What type to go for
 

Hi,
I'm considering a type rating, and looking for some helpful advice please. Looking at some of the posts, it seemed a couple of years ago the A320 was a popular choice, but has this changed ? Would it be better to go for a 737?... :confused: Or maybe a turbo prop (Dash 8 or ATR) would be a better way to land that first Job.... :bored: I'd be really interested to hear from anyone that has taken the decision to complete a self funded type rating recently, and the outcome.

I'd be grateful for any helpful advice please :) Thanks

Hi,

I've not gone down this route as yet, but... I'm thinking about it. Looks like you live in Hampshire so you're fairly well placed for thinking about turbo or jet. Talking to a few people it looks like Turbo Props a really good first step, and maybe slightly easier to land a job with a turbo prop rating. Your first pay packet may not be as high as a Jet job but you're gaining valuable experience and you maybe flying sooner.

Hope this helps - hopefully someone out there can shed a bit more light.

Good luck :ok:

Putting aside the commercial interest and the advertising, I wouldn't do a type-rating if I were you.

If you've only got 250 hours on your logs, a type-rating won't help you find a job. Go for at least 100 hours of multi-engine hour building, that will at least increase your experience to 400hours and you will finally get the airlines to read into your job application, as not many student pilots in Europe have that many ME time.

Buying a TR will only make them think that you are naive, and it certainly doesn't help the market.

What good is an A320 TR if you d like to apply to Ryanair?
What good is a B737 TR if you'd like to apply to BA?
What good is a Dash-8 TR if you'd like to apply to any airline except for Flybe??

The answer
 

A380's a good 'un.

Seriously, don't bother until you have an offer of employment on the type.

My advice would be to go for a Tristar tr, there's a shortage of Tristar pilots about these days. Plus its one of the most common aircraft types.

Go for the hour building, because as your first job you might be just as lucky to get a gig on a TP or 320 / 737 once you have the hours.