SIC flying opportunities

[Jim Kickland]

my wife and I are 3 years from considering retiring. I'll be 62 years old and would love to find a part/full time job doing some flying. i have a CFII and my ATP and just shy of 6000 hours all single/twin flying time. i have NO turbine/jet experience. i was sitting in a FBO a few weeks back talking to the captain of a beech jet and he suggested looking into a SIC job? got my wheels spinning. i've done a google search on SIC training and jobs however really have not found too much. can anyone point me to a source where i can read up on the training involved for a (piston pilot) and if it's even a possiblity? thank you in advance for any suggestions.

 

[MountainDude]

Sounds amazing. Good luck.

 

[MauleSkinner]

For the most part, the training is going to range from a bare minimum 61.55(b) checkout to a Part 142 initial course. It depends on the company you work for and what they require.

For your part, the Airplane Flying Handbook has chapters on turboprops and jets, and the Instrument Procedures Handbook ventures into commercial operations. Might be worth studying up there to get a conversational edge.

 

[midwestpa24]

i was sitting in a FBO

That is how I got my foot in the door flying SIC for a Part 135 operator years ago. Our local FBO runs a 135 charter company ranging from twin pistons, turboprops, and jets. The FBO owner knows me and knew I had my CMEL, and asked me if I'd be interested in doing some SIC as they had more and more customers wanting two pilots, even in the Navajo. Went through an in house Part 135 training and a checkride in both the piston and turboprop twins. I was then on the on-call list when such a flight popped up.

I kind of miss that flying, maybe one day.

 

[Gilbert Buettner]

I was able to fly trips in the right seat for a few years when customers wanted two pilots. But about three years ago, the insurance company got involved and wanted both pilots to be type rated in the jets, or formally trained in the PC-12. I was in my 70s, and they were not about to invest a lot of money to train me.

 

[Fearless Tower]

Couple ways of doing it:

1) Network - Find someone nearby with a jet who may occasionally need someone to right seat and they might offer to take you up and do three bounces and sign you off. Then you might get work with them here and there when they need someone to fill the seat and you can also then offer your services as a contract right seat in type. Just keep in mind, your type knowledge could be lacking.

2) Go to a training facility and pay for an SIC Type in something that may have a local demand. Downside is you are paying out of pocket, but you will get some actual type/systems knowledge for the money and you can actually be useful as an SIC vs just legal. Also, with an SIC Type, you can go out of the country which increases possible opportunities. With that you can offer your services as a contract SIC and network/advertise/hit job boards like bizjet.com and pick up work that way.

Option 2 is what I did when I left active duty and was looking to break into the corporate world. I got a CE-500 SIC type figuring it was the most bang for the buck with regards to number of different Citations you could fly. You don't need the actual SIC type on your license, but having that SIC type (and passport) got me my first corporate gig when a local guy who had a Single Pilot waiver needed to make a trip out of the country and so needed a right seater. That led to other work.

Networking is key.

 

[flyingcheesehead]

Networking is key.

This. Right now there's about a million hungry CFIs with 1500+ hours who thought they were going to be on the airline gravy train by now. If you look at job listings, 80-90% of them are for captains - That's because SICs are coming out of the woodwork, dime a dozen, pick your saying. You likely won't find any right seat opportunities without networking.