After your PPL and IFR is it possible to take lessons in a Turboprop?

FloridaPilot

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Where would a person go to learn how to fly a Turboprop like a Cessna Caravan and/or a PC-12 after obtaining a PPL and an IFR? Do you find someone that has one and ask them to teach you or can you go to a flight school to learn how.


As always thanks for your input!
 
Yeah, simcom or flight saftey, but why would you want to do this?
 
Thank you,

How effective are the sims, compared to the real thing?
 
Yeah, simcom or flight saftey, but why would you want to do this?

I see PC-12's all the time, I would love to see what it would be like to take the controls for a few hours.
 
Very effective. When I trained on the CRJ, I did everything in the sim, including checks, and the first time I flew the jet was after the sim. Pretty much the same as the sim.

Money and satisfying the insurance company you'd insure with will take care of actually purchasing and flying one. I don't think you can rent one anywhere, but that's not fact.
 
I see PC-12's all the time, I would love to see what it would be like to take the controls for a few hours.

Take the controls? You mean AP and YD engage?

I'd go fly a beaver before a PC12, I love the Pilatus, but she's not the most fun plane to fly.
 
Take the controls? You mean AP and YD engage?

I'd go fly a beaver before a PC12, I love the Pilatus, but she's not the most fun plane to fly.

Have you ever flown one? How do you know?
 
My guess, if you can find it would be $1500/hr. I saw some old posts elsewhere stating $1200/HR from a few years ago.
 
To do what you're asking, why would you even need a private certificate or instrument rating?

If all you're really looking for is a flight experience to see what they're like I'm sure you could find someone that would take you flying in one for the right amount of money.
 
Ask around. I found a guy that owned a citation jet and he was willing to instruct, just as a favor. The 1500 an hour was a bit of an impediment. Wish I had done it now. It would have just been a one time thing. I don't have that kind of money to qualify in one. But it would have sure been fun!
 
Have you ever flown one? How do you know?

Yes, it's my main saddle.


If you want to fly one go for it, just saying it's not as much stick and rudder and you might think, for a experience I'd go for a van before a PC12
 
Very effective. When I trained on the CRJ, I did everything in the sim, including checks, and the first time I flew the jet was after the sim. Pretty much the same as the sim.

Do you remember what kind of software the sim uses? Something home grown?
 
Do you remember what kind of software the sim uses? Something home grown?

No. It was at Flight Safety near the ATL airport. All I did was show up, get tortured, sweat, and drink mass quantities of draft beer after.
 
Where was that?

One of the airline pilot forums. I just found it by googling pc12 rental. I think the thread was talking about a high altitude endorsement.

There were links but they all ended up being dead. I think whoever offered the rental is long gone now.
 
I know nothing of PC12 except that I was riding in a 172 when we entered the pattern behind a PC12. 172 pilot remarked that we would likely have to go around because PC12 would never make turn-off and we'd let him land and back taxi...

Sucker hit the turn off like it was no big deal, whereas we bounced our way right past it in the 172.

In the air he didn't look that big. When we taxi'd past him, that is not a small aircraft.
 
I have to maneuver around PC-12s all the time. There is a new local airline that uses them, and they have been growing quite a lot.

Those guys can squeeze into pretty small spaces.

I believe they have reverse prop pitch. Sure sounds like it.
 
The reason for this thread is because when I first made the decision to fly I didn't want to limit my flying experience but to fly in every airplane that I can. I love Aviation but I could never work the airlines because at this stage of my life I don't want to compromise my time on someone telling me where I need to be or how much I can make. I spent too much of my life doing that already.
 
Honestly the easiest way to get some stick time is to make friends with a private owner and catch a ride. Most turbine powered aircraft used for training are associated with a full on training program that starts with a sim and finishes off with a bit of real airplane time. The aircraft is too expensive to start in without having figured everything out in the sim first.
 
I have to maneuver around PC-12s all the time. There is a new local airline that uses them, and they have been growing quite a lot.

Those guys can squeeze into pretty small spaces.

I believe they have reverse prop pitch. Sure sounds like it.


Yup, reversing prop, trailing link gear, huuuge flaps, stick shaker and pusher, AOA (so Maui would say they are 100% safe ;) ).

Great planes, but has a high acquisition cost compared to a van or king air, one thought for the OP, would be to go for a C208 or King Air, or twin otter for his turbine fix, maybe also get a high altitude endorsement in the King air too, one good option would be to talk to a part 91 drop zone, I'd wager they would be more open to going up with someone off the street, so long as the plane still had dual controls and both front seats in it.
 
Red-Flag.jpg
 
The reason for this thread is because when I first made the decision to fly I didn't want to limit my flying experience but to fly in every airplane that I can. I love Aviation but I could never work the airlines because at this stage of my life I don't want to compromise my time on someone telling me where I need to be or how much I can make. I spent too much of my life doing that already.
If that's your goal, the best way (like someone already said) is to make friends/network and chances are sooner or later you might find someone who will take you up.

Save your money for something fun like an hour in an L39, or Beaver on floats or something else unique.
 
