Hi there,

I posted this in the flight training forum a while ago but thought I would post here as well.

Basically my situation is that I finish my PPL in a couple of weeks (weather/bookings permitting) and was wondering what to do from there.

Basically my two choices seem to be

a) Getting as many hours as possible on floats - easiest and cheapest way seems to be the '50 hour float course' from Air Hart or similar.

or

b) Getting a partial share in a cherokee or something like that and building up my hours this way relatively cheaply.

Now I want to fly floats (have pretty much NO interest in airlines at this point, and probably never, I really like small planes and the outdoors) so I guess a) would be better. The big question is - how much of an advantage would having 50 hours on a cessna 180 (or even a 172) on floats be when applying for jobs, would I still need to work on the ramp for 1-2 years, or would it reduce the time a bit?

I am getting on a bit now (26) single with no dependants and have a job that earns me about 50k a year, so paying for flying isn't really a problem at the moment. However I have no problem earning shitty money for a few years, and I can move anywhere (and in fact would love to live up North for a while). I have about $15,000 cash on hand at the moment.

Basically I'm asking if having the 50ish hours on floats would give me a big leg-up, or if I will still have to work on the dock for 1-2 years, in which case I guess I'm better off saving ~$10,000 and build up most of my hours on a cherokee.

Any advice?

Thank you all for your time.

ummm... i think your first step would be to get a Commercial License. It's kind of a prerequisite for any job

I guess I didn't really explain myself.

I need to timebuild to get to the 200 hours mark for the commerical, and was wondering if the extra expense to do 50 hours on a 172/180 on floats was worth it over time-building cheaply with a cherokee or something.

The extra float time, wouldn't hurt. If you have to build time anyways for the commercial why not do some of it on floats. Make sure you do your night rating, multi, etc. inside the 200 hours if you want to keep your expenses down.

Having said that, insurance on floats is probably the highest of any fixed wing operations and I don't know if you will get hired for a flying position right away (never say never). Look for camps that have a privately registered aircraft for camp checks etc. They will be able to insure you right away.

I don't know of any places off hand...long time removed from the float flying myself.

I agree that it would be best to incorporate your different flying experiences and ratings inside of the 200 hours, that'll give you the best bang for your buck... of course.

There is no really right or wrong way to go. If you sit back and really think about what you'd like to do, the life style you'd like to have and the experiences you'd like to have in your life, you can come to your own answer. Perhaps the thing to do is to go and take your float rating, broadening your depth of flying experience would be a great benefit, and seeing how you like it. It's only 7 hours to do it, and it wouldn't hurt you in any way. That would be exposing you to what float flying is, then you can decide whether you should plunk down some change for more time. It is a lot of fun.

As of several years ago, I know Air Hart had a pretty good rate on their 172XP, they were welcoming and decent, and one of the few places that you could rent a plane without an instructor. But that was a little while ago.

If you hit the season right, I know that Kenn Borek Air hires people out to the Maldives in the right seat with very little multi and float time... it would be a great experience for a young single guy.

Good luck