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Do you really want to move up to a jet?
by Joe Casey
As compared to any airplane requiring a type rating, most Single-Engine Turbo-Props (SETPs) are known for smooth, reliable power, being able to operate out of smaller airstrips while still being able to cruise speedily, having easy operating characteristics, and (arguably) being somewhat easy on the pocketbook. The SETP fleet is composed of solid airplanes that outright perform. Owners and pilots sing the praises of many of the advantages of the SETP. However, there are some unsung SETP advantages that are quite often overlooked by those who are looking to make the leap upwards to a really big turboprop or to a jet or to virtually any airplane requiring a type rating.
Unsung? You bet. There are some truly huge advantages to operating airplanes in the owner-flown, non-jet, non- type-rated world. But, some of those advantages are rarely appreciated because most of us don’t know how laborious and expensive it is to move up to the type- rated world. Aspiring to move up beyond your PA-46T or TBM? You should consider some of the lesser-appreciated
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considerations that make the SETP world so wonderful, and maybe you will reconsider moving up.
Before we explore those lesser appreciated consid- erations, the preliminary question is whether you desire to fly something bigger, better, faster, or stronger... and the answer invariably is, “of course I do!” We are a community filled with overachieving Type-A personalities who continually seek the next great adventure and the next challenge to conquer. Save for the rare exceptions, the opportunity to own and fly a turbine does not present itself without the prerequisite of personal success. And with that success comes aspirations.
I am a student of entrepreneurship and small business strategy. Because of that, I love the owners of SETPs. Few SETP owners are trust fund babies. I would venture to say that of the hundreds of pilots each year that I train year over year, 99% of them are first-generation successful guys and gals who ventured into the market with an idea, a specific skill, or a credential and won through