Flight Training - March/April 2024 - 36

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Career-oriented pilots have a big incentive to progress through
flight training as quickly as possible: They can start getting paid to
fly earlier. Earning money from flying is the first return on a major
flight training investment, and flying on the clock enables pilots to
build even more flight time rapidly. If a pilot is destined for an airline
career, getting qualified and hired sooner results in a lower
seniority number that can pay dividends for decades.
The most efficient way to maximize ratings while
minimizing training time (and costs) usually follows this
order: first, a private pilot certificate, then an instrument
rating, followed by commercial, multiengine, and flight
instructor certificates.
This pattern follows an obvious and indisputable
logic. The private pilot certificate requires a minimum
of 40 flight hours; an instrument rating requires a minimum of 40
more; and a commercial certificate requires at least 250 flight hours.
There's no specific number of hours required to become a flight
instructor or multiengine pilot, but an instrument and commercial
certificate are requirements to become a flight instructor.
A seaplane certificate can be added to this mix, as well as high
performance, complex, high-altitude, and tailwheel endorsements.
FAA Part 141 schools can accelerate the process of reaching
these goals with lower hour requirements and provide a well-worn
pathway to airline careers. But what about pilots who want to fly
professionally but not for an airline? Should they follow this same
paper chase? Probably not.
A pilot who wants to become an aerial firefighter, agricultural
pilot, or Alaska fishing/hunting guide is likely to have a much different
set of priorities. These careers emphasize high-performance
aircraft and seaplane experience as well as tailwheel skills. Those
seeking these stick-and-rudder-oriented flying careers sometimes
skip instrument ratings altogether and focus on obtaining commercial
pilot certificates.
Once armed with a commercial certificate, they can get paid for
towing banners and hopping scenic rides (with the limitation that,
without an instrument rating, they must fly in day VFR conditions
only and stay within 50 miles of their origin airport). Agricultural
pilots are likely to focus on gaining high performance and tailwheel
experience, and not necessarily instrument or multiengine ratings.
Those seeking to become aerial fighters or hunting/fishing
guides have the added hurdle of building floatplane experience,
preferably in an amphibious aircraft. Combining seaplane, complex,
and commercial pilot training is one creative way to maximize value
by triple-counting training time.
An aspiring professional pilot who trains in an amphibious Aviat
Husky, for example, can count those hours toward a seaplane rating,
a complex endorsement (since the Husky has retractable landing
gear, flaps, and a constant-speed propeller), and a commercial pilot
certificate. The seaplane/commercial pilot training will cover the
FLIGHT TRAINING MARCH/APRIL 2024
DAVID TULIS
Flight Training - March/April 2024

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