Multi-Engine Time Building in 2026:
The Complete Guide, from Rating to Airline Minimums
The whole path in one place: the rating, the requirements, the programs, the cost drivers, the schedule, and the Beechcraft Duchess we fly at North Perry Airport (KHWO).
What Multi-Engine Time Building Is and Where to Start
Multi-engine time building is flying a multi-engine airplane to log multi-engine hours after you hold the rating. Adding a multi-engine rating and 25 to 50 multi-engine hours is often a prerequisite for professional pilot jobs, which is why many career-track pilots build those hours before they apply.
The order matters, and it is simple. A multi-engine rating is a class rating added to your pilot certificate, so there is no separate multi-engine license. You earn the rating first, then you build hours in a twin on a plan that fits your calendar and your budget. This guide follows that order and points you to a deeper piece at each stop.
At Sun City Aviation Academy you build those hours in our Beechcraft Duchess at North Perry Airport (KHWO) in Pembroke Pines. If you want quick answers before the full guide, start with our multi-engine time building FAQ, or see the multi-engine rating program for the course itself.
The Sun City Advantage
Why Pilots Build Twin Hours in Our Duchess at North Perry
Our Beechcraft Duchess has counter-rotating engines, dual Garmin G5 displays, and a Garmin GTN 750xi. You can earn the rating and then build your hours in the same twin.
Your add-on training starts in our Redbird simulator. You rehearse engine failures on the ground first, so the session in the airplane repeats something you have already practiced.
Our block packages come in 25, 50, and 100 hours, discounted compared with booking hour by hour. A block turns a string of single bookings into one plan. Contact us for current block rates and schedule availability.
We hold both Part 141 and Part 61 approvals, and you fly the twin out of KHWO, close to the busy airspace around Miami and Fort Lauderdale. Year-round flying weather helps a plan keep moving, and a weather or maintenance day can still move a flight, so plan a buffer into your schedule.
Contact Us for Block Rates
Your Twin Time Roadmap
Why the Order of Your Twin Hours Decides What You Pay
Two engines change what you pay, what you need, and how you plan. These three points set up the five steps that follow.
Twin hours cost more than single-engine hours because two engines burn more fuel than one. A quote only helps if you know what sits inside it. Fuel, instructor time, and insurance can each be in the rate or outside it, so compare programs on the same assumptions before you compare the numbers.
Hours also have a target. The standard airline ATP certificate asks for 1,500 hours of total time, with restricted-privilege pathways for some graduates and military pilots. It also asks for cross-country, night, and instrument experience. Hours make you eligible. Hiring is a separate decision that employers make.
Flying a twin before you are ready can cost you in ways you can avoid, such as a lapsed flight review, a checkout you did not plan for, or a quote that left out something you needed. The five steps below put each decision where it is cheapest to make.
Five Steps from Your First Twin Lesson to a Full Logbook
- 1. Earn the multi-engine rating first
Our multi-engine add-on starts with at least a private pilot certificate and a valid FAA medical certificate. It runs $4,100 to $6,100; FAA fees vary and additional training may be required. Most pilots complete the add-on in 10 to 15 flight hours. Ground training covers multi-engine aerodynamics, engine-out procedures, Vmc, systems, and weight and balance. Flight training covers single-engine emergency handling, stalls, steep turns, and instrument approaches on one engine. Read the multi-engine rating page for the full course.
- 2. Check your requirements before you book a twin
You need a valid medical certificate, and you generally need a flight review within the preceding 24 calendar months to act as pilot in command (14 CFR 61.56). To carry passengers you need three takeoffs and landings in the preceding 90 days in the same category and class (14 CFR 61.57(a)), so single-engine landings do not count in a twin. Checkout and insurance requirements vary by school and insurer, so contact us for the details that apply to our Duchess. Our requirements guide has the full checklist.
- 3. Compare programs on the same assumptions
Put the same questions to every program: which aircraft, what the rate includes, where you fly, what checkout and insurance apply, how easy it is to book, and whether safety-pilot flights are allowed. Quotes only compare when the assumptions match. Our 7 questions to ask turns this into a side-by-side checklist.
- 4. Price your hours by what drives the cost
Four things set your cost: the aircraft rental rate, the instructor rate, fuel, and insurance. Instructor time is billed separately from aircraft time on dual flights, and flights without an instructor carry no instructor charge. Logging follows its own rules under 14 CFR 61.51, so settle how each pilot logs time with your instructor before the flight. See what block hours cost for the full breakdown.
- 5. Build a weekly schedule and a funding plan
Divide your target hours by your flying weeks. If you hold back about 15 percent for weather and maintenance, 100 hours in 12 months works out to about 2.3 hours a week, and 50 hours in 6 months is about the same. Log each flight soon after landing, following 14 CFR 61.51, and compare your logbook to your billing record each month. Financing options through Stratus Financial may be available to qualified applicants. Our 3, 6, and 12 month schedule paths show the math for each target.
When Single-Engine Hours Help and When Twin Hours Do
Hours in either airplane add to your total time, but only time in a multi-engine airplane builds multi-engine time. Generally, one engine costs less to feed and maintain than two. Our fleet includes Cessna 172s and a Beechcraft Duchess, and many pilots combine twin blocks with other flying, such as flight instruction, to build total time. That path is common, and it is not automatic.
Our Duchess versus Cessna 172 comparison lays out the trade-offs. Contact us for current rates for either airplane.
Multi-Engine Time Building FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions About Multi-Engine Time Building
Straight answers on the rating, cost, schedule, airline minimums, and where you fly.
Ready to Plan Your Twin Hours?
Tell us your target hours and your weekly flying time, and we will walk you through current block rates and schedule availability for our Duchess at North Perry Airport.
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