Turbine Training, Is it worth considering?

[bossman]

Where I work in the GOM, the lower time new hires either have ALL turbine time (ex-military) or no

turbine time (civilian). If you can demonstrate that you can fly at your interview and do well in

training, they really don't care if you flew a home- built or a Chinook previously. What is really

that different about turbine time, anyway? Not much. Or should I say not enough to matter. I

wouldn't waste a nickel on turbine time or "turbine transitions" or any of that other b.s. I'm

looking at the ad for Marpat aviation as I type. If you live near there, great, I would do that.

You're not going to do much better than that in a recip, anyway. ( It's hard to believe they can offer

that when fuel is going to eat up a big piece of the $300, a 206 at Bristow is going to run you close

to a grand). As you're working towards getting your hours, you'll pick a few here and there to get

a taste of it. If you go to work for PHI as a SIC in a 412 do you think they give a rip about a

insignificant (less than 50 hours) amount of turbine time you have? No.

We also offer time in a B3 Jet Ranger for $500.00 per hour. You know, it really makes me feel good knowing that people are worried about me making money. You should just take advantage of an old man that enjoys seeing folks partake of the flying experience. There's no hidden costs. There's no hidden motive. There's nothing hidden at all. Just plain fun flying the skys with a few seasoned veterans enjoying sharing their knowledge with other people. The money end of it always seems to take care of itself. So, "Come fly with Us", we don't care how long you stay. You do not have to spend a lot of money with us. If you show up at our place and want to fly, I guarantee you will get to hop in some kind of helicopter before you leave, with or without money. Let me worry about paying for the fuel.

bossman

[big_z]

Turbines are fun to fly. I managed to grab a couple hours helping out and I totally can't wait to go full on commercial. Thing is, a some employers will train you so you might be wasting the money. On the other hand, having a few hours under your belt doesn't hurt in an interview.