Bare minimums to fly freight?

BoDEAN

New Member
Any ideas? I'm around 475 total hours now, CFI in Michigan. This still too low for freight flying?
 
With 500, you can fly 135 freight restricted to VFR only, the particular operator's specs, notwithstanding.
 
There's a big difference between "bare" minimums and "competitive" minimums. Don't focus on the company's advertised bare minimums since few people are hired with that kind of time.

135 freight outfits usually require a minimum of 1200tt to meet the requirements for IFR. I don't know of any companies that hire 500 hour "VFR only" freight pilots.
 
Might want to give Superior Aviation a call over in Lansing. They're flying Caravan's around and I'm under the impression they have fairly low mins. to get hired. Heard the job sucks, though. You work a lot, which is great if you want hours, but you're never home. If you don't like home, you might want to check it out.
 
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You work a lot, which is great if you want hours, but you're never home. If you don't like home, you might want to check it out.

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Come on, we're pilots! Who needs to be home??
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Might want to give Superior Aviation a call over in Lansing. They're flying Caravan's around and I'm under the impression they have fairly low mins. to get hired. Heard the job sucks, though. You work a lot, which is great if you want hours, but you're never home. If you don't like home, you might want to check it out.

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They require:

1200 TT
50 ME
100 Night
50 Actual Instrument
Prefer current 135 letter

Thats to be a Metro II/III F/O, but...

No 135 operator is going to hire a PIC with less than 1200TT, especially not in this part of the country. And I doubt they use SIC's in the Caravans or 400-series Cessnas.

http://www.superioraviation.com/
 
I actually wonder if they do have any SIC guys, 'cause there is an instructor in Marshall, MI that left Superior to instruct in Marshall. I figure if he's got that kind of time, then he'd hold out at Superior at least until he could be picked up at a regional with the hiring that they're doing.

Though we know that assumptions get people...
 
My old company at Chandler, Arizona , we had two ex-CFI types that had 650TT and 770TT, respectively, when they were hired as C-206 PICs. They were assigned the PHC-YUM/NYL route until they could build the hours to meet 135 IFR mins.

Maybe they were the FlyChicaga's of cargo
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My old company at Chandler, Arizona , we had two ex-CFI types that had 650TT and 770TT, respectively, when they were hired as C-206 PICs. They were assigned the PHC-YUM/NYL route until they could build the hours to meet 135 IFR mins.

Maybe they were the FlyChicaga's of cargo
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I've known a couple of people that flew VFR 135 with less than 500 hours....doesn't happen much, and it's mostly with the smaller 135 operators - but there are jobs out there!!
 
VFR 135 with less than 500 hours? Not even legal.

I challenge you to find one single place in the country that flies freight under VFR and that regularly hires/uses 500-hour pilots.

And I'm not talking about shady 134.5 operators either.

You probably won't. At least not in this part of the country (northeast, midwest).
 
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VFR 135 with less than 500 hours? Not even legal.

I challenge you to find one single place in the country that flies freight under VFR and that regularly hires/uses 500-hour pilots.

And I'm not talking about shady 134.5 operators either.

You probably won't. At least not in this part of the country (northeast, midwest).

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At my first company, the absolute minimum they'd hire is 500TT for 135 single-engine PIC VFR. Of course, it all depended on supply and demand (the company were losing lots of guys to the commuters/regionals at the time) of the particular hiring time, and the ability of the applicant to sell themselves in the interview. The PHX to Yuma route was VFR 98.9% of the time, so that was a good timebuilding route (as was Lake Havasu City/Parker, or Bullhead City/Laughlin).

My point is, like MTSU, the possibility is out there, maybe less of a chance these days maybe not, but 500TT was the requirement for 135, and the company would hire guys that had that or more. Is it competitive to apply at 500TT? Of course not, but the worst an operator can say is no.
 
My bad...I'm having a heck of a week!!!!

I meant less that 1200 hours.....No, everybody - I'm not going crazy!!!!
 
I got into the 727 with less than 400 (yes, hundred) hours TT as a Flight Engineer because I had my A&P. The upgrade will come eventually, last week one of our Engineers a few seniority numbers ahead of me got upgraded.

In the mean time, I'm actually making enough money to fly my own airplane (C-152) for S's and grins.
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