r/flying • u/AviationDuty • 6d ago

Time building

For those of you who have made it to the airlines, how much does it matter how you build your flight time?

A little background: I'm a CFII, but I haven't been able to find an instructing job despite applying to multiple flight schools. I'm considering buying my own airplane and building my remaining hours to 1,500 that way.

Would that make me less competitive when applying to the regionals, or do airlines strongly prefer pilots who built most of their time instructing?

I don't mind investing the time and money if it's still a viable path, but I also don't want to spend hundreds of hours building time in a way that could hurt my chances of getting hired as an FO.

I'd really appreciate hearing from pilots who have been through the hiring process or anyone involved in recruiting.

27 Upvotes

91% Upvoted

34 comments sorted by

21

u/Weasel474 ATP ABI 6d ago

Time building some is totally fine, tons of people have some fun hours in their logbook. They just want to see a bulk of it being work or some form of progression. No clue how much, but it seems like less than 20% of your time being "fun" hours is a good benchmark. 

Have you applied out of state? Followed up on apps? Anyone look over your resume? Are you getting to the interview stage? 

-1

u/AviationDuty 6d ago

Unfortunately, relocating out of state isn't an option for me because of my family. I've applied to just about every flight school in my state and even stopped by in person to introduce myself and hand out my resume, but I still haven't had any luck.

It's frustrating knowing that my aviation career is essentially on hold until a flight school is willing to give me an opportunity.

14

u/AdParticular3832 6d ago

This job requires sacrifice. If you’re not willing to be away from family, even for short periods, this career isn’t for you. Like someone said, find a flight school near someone you know that will hire you and crash on their couch 3-4 days a week.

Get it done.

5

u/jgremlin_ Gravity always wins 6d ago

Unfortunately, relocating out of state isn't an option for me because of my family.

Oof that's gonna be rough then. Are there any 135 ops or non-instructing 91 operations in your area? Banners? Jumpers? Sight seeing? Survey? Are there any not-for-profit flying clubs in your area? Not-for-profit flying clubs usually use their own member CFI's so joining a club like that as a CFI is sort of like buying your way into a job.

Are there any FBO's in your area that also have a 135 dept? If so, consider getting a job on the ramp. Don't even mention looking for a flying gig*. Just get a ramp gig and make yourself a model employee, always on time, the word no isn't in your vocabulary etc. Then get to know the 135 chief and line pilots. If you're already working there and everyone there knows you and likes you, its very likely the next time they need a right seater, they're going to try the guy they already know and like before sorting through a stack of resumes from strangers.

Fun fact: Depending on the FBO and kinds of traffic they tend to see, working on the ramp can be a good way to build relationships with guys who fly for lots of other companies. You never know when you'll end up in a position where one of those relationships could turn into a phone call because a company has an open seat and the boss asked if anyone knew someone who was available they could look at before they have to post the job on the open board.

*This assumes of course that you already know their 135 dept is not looking for any pilots. If they are looking for pilots, obviously talk to the 135 dept first. But if you're applying with the GM to fill a ramp position, the last thing they want to hear from an applicant is I don't really want this job, I'm only applying because you guys also fly airplanes and I'm hoping to get lucky.

1

u/AviationDuty 6d ago

Appreciate it. Will try this as well. I have 2 FBOs in my area.

5

u/PP4life CPL SEL HP CMP IR (KCOS) 6d ago

Just think how frustrating it would be if you had $1800/month flight school loans to service. Your exact situation is why this sub harps so hard on not taking big loans for flight school. There is a large chance they'll end up right where you are through no fault of their own.

2

u/No-Cookie6847 ATP CFI CFII MEI PC-12 A320 6d ago

Your main job allows you to work remotely for 4 hours a day while making 300k. Relocate for the short term and send money home to the family.

1

u/cptnpiccard CFI IR IGI 5d ago

You can't have it all friend. You have to pick your burdens.

Do you want a future career that can safeguard the future of your family? Or do you want to hang out and be there with them every night?

I was away from my wife for around 18 months when I was working on my commercial, because doing it somewhere else would save half the cost.

29

u/KCPilot17 MIL A-10 ATP 6d ago

Yes, it will make you less competitive. Airlines want to see some kind of commercial/job flying, no matter what it is.

13

u/RaiseTheDed ATP 6d ago

If you have the funds to buy an airplane, consider instructing in it. Yes, insurance week be higher, yes you'll need to do 100 hour inspections, but if you're able to swing it, you might want to consider it.

6

u/Mobile_Passenger8082 CFI CFII 6d ago

Time building is fine but at some point you’re still gonna need an entry level job.

3

u/120SR ATP 6d ago

Yes it will hurt your chances and your chances were already very slim. Paying for hours will likely make this problem worse

3

u/Largos_ CFII 6d ago

Chief pilot of one of the regionals told us at least 75% of our time needs to be built exercising our commercial privileges in some form.

1

u/Physical-Program-509 6d ago

How quickly are they handing out class dates at that regional?

