Biz Jets, Ag Flying, GA etc.The place for discussion of issues related to corporate, Ag and GA aviation. If you're a professional pilot and don't fly for the airlines then try here.
However, just to answer the question: G5/550 as well as the Challenger 604 are valuable type-ratings. Both machines have a good reputation and there are plenty of them about.
Waving your chequebook about is perhaps not the best way to enter this branch of aviation and with your level of experience I would have thought you could find an employer to type rate you anyway.
Send out your CV, make contacts, do your homework and be patient.
The problem you're going to run into is that while airlines (particularly eruropean airlines) are prone to hiring very inexperienced pilots...corporations aren't. A pilot with no experience may be in the front office of the BAE 146 with businessmen and families aboard. The corporation officers who are financially worth more individually than the an entire airliner full of passengers, however, aren't going to put up with that. And don't have to. They pay a lot of money for the privilege of having their own schedule, own aircraft, and the ability to choose their own pilot...one with substantially more experience.
Generally to find work in a corporate aircraft, having the type rating isn't enough. One is going to need time in type as well as significantly more total experience. Generally a minimum of 5,000 hours or more before anyone will consider you for equipment such as a GIV in the corporate arena. You'll also need significant Pilot in Command experience, making the safety of flight decisions for which the corporate pilot is paid...you're paid for your judgement and experience, not for manipulating the controls.
Bear in mind that flying a corporate aircraft isn't the same as flying an airline operation where most of your decisions are pre-maid. Getting your own weather your own approvals, overflight permits, and making your own fueling arrangements, flight plans, etc, without the benefit of a dispatcher to take care of that for you is a lot more work intensive and time consuming...and it's still a very small part of what you're doing when you're operating privately. Arranging transportation for your clients, stocking the aircraft, arranging your own maintenance, etc...you can't simply write up a problem and walk away.
If you obtain a type rating, you have a rating but no experience...and if an employer is wanting a thousand hours in type, you'll be a thousand hours short of being able to apply for the job. A type is a step in the right direction, but unfortunately, an expensive step that doesn't get you much closer to being able to apply for, let alone secure, the job.
Actualy, sad as it may seem, having a type and training within the last year will absolutely and certainly put you ahead of those that the greedy corps have to train. Honestly, I just hope aviation doesn't turn back to the 'pay for a job' type of thing we saw back in the 90s.If I wanted to buy my way into a job, I would simply throw some money at the chief pilot at some airline. If he can put 200 hour pilots in the right seat, he already sold his soul to Satan, you might as well flash him some cash in the parking lot and buy him some hookers while your at it.
Our hard minimums are 4,000 hours to apply...but competitive minimums are somewhere around 8,000 to 12,000 hours at the moment...and that's minimums. We're seeing a lot more experience than that.
Of course, you couldn't buy that experience nor would you be given more than an escort to the door if you tried.
The cost of training is nothing to a corporate department. A 45,000 dollar type rating isn't much in the face of hiring a good crew upon whom the passengers can depend. That said, the primary reason that many departments don't type applicants is that they want to hire an applicant who isn't only typed, but has proven experience in type.
Sorry cannot agree with your sentiments about GV/550. There are not so many about and certainly no work right now. Additionally a very expensive rating. Best to look at other types. There are many mid size jets around; very few can afford to buy and run a $60m a/c. KH
Thank God you dont have to join a union as well.......................
They used to say getting an acting job was hard........ " to be an actor you need a job, to get a job you had to be in the union, to be a union member you had to have job..........."
Or to put it another way
To be a pilot, you need a job. To get a job, you need the hours. To get the hours, you need a job, but to get the job you need the hours. To get hours................................
If you are going to buy a type rating, I think the CE-500 or 525 would be the least expensive, and there are many Citations driving around, which is a good platform to enter the corporate world. And as stated earlier, having a type rating puts you ahead of the guy or gal who doesn't.
This isn't a matter of you can't have the golden ring unless you already own the golden ring.
In order to get experience to get the job you want, you may have to work a number of entry level positions first...possibly jobs you don't want.
No, you can't have the GIV job without having the requisite experience. However, yes you do need that experience, and you do need to get it somewhere. You may not be able to go out and buy a GIV type rating and hope to go to work. But, you may be able to work your way up to that position with a number of years of charter, freight, instructing, and other positions, until you're qualified to apply.
The problem as I see it isn't that it's a catch-22...it's that some want things before they're ready to get them. It takes time. Be patient. You'll eventually fly the aircraft you want, and probably work the job you want...it may not be today, but with some patience, it will happen.
Guppy is right(did I just say that?)...... if your willing to move to where the work is, possibly in a place you don't want to be, working for people you don't want to work for, flying equipment you don't want to fly, getting paid less then you want...you will have a job. I have turned down 4 decent jobs in the last year, my friends want to shoot me...but keep in mind, I don't need the flight hours, nor do I need to fly...it's about lifestyle for me...if you just need a seat in a plane, because it's fun time, well...that's why it's hard to get a job....
Except they (Netjets Europe) appear to have frozen recruitment, for the rest of the year I think.
Liftman. When you say you've applied to "all companies looking for crew" do you mean only those who have advertised? How far afield and how long ago?
Jobs in this side of the business are rarely advertised and are mainly filled by word of mouth. If you can be a bit more specific as to where you are prepared to work I'm sure someone here can provide you with more information.
Agree with the sentiment in here: dont get typed! Without hours it is useless. What about Cityjet while you keep looking for a job in private aviation? Looks better to be flying on yourt resume!
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is perhaps not the best way to enter this branch of aviation and with your level of experience I would have thought you could find an employer to type rate you anyway.
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