typhoonpilot
Well-Known Member
I'd say a good path would be to go to a regional airline as a CRJ or ERJ first officer for a year or two to build your experience and flight time, then go back to corporate if that is your ultimate goal.
Based on what you have said, total flight time is going to be an issue for many many years if you only fly 200-300 hours a year. Go fly for a regional for a few years and you'll get 700-900 hours a year. I specifically say CRJ/ERJ because they are jets and because they have corporate versions. With time in those types you could feasibly walk into a corporate department that operates them. Same hold trues for the EMB-170/190 ( aka Lineage ), but that is not really an entry level regional airliner.
Now is a good time to get on with a regional airline. In just a few more months the age 65 stagnation will be over and the movement will start with thousands of major airline retirees every year. That means the regional pilots will be moving up much more quickly than they have in the last 5 years. Upgrade times will reduce and the chance of building PIC time will happen.
The training debate here is interesting. I'd say that chances are you get better training at a regional airline than you would in many corporate departments. Certainly the chances of standardization will be greater. To gain that kind of discipline early in your career can only be beneficial.
Typhoonpilot
Based on what you have said, total flight time is going to be an issue for many many years if you only fly 200-300 hours a year. Go fly for a regional for a few years and you'll get 700-900 hours a year. I specifically say CRJ/ERJ because they are jets and because they have corporate versions. With time in those types you could feasibly walk into a corporate department that operates them. Same hold trues for the EMB-170/190 ( aka Lineage ), but that is not really an entry level regional airliner.
Now is a good time to get on with a regional airline. In just a few more months the age 65 stagnation will be over and the movement will start with thousands of major airline retirees every year. That means the regional pilots will be moving up much more quickly than they have in the last 5 years. Upgrade times will reduce and the chance of building PIC time will happen.
The training debate here is interesting. I'd say that chances are you get better training at a regional airline than you would in many corporate departments. Certainly the chances of standardization will be greater. To gain that kind of discipline early in your career can only be beneficial.
Typhoonpilot
