How does everyone get their commerical here?

[SuperchargedRS]

After checking out some FBOs while I stopped for gas and seeing what the job market is looking like.. I have started to wonder how most people get all the hours built up?

How many hours are most of the guys going for their CPL logging in a flight?

How far are you guys going per flight

Does anyone here set up missions or do you just fly at random? (fly to XXX and so you can check out XXX, vs go to this airport due to fuel or because it is XX miles away)

And finally what do you fly?

Just curious

[GoinNowhereFast]

I'd personally love to just go touring around, visiting all the little airports I can find on the VNC. Being in a college program, that kinda limits my options to just a few old, well traveled routes.

[metal]

Fly to new places, see the scenery along the way, and get experience from going into places for the first time. I'll probably be doing a long multi province flight to get a bunch of my xcountry hours done, and the 300nm trip outta the way. Might as well go further and make it a trip worth remembering if you've gotta get the hours anyways.

[206]

Did mine all on my own while getting a diploma in another field. Call it a backup plan. Did it over 3 years, 2 provinces, and 4 different airports. Saved an avg of 10g doing it this way too. I fly with a bunch of guys who did the flight college thing, which would have been really good as well, but in the end we all got to the same place.
Doesn't really matter how you get here I think, just how committed you are...and if you have the discipline to learn outside of a classroom setting. The majority of learning experiences you'll have will take place operationally.
Good luck!

[Hedley]

CAR 401.28(2):

http://www.tc.gc.ca/CivilAviation/Regse ... htm#401_28

Aeroplanes and Helicopters - Reimbursement of Costs Incurred in Respect of a Flight

401.28(1) The holder of a private pilot licence shall not act as the pilot-in-command of an aeroplane or helicopter for hire or reward unless the conditions set out in subsection (2), (3), (4) or (5), as applicable, are met.

(2) The holder of a private pilot licence may receive reimbursement for costs incurred in respect of a flight if the holder

(a) is the owner or operator of the aircraft;
(b) conducts the flight for purposes other than hire or reward;
(c) carries passengers only incidentally to the purposes of the flight; and
(d) receives a reimbursement that
(i) is provided only by the passengers referred to in paragraph (c), and
(ii) is for the purpose of sharing costs for fuel, oil and fees charged against the aircraft in respect of the flight, as applicable.

[mcrit]

Just a word of advice....don't spend all your time building for the CPL doing GPS x-country. Use the time to hone your skills. Practice slow flight, stalls, and forced approaches. Polish your soft and short take off's and landings. I can't tell you the number of CPL students that have come to me with 160-170 hrs and they have totally forgotten how to do slow flight or a forced.

[just curious]

And have a look at the ATPL night requirements. If you can fit 25 hours night into the cross country, it can save considerabel misery down the line when a captain job on a 704 machine is conditional on an ATPL.

[Geko]

And have a look at the ATPL night requirements. If you can fit 25 hours night into the cross country, it can save considerable misery down the line when a captain job on a 704 machine is conditional on an ATPL.

Interesting as I tend to do most of my cross country at night and had no idea. I just enjoy cross country at night more than during the day especially since it helped me get over my dependence on the GPS.

[just curious]

There has always been debate, likely since the last of the WWII RCAF instructors retired, about the merits of low-time instructors.

I was a low-time instructor. When I have a moment to renew, I will be a high-time instructor. I don't know whether I will be a better instructor than what I was. But there are things like whiteboards and internet and stuff now, so who knows?

The one tangible thing about being a high-time instructor is that I have seen a bunch of people held back by a lack of night time for their ATPL. I would push the build-up of night time more. Come to think of it that was one thing that my high-time instructors down at Moncton used to push.

[Geko]

I'd agree with pushing students to do more and more night flying.

Personally as a low timer I find that I prepare my flight to a higher degree for night flights than for day flights. I've learned much more "punching holes" at night than I ever did during the day.

[Hedley]

When the wx is good, I've always found flying at night
easier than flying during the day. There's less traffic,
you can see it miles away, and usually the wind on
the ground is negligible.

All you gotta do is figure out some safe enroute
and approach altitudes, and as rule of thumb, don't
descend below 500 AGL until you're on final with
red/white on the PAPI at unfamiliar airports.

Don't fly VFR at night when the wx is crap. Watch
the dewpoint spread carefully. When it's less than
3 degrees C apart, get on the ground if you're VFR.

[man]

I looked at poster at the Flight Centre for Poker Runs, Fly-in events etc.

I won $100 in Gas from Petro Canada, a Summer Jacket, $100 off in Honda which I never used.
Also remember one run where we had to look for stuff on the ground to navigate to a bridge then count how many spans it had.

Took the thinking off where I should fly to, and I have a chance to win stuff.

[ahramin]

After my private licence I bought a 150 and put 400 hours on it. Looking back in my logbook there are a few flights where a friend and I just jumped in and flew somewhere for lunch, but almost all the flights were actually done because I was going somewhere. Those "time building" hours were a method of travel. I can't think of a single flight where I just went up to burn some gas.

Isn't there anywhere you people need or want to go? Go there.

[shitdisturber]

On a different note, I met a guy once who apparently got his Commercial through forgery. I have to say it was a masterful job though, I saw his license and couldn't spot that it was fake; to this day I wonder how he did it. I also wonder if he's out of jail yet, since he got caught running drugs into the US.

[Big Pistons Forever]

The purpose of the CPL course is (sadly) to prepare you for the CPL flight test which is wholely specified by TC and comprises those things TC thinks a CPL should know/do. This unfortunately has almost nothing to do with actually operating an aircraft in a commercial operation.

Therefore the purpose of the PPL to CPL build up time IMHO should be to go out and get experience making decisions and in general applying the theory you learned on the PPL to getting the airplane from A to B. I find it very discouraging to see how many freshly minted CPL's who have never been out of there local area comfort zone. They have been to the same 5 airports and all their flights are out and back to the FTU. They have never had to even secure an airplane over night at a strange airport let alone make flying routing decisions in unfamilar areas. I strongly recommend to anybody who asks that the build up time should include 3 XC trips to a destination 1000 nm away. One East (or West) one North and one South to the US. Plan the trips for 3 to 4 days and pick a good weather window. I think a budding CPL will learn more practical aviating skills in those trips then he/she will learn in the entire TC mandated CPL sylabus.

With respect to night flying I think a low time PPL should be very carefull. The fatal accident rate for VFR PPL's at night is truely frightening. I think there is a place for some night flying in the build up time but the bottom line is everything is harder at night and I feel strongly inexperienced pilots should only fly at night if the weather is perfect.

[corytrevor]

Like BPF said take some long trips. Push your limits a little. Busy airspace, over water, mtns, cross borders, lots of night, take friends. BE SURE to take lots of pictures because it's the most fun you'll ever have!!