saint Posted May 22, 2006 Posted May 22, 2006 Hey guys,Was just wondering if any of you have any ideas as to the quickest way to get or obtain turbine time?Transitioning to turbines from piston is a challenge as insurance generally want you to have time on type before they will cover you.What are your thoughts? Quote
Flying Pig Posted May 22, 2006 Posted May 22, 2006 Pimp yourself out. Say "I love you" and mean it.......Be willing to experiment.......dont think of it as prostitution. Quote
rotor91 Posted May 22, 2006 Posted May 22, 2006 Saint, THEE GOLDEN 1,000 hours! For the most part, companies will hire you w/o turbine time, IF you have the 1,000(for insurance). Get that CFI, and build it til you get the golden hours! I knew a guy who was loaded....with a 206L...now he has a 407, tried my A$$ off, just get some stick time...to no avail!! Even offered to wash it, sweep the hangar....etc......he said he has people that do that! OUCH! I got that loud and clear! Otherwise, I suggest playing the Lotto! It's a tough journey....but how bad do you want it? Cheers-Rob On my PC at work(along with the de Vinci quote too):"EVERYONE IS ENTITLED TO BE STUPID, BUT SOME ABUSE THE PRIVELGE" Quote
niftyben Posted May 23, 2006 Posted May 23, 2006 I started getting TT accidentally. This isn't the story of me accidentally flying off with the Sheriff's heli. I'll save that for later. I just made good friends with everyone I could (not associates, but actual friends). I saw a guy land at my school in an Alouette II with a neat paint job. So I introduced myself, got his card, helped him take it apart a few times and now he calls me when he goes out. And as it turns out, he's actually a nice guy. I'm glad I went to the effort. http://www.tigercopter.com/ Quote
lockedcj7 Posted May 23, 2006 Posted May 23, 2006 Pimp yourself out. Say "I love you" and mean it.......Be willing to experiment.......dont think of it as prostitution. Have kneepads, will travel! But, I won't kiss on the mouth... it's too personal. Quote
aviator Posted May 23, 2006 Posted May 23, 2006 I am curious to know the cost per hour. In South Africa it will probably cost you $695 on a 206. There is however a company that operates an Alo 2 at $ 450 per hour. How does this compare to the US! Quote
propwasher Posted May 23, 2006 Posted May 23, 2006 Hey guys,Was just wondering if any of you have any ideas as to the quickest way to get or obtain turbine time?Transitioning to turbines from piston is a challenge as insurance generally want you to have time on type before they will cover you.What are your thoughts? Have you checked out www.applebeeaviation.com ? They are advertising a lot lately to build turbine time. They have you ride along with a CFI doing cherry drying in Oregon and Washington. Costs a little over $500 per hour - you log it as PIC. They say it may result in a job, depending on time of year and the company's needs. Rotor Aviation in Long Beach has a program where you fly along on the ENG ship during the morning and afternoon traffic watch. Costs something like $185 per hour. You ride with a CFI and log PIC time. Another option: a guy named Bill advertises in the back of Rotor & Wing that you can ride along on the traffic watch in a 206 and log time as PIC. Call Bill at 714-334-0027 or BEL206TIME@aol.com Still another option: go to www.cfidarren.com and click on helicopter where you'll find an Alouette II that you can buy time in. Last price I saw was $400 per hour. Still another option: Cross Keys Skydiving Center east of Philly has an Alouette they use for dropping jumpers on weekends. Not sure of the details but they have a website. I believe they will let you pay to log time. Last option: google FH1100 The company school starts in about 30 days up near the border of Florida and Alabama. Program is set up so you do all your training in a turbine (FH1100). Sounds like a good way to go - I think it was something like $360 per hour. Wish I had the time off to do it. Quote
rotoflightmaniac1 Posted May 23, 2006 Posted May 23, 2006 Heli-Class in Van Nuys, CA. Bell 206 Jet-Ranger for $160 an hour. It's a one man operation, and you get that rate while doing sightseeing tours in Los Angeles. I've met him once, he's seems like a pretty nice guy and well put together, other than that, visit his website www.heliclass.com. Jake Quote
Guest pokey Posted May 23, 2006 Posted May 23, 2006 Here's MY take on this thread so far: Quickest is like rotor91 says,,, win the lotto Quickest way to wind up in jail ( w/"some"turbin time) "borrow" the sheriff's helicopter---as niftyben (didnt do) didja?! ---waiting for THAT story best advice i like tho is propwasher's list and jake's too Quote
blave Posted May 24, 2006 Posted May 24, 2006 Heli-Class in Van Nuys, CA. Bell 206 Jet-Ranger for $160 an hour. It's a one man operation, and you get that rate while doing sightseeing tours in Los Angeles. I've met him once, he's seems like a pretty nice guy and well put together, other than that, visit his website www.heliclass.com.Jake The irony of this is that (as far as I know) you don't get to do engine starts with the news guys in LA (of which there were two, the last time I checked). Why else would an employer want a bunch of turbine time, other than that to try to ensure that the applicant has figured out how not to burn up the engine on start? dB. Quote
Flying Pig Posted May 24, 2006 Posted May 24, 2006 $160.....that stuff is a scam.... Like the other post said....you aint gonna start it, and I would bet money that all the stick time your going to get is straight and level. The owner is going to take off and land the thing and shut it down. Quote