Where would a person go to learn how to fly a Turboprop like a Cessna Caravan and/or a PC-12 after obtaining a PPL and an IFR? Do you find someone that has one and ask them to teach you or can you go to a flight school to learn how.

You can learn how to fly a turboprop like a Cessna Caravan and/or a PC-12 before obtaining a PPL or an IFR. Danny Kaye took his initial flight instruction in a Cessna 150 before buying a Queen Air. He completed his instruction in the twin and never held a single-engine rating.
 
There's not much of a direct path for what you're suggesting unless you're already a prospective owner or regular client for that category of aircraft. If you ferret around and try hard enough you might be able to find someone willing to sell you some dual time, but usually turboprop owners don't need a few extra grand in their pocket, and there's a lot of liability concerns with a low-time private pilot at the controls. And along with that, of course, are insurance considerations.

Most pilots who want to fly kerosene burners are on a career path. If you're not, and you don't own a multi-million dollar business or have some kind of comparable income stream, these types of aircraft are mostly off-limits to you; even single-engine turboprops. By the way, I don't think you're missing much until you get into jets. Flying a turboprop single isn't really that much different from flying a high-performance single. Just higher altitudes and true airspeeds.
 
You can get training and typed in a B747 if your bank account is big enough.

Airlines will pay for the training in turbine powered aircraft once they hire you. Depends on what your end goal is.
 
You can get training and typed in a B747 if your bank account is big enough.

Sort of. Technically yes, but practically, not really.

FlightSafety doesn't allow pilots to take training in certain aircraft without meeting certain requirements. This is particularly true for their single pilot turbojet programs which they've identified as popular with owner-pilots (CE-510S, CE-525S, etc.) Formal training is basically 'blocked' for pilots not meeting certain experience requirements. This is true for CAE as well. The established flight training providers don't want the liability of training and certifying a pilot who then goes out and drills a hole through an apartment building in their new light jet. There are other avenues for those pilots, but most are sub-optimal. Underwriters tend to require formal simulator training.

Now, to be painfully accurate: is there a man or woman in the world with enough funds in his bank account to buy and demand basic training in his/her personally-purchased 747? Of course, but s/he'll have to self-insure and jump through all kinds of hoops to make it happen. People with that kind of personal wealth don't tend to do something that foolhardy anyway.
 
Now, to be painfully accurate: is there a man or woman in the world with enough funds in his bank account to buy and demand basic training in his/her personally-purchased 747?


Hmm Travolta comes to mind, and Cruise....
 
Now, to be painfully accurate: is there a man or woman in the world with enough funds in his bank account to buy and demand basic training in his/her personally-purchased 747?


Hmm Travolta comes to mind, and Cruise....

One of my friends flew for Travolta! And Cruise at times. Interesting tales.

Actually, to the best of my knowledge both of those celebrities started in light piston aircraft like the rest of us, and moved their way up. I'm going from memory, but that's my recollection.
 
Get your commercial and then work for a crop dusting company. The bigger spray planes run the same engine as a Pilatus but have an actual stick. You may need to take a few years of sabbatical from your day job to get into the cockpit, but that's still cheaper than renting a Pilatus just for the experience of flying a turboprop.

Or win the lottery and buy a Pilatus. That's my plan. I just have to hope I spot the winning ticket on the sidewalk, though, since I don't buy them personally. (Only lottery ticket I've ever owned was a "buy 25 gallons of AvGas, get a $1 lottery ticket" deal at an FBO last year.)

PS Don't let anyone tell you it's not fun to fly a PC-12. It's not as much fun as a Super Cub maybe but it is a hell of a lot more fun than most cars and some other airplanes. If you make friends with a PC-12 pilot and get a chance to ride up front, take it.
 
Travolta doesn't have a 747, he has a 707 and he isn't rated to be PIC in it. Cruise only has a G450 and he's not typed in it at all.
'
 
Travolta doesn't have a 747, he has a 707 and he isn't rated to be PIC in it. Cruise only has a G450 and he's not typed in it at all.
'

That wasn't the question though. If Travolta wanted a 747 he'd be able to afford and fly it. Same with Cruise.
 
That wasn't the question though. If Travolta wanted a 747 he'd be able to afford and fly it. Same with Cruise.

(Now we're on a big thread tangent, eh? What the hell... )

Travolta leases a CL601 -- an older model, not even a 604/605/650 -- from Bombardier and gets a rate discount for publicity services. (His image appears on a huge banner in Bombardier's Montreal delivery center of all places, lol.) He doesn't have nearly enough money in the bank to afford to buy or operate a 747. (Then again, I guess a lot of folks could afford to buy a clapped-out, near scrap 747, but operating it is another matter.)

I think you're underestimating the cost of purchasing and operating a Boeing 747. It's incredibly expensive. A new 747-8 runs around $350MM. You're looking at $30k+ per hour just to get the thing in the air -- that's DOCs only. Hollywood celebrities are rich, but they don't have that kind of coin. Travolta's net worth is around $160MM. Cruise's is considerably more, around $500MM. Neither are even close to the realm of being able to own and operate a B747.
 
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