DE727UPS
Well-Known Member
There has been a lot of talk about how fast you can make it to the regionals if you go to DCA and how slow a process it is if you go the part 61/FBO/CFI/135 freight route.
I want to tell you about my friend/mentoree who's currently in the process.
He started flying in 1999 at a part 61 flight school while going to college full time....college slowed the progress, initially, no doubt. He worked as a bartender at the nicest hotel in Spokane. No loans.
College graduation and his commercial single land, commercial single engine sea, commercial multi-engine land, and CFI were in 03.
He did a little free lance CFIing and got a job this summer with a VFR 135 in Cessna 206's and 207's. He now has 1100 total and a "hire in Jan-March sounds very promising" for a multi 135 freight job. The flying at his current job is slowing down for the winter but he makes $100 a day.
Assuming he gets hired in Jan/March at the twin job and stays nine months (not a strech), he'll be around 1700 total and 500+ multi two years after he got his commercial single.
He won't need a guaranteed interview cause he'll have several choices, with those times.
If he had done his private and instrument in six months, it wouldn't be a stretch to say 2.5 years from day one to better than 1500 total/500 multi....and a regional interview.
I think this compares to DCA at far less cost.
No, my friend doesn't have the advantage of a CRJ sim or CRM classes....he just flys 207's into grass strips that hardly look like runways. He'll do fine at regional training without that stuff as the airline itself will provide it.
As for me, the first jet sim I ever flew was when I upgraded to the right seat on the 727, after being an F/E on it. The first and only CRM class I ever took was about ten years ago after UPS decided we needed to have a class on it.
I want to tell you about my friend/mentoree who's currently in the process.
He started flying in 1999 at a part 61 flight school while going to college full time....college slowed the progress, initially, no doubt. He worked as a bartender at the nicest hotel in Spokane. No loans.
College graduation and his commercial single land, commercial single engine sea, commercial multi-engine land, and CFI were in 03.
He did a little free lance CFIing and got a job this summer with a VFR 135 in Cessna 206's and 207's. He now has 1100 total and a "hire in Jan-March sounds very promising" for a multi 135 freight job. The flying at his current job is slowing down for the winter but he makes $100 a day.
Assuming he gets hired in Jan/March at the twin job and stays nine months (not a strech), he'll be around 1700 total and 500+ multi two years after he got his commercial single.
He won't need a guaranteed interview cause he'll have several choices, with those times.
If he had done his private and instrument in six months, it wouldn't be a stretch to say 2.5 years from day one to better than 1500 total/500 multi....and a regional interview.
I think this compares to DCA at far less cost.
No, my friend doesn't have the advantage of a CRJ sim or CRM classes....he just flys 207's into grass strips that hardly look like runways. He'll do fine at regional training without that stuff as the airline itself will provide it.
As for me, the first jet sim I ever flew was when I upgraded to the right seat on the 727, after being an F/E on it. The first and only CRM class I ever took was about ten years ago after UPS decided we needed to have a class on it.
