Duchess v Twin Star for MECIR

[Paul Alfred]

Hi Guys,

Just wondering if anyone knows if GA Companies/Airlines take into consideration what type of plane you did your Twin Training in when they are considering you against other applicants? :confused: I have the opportunity of commencing my Twin training now in the Duchess or waiting for FTA to release the grounding of their Diamonds and apparently know one knows when this will be :(

Any suggestions?

Cheers for your time, PA :)

[GoDsGiFtToAvIaTiOn]

Go the Duchess! Looks, sounds and flies like a real aeroplane!

As for the TwinStar? Looks ridiculus! Sounds funny! Flies ...... sometimes!

GGtA:E

[Paul Alfred]

GGta, cheers, but what about the glass cockpit system...do you know if this is being preferred by companies to already have this experience using the G1000 etc.

PA

[GoDsGiFtToAvIaTiOn]

is being preferred by companies to already have this experience using the G1000 etc


I doubt it. Learning the G1000 is a couple of hours work.

GGtA:E

[Jabawocky]

PA

You could always try to get a job flying this ugly duckling!:ouch:

J:ok:

http://www.fototime.com/D6CDE30CD7F0B3D/standard.jpg

[GoDsGiFtToAvIaTiOn]

Hey Jaba, that thing was REALLY HAPPY to see YOU!

GGtA:suspect:

[Paul Alfred]

What the.... :D

PA

[Jabawocky]

And here is its cousin at YMYB today!

http://file042b.bebo.com/8/large/2008/03/25/10/4525920200a7246920338l.jpg

[GoDsGiFtToAvIaTiOn]

Man, you do have a way with aeroplanes!

[Jabawocky]

Dont say things like that......the FTDK will come along soon and suggest I do F:mad:k a few of them up!

Which is not true......his machines just seem to go U/S whenever I am around:sad:

J

[Capt Wally]

funny one there boys:E I bet the Dr:8 will want one on his Bo next!
He's got everything else that opens & shuts in that baby!:O

CW

[carro]

cant be that hard to fly.. the emirates boys are actually passing their CIRs these days i hear. lol

[ForkTailedDrKiller]

Nope!

Such appendages have no place on the FTDK.

Ya need to learn how to sex your aeroplanes Wally!

I would have thought it was obvious that the V-tail is a very female characteristic!

Dr :8

[Hasselhof]

Just wondering if anyone knows if GA Companies/Airlines take into consideration what type of plane you did your Twin Training in when they are considering you against other applicants

Depends. You said you're at FTA, does that imply you're trying for a QF cadetship or are you planning on going the GA route?

If you aim is to go straight off to QF or the like then by all means enjoy the DA42, a bit of glass can't hurt when it comes to preparing for a sim check.

If you're planning to go the GA route to the airlines then it might be a good idea to skip the glass and remain strictly steam driven. Your first GA twin job will most likely be in an ageing aircraft such as the Baron, 310, Navajo or similar class aircraft. The all glass single-lever-a-side approach in the DA42 is a whole world removed from 6 lever steam and could quite well count against you down the track (although I've not specifically heard this is the case, probably because when I was in GA last there weren't any G1000's in training aircraft). Why risk it?

The other big question, what's the price difference and what's cheaper?

[youngmic]

GGtA

As for the TwinStar? Looks ridiculous! Sounds funny! Flies ...... sometimes!

Your fishing, so lets see if I cant straighted your hook a little.

If an all composite modern design looks ridiculous to you then perhaps your just not up to speed on what an efficient low drag design looks like. Do you actually like the look of an aircraft with rivets protruding in to the air stream from a wavy poorly contoured, fatigue-able, and corrode-able skin surface?

Sounds funny: It just sounds different and it is much quieter than typical lighties. A factor that might well be welcomed by those that try and lobby for airport closers due noise. You do want to keep airports open and thriving don't you?

Flies sometimes: Yep they have had a few issues, and I dare say more to come. But that comes with progress and development of a new type. Or were you expecting affordable perfection straight out of the box?

Learning the G1000 is a couple of hours work.

Yeah right. If you can master all the capabilities of a complex system like the G1000 in a couple of hours then you must be a genius. But I guess you already knew that, thats why you tagged yourself with user-name of GoDsGiFtToAvIaTiOn.

Thanks for the shrimp :E

M

[Paul Alfred]

Thanks Hasselhof...makes sense. Unfortunately at FTA the pricing on the Duchess and the Twin Star per hour is exactly the same :confused:

At this stage my path is GA but I already have 700tt and 550command so I might be lucky in landing an FO spot on a small airline but happy to go either way....not having any twin time goes against me for an FO position.

