming you can't log 50 hrs. safety pilot time under JAA, you are actually only paying $109.9 per hr. on a multi engine plane. Thats not a bad price to hire a multi.