Obtaining a CPL vs ATPL / Non-airline jobs

[LH2]

Greetings.

I am another one of those wanting to get into the flying business for some reason.

However, contrary to what seems to be the norm, I do not wish to become an airline pilot, but only fly smaller planes requiring just one pilot. I'd be happy doing the kind of jobs that go with that, even if less that brilliantly paid.

Therefore, my question is, do I need to go for an ATPL regardless, or will a CPL suffice in terms of standing a realistic chance of landing a paying job?

I have searched all over this and other internet resources over the weekend, but didn't find a specific answer to the above, on the contrary, most info out there seems to be geared towards airline jobs. Apologies if I have missed previous discussion on the subject.

TIA.

[Solid Rust Twotter]

Do the ATPL.

You'll eventually get sick of sitting in the snot at low level earning peanuts while others advance. You don't want to jump through the same hoops again to get ahead. If you don't use it, all well and good but if you have it you're far more employable.

Good luck.:ok:

[LH2]

Thanks for your reply, SRT. I am however, wary of spending ~£60K (which I would have difficulty raising to start with!) then join the dole queue just over a year latter. On the other hand, ~£20K for a CPL sounds more palatable to me.

I should also stress that I am in no way interested on working for an airline. It is flying small turboprops like Twin Otters or Caravans that appeals to me rather than big jets. As for the type of jobs, I do actually find the idea of bush-flying or island-hopping exciting, and my ambition would be to pilot an air ambulance. In a previous life I was a basic EMT and I'm starting to retrain to paramedic level.

The question now is, would I be realistically able to get a job just on a CPL and minimum hours? Obviously, I wouldn't sneer at any paying job which involves flying. I would even be willing to pilot a skydiving plane, even though I normally wouldn't stay on it for the landing :}

btw, I'm having difficulty discerning whether the ballpark figure of £20K for a JAR-CPL (in the UK or elsewhere) includes an IR and multi-engine rating. If not, how much extra would that set me back?

Thanks for your feedback.

[redsnail]

I think why most just do the ATPL subjects et al is because it's more cost effective (can you believe that?) to do the 14 ATPL subjects versus the CPL subjects and the IR subjects.

You certainly do not have to pay £60K. Shop around, you can do it for far less.

[Charlie Zulu]

£5000 - PPL
£7000 to £10000 - 100 Hours Hour Building (depending on a/c)
£1900 - Bristol Groundschool ATPL Course
£770 - CAA ATPL Exam Fees
£5000 - JAA CPL Flight Course
£1500 - JAA ME Flight Course
£12000 - JAA IR Flight Course

These are ball park figures for training in this country...

Just so you're aware single pilot IFR ops which you'd like to do require at lesat 700 hours of flight time as per the regulations so probably best factor in an Instructors rating FI(R) at around the £5000 mark.

To do the type of work that you'd like to do will require at least a JAA CPL/IR SE ME so you might as well do the JAA ATPL exams otherwise you'll be doing two written courses (JAA CPL and JAA IR) and wouldn't have the option of upgrading to an ATPL at a later date.

About the only thing you won't need to do is an MCC course.