small jets and air taxi

[drotchin]

Anyone believe the small jets in development can provide a viable air transport solution? Do you think this would be a good career choice for pilots?

[+'ve ROC]

I think that by the time small-transport jets become mainstream they will rely on automated GPS systems to provide lateral and vertical guidance.

No need for pilots here methinks!

Check out the mfrs websites

[fortuna76]

Come on ROC get serious. For my non aviation friend to think that planes can one day do without pilots, that is sort of ok. But for a pilot (you are one, no?) to write that is absolutely nonsense. At the end of the day who is going to make some serious decisions and go against logic because there is more information available then just the one fed into our great on board computers (which also happen to fail left, right and center). Yep it´s those guys that call themself pilots. Besides, when it comes to biz-jets, the rich guys like the idea of having two guys driving them.

As for the career thing, I have to say I don´t know. I am just moving from an airline turboprop operation to a biz-jet outfit (netjets). I am not sure how that is gonna look on my cv in five years time, but frankly for me it is a choice of lifestyle. I have the choice of doing this job, with nice days of flying and nice time off, living where I want, vs a loco job with crazy work hours, paying the typerating :yuk: and moving to somewhere I don´t want to live. All that in the name of my cv, to go in three or four years time to.....airline XYZ? That is the rat-race and I am done with that.

Still I think that flying a nice biz-jet would not even look bad on the cv. Sure it is not the type of flying the mayors are looking for, but it is good experience and if you want to move on from there, it will just depend on the market I guess. Right now it will not help you because there are tons of guys looking with XXXX hours on some airline big jet. But there will be other times.

Cheers.

[drotchin]

maybe I am missing someting. I read all the hype about eclipse, Cessna Mustang and now embraer is building a small jet for the air taxi market. Even Rolls-ROyce is projecting thousands of the planes. Anyone thing this can be a good career for an air taxi pilot, who can onw and operate a small jet ? It could cost $1.5 million, or payments of $100,000 per year. Why not a new model for pilots?

[airmen]

Give a call to Eclipse and you will hear that your brand new aircraft will be delivered end of 2007 because a lot of people want it already!
Of course there is a good future here if you do not like to fly the big jets, go for the Very Light Jets, it will be fun...
They will normally require ATPL guys to fly them, maybe a good choice to start a career instead of turboprop? :rolleyes:

[drotchin]

hey...I meant a jet...that's a private pilot toy at best. Its a tiny little plane. I've sat in the mock up. if that's all there is ...forget the business. No pax getting on that tiny plane any time soon. These are guys used to flying biz class or first class.....paying $1000 per seat. There's no way that plane will work.

[SR20flyDoc]

The insurance of a VLJ will be like $ 35.000 a year for a pilot, but likely two, with 1000 hrs + and multi-instrument rating. Perhaps an AOC also will be required.

I spoke with a company hwo has 3 options on Mustangs, and they will only fly it with two pilots, pax in the back.

So there might be some jobs there. For the PPL - VLJ owners, an ATP on the right side with FI qual is a must.

S.

[waveydavey]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4117312.stm

[Onan the Clumsy]

I absolutely think this will be a significant portion of airborne travel in the future. There will still be 500+ seat behemoths as well, but four or five seat taxis that will fly on circular routes, or, just like a taxi, will fly to on demand destinations will become a reality.

[ssg]

I fly light jets for a living..

Cessna and the others think that the millionare with a pilot's license will fly himself around, hopping from airport to airport, and hence are betting the farm on this.

Realisticaly these jets are a scant faster then a fast turborop and do about 350kts. They are keeping the weights and speeds down, because, faster aircraft are tougher to fly IFR.

Those biz guys that want a jet, have already go the Citation Jet series to fly. The instructors I talk to say that the failure rate is high for a 300 hour biz guy flying a 206 to transition into a light jet.

I also have it on good authority that the insurance companies are going to send these rich wannabe pilots to school and set some high hourly requirements. Already insurance companies have denied payments on crashes with aircraft piloted by crews with pencil whipped logbooks, and shady maintanance practices. So whats gonna happen when the typical money oriented rich guy with a passion for flying does when he needs another 1000 hours in his logbook....

Truth be told I think there will be a market to fly these aircraft once the boss, flunkes out of school or the insurance company call BS on his hours, but guess who gets to do all the flying when he hires you and wants to sit up front?

The upside, more jets will get out there, and I think the death nell for Tprops. Everyone will have a jet with nice avionics, which is great...

[widespreadpanic]

The company is called DayJet, check it out.

www.dayjet.com/

WP