Time Before Next Step
Evening folks, newbie here to the forum.
Got my Private in February of this year.
Picked up a '66 Cherokee VI-260 in December (N3763W) and have ~40 hours in it. ~3200 TT, ~400 SMOH, ~200 prop, passed wing spar AD.
Panel was original, so it's currently with Signature Aircraft completions at KMQS (home base) getting a GX3 Touch, G5 backup, GFC500, dual GTN650xi panel upgrade.
Have ASEL IFR check ride on 10/3, and have 150 hours total flight time.
Primary mission is personal/family trips within 1000 miles (wife and 3 kids) and also 4 gents + clubs for golf trips which is pushing the useful load limit.
Here's my question for you all. Eventually I'd like to upgrade to either PA46 turbo prop or a light twin with some better useful load and speed.
What's the GA feel/recommendation on how much experience I should have before I can SAFLEY/practically make this move? 300 hours? 500? more?
lmk if you want more info.
Comments
Intelligent question. Having owned four twins and four singles, my first effort would be to contact my insurance agent and ask him. The cost of insurance and even the ability to get it might be a major factor. Other than that, I'd say 500 hours. You'll need complex, high performance, high altitude training and experience.
Scott Sherer
Wright Brothers Master Pilot, FAA Commercial Pilot
There are two questions in play and will position that they are only semi-related.
To the 'when am I safe for that hotter / more complex plane' element, this is more for each pilot to assess along with inputs from at least one CFI. As an example, a hangar neighbor found a reasonably good deal on a pressurized turbo prop as the previous owner simply could not get skills up to that plane's level, and had to drop-back to the previous airframe which was not as slick. The neighbor whom bought the plane was easily able to get into that plane's envelope even though it was a step-up in performance. Point here is that along the way to a more complex aircraft, might consider looking for rental opportunities and some CFI time in those types before committing to a purchase. Either the brain will wrap-around the new experiences, or it won't. By doing some dual time ahead of the next move, it can save the expense of needing to get out of a newly purchased aircraft.
For the insurance element, it is what it is. Agree with Scott that calling a broker for inputs will help frame expectations (more on this in the next paragraph). Am seeing where competition among insurers thinned and the forecast is for the landscape to remain this way for the next few years. This translates into higher premiums for low / lower time pilots looking to fly complex airframes and / or higher hull values. Am also reading where pilots are getting dropped simply from turning 70.
And back to those broker based expectations. Take them as rough guidelines only. I recently got back into the cockpit after a good long gap in currency. Was not surprised that insurers wanted to play catch-up for all those years where I did not pay into the machine. Was told by a couple different sources (one broker and one direct-agent) to expect a 5% reduction in premium if I flew at least XX hours as PIC by the end of my first year. I met the PIC milestone, but only got a little over 2% reduction in premium. Not like there are a lot of companies trying to pry me away from the current insurer, so I'll take any break I can get. But, now I know what to *really* expect going forward.
Pulling this back to the true element of 'when am I ready'. Consider the following approach. Each year, look for at least one opportunity to rent that more complex aircraft and get some dual time. Initially this might mean having to go the extra length of dual time in order to solo toward qualifying for PIC time. This part will give direct inputs on personal skills toward capability. With actual PIC and dual time within the previous 12 months, look over the aircraft sales listings toward the end of each insurance year, pick a realistic candidate (one that you really would buy if the stars aligned at that moment), and give that tail number to the broker for a quote. This will give direct inputs on affordability and whether you are ready for (at least part of) a financial jump to the next level.
In the interim, enjoy the view!
It has been said that a pilots license is a license to learn. It is given to those who meet the current knowledge and performance standards set by the Federal Government. However, safely executing the privilege of that certificate requires experience, and you know what they say about experience as a teacher in aviation; you get the test first, then, if you survive, you get the lesson😬
No one can tell you how much experience is actually required to feel safe enough to fly your family or your friends in a high performance aircraft, in IFR conditions, with new avionics, and with 150 hours total time, not all of which was as pilot in command. Only YOU will be able to tell when you are ready for the higher performance, the added responsibility, and challenges aircraft ownership will bring.
Scott has an excellent point about insurance coverage, but let me add this; enjoy your current equipment, the privilege to file and fly IFR when conditions are appropriate to your experience, and the tests and lessons learned over time. No doubt there will be many.
Good luck on your check ride!
Regards,
Mike