Questions about Type Ratings
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Join Date: May 2017
Location: New Brunswick, Canada
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Questions about Type Ratings
I am an aspiring pilot in Canada.
Hypothetically if I complete all my flight training on top of getting a type rating in an Embraer E-190 or E-175, will I be flying the Embraer fleet quite a lot on the routes they fly? (Such as Toronto-LaGuardia, Toronto-Havana, Toronto-Bahamas)
Same goes for if I got a type rating on an A330 or really any plane in the Air Canada fleet.
Thanks for your responses, I look forward to reading them.
Hypothetically if I complete all my flight training on top of getting a type rating in an Embraer E-190 or E-175, will I be flying the Embraer fleet quite a lot on the routes they fly? (Such as Toronto-LaGuardia, Toronto-Havana, Toronto-Bahamas)
Same goes for if I got a type rating on an A330 or really any plane in the Air Canada fleet.
Thanks for your responses, I look forward to reading them.
Only if you get a job with an airline that fly's the E-Jet's.
Buying a type rating but having no hours on type certainly does not guarantee a job at all. Canada appears to have numerous mid to high time GA pilot's (many with turbine twin time) that would probably be hired before you. Walk before you can run!
Buying a type rating but having no hours on type certainly does not guarantee a job at all. Canada appears to have numerous mid to high time GA pilot's (many with turbine twin time) that would probably be hired before you. Walk before you can run!
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A type rating doesn't really work like that.
When an airline provides a type rating (directly or through a contractor) the process broadly involves around 3-4 weeks of full time classroom technical training. This training is usually interactive and progress tested. At the end of the course there will be a technical examination. There is usually supplemental training involving Loading, emergency procedures, and CRM training, bundled into the same course. There then follows practical training of a week or so of "fixed base" or "procedural trainer" familiarisation with the operational aspects of the aircraft and the integration of the airlines Standard Operational Procedures within those requirements. Following on from this will be a couple of weeks of full simulator training covering the full flight training syllabus as laid down by the manufacturer, the relevant regulator, and the specific airline. This will usually culminate in a licence test incorporating an instrument rating test. Following on from this there may also be a requirement for a demonstrated number of take offs and landings in the actual aircraft type. Successful completion of all of these stages will result in the candidates training record being signed off and an application made to the relevant regulator for the issue of the type on the candidates licence. Once this has been completed the candidate moves on to the line training stage. Generally the process (with a lot of variables) would take around 8-10 weeks up until this stage.
The important thing to understand here is that an airline places a lot of store and emphasis on "type rating" training. It is one of the points of vulnerability because it takes the candidate back to a low level of specific experience even when they are already a very experienced pilot. For that reason alone, an airlines training department is going to place a great deal of emphasis and care on this particular aspect of a pilots progression. It is going to be continually monitored and assessed, and importantly looked at as part of a candidates overall experience portfolio.
For an airline training somebody within their existing pilot force from one type to another, this is a routine process and broadly follows the description provided above (with variations.) For an airline recruiting somebody with a type rating, they would normally expect that candidates training to have followed a similar format with another airline or training provider. However (and this is an important distinction) they would expect that rating to be have been backed up with relevant subsequent experience. Generally this would represent 600-800 hours per year for each year of experience on type. That experience should have cemented the rating such that the recruiting airlines induction training and risk exposure is minimized.
A few people convince themselves that a type rating in itself (and acquired as an off-the-shelf, stand alone product,) will excite an airline. It won't! There are situations when a low experience candidate will present with a type rating and little relevant specific experience. For example, where their employer retrenched staff or went out of business. In these circumstances (and a few others) the induction is still likely to be low risk and relatively straight forward and may present a good opportunity for a new employer. However for an individual who has speculatively purchased their own rating, far from being viewed as a potential asset, it is more likely to be a viewed as an unnecessary risk. It would likely have been something the airline had no involvement with, and runs a serious risk of being excessively burdensome on the training department. From an airlines point of view it simply isn't worth the risk and is unlikely to merit further consideration.
Training is expensive, and these days more and more airlines shift that risk to future employees by requiring them to assume the burden of acquiring the complete qualifications (including type ratings) by way of charging up front for that training or by the use of training bonds.