klas Posted May 24, 2006 Posted May 24, 2006 $160.....that stuff is a scam.... Like the other post said....you aint gonna start it, and I would bet money that all the stick time your going to get is straight and level. The owner is going to take off and land the thing and shut it down. Almost right - one person I flew with in L.A. DID start it and shut down, but I had controls rest of the time (for 3 hrs), including take-offs, landings (including pinnacle, steep approach & other off-airport), max. performance t/o, out of ground-effect hover, etc.... Not just straight & level. For $125 / hr (where I went), well worth the price. Quote
delorean Posted May 24, 2006 Posted May 24, 2006 Almost right - one person I flew with in L.A. DID start it and shut down, but I had controls rest of the time (for 3 hrs), including take-offs, landings (including pinnacle, steep approach & other off-airport), max. performance t/o, out of ground-effect hover, etc.... Not just straight & level. For $125 / hr (where I went), well worth the price. Most insurance policies want at least 250 hrs of turbine time, and sometimes 500, up to 1000 hrs. With a few hours of turbine time, an employer is not going to even notice it. Unless you plan on paying for at least 100 hrs to get their attention, I wouldn't even bother with it. And you don't always need it......I got my EMS SP-VFR job with 0.5 hrs of turbine time. Quote
klas Posted May 24, 2006 Posted May 24, 2006 Most insurance policies want at least 250 hrs of turbine time, and sometimes 500, up to 1000 hrs. With a few hours of turbine time, an employer is not going to even notice it. Unless you plan on paying for at least 100 hrs to get their attention, I wouldn't even bother with it. And you don't always need it......I got my EMS SP-VFR job with 0.5 hrs of turbine time. I know - for me it was purely icing on the cake; I don't work as a professional pilot, unfortunately, so any turbine time I get is just for fun. I have 20 hrs of turbine - but only 5 hrs in right seat doing the start-ups - and it hasn't cost me more than an avg of $250 / hr. Quote
rotoflightmaniac1 Posted May 25, 2006 Posted May 25, 2006 Saint, As I said above, I don't know too much about HeliClass, I only visited once and will probably never have the need to use him. However, don't make your decision to use or not use HeliClass based on assumptions, as most of what is posted above regarding HeliClass is (no offense guys). I do know that there is at least one school, RotorAviation, who sends their students to him for the turbine transistion training if they choose to pay for that. Anyway, I have the the phone # for HeliClass if you are interested, Just PM me! Jake Quote
HH60Pilot Posted May 28, 2006 Posted May 28, 2006 I think that unless you have a wad of money burning a hole in your wallet and a burning desire to have some turbine time in the logbook, you'd be best off hanging on to your money and using it to pay to move to the gulf coast. There are plenty of employers that will hire you with no turbine time and train you in their equipment on their dime. If you are set on getting a specific job that requires time in type, I have a feeling that the insurance company is going to require a good number of turbine hours and total hours as well. Which means that you are going to wind up flying for PHI, TEMSCO, Air-Log, etc, so that you can get some turbine time as well as adding to your total time. If you do one of the cheap turbine time building routes, you need to make certain that you are not only getting the start and shutdowns, but are getting ground training regarding turbine operations as well. If you go to someone that only lets you fly straight and level (plus a few turns during the tour) you're throwing your money away. Having 10 hours in a 206 isn't worth a damn if you can't do an auto in it or fly it with the hydraulics off. One of the guys in the LA area charges somewhere around 3x his time building rate if you actually want training in the helicopter. Of course, if you want a really good deal on turbine time, do what I did...spend 23 years working for Uncle Sam. Not only did I not have to pay for any of it, I got paid to boot (and a nice retirement as well)! Doug Quote
flingwing206 Posted May 28, 2006 Posted May 28, 2006 ...do what I did...spend 23 years working for Uncle Sam. Not only did I not have to pay for any of it, I got paid to boot (and a nice retirement as well)! DougAnd we thank you for that Sir! Quote
Voluptuary5 Posted May 28, 2006 Posted May 28, 2006 Doug, I don’t know if you ever get tired of hearing it, but I second Fling – THANK YOU for your service! And THANK YOU to every serviceman and woman, past and present, that has done/is doing the same. You’re all heroes in my book!!! - Brian Quote
volition Posted May 29, 2006 Posted May 29, 2006 Doug, I would gladly fly for uncle sam.........but i'm not american. Quote
jehh Posted May 29, 2006 Posted May 29, 2006 Doug has got it figured out... Paying for 20 or 50 hours of time in a 206 that doesn't include autos, starts/shutdowns, etc. is worthless. If an employer requires time in type, it is because he DOESN'T want to teach you that stuff. Burns up engines and costs $$$. There are plenty of companies that will pay for your transitions, you just have to be willing to move to where the jobs are. Quote
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