TR mandatory
 

I’ve reached the stage where I don’t feel I’m progressing in expanding my skill set at my current operation, and there are no opportunities to grow into higher managerial roles for the foreseeable future. I’m a line trainer and middle manager for a large European operator.

I have a reasonably good network of colleagues in various operators, but nothing that’s borne fruit. I’m looking to move and see there are a good number of adverts out there for jobs, but all require type ratings. Are there that many experienced guys sitting on the sidelines with ratings looking for work? I imagine when an advert goes out, the role is probably filled or the person already chosen and the advert just fills the legal requirement. I don’t want to waste a DFO’s time by responding to adverts I don’t fit the bill for, and most adverts that’s only the type rating.

Anyone else cracked this nut?

I don't think there is a nut to crack here. "Type rating required" these days only means that the employer is not willing to pay for one.

And enough gullible wannabes are willing to pay for one in the hope Mr. Big will hire him or her. Mr. Big, being ignorant of things aeronautical and smart about money, hires these inexperienced wannabes to learn while he sips chambers over the ocean. Crazy stuff.

GF

play Tennis
Sail
Start a rock band

What I mean is it's an endless process. Even work as an astronaut is boring at some point.
Pilot is a great job, but that's all it is...

I’m quite busy outside of work with academic studies and various personal goals, so feel that this is, as stated, a work issue.

I realise that any career is an endless process of learning, but could you concede that it’s feasible that seeking a different working environment might be an acceptable solution to keeping an enquiring mind and personal drive satisfied? I realise many are happy to punch out fifteen minute after on blocks and play golf, but that’s not me unfortunately. Wish that it were.

More generally, non-scheduled operations seem to be healthier than scheduled (airline) operations with respect to not many buying type ratings. I suspect this is because narrow body type ratings are relatively cheap in comparison, providing a welcome barrier to entry however even in a time of demand the requisite type rating required condition seems to be increasing. My Dassault rating was eye watering enough, made possible through a bond. Maybe changing careers within the industry to a full time office role is the key.

There is always a lot of cases, you have indeed the 'legal' advertisement... Usually large corporations with an HR department, running scripts..

You have the lo-co operators like GlobeAir making people pay for their type, bonding them on top, and firing them at will.

You have the owner whom cannot understand why people do not want to fly his GLEX on a 365 days on roster for 5000$ based in Africa.

And you have normal companies, for which, the opportunities are scarce since the pilots will retire with the plane/company/owner.

A Flying job is 60% Type Rating 35 % luck 5% competence...unfortunately, it used to be a time where competence and experience were at the front end.. today is saving peanuts..

TR Mandatory.

I am afraid so. Long gone are the days where flying skills and experience kept you ahead of the game. As pointed out previously, profits come before all else. What about safety? Doesn't even come into it now. No previous means just that. You are only as good as your last flight in this business.

All these jets falling out of the sky the last 10 years because of the only 5% competence you speak of. All these kids that bought type ratings crashing left right and centre. The industry has changed and is changing again as we speak. It is what it is as they say.

This is total BS to say the least. Statistics is quite opposite.

Whoosh...;)

Have you flown corporate with 200 hours pilots ? I did....not good...

Correction .. ou standing in pushing buttons efficiency, but scared like **** when time comes to use a no-standard mode ( not to name it V/S) lol

Lol unless I’m missing your point I think you are missing my point. I was pointing out that despite all the low houred pilots mentioned, aircraft are NOT statistically dropping out of the sky more these days. Every single one of us was a 200 hour pilot at some point and many started on bigger jets then what we fly. People like to complain all the time.. it is what it is..

Yes, a 200-hour pilot can fly a bizjet around without “dropping out of the sky”; as long as nothing goes wrong. Now, add in the normal tasks of managing the bags, the handler or FBO relations, servicing the plane, and top it all with a couple of abnormals like maximum range trip, a mountainous airport for the first time, an international clearance problem, 200-550m in snow crosswind landing and it becomes more problematic. I’ve been where CL300 comes from and it ain’t pretty. You’re flying solo!

GF

I realize now, that I once had only 200 hrs too.

I apologize to my captain. I´m sorry not to have been born with 10.000hrs.

Come on guys get a grip. WE have to TRAIN em. Just as we have been trained.

I had this discussion on another forum, yes we have been trained as well, and yes everyone of us went trough every single hour including the 200, 1000, 3000, 5000, 8000, 10000...;BUT..... on the last 20 years there was a dramatic fall in performance, overall knowledge, attitude, etc... May be I was not lucky with the guys on the right, or the outfits I flew for were just recruiting on the low side, or else; this is just my experience through around 50 different people as first officers.
And with all the introspection that i am capable of, i cannot see me doing ( or not doing) what they are doing ( or not doing today) when I was 250 hours old ( before it was 250 hours to have a commercial ticket, at least in the USA)

Take another look at Fate is the Hunter - experienced pilots have always deemed the new blood to be of worse standard than themselves and the good old days were always better - and that’s long before the days of today’s aged sky gods.

I admit almost no knowledge about corp flying but what kind of corp operator hires 200 hr pilots ?

We are certainly not talking about single pilot operations here but multicrew. In my part of the world it is quite common to hire copilots (or "first officers" which is a term that really doesn't fit our kind of operations at all) straight from the flying school. Some of them are good, some are excellent and very few perform poorly.

In my 25 years in commercial flying I have flown with pilots whose experience ranges from 0 (as I also am an instructor) to 20.000+ hours. I have come to the conclusion that flying experience accounts maybe for 30% of the quality of a pilot. The rest is aptitude for the job and determination. I have flown with quite a few 3000-5000 hour pilots, some of them captains, whom I regard to be worse pilots than some gifted 200 hour newbie and with whom I never want to get into a difficult situation.

None in the US, but not uncommon in Europe. I had an Englishman in my Global class that had 300-ish in Cherokees buying a Global rating. Cost a bunch in extra sims plus the $75,000 in the “rack rate” charge. With less than ATP min time, the training center wouldn’t guarantee the rating. He was planning on contract work, no job offer.

While I agree in part, Globally Challenged, but my experience is clouded by the above. I had plenty of 300 hour pilots in the USAF in C-5s but they were well trained and eager to learn. For the most part, my corporate pilots were experienced enough it wasn’t an issue for operating the plane, just the other details. Our least experienced pilot was an RJ F/O with 3,000 hours-did well and learned quick. One or two RJ pilots just thought about seniority and when they could upgrade.

Agreed, what next, attitude and determination is 80%, those pilots learn quick, we just rarely see anyone with that little time in a jet in the US. I thought quality had dropped badly when resumes only had 3,000 hours of jet on them and no international. At one time, we had Presidential Flight, Snowbirds, 2,000 hours of Global time to choose from, now more like 2,000 to 3,000 hours of RJ or 1,000 to 1,500 of bizjet time.

GF

In Europe, all the entry level operators of biz jets are hiring right from the flight school.

And yes there is some good guys, but the average is going down on the last 10/15 years.

And this is basics, not even flying, couldn't read a Notam, have no clues about how a TAF is working.. And we are staying in Europe !!....VHF and GPS flying...