The idea that you can roll up with a type rating and no experience (without that airlines integration from an early stage) and say "when do I start" is in reality something of a non-starter I am afraid!
During flight training you will eventually acquire a type rating of a relatively simple type (that usually represents a relatively simple group of light aircraft). Induction into an airline from this point introduces the steep learning curve incumbent with the type training involved with a relatively heavy complex transport aircraft. This is likely to be an advanced turbo-prop or a small jet airliner (B737 or A320 type aircraft). In airlines operating multi-type fleets, the bigger and more exotic metal tends to be aspirational, and advancing onto it often means working your way up through the experience tiers and the seniority lists that are part of that process.
When an airline provides a type rating (directly or through a contractor) the process broadly involves around 3-4 weeks of full time classroom technical training. This training is usually interactive and progress tested. At the end of the course there will be a technical examination. There is usually supplemental training involving Loading, emergency procedures, and CRM training, bundled into the same course. There then follows practical training of a week or so of "fixed base" or "procedural trainer" familiarisation with the operational aspects of the aircraft and the integration of the airlines Standard Operational Procedures within those requirements. Following on from this will be a couple of weeks of full simulator training covering the full flight training syllabus as laid down by the manufacturer, the relevant regulator, and the specific airline. This will usually culminate in a licence test incorporating an instrument rating test. Following on from this there may also be a requirement for a demonstrated number of take offs and landings in the actual aircraft type. Successful completion of all of these stages will result in the candidates training record being signed off and an application made to the relevant regulator for the issue of the type on the candidates licence. Once this has been completed the candidate moves on to the line training stage. Generally the process (with a lot of variables) would take around 8-10 weeks up until this stage.
The important thing to understand here is that an airline places a lot of store and emphasis on "type rating" training. It is one of the points of vulnerability because it takes the candidate back to a low level of specific experience even when they are already a very experienced pilot. For that reason alone, an airlines training department is going to place a great deal of emphasis and care on this particular aspect of a pilots progression. It is going to be continually monitored and assessed, and importantly looked at as part of a candidates overall experience portfolio.
For an airline training somebody within their existing pilot force from one type to another, this is a routine process and broadly follows the description provided above (with variations.) For an airline recruiting somebody with a type rating, they would normally expect that candidates training to have followed a similar format with another airline or training provider. However (and this is an important distinction) they would expect that rating to be have been backed up with relevant subsequent experience. Generally this would represent 600-800 hours per year for each year of experience on type. That experience should have cemented the rating such that the recruiting airlines induction training and risk exposure is minimized.
A few people convince themselves that a type rating in itself (and acquired as an off-the-shelf, stand alone product,) will excite an airline. It won't! There are situations when a low experience candidate will present with a type rating and little relevant specific experience. For example, where their employer retrenched staff or went out of business. In these circumstances (and a few others) the induction is still likely to be low risk and relatively straight forward and may present a good opportunity for a new employer. However for an individual who has speculatively purchased their own rating, far from being viewed as a potential asset, it is more likely to be a viewed as an unnecessary risk. It would likely have been something the airline had no involvement with, and runs a serious risk of being excessively burdensome on the training department. From an airlines point of view it simply isn't worth the risk and is unlikely to merit further consideration.
Training is expensive, and these days more and more airlines shift that risk to future employees by requiring them to assume the burden of acquiring the complete qualifications (including type ratings) by way of charging up front for that training or by the use of training bonds.
The idea that you can roll up with a type rating and no experience (without that airlines integration from an early stage) and say "when do I start" is in reality something of a non-starter I am afraid!
During flight training you will eventually acquire a type rating of a relatively simple type (that usually represents a relatively simple group of light aircraft). Induction into an airline from this point introduces the steep learning curve incumbent with the type training involved with a relatively heavy complex transport aircraft. This is likely to be an advanced turbo-prop or a small jet airliner (B737 or A320 type aircraft). In airlines operating multi-type fleets, the bigger and more exotic metal tends to be aspirational, and advancing onto it often means working your way up through the experience tiers and the seniority lists that are part of that process.
