Any advice would be well welcome
 

I am on my 30s now and just got my frozen atpl license. I did not do the mcc yet (no money left:O ). I have about 280 hours piston.
Can you give me fellow pilots, advices on how should i do, where should i go to get a first job.
Piston job, turboprop job?
Thank you for the help
i just need a little kick start;), i am kind of lost.

Tataki my friend.....

We're all the same as you buddy.

I think you'll have to get your MCC before a commercial jet/t-prop operator will take you.

You could try the CTC ATP scheme for low hours guys www.ctcaviation.com but that will cost you a few thousand if you get through initial selection but will also include your MCC. Other than that personal contacts in companies, CV sending, join balpa on www.balpa.org or the IPA (recommend) on www.ipapilot.com for loads of company details and advice. A really good free website with tons of info on companys, and a huge listing of smaller piston, t-prop and corporate operator details is the professional pilots job network www.ppjn.com ....try this first maybe.

Other than that mate it's good luck and persistence ...If any of us knew where to go to get your first job, we'd be up there playing with the flight management computer and not down here tapping away on our personal computers :{

D3G

thanks so much down
do you think having 500 hours would help? or should i focus on getting my mcc then send some resumes?

Tataki :

I see you're posting from California, are you after advice specific to the UK, or America, or somewhere else?

Thanks Luke
Well i am looking anywhere in Europe but not France.
I just need to know the minimum hours before companies start looking at you. 500? 1000?
If i look at minimums in Europe, 1000 hours seems right for a chance at first officer.
Another question? 1000 hours in 152 is ok or you have to go for the twin..or they don't care as long as you do your 1000.
Thanks for any advice

Mate it's a strange time to be in the business right now ...

There are good people who've been waiting their turn instructing since well before 9/11 who've got thousands of hours who still can't get a look in, and there are 200 hour wunderkids getting onto jets.

If you are looking at the type of airline which traditionally takes people around the 1000-hour-piston mark (turboprop operators like Flybe, Loganair etc) then you will certainly need an MCC before you bother to apply.

It's always a bigger risk but there do seem to be a few low timers at present who have paid up the big money for a jet type rating and got in with a low cost or charter airline.

However, just like most other places, your chances are pretty minimal here in the UK if you just have the licence and don't have either a type rating or a bunch of hours to distinguish yourself, we are knee deep in <1000 hour unemployed FATPL holders.

The company I fly for is one of the smallest and probably least-glamourous turboprop operators in the UK, we don't even keep CVs with less than 1000 hours, we maybe only hire a couple of pilots a year, and my boss still has two big cardboard boxes fulll of CVs which he throws away and starts refilling again every few weeks :uhoh:

Luke, I hope he recycles.