CAE right seat program

I did the CAE SimuFlite right seat program.....If you have your life to put on hold its great....The thing about it is you get a free type at the end of 80, 4 hours sessions!!!!! assuming you already have a type in 2 other jets and or 500 hours of turbine time and or some other qualifications I cant remember. These are all in order to get a 100% sim type. If you dont meet those quals, Its not worth it. You're left with 85% of your checkride done and a butt load of SOE time to get a full PIC type. I was only able to do about 20 sessions in a year and a half. I was working full time as an instructor too though. I did get ONE king air trip out of it through networking, which is probably the best thing about the program. I will say this though, If you can get into the smaller king airs that DONT require a type I.E. the 200 and below you just got free training to satisfy the insurance companies....I agree with the previous post on going to Flight Safety though, you get paid and you get an SIC off the bat...unlike CAE. Good luck!
 
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Bingo! I have a good instructing job but zero leads (had some but they are all dryed up) into something further than a Cessna 150. Just thought that the right seat thing would generate some networking if, in fact, they are still operating. And instructing is one tiny step above working for free, but at least it's flying.[/QUOTE]

Are you instructing out of HQZ? I know a guy that's looking to start, but I think he's up closer to Addison or McKinney
 
I know 4 people that went there, all four made connections to get their current jobs. If you can take 2-4 weeks off your current job for training and then work around your full time schedule, it wouldn't be that bad, I guess. Last I heard, they had a queue of about 100+ people, so if you are trying to get in now, good luck.
 
Ok, you get the full PIC type but with a 25 hour SOE limitation that means you have to fly 25 hrs in the type with a captain.

My guess is you're going to get that 25 hours with a company so its not that big of a deal.

I worked as a co-pilot at FSI and now fly for a 135/91 company out of PA as a direct result of my time at FSI.

I was salaried and full bennies, and I wouldnt have done it for free or "just for a type".
 
I'm certainly not under the illusion that you'll go from CAE straight to a Captains seat in the corporate world, nor am I saying you should quit your job and join CAE full time for no pay.

The networking opportunities in the program are certainly better than hanging out at the pilot lounge of your local FBO. You'll gain valuable time and training on procedures, gain flight deck experience and hone your skills in the seat that you'll be sitting in if you do work it into a job.

That my friend, is maximizing your opportunities

Do it or Don't do it, I could care less.
 
As far as I know, yes. They didnt have anyone when I left but they were waiting on word from corporate if they could reopen the position.

Call, email or go vist.
 
Crockrocket94 said:
As far as I know, yes. They didnt have anyone when I left but they were waiting on word from corporate if they could reopen the position.

Call, email or go vist.
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Called and they told me to just look online they don't take any calls or resumes over the phone/fax.....and of course there are no openings online. Thanks though.
 
My "company" uses FSI for Citation & King Air training. A Citation Ultra initial rating was $19,200 last I checked (about 2 yrs ago). If it takes a right seater 80 sessions of 4 hrs each to earn a aircraft rating, then:

$19,200 / 80 sims x 4 hr = $60 / hr of compensation (using an Ultra as an example)

If that's enough compensation for you, take the job. If it isn't, then pass on it.
 
mgerwig said:
Does any of you good looking, well educated scholars/aviators know if CAE Simuflight is still in business or looking for poor souls to work for free in the right seat program. Yes, I am that desperate....don't hate!
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I quit this exact program because they were using it as leverage to lay off paid instructors.

Oh, there's nothing in writing about the program. There is no official connection between you and CAE.

The actuality of getting a type rating out of it, etc, is never clearly spelled out. I did meet a pilot that had more than one under his belt, but YMMV.

It would seem that some pilots would get job offers before they got the type, and then leave.

I might also add that my opportunity to participate came from an internal recommendation that I did not solicit, as well as having a resume that included prior experience in a type similar to that which they wanted me to operate.

I would say, however, that while my principles would not allow me to stay in good conscience to 'diversify my resume' while causing others to get pink-slipped, CAE Simuflite is an impressive operation with very high training standards.

If you can get a paid position with this company, any position of any kind, I recommend it. The types of professionals you'll meet there just doing office work would be well worth the time spent 'resume building'.

As a pilot unwilling to work for free, I suggest you do the same. A trained pilot is a person of skill and value. Insist it compensated properly.
 
I've been a right-seater at SimuFlite for two years now, so if you have any direct questions let me know.

Here's everything in a nutshell.

SimuFlite's program is unpaid. There's absolutely no requirement to accept simulator sessions. I do it in my off-time and when things are slow with flight instruction. On average I work 20 hours a month there.

I haven't sat in on any upper-level management meetings to hear that we were used as "leverage" to lay off instructors. Instructors, past and present, are glad we are there and nobody that I know feels that we caused them to get pink slipped. I'm not being utilized any more now that we let people go, in fact I've flown less than half of what I did last year. The simple fact is that clients are eerily absent from the halls of Simuflite over the past year requiring unpopular job cuts. The good news is, things are seemingly starting to pick up again.

Once you get accepted you'll go through a complete PIC type rating ground course. If they can make it work, they'll have you fly all the sim sessions or they may have you fly just a few sessions and then observe others. You can usually even break apart your ground school across several classes to make it work into your schedule (so you're not away from work for 3 weeks). After your first 80 sim sessions you'll get to go through ground school and all the sim sessions again to get your type rating. Another 120 sessions gets you a PIC type in the aircraft of your choice. Simulator sessions are generally scheduled as a 1hr briefing, 3hr sim session, 1 hr debrief. A typically session will consist only of a 1hr brief, 2hr sim, and 30 min debrief.

As for networking and professional development. Wow. It's really profound how far I've come along as a pilot and an instructor. I've gained so many mentors and friends. Not a month goes by that at least one contact gets a hold of me to see how it's going. The numerous business cards I have are priceless. I've gotten to fly two Beechjet trips, which were absolutely amazing. More are soon to come. The possibility of becoming an sim instructor is very real, once I get my ATP. Which, by the way, if you're at ATP minimums you can easily get it here during one of your checkrides.

It's not for everybody. However, I must say that this program runs deep in the corporate world and is well respected among both the clients and instructors. If you're remotely interested, use the information found on SimuFlite's homepage to apply. It'll take quiet some time for them to get back to you since I've heard there's an extensive backlog.
 
Nihon_Ni said:
My "company" uses FSI for Citation & King Air training. A Citation Ultra initial rating was $19,200 last I checked (about 2 yrs ago). If it takes a right seater 80 sessions of 4 hrs each to earn a aircraft rating, then:

$19,200 / 80 sims x 4 hr = $60 / hr of compensation (using an Ultra as an example)

If that's enough compensation for you, take the job. If it isn't, then pass on it.
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Hmm...I guess my landlord, insurance, college, food store, & CC company all added the new payment option of type rating on their online billing.

Type Rating = Perk

Perk ≠ Income
 
jhugz said:
Hmm...I guess my landlord, insurance, college, food store, & CC company all added the new payment option of type rating on their online billing.

Type Rating = Perk

Perk ≠ Income
Click to expand...

Not all compensation is monetary. As I said, if it isn't for you then pass on it.
 
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