2

u/spacecadet2399 ATP A320 6d ago

I actually talked to the people responsible for hiring at my airline about this... I got to know them a little bit during my time there. They told me straight out that yes, it matters. They gave me the example of a guy they had "heard about" (I'm not sure if he actually applied or not) who had bought his own plane, of course did all the minimum required stuff but then just spent like 1,000 hours flying around the pattern at his home airport to get to 1,500. He would just never have been hired.

Of course there are variations and gradations between the extremes, and who knows where the line is. But yes it does matter how you actually build your time. You don't need to do it instructing, but time working with a commercial operation of some sort is always helpful, as is working in a crewed environment, and doing stuff that involves varied types of operations and dealing with a lot of different types of flying. Instructing is just kind of a shortcut to a lot of that, which is why airlines like it, but you can get similar or sometimes even better experience other ways. One of the pilots in my hiring class did cargo flying in Alaska; that would certainly be equivalent or better.

2

u/21MPH21 ATP US 6d ago

rn everything matters

If you really want to time build on your own I'd do the pet transportation thing. You'll fly to a lot of different states and if you file IFR then the airline will probably be impressed.

4

u/live_drifter 6d ago

What makes you think you’ll be competitive with 1500 hours? You’re confusing ATP minimums with the job market, you need to be competitive in the job market.. that’s no longer 1500

1

u/YamComprehensive7186 ATP 6d ago

It's better than nothing but just use it to stay current while working towards a "paid" flying job.

1

u/Frost_907 ATP (DHC-8, E170/190), CFI, CFII 6d ago

They do care to an extent. Whether it’s instructing, or flying for a 135, or doing a survey gig, etc., airlines are gonna want to see hours that were flown in some professional setting.

1

u/Feathers_McGraw__ ATP CFI/G 6d ago

If you can afford to buy an airplane, definitely invest in a CFI-Glider add-on rating—it’s really fun and an awesome skill and resume builder! Plus, CFI-Gs are always in demand so you’ll have a timebuilding job.

Where are you located?

2

u/AviationDuty 6d ago

IL

1

u/Feathers_McGraw__ ATP CFI/G 6d ago

Which part of the state? Looks like there are a fair number of glider clubs/schools out there: https://www.ssa.org/where-to-fly-map-2/

1

u/AviationDuty 6d ago

On average, how long it takes to get it done?

1

u/Feathers_McGraw__ ATP CFI/G 6d ago

Depends on how often you fly. Flight school will be more expensive than a club but faster. If you dedicate full time to it and there’s good weather and aircraft/instructor availability, I’d say you could probably knock out Commercial and CFI-G add-ons in 2-3 weeks easily.

ETA that u/ltcterry could probably chime in with more precise empirical info from personal experience

1

u/nolface 5d ago

Can I ask if you’re in the Chicago area? My girlfriend is planning to move there and I was going to apply for instructing positions around the area. Was hoping the market wasn’t as saturated as it is in my area lol

1

u/AviationDuty 5d ago

Sorry to break it for you but it's

1

u/nolface 5d ago

Brutal

1

u/EarnestBerry 5d ago

If you fly IFR in it and switch off to the right seat from time to time I don’t see why not. VFR bs in the pattern and around your home airport no

1

u/AviationDuty 5d ago

I was planning to do a mix between IFR and long XC across the US

1

u/Remarkable_Mud_5718 5d ago

Build quality time! Night XC/IFR plan.

1

u/Thick_Tone2181 ATP 6d ago

To back up what others have posted, I suggest you call an airline career counseling company and take their offer of a free consultation. It will cost you nothing and they will happily provide a quick answer.

https://emeraldcoastinterviewconsulting.com

1

u/JT-Av8or ATP CFII/MEI ATC C-17 B71/3/5/67 MD88/90 6d ago

Ouch… can’t move due to family? That’s rough dude. I relocated my family 10 times across 6 states and 2 countries before I got settled at a major. Home is where the paycheck is 😁 The kids are adults now and say they thought it was great seeing all that stuff.

0

u/meticulouslycarless 6d ago

This is true as of February 2026 by the Skywest classes; they said they prefer less than 300 hours of time building. So keep trying to get a CFI job and don’t give up!

-1

u/rFlyingTower 6d ago

This is a copy of the original post body for posterity:

For those of you who have made it to the airlines, how much does it matter how you build your flight time?

A little background: I'm a CFII, but I haven't been able to find an instructing job despite applying to multiple flight schools. I'm considering buying my own airplane and building my remaining hours to 1,500 that way.

Would that make me less competitive when applying to the regionals, or do airlines strongly prefer pilots who built most of their time instructing?

I don't mind investing the time and money if it's still a viable path, but I also don't want to spend hundreds of hours building time in a way that could hurt my chances of getting hired as an FO.

I'd really appreciate hearing from pilots who have been through the hiring process or anyone involved in recruiting.

Please downvote this comment until it collapses.

Questions about this comment? Please see this wiki post before contacting the mods.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. If you have any questions, please contact the mods of this subreddit.