question about pilot weight

[ADRidge]

I'm looking into flight training and hoping to start flight school around january of 07, and in the mean time, I"ve been researching every aspect of flight training and career flying that I've been able to get my paws on. One of the things I've been looking long and hard at are job ads for CFII's, as I know that once I get my CFII, as a low time pilot I'll have no options but to instruct until I hit the magic 1000 hour mark. Most training jobs require a body weight of 170, which isn't out of reach for me by any means, but I'll definitely have to lose muscle mass as well as the extra 10 I'm carrying around. I'm 6'0 and 195 right now, and I was wondering if anyone in a similar position regarding weight has seen the 170 requirement come back to bite them in the neck when it comes time to submit resumes.

 

Any info is appreciated.

[PhotoFlyer]

What ads are you looking at? I weigh 210 and don't have a problem in the 300. Didn't have a problem in the R22 either. Not to mention, you havent started training yet, so you have a lot to worry about before you start submitting resumes.

[flyby_heli]

ADRidge.

 

It all depends which route you go. If you wanna teach in the R-22, those schools often want you to be below 170-180 lbs. Remember they would rather put a weight limit on their employees then on their customers. However i still know of a bunch of people in our weight class (i am about the same height and weight as you) teaching in the R-22, so its not a set rule.

 

For the Schweizer this is pretty much a non-issue at all. I got a job right after finishing school and my weight wasn't even mentioned. I would recommend you get time in both the R-22 and the S300 during your training, that way you have a broader jobmarket available when you finish up.

 

There also seems to be quite a few EMS operators that wants pilots to be below 200-210 lbs fully equipped. So if this is a career you want to pursue in the future, keep that in mind.

 

 

Good luck.

Flyby

[ADRidge]

Thanks for the replies so far. I know it's way down my list of things to worry about, and one of my problems is trying to plan too far ahead (as you can see) but I guess I want to know as much as possible going in so fewer things take me by surprise.

 

Does the S300 have that much more available power for weight to be a non-issue?

[flingwing206]

Does the S300 have that much more available power for weight to be a non-issue?

The 300 is rated for 600 lbs in the cockpit - that's pretty much where a VFR-equipped 300CBi will go out of forward CG (w/no fuel). With 2 hours of fuel, the 300 can carry 430 lbs.

 

The R22 is rated for a max of 480 lbs in the cockpit, but a VFR R22 will go out of forward CG at just over 400 lbs, and can carry 340 lbs with 2 hours of fuel.

 

That's the difference, and that's why R22 operators are a bit more sensitive about the weight of their pilots.

[ADRidge]

The 300 is rated for 600 lbs in the cockpit - that's pretty much where a VFR-equipped 300CBi will go out of forward CG (w/no fuel). With 2 hours of fuel, the 300 can carry 430 lbs.

 

The R22 is rated for a max of 480 lbs in the cockpit, but a VFR R22 will go out of forward CG at just over 400 lbs, and can carry 340 lbs with 2 hours of fuel.

 

That's the difference, and that's why R22 operators are a bit more sensitive about the weight of their pilots.

 

 

Thanks for the clarification... I'm going to have to look into that further.