First job after instructing

[thapilot]

Hi guys,
What do you think is the best way to build up experience to start a career in aviation. Let's say you have been instructing light single for a year and a half and would have the chance to fly a Cessna 310 on fire patrol or to fly a Cessna caravan for para drop. What do you choose? What would be the best option for you to get your career going if your goal would be to fly jets in a near future?
Thanks!

[ScudRunner]

Take the Cessna 310, Multi Engine PIC is gold and you will be actually flying not just circling above a drop zone.

[vanishing point]

Agreed. Take the C310 job. You won't be sorry.

[teacher]

C310 hands down the better option

[SuperchargedRS]

You will get alot more experience flying patrol then flying at a DZ (where you are just playing elevator all day long)

[North Shore]

Agree with all of the above - take the 310. Multi PIC trumps single turbine.

[KAG]

310 hands down

[flyinthebug]

Im with everyone else on this one, hands down the C310. You will make decisions on fire patrol that you wont make flying jumpers. Multi PIC is far more valuable then single turbine...and you will get some real world flying experience. You`ll find being in a climb or descent for the entire summer gets to be a tad bit boring.
Take the 310 and you wont regret it.
Fly safe.

[thapilot]

Thanks a lot guys. I really appreciate it!

[Major Bedhead]

Not to be contrary, but...

How many hours can you get in a season on the 310 vs. the para drop work?

In an interview situation, which is more likely to turn the head of the interviewer ... "there I was sitting straight and level in teh 310 for six hours" ... or "the idiot hung on and almost bounced off the rear stab" .....

Time is time, depending on your situation .... if you're looking for a twin job .. then the 310 is a lock ... but if you are building time towards the ATPL ... the job which garners the most time in the shortest wins.

PIC is golden ...get as much as you can as quickly as you can.

Sitting in a 310 is fun as long as it takes for you to realize that the PC12 driver next door got hired because he flew six times as much as you the past year and his paperwork passed the dragons at Transport ....

Dont forget, you will be trained for the aircraft you are hired on ... you being there for the eval is based on you having the requisite boxes checked for overall experience ... not type.

We are magpies at heart ... ooh shiny airplane .... but sometimes it makes more sense to plod along rather than leap.

P

[iflyforpie]

Since I fly a twin (sort of, it's a 337) for fire patrol, I'll chime in.

Flying is seasonal of course, and unlike other seasonal jobs like fishing camps and the like, but very much like fire suppression, you are entirely at the mercy of the general weather conditions (hot + dry vs cold + wet) and the agency that is contracting you. 'Good' conditions for fires can even work against you when you get smoked out or suppression capabilities get saturated so you either can't fly or they don't want you to.

So the sad story of my life was only going out on three patrols this summer for a grand total of about 15 hours MPIC. Fortunately I am not paid by the flight hour and I missed some flights because I had much better things to do--like actually enjoy weekends off in perhaps one of the best summers BC had to offer (no fire ban, no smoke, good weather for the last half and a nice First Nation's summer).

As far as straight and level, none of my flights are like that. Even over the plateaus I change heading every few seconds to get better viewing angles and do a 360 every 15 or 30.

But I have no intention to go to airlines or flying jets. I'll be forever getting my 500 MPIC and none of it is IFR, turbine, or multi-crew. I'm about the journey, not the destination...

But if you want PIC, the 'Van job might actually be better given that both jobs are VFR single crew. Experience with the PT6 might show itself better than the piston engines none of your potential future rides will have.

[snoopy]

There is no magic answer. Except....

Take the most interesting and challenging flying you can find, in the best maintained equipment, for a good company that pays fairly, supports good decision making and treats its employees with respect. In doing this, you will keep yourself safe, achieve good experience, and surround yourself with good people who will help ensure your success in whatever you wish to accomplish with your career.

If you can keep the above in mind and focus, you will have a rich and rewarding career where you will enjoy a sense of pride and satisfaction each day you put in on the line.

If you invest all your energy in finding the fastest track to the end goal you will end up sorely disappointed.

Cheers,
Kirsten B.

[pinecone160]

.

[flyincanuck]

310!

[trey kule]

The Snoopster gave you some good advice. Some in there from IFly too.

It is a job. And if the only reason you are choosing a job is based on what you will be flying, you are going to have some miserable years on the career climb.

As to your question, I would rather see someone who understands how to properly treat a turbine engine, and knows that a condition lever is actually not a mixture control than a few hundred hours of twin time.
To many new pilots simply dont think about the job as,,,,well, a job. Fly a piece of crap where the engineer's two tools are duct tape and a pen. Sit around for 100 hours of flying the whole summer because they believe in the magical twin time..

My advice is to think about the job first. Best job...take the machinery that comes with it.

[DaveC]

The 310 job sounds promising. A friend of mine went from instructing to fire patrol. After one season, he got hired at GGN as a FO.