Cheers, PA

[Capt Wally]

'PA' hasselhof brings good points to this discussion & says just about it, I would strongly consider the steam driven planes as mentioned for good reasons. If it is purely for an airline job then that's doesn't guarentee anything. You may still end up in GA where there are more levers than you can poke a stick at in yr GA twin hence better to be prepared when it comes to anything aviation. You can go either way with background training on a Duchesss for EG but may find 'deathstar' only exp could work against you should GA be the final route for a few years.


Cost? yeah well that's pretty much what drives this industry, nobody can advise you on that matter


CW

[Gin Jockey]

No jet employer is going to care what aeroplane you did your twin endorsement on. The way supply and demand is is at the moment, you could have 3 hours of dual on a paper glider and they will give you a job.

[GoDsGiFtToAvIaTiOn]

As for the TwinStar? Looks ridiculus! Sounds funny! Flies ...... sometimes!


Oh, I forgot! ...... and don't leave it out in the sun!

Youngmichael, aviation is about knowledge, manipulative skills, risk management, and above all else ........

...... IMAGE!

Go to your local GA aerodrome and park somewhere off the end of the duty runway, and listen to a TwinStar taking off and then a Baron/C310 taking off ..... then ask yourself, honestly, which one you would rather fly? The one that sounds like two weed wackers working together to trim the garden edge, or the one that cackles like a pack of steroid pumped angry hornets from Hell!

GGtA:E

[Magichands]

Give me something that sounds like it has grunt......

[youngmic]

GGtA

Why can't you leave it out in the sun? Care to have a crack at the answer?

Or are you peddling an unsubstantiated aviation myth.

As for sound being a determining factor for which aircraft I would choose.
Easy the quietest one.

I can't really get too excited about the sound of a Lycoming or Continental although an idling IO 520 is nice, and a smooth 540 to, as for a small bore Lyc/Cont. they don't even prick my ears (eg Duchess).

But then a few thousand hours behind a 1340/1820 will do that to you.

Suggest you keep well out of ear shot of these lest you mess your self in public.

Even a little 985 could have you discharging like a tube of toothpaste hit by a rubber mallet.

[Lefthanded_Rock_Thrower]

Or like a yogurt trucking hitting a brick wall.

[havick]

Do you HAVE to do it at FTA in Adelaide? As coastjet at Port Macquarie offer the best bang for your buck Baron's MECIR training package I have seen around, plus they have accommodation for you to stay at if required (FOC).

12k will get you you MECIR, I think add about another 1k if you ILS attached to it (as you have to Nav further to get to an ILS to demonstrate an approach). I think that's based on already having a multi endorsement.

I'm heading down there shortly to fill a few gaps and finish off my MECIR and they were all to happy to help.

Just a thought.

[kalavo]

Second vote on Coastjet over FTA.

Did all my training in Adelaide, but Coastjet (or JAS as it was then) was well worth the drive over what was available for CIR/ME training at the time.

If you happen to stay in GA for a while, a Baron endorsement is far more useful than a Duchess or Twin Star... they're just far more common :)

[Jabawocky]

Good point Kalavo

the Baron is the go......or a twing Bo if the FTDK was here:E

J:ok:

[Paul Alfred]

sounds good guys but I have a wife and two kids, mortgage, working p/t to pay bills...yah da yah da

Air South do the Baron MECIR but booked out and expensive.

Regards, PA

[Flyingblind]

If i were in your situation i would take them both up for an hours trial and see which 'feels' right for you. I'd love to fly the Duchess as its a classic, but the Diamond represents the future IMO.

You never know till you 'ave a go :).

[sprocket check]

I would (and will) do my twin in a Baron (or similar), you can learn a computer any old time, but I think the concepts you learn in steam will serve you well. The new systems are designed to make flying easier... monkeys will be trained for it in the coming years. If you want to learn the glass, isn't there a sim you can download from Garmin?

sc

[youngmic]

I'm not so sure that a modern glass system is inherently an easier option to learn than conventional steam.

Sure, things like auto feather and FADEC make engine management a less time consuming task, and hence dumb down the operation to an extent.

But as for the radio/Nav system which at the end of the day is what IFR training is focused on, I'm not sure that conventional ADF/VOR/ILS/DME are that hard to tune and identify. Compared to getting your head around a system where finding a function buried in a menu system which has to be found and then set up to display with a multitude of optional functions.

Having spoken with a few pilots who have transitioned onto the G1000 they all have a few fumbles along the way whilst getting used to finding the various functions.