Welcome Guest. Sign in or Signup

2 Answers

Advice on flying Dutchess to finish multi commercial…

Asked by: 5196 views General Aviation

Hey guys, I am about to go do a few weeks of flying a dutchess to build some hours and get experience flying a multi and then of course go for my multi check ride.  I have only flown SE before, and I feel pretty confident with those, is it going to be a huge difference to grasp going from a 172 to a multi engine aircraft?  Any advise would be appreciated.  I am planning to go try to get about 50 hours in 2 weeks before I go for my check ride..  Thanks.

Ace Any FAA Written Test!
Actual FAA Questions / Free Lifetime Updates
The best explanations in the business
Fast, efficient study.
Pass Your Checkride With Confidence!
FAA Practical Test prep that reflects actual checkrides.
Any checkride: Airplane, Helicopter, Glider, etc.
Written and maintained by actual pilot examiners and master CFIs.
The World's Most Trusted eLogbook
Be Organized, Current, Professional, and Safe.
Highly customizable - for student pilots through pros.
Free Transition Service for users of other eLogs.
Our sincere thanks to pilots such as yourself who support AskACFI while helping themselves by using the awesome PC, Mac, iPhone/iPad, and Android aviation apps of our sponsors.

2 Answers



  1. Bruce J. Sato CFI, CFII on Nov 02, 2013

    I have flown the “Duchess” and you just cant compare the 2, For one the multi engine aircraft have controllable pitch prop, retractable landing gear (Complex) and have another engine, it’s also heavier and the aircraft procedures are just a lot more complex than just a typical 172.

    Before you spend the $300hr for a flight, its a lot more easier in my honest opinion to know and review the aircraft systems, v-speeds, and aircraft flows (Takeoff, Cruise, Landing, and Engine Out) that way at least you are prepared to fly the aircraft.

    The Duchess is a great plane to fly and I don’t want to sound like a bad person, or be they guy that puts you down or anything but I just want to express what you are going to experience from the start from my point of view.

    I’d rather spend the ground time with an instructor on the various systems and how they work and procedures which is less than $100hr compared to $300hr for flight at a minimum. That way you don’t spend a lot of money for flight time in the air, reviewing some simple flow procedures.

    Again this is just my 2 cents and whatever way you decide is fine and respectable, Hope this helps you and your decision, GOOD LUCK and let us know how its going 🙂

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  2. LTCTerry on Nov 02, 2013

    I did my multi-engine training in a Duchess. I found it easy/pleasant to fly after about 200 hours in an Arrow and 500 hours total time.

    I’m a bit confused. Why will you fly 50 hours before taking the checkride? None of that time will be PIC because you are not multi-rated. You should be able to get checkride-ready, pass the test, and log the rest as PIC. Are you a CFI? If so, perhaps you can do the commercial, get PIC time, and then do the multi-engine add-on.

    Or, you can do the private add-on checkride, log the rest of the time as PIC, and then do the commercial checkride. You have options…

    Terry

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes


The following terms have been auto-detected the question above and any answers or discussion provided. Click on a term to see its definition from the Dauntless Aviation JargonBuster Glossary.

Answer Question

Our sincere thanks to all who contribute constructively to this forum in answering flight training questions. If you are a flight instructor or represent a flight school / FBO offering flight instruction, you are welcome to include links to your site and related contact information as it pertains to offering local flight instruction in a specific geographic area. Additionally, direct links to FAA and related official government sources of information are welcome. However we thank you for your understanding that links to other sites or text that may be construed as explicit or implicit advertising of other business, sites, or goods/services are not permitted even if such links nominally are relevant to the question asked.