Instructor moving to charter
would greatly appreciate feedback and advice on the situation.
I have decided to hang up the instructing hat and have a crack at the charter game. I have around 1000 hours (all experience gained from instructing, 840ish PIC including 100 night), current MECIR with ATPLs completed with 0 time on 200 series aircraft. I understand GA in AUS is in quite a bit of a lull at the moment however I have decided that it is the best time to make the move at this stage in my life, still young and extremely motivated to 'make it'. So I have a few questions that hopefully a few of you can answer to get me on the right track.
1. Is it going to make the job hunt more difficult without 200 series time or will my slightly higher hours preclude that requirement? I also understand operators run through a rather rigorous ICUS program before letting you loose on one of their machines.
2. Is getting a job as simple as approaching operators and having a chat or is a good recommendation from someone already in the industry an almost must have.
3. Driving through the centre to the top, how long should I budget to spend in the places I stop at. How often does someone just stop by and get a job on the spot?
4. Where is the best place to position myself? Darwin, AS, Katherine? Also how much should I budget for a week?
Any pointers or words of constructive wisdom are appreciated, obviously it is a big move and want to go into it with as much information as possible.
Cheers MaxFL360