Beechcraft 1900 Rating

[Dreamlairiner_340]

Hi guys,

I've been sitting around for some time now after my COM and nothing moving in the industry for a 250hr timer.

Its time to consider new things to get behind these control columns and get the feeling of accomplishment after each landing.

I've been considering a Beechcraft 1900 rating, and how helpfull it might be. Can any of you guys advise me in that respect as to:
1) Around how much it costs and where is it more recommendable to do it?
2) Who is the cheapest around where I can do this TR?
3) Any tips about where will it be best to try my luck with a 1900 rating and no big hrs?And hope of being hired.

Last but not least, any other recommendation as to which aircraft is it best to do a rating to have best odds of being hired. my budget is 60,000 rands. i just want to get my hours to start climbing, so any advice welcomed.

Happy Landings..

[I.R.PIRATE]

Get a 200 rating. More chance of getting a right hand seat at 250 hrs than on a 1900. Mainly due to the client requirements on a large number of 1900 contracts.

Lots of guys have recently moved from 200s to 1900, and many regard the 200 as being below them (yes even noobs :ugh:) and as such I think you have a better chance of getting that seat.

Good luck.

[ab33t]

I agree unless you are sure of getting a 1900 seat its not worth it

[EladElap]

2 options...

Do the combined 200/1900 rating at 43rd advanced, not 100% how much it is currently. Or do a proper 1900 specific rating at Simuflight at grand central.

I wouldn't spend money on the rating unless you have an offer in writing from a prospective employer.

[KRONOS]

Hi Dreamliner, you have a exeptionally slim chance of flying n 1900 on 250 hrs, only gophers / sprogs who have sweated it out in the office have that priviledge, there are plenty 1000 hr + guy's in the market at the moment.

Go fly 210's or barons, Namibia, Zambia, move up the ranks, learn to make your own (single crew) desisions, you learn nothing if you allway's have a captain to turn to if you need a desision validated.

Flight Safety intl will have a Level D, 1900 D simulator up by April, in JNB, will put the toy's at 43 and simuflite to shame, and hopefully to bed, now a real simulator will be available to joe public, not just someting the airlines have at their disposal.

my 2c:}

[Turbine Driver]

Hi Dreamliner, you are asking a good question...its not easy to part with a wad of cash in the hope that a rating will get you a job.

I have personally hired pilots with 250 hrs and less who obtained a 1900 or 200 rating in a structured training environment - be that Flight Safety Intl, 43 Advanced, Simuflight or other ATO's that offer comprehensive type rating training... and have seen a great number of pilots with less than 500 hrs obtain work on these aircraft all over Africa and the Middle East. It all comes down to having the right qualifications and ratings commensurate with the job you are apply for, having the right attitude and most importantly being in the right place at the right time.

Jobs are hard to find, but trust me, 10 yrs ago you wouldn't get a gap on these aircraft with less than 1000 hrs TT (and possibly one or two space shuttle re-entries!).

But times have changed a bit since then... and in my opinion flying a C210, C206 in the bush or instructing is not the only route to flying bigger aircraft.

My advice would be to do some research on who is operating these aircraft and ask around as to who is 'hiring'...word of mouth is incredible in this business...target the operators that you believe are looking for aircrew and submit your CV (in person if possible and dressed smartly). More importantly, follow up on your submission - without being pushy...! Your biggest problem with low hours, more specifically low 'time on type' is that NGO's and Oil and Gas Companies do such extensive risk management exercises that their total time and time on type requirements are very high! Trust me, you could have 2,000 hrs and no time and type and you still wouldn't get a position flying a 1900 for them. But there are operations that allow for low time pilots out there and opportunities do present themselves if you actively look and follow the leads you get.

It is a fact that the 1900 rating in particular along with a few years of 'multi crew' operating experience on these aircraft have launched many contract pilots into regional and national airline jobs or corporate flying careers....

Hope this helps a little.... keep your hopes up! :)

[Contract Dog]

Go to the delta or Nam and first learn how to fly, then worry about 1900's, you probably will find her a bit of a hanfull anyway. Not only that, but if you get on her now, you will sit right seat for the next 3000 hrs because that is the cantractual requierment of "most" clients. You will get bored of being a life time cojo! But if you go and get some proper stick and rudder flying in the bush (all command time) you can then go and do the rating and get fast track to command. Dont waste your money this early on chasing turbine, go and enjoy flying for a year, the bigger they get, the more boring it becomes!

On that note, any one here have a C206/C210 for me to fly for oh, lets say, $10 K per month? maybe based on a tropical island flying once a week. lol!

Dog

[Der absolute Hammer]

If you have nothing better to do you could swot up on the technical side of the 200 and 1900 to reach examination standard or even go and write the CAA technical examinationsif they will carry for a while. That way you might impress the interviewer with your well dressed keenness even though you should take the advice implied in Turbine Driver's post and look to a structured course- ground school and flying.
You will do yourself no harm if your knowledge of an aircraft is sufficient to pass the type written examination before you start a course. That way you will be able to concentrate on the more obscure points. Just resisit the urge to show off your knowledge during ground school.

[Dreamlairiner_340]

Thanks Turbine driver, this is exactly what i was planning to do. I'm thinking of calling the 1900's operators and have a chat with them to see how much is the rating worth to them if I do it myself with possibility of a job with them.

I'm not gonna invest and wait, i'll take a calculated risk.

I'm of the optimistic type, so my hope always stays up.:ok:

[Dreamlairiner_340]

Thats an excellent idea Hammer, I'm gonna spend some time on it.;)

[Der absolute Hammer]

Maybe you should try to get hold of as many questions and answers from the techinical exams as you can. Memorize all the limitations, pressures, (use flash cards?) and then read through the manuals. Go through all the questions time and the time again until you can answer them nearly all right. You need to be able to get something like 90% right at home to guarentee a 75% pass on the exam. If you really have the time, find out from the manuals why the answer to the question is what it is and always read the question twice before you answer it.
If you do that right, you should be able to write a 1.5hr technical conversion exam in about 20 minutes and get around 85% pass mark. That's virtually a guarentee. It worked every time for me on everything except the 737/400 but that was a highly structured course done in Europe (where they want you to know more than you need to know) where there was no time outside of the classroom and the evening prep to do it my idiot way.
Luck to you as Loki would say?