AirNet Express Cessna Caravans

smokey1

Well-Known Member
I was on Airnet Express's website yesterday and I noticed that they fly some Cessna Caravans and some Beechcraft Barons. I was wondering if these aircraft were single pilot operations or two pilot operations. I've never flown a Baron or a Caravan, but I'm assuming one person can fly these planes.1.
Smokey............................................................................
 
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I was on Airnet Express's website yesterday and I noticed that they fly some Cessna Caravans and some Beechcraft Barons. I was wondering if these aircraft were single pilot operations or two pilot operations. I've never flown a Baron or a Caravan, but I'm assuming one person can fly these planes.1.
Smokey............................................................................

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Two pilot Caravan and Baron ops? Do they have that? And if so, WHY?
 
The caravans would be good for the pilots, but bad for 'career' pilots.

Good: Turbine time, hugely more reliable powerplant.

Bad: Zero multi-engine time, single-engine turbine time is probably less valuable than multi-engine recip

But I might be all screwed up on this!
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I read that Airnet wants to do away with its piston twins and go to an all Caravan/Lear fleet.

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You are right. I was at a conference where an Airnet Employment Recruiter spoke at and he said the same thing. They are phasing out the 310's first, then the Navajos and Barons. This would eventually lead to an all Caravan and Lear Fleet.
 
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The caravans would be good for the pilots, but bad for 'career' pilots.

Good: Turbine time, hugely more reliable powerplant.

Bad: Zero multi-engine time, single-engine turbine time is probably less valuable than multi-engine recip

But I might be all screwed up on this!
smile.gif


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Well if you work for a company that uses more than one aircraft, and likes to spread their pilots over more than one aircraft. Let's say, a business jet. Here's why it's good:

1) They get to fly the sweet lovin' Caravan
2) They still get their twin turbine time from the jet
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Really, just tack on flying a Caravan to another flying job and it's all good.
 
Don't quote me on this but I'm pretty sure FedEx flys their Caravans with two pilot ops.
 
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Don't quote me on this but I'm pretty sure FedEx flys their Caravans with two pilot ops.

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Matt, I heard the opposite, so who knows.
 
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Don't quote me on this but I'm pretty sure FedEx flys their Caravans with two pilot ops.

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Matt, I heard the opposite, so who knows.

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Nope. At least not with Empire Airlines, the current FEDEX Caravan contractor in PHX, or the contractor I flew for prior to them, PM Air/SAC Air Cargo. It was completely single-pilot IFR 135 ops. No need for an extra crewmember when flying boxes, unless the aircraft requires it. My former company was going to get the hand-me-down Metro IIIs from Skywest and fly them single-pilot cargo prior to my leaving the company.
 
Metro III as a single-pilot? Ack! I met an Ameriflight Metro III guy who flew it single pilot and I thought he was a "Walking god"/"Mr. Death Wish" all in one. I wouldn't want to fly a Metroliner with two pilots, better yet NO copilot!

Any aircraft whose early variants required JATO-assist to help during single-engine operations needs to be grounded.

Funny guy though. Talked like a surfer, lived in his mom's house in Visalia, CA, had long hair and a funny clip-on tie that didn't match his Hawaiian shirt that he wore just to qualify for the jumpseat dress code!
 
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Metro III as a single-pilot? Ack! I met an Ameriflight Metro III guy who flew it single pilot and I thought he was a "Walking god"/"Mr. Death Wish" all in one. I wouldn't want to fly a Metroliner with two pilots, better yet NO copilot!

Any aircraft whose early variants required JATO-assist to help during single-engine operations needs to be grounded.



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Yeah, not too many guys were keen on the so-called "death tube". Squirrly at best single-engine. Only plane I can think of that has too much thrust when single-engine; asymetric that is.
 
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Yeah, not too many guys were keen on the so-called "death tube".

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"Death Tube"

"San Antonio Sewer Pipe"

"Metrowhiner"

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Yeah I've got some time in a Merlin IIIC and it wasn't what you could call a great airplane. Hard to fly and even harder to maintain. My mom flew one for 400 hours and had some rather serious problems with it even tho it was maintaned perfectly. Looks good on the ramp tho. You sure you can fly the Metro single pilot now. I was talking to some guys who flew a Merlin Part 91 and needed two pilots. Maybe they didn't have much time.
 
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. You sure you can fly the Metro single pilot now. I was talking to some guys who flew a Merlin Part 91 and needed two pilots. Maybe they didn't have much time.

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To fly it single-pilot, we had to demonstrate autopilot in-lieu of SIC. The plane can just be somewhat more of a handful single-engine than most other aircraft. Just need to respect it, and on takeoff, accelerate as fast as you can. Losing an engine after liftoff wasn't the best time.
 
That's what I thought. Do you need a single pilot type like you do in some citations.
 
In SLC, we called it the "Mooney killer", after the SkyWest metro that collided with a Mooney over the Salt Lake valley back in the '80s.
 
Are the Metros cheap to operate? Why the hell would cargo ops run an aircraft with such poor safety characteristics??? I mean, couldn't they just run an all-Beech 1900C fleet? I don't see how they can get decent insurance on an airplane widely known as the "Death Tube."
 
Safety. You'll just kill one pilot, so the insurance is probably fairly cheap.

Gotta think like corporate America!
 
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