Keep Instructing or Go Fly Lear35?

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rt4388

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rt4388
So I hit 500 hours today and a friend who's a captain in a Lear 35 said I most likely have a SIC job if I wanted it. Curious what you all think the pros and cons are... I enjoy instructing and ultimately my goal is to go to the airlines, but I would like to do some corporate flying at some point in my career. Biggest downsides as of now are longer to get to the airlines and I'll be missing out on some valuable instructing experience.
Thoughts??
 
Instructing experience doesn't count at the airlines but turbine multi time does.
 
3393RP said:
Instructing experience doesn't count at the airlines but turbine multi time does.
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Agreed. I am slightly worried though cause I would sign a contract for a couple of years at least, whereas, I could be at the airlines next year if I just instructed. Think if I took a PIC job in the Lear, I would be able to apply to a major in about the same timeframe as if I went to a regional?
 
Job is for a SIC and then the last post talks about PIC? Sign a CONTRACT? Never. I know they want to ensure they get their money's worth out of you but in today's market you would be locking yourself in. How much flying do they do in the Lear? Is it part 135? They know you will go to a regional as soon as you meet the requirements and you will reach those requirements in the right seat of a Lear or a trainer. The question is "How soon one way vs another"?
Not to be a wet blanket, but Lear, Citation, King Air jobs in the right seat are a dime a dozen in the present market. HOURS first. I just retired and have already had a chance to fly right seat in a Citation just jerking gear and talking on the radio...the "Captain" said that they pay 200-300 per day plus expenses?????? I politely told him that he was about 50% low and he said "I can get a flight instructor for that!" And I said, "Go ahead and hire them then". That's the market.

You can apply to any airline anytime. The question is are you competitive. The company I just retired from is having very little problem hiring with upwards of 7000 hours TT with HEAVY INTERNATIONAL PIC Experience. The time that HR looks at someone with just 1500 hours is just long enough to file it in the trash can.
 
Just finish off Flight instructing. The regionals are hiring like crazy. Get there ASAP.
 
How steady is the Lear time,as opposed to instructing. You might be able to do both.
 
Surprised you can get a SIC in a Lear at minimum hours. I know there's a pilot shortage but that is a bit surprising to me.
 
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I'd say you are very much so in the drivers seat right now. With no shortage of jobs, do what positions you best for your over arching goals. If you want big iron, keep on keeping on. If you are more corporate inclined, I'd think the Lear time would have significant value in short order.

But, I'm no commercial pilot, just looking at it logically w/o true industry knowledge.
 
3393RP said:
Instructing experience doesn't count at the airlines but turbine multi time does.
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Lol, care to elaborate?


To the OP, I'd go find a VFR 135 gig and get some real experience, don't underestimate PIC time, no one every said they wish they had less command time and more SIC time.

Sounds like you got the hours to land a 135 VFR job, and the season is just starting for that type of flying, go live it up, you got a fun journey ahead of you if you let it be, go check out AK, or go to Africa, or just call around the VFR charter places, or if you want to instruct go try to get in with FSI.

Being a seat warmer in a lear, unless they are paying you a ungodly large amount of money for some reason, seems like one of the last things I'd recommend.

As far as sidestepping a regional, which I think is a currently VERY good idea, not sure just PICing a Lear would do it, you probably want to hit ATP mins then get a job fly a Boeing for one of those iffy cargo opsthink Calitta or atlas or something, and make Capt, and put your app in to fill in the blank major.

So yeah, of it were me, I'd go do a season or so in AK or Africa and have a adventure, get on with a large aircraft cargo op, apply for major.


FlyingTiger said:
Surprised you can get a SIC in a Lear at minimum hours. I know there a pilot shortage but that is a bit surprising to me.
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People arnt lining up to SIC old learjets, I'm also guessing it's not a lifestyles of the rich and famous type QOL type job ;)
 
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rt4388 said:
Agreed. I am slightly worried though cause I would sign a contract for a couple of years at least, whereas, I could be at the airlines next year if I just instructed. Think if I took a PIC job in the Lear, I would be able to apply to a major in about the same timeframe as if I went to a regional?
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A contract that locks you in to anything only works for the employer in a tight job market, not the employee. I gotta believe that multi-engine and turbine time will make you a more attractive candidate, but I'm just speculating based on other things I've read. It would be worth a few minutes of your time to write emails to a few chief pilots at outfits you'd want to fly for and ask them. My guess is that if you write to 3 people, you'll get 3 different answers, but you'll also start making contacts, and networking plays a bigger role in professional success than knowledge and skill.
 
Only continue instructing if you are the kind of instructor who is truly invested in his/her student’s success.

We don’t need burned out instructors, and we don’t needl bored instructors who are just building time.
 
RalphInCA said:
Only continue instructing if you are the kind of instructor who is truly invested in his/her student’s success.

We don’t need burned out instructors, and we don’t needl bored instructors who are just building time.
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He only has 500hrs TOTAL TIME, if he's burned out/bored at 500tt he need to rethink aviation lol
 
rt4388 said:
Think if I took a PIC job in the Lear, I would be able to apply to a major in about the same timeframe as if I went to a regional?
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Almost certainly not. Think about this - how much flying will you be doing in that Lear? Even a busy 91 gig is typically just a few hundred hours per year. Continuing to instruct and flying at a regional will be a much faster method to get your total time to competitive levels for a major. I see low time guys get distracted by the shiny jet all the time, and in every case they end up heading over to a regional after a few years anyway. If a major is your goal, you might as well skip the interim step (and a training contract - yikes!) and head to a regional that much sooner.

That said, if you're a 'life is a journey, not a destination' kind of guy, the corporate gig might be a fun way to start on an alternative path to your goal. Or do like what James recommends. But it'll almost certainly take longer to get you to your major (especially a legacy, who don't give a lot of love to people not either already 121 or military), if that's the end game.
 
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