Type Rating - How Much?

[rotatrim]

There's been plenty of discussion on the merits or otherwise of self-sponsoring a Type Rating, but very little on the likely cost for those who might be considering this option.

How about some rough figures to give us all an idea?

From what I've heard:-

Shed (UK) £9,000
Cessna Caravan (UK) £5,000
Citation (UK) £13,000

[High Wing Drifter]

Unbelievably, I think the Citation X is more like £20K. My PPL instructor was looking into such a rating and was taken aback by the cost.

A bit O/T, but something I don't quite understand is why would a Caravan require a type rating? Also, am I right in thinking that until EASA approve the SE IFR it is still somewhat accademic.

[IRRenewal]

Shed (UK) £9000. Earning potential ~15K/year

A320 (UK) £20000. Earning potential 40K+/year

Just think that when discussing these things you have to look at the earning potential as well to get the full picture. The shed rating might look like a good way to go if you are considering a type rating, but I don't think it is.

[cortilla]

Just a quick caveat. Don't think single engine a/c have been approved for commercial IFR ops at the moment in the UK. Could be wrong, but the chances of gaining emoployment on the caravan at the moment is probably quite small as there aren't many vans in the uk at the mo. However i could be wrong, so do a bit more research on that front first.

I'd heard that a 737 rating was in the region of £17-18,000 at the moment.

[Firestorm]

If you're going to lash out on a type rating (and I have yet to meet anyone who thinks it's a good idea, outside of a self sponsored scheme like Easy Jet, and even then I'm sceptical), you might as well go for something big and marketable, such as an A320 or B-737. There are about half a dozen Sheds in UK airspace, and at least one that's a foreign registered one, but 'shedloads' of A320s and B-737s.

[Arrowhead]

GECAT and Alteon quoting £15k incl VAT for A320, plus assume about another £4-5k for the base check. Put another way, you could get jet rated instead of boring 180 hours in a twin (or 750 hours in a 152) in Florida to get your hours up to get noticed.... or this is the equivalent of giving away your first 9 months pay instead of sitting at home filling in applications.

FYI I reckon about 50% of the people I know that have paid for their ratings have got jobs straight away, and the other half are having to pay another £20k for their line training.

Lastly, IMHO I recommend getting rated rather than racking your piston hours up or instructing - I am A320 rated, and there is absoutely no similarity between operating an Airbus and anything small/piston driven - except maybe the lights, standby instruments, and gravity gear extension...

[StudentInDebt]

Lastly, IMHO I recommend getting rated rather than racking your piston hours up or instructing - I am A320 rated, and there is absoutely no similarity between operating an Airbus and anything small/piston driven - except maybe the lights, standby instruments, and gravity gear extension...

Well knock me down, there I was thinking that aeroplanes the world over use ailerons, elevators, rudder and have trimming devices. All this time and Airbus have done away with control surfaces.

Tosh! Whilst the operation of a modern commercial airliner is different from that of a light single, building your hours on a light single through instructing builds your overall experience and gives you more capacity for dealing with unusual or abnormal situations. I agree that there is little point in blowing thousands on hour building by hiring an aircraft and flying in circles, this is a waste of money and time.

Converting onto a medium jet is always difficult no matter what your background in the first year or so. I am not knocking low houred people getting their first job on jets straight after CPL issue - a few of my mates have done so - all I'm saying is that it could be more rewarding to reach your nadir after poling around for a few hundred hours in little planes.

Another advantage to building your hours and having an airline pay you for your type rating and line training (novel concept to some of you) is that you will become eligible for command sooner in most airlines as often it is total time that is looked at first.

[Megaton]

It's not total hours that count for some airlines but factored hours. In other words, easyJet prefer hours obtained with them rather than elsewhere and the factor for SEP instruction is low. Thousands of hours won't get you into the LHS that much quicker. Furthermore, airmanship for pottering around teachinf EOC 1 and S & L is very different from that required for commercial IFR ops.

[JohnnyPharm]

Student in Debt

Well knock me down, there I was thinking that aeroplanes the world over use ailerons, elevators, rudder and have trimming devices.

A320's have automatic trimming. So no trimming is required by the pilot.

Just a technical point.