constraints of Turboprop time
 

Hello folks, been sometime since posting on here but I have a bit of a question that I may need your 'expertise' on .....;)

I realise that jet time translates far better towards prospective job opportunities in the future. However would turboprop time consign me to the Dash, ATRs of this world for the rest of my career? My long term goal is to end up in the Middle East but am not sure whether turboprop time would be on a different track and thus the opportunities with the likes of Etihad, Qatar, Emirates, etc fails to materialise.

Thank you for your input and happy new year to you all!
:ok:

I have a friend who flew ATR 72's here and there, later this month he will be leaving for the sandpit.
Just keep on flying. Keep current. :ok:

Hi powerstall,

Can you maybe tell us for which sandpit carrier he's leaving for? Some of those ME carriers don't 'recognise' Turboprop time..

PM is okay too

Aeroplanes are aeroplanes. At a personal level, you should really focus on putting food on your table and paying for your house. On a professional level it is important how you operate what you fly, no matter what it is. Do you conform to your company's/employers SOP's? If you can demonstrate that you operate turboprops in a professional manner, appropriate to their capabilities, there should be no reason as to why should not be able to operate other aircraft types.

Well Piltdown and Smash bugger are not really giving you proper advice. First of all, you have to get out of turboprop flying and into jet flying as fast as you can. Unfortunately, the status of pilot hiring is requiring jet time more and more as well as JET PIC. Turboprop time is getting meaningless. I had lots of turboprop time in my younger days but those type ratings are useless in the contract world or carry much less weight on a FedEx computerized weighting system and so on. You need to do whatever you can to get into jet time first, then get into the left time as fast as you can to get 1000 hours of jet PIC. Get into an aircraft with a good type rating that can be useful in the contract world in case you decide to fly for a US carrier and crap starts hitting the fan, like it has been for awhile. Now with that being said, and you want to get out to the Middle East, you can see how long it will take you to move up to F/O then see how Qatar's program is for upgrade to CAP or better yet to a bigger jet F/O position like B737 or A320. Then your moving.

Flying is better than not flying!

Thanks for the help, I shall indeed try and make the jump to light speed by moving onto jets but sometimes I feel the pursuit of TRI/TRE qualification.

Captain weird,


Q.A.

but mtow must be more than 20T for F.O.

Turboprop time is a little out of fashion right now. Progressing onto jets you are still expected to cough up for training costs like the 200hr cadets. Less airlines have mixed prop/jet fleets, so another progression door has closed.

I have seen alot of people fall into unhappy lives, pursuing the bigger/faster is better option.

The best type to fly is often the one parked at the bottom of the garden, whatever it maybe. Quality of life, and the type of flying that you actually enjoy, are worth considering.

Turboprop time - "get out as fast as you can", out of fashion etc.. Absolute rubbish. Talk about bad advice!

My current employer uses tired old turboprops and within the last six months have had people leave for Jet2, BA, Flydubai to name a few. Most of these people have spent at least four years with the company.

Some of the best flying and experience you get is from flying Turboprops, where you tend to get exposed to more non-precision type flying rather than the automated vectored ILS to ILS type stuff with jets.

Well FlyingEngineer your opinion is most valued and I shall take it onboard. I appreciate the sentiment behind your comments regarding 'real' flying versus playstaion type flying and that can only be a good thing.

But then again on such types that time to command (relatively speaking) is also shorter.

WOW such a mixed bag of advice! :ugh:

There's turboprop time and there's turboprop time ... there's a world of difference between proper airline ops in something like a brand new ATR72 (basically a mini airbus), or doing night freight in a thrashed old bandeirante, or throwing meat bombs out of a caravan, or whatever, it's all turboprop time. Most employers would look at the type of flying ( and the SOP / CRM environment you operated in ) as important as the actual type.

And the jet vs turboprop debate is a load of crap as well ... what's better on a CV, a C130 or a Citation? A Dash-8-Q400 or a Embraer 145? Yes we all know that modern airbus & Boeing types are top of the tree, but nothing is cut and dried below that.

is there a choice?
 

Surely its what's available?

I suspect if you have a 'choice' between TP and jet, its which type rating to buy.

A more pertinent question would be who pays a viable salary and offers the best non work lifestyle. Aircraft are aircraft. Granted, some are fun for a few years longer, but its the money and life that matter.

Actually I notice that whilst looking around a number of carriers permit turboprop time but whether that helps or indeed hinders I'm not sure. How would for example some of the bods over at FlyBe consider such time, when they are predominantly an Embraer outfit?

Qatar did accept turboprop (EFIS) time but have recently changed their requirements. Flydubai still accept turboprop time:

Qatar don't accept turboprop time?
 

Just on the websit and it appears they still do.

Second officers - Fast track

• Minimum of 1,500 hours in a modern multipilot turbo-prop greater than 12,000 kg MTOW
• Valid ICAO ATPL or frozen ATPL
• Valid Class 1 medical
• Minimum level 4 ICAO English proficiency

I dare to ask what is better, being with modern turboprops(ATR), 5 to 6000 euros in pocket ,2-3 overnights only , around 40 flt hrs in a month, also 5 days in toulouse for simulator(as examiner).......or as captain on jet , 6-7000 euros ,90 flt hrs , some sectors +4 hrs.......what do you choose????

Qatar Executive are more than happy to look at Commercial Turboprop time, their minimums are 1000 hours+
This weeks flight international.:sad:

I think airman raises an excellent point. When you put all the variables together and then look at the end result, shiny jets aren't always better.