HOW TO BUILD FLIGHT TIME

To get your dream job and fly the bigger airplanes or heavy iron, you need to start small and build your flight time. Below are some typical ways to build flight time.

CERTIFIED FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR

Becoming a CFI or a Certified Flight Instructor is the most common way to build flight time.

You will instruct other student pilots towards getting their Private Pilot License(PPL) and Commercial ratings. You will conduct Biannual Flight Reviews(BFR) for rated pilots.

Additional ratings:

 CFII (Certified Flight Instructor Instrument)

 MEI (Multi-Engine Instructor).

CARGO

After getting your commercial flight rating, you can build flight time by flying freight in a small airplane. 'Next day air' means that big planes (UPS, FED EX, or Amazon Prime, for example) fly into large cities; the freight is then loaded onto smaller aircraft and flown to remote airports. That's where you come in! You would be flying a single-engine or smaller twin in a regional geographic area.

PART 135 CHARTER

Flying for a Part 135 outfit is a great time builder, but the downside is that your time is not your own.

Your life is in a state of flux all the time, but you do get to go to some incredible places.

PIPELINE PATROL OR AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY

 

 

You fly at low altitude above a pipeline in Visual Flight Rules (VFR) conditions, checking the pipeline's integrity. These jobs are few and far between but are great time builders.

PARACHUTE JUMP PILOT

 

 

Tristan's Story

He began his path to flying as a career at 17 by achieving his private, instrument, and commercial ratings. While in college at Long Beach State studying Aerospace Engineering and got his CFI.

Out of college, he worked at SpaceX as a structural test engineer and commuted in his Lancair; cutting his 3-hour drive down to a 22-minute flight. He then worked as an engineer with test pilots for an aviation company in R&D. At the same time, he flew Twin Otters and Sky Vans for parachute jumpers for Sky Dive Perris.

In 2017, he got hired by SkyWest on the CRJ as a First Officer and then as a Captain.

He had 5000 hours and realized airline flying was fulfilling his love of flying. In 2020 he became a pilot for Cal Fire flying the OV-10 Bronco and the S2 Tracker with the possibility of flying a C130 when Cal Fire brings them online.

His schedule is 10 days on 5 days off for 6 months of the year, giving him time for his hobbies of competing in team roping and flying his general aviation planes.

 

 

 

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