Earn your multi engine rating or build twin time in the turbocharged Piper PA-44-180T – N83628, which carries twin 180 horsepower Lycomings, IFR certification for GPS and ILS approaches, a GNX 375 touchscreen with Bluetooth, and ADS-B in and out. Glidepath Aviation makes multi engine time available to renters rather than reserving it for owners, which is uncommon at general aviation fields. A second Seminole, the Piper PA-44-180T – N8390K, gives you a scheduling alternative when the calendar is tight. Multi engine rates sit well above single engine pricing, so block hour purchases are worth understanding before you commit to a rating on a fixed timeline. Every twin requires a thorough checkout with a CFI, and the whole operation is backed by a team that treats safety, maintenance, and pilot support as the baseline.
Plan your twin time deliberately, because multi engine hours cost more than anything else in the fleet and the requirements they satisfy are specific. Glidepath Aviation operates turbocharged Piper Seminoles that are available to renters, which turns a rating that often requires travel into something you can schedule locally.
Here is how to approach it:
A multi engine rating is an add-on rather than a separate certificate, and the regulations do not set a minimum number of flight hours for it. What they require is training in the areas of operation and a satisfactory practical test, which means the hours you need depend on how quickly you absorb asymmetric flight, engine out procedures, and systems management. Most pilots need somewhere in the range of ten hours, though that varies considerably. Where minimums do apply is further up: a commercial certificate with multi engine privileges and an ATP in multiengine airplanes both carry specified aeronautical experience requirements including time in class, so check the current figures against your logbook rather than assuming. If an airline application is your destination, plan the twin time as its own line item from the beginning rather than discovering the requirement late.
Twins cost more for reasons that are structural rather than arbitrary. Two engines mean twice the fuel burn, twice the overhaul reserve, twice the maintenance, and higher insurance across the board, which is why a Seminole hour runs well above a Cessna 172 hour. Both aircraft here are turbocharged PA-44-180T airframes carrying twin 180 horsepower Lycomings, IFR certification for GPS and ILS approaches, and modern avionics including a GNX 375 with Bluetooth and touchscreen plus ADS-B in and out. Turbocharging matters more here than it would elsewhere. A normally aspirated light twin loses engine out performance quickly with altitude, and these airframes hold a single engine service ceiling in the 9,500 foot range, which is high for the class and a genuine safety margin in mountain country. Multi engine operations require the appropriate class rating, a checkout with a certificated flight instructor regardless of your total time, and their own currency, since three takeoffs and landings in a single do not keep you current for carrying passengers in a twin.
The honest thing to say about a light twin is that the second engine buys you options rather than safety by default. An engine failure in a twin is a more demanding emergency than an engine failure in a single, not a less demanding one, because you have to identify the failure, control the yaw, and make a performance decision under time pressure rather than simply gliding to a field. That is precisely why the training exists and why the checkout takes longer. In the Intermountain West the calculation gets sharper still, since a single engine service ceiling in the 9,500 foot range sits below terrain that exceeds 11,000 feet in the ranges flanking the Salt Lake Valley, which makes route selection and cruise altitude real engine out decisions rather than abstractions. Run performance numbers for actual temperature, weight, and field elevation, review charts, TFRs, and NOTAMs on every preflight, brief your engine out plan before every departure, carry honest fuel reserves, and settle renter insurance and your deductible before you fly rather than after a claim.
Glidepath Aviation operates Piper PA-44-180T Seminoles, which are turbocharged light twins running two 180 horsepower Lycoming engines. They are IFR certified for GPS and ILS approaches and carry recently upgraded avionics including a GNX 375 with Bluetooth and touchscreen capability plus ADS-B in and out. One operates from Spanish Fork and another from West Jordan. Having a twin available to renters at a general aviation field is genuinely uncommon, so confirm availability well ahead of your dates.
The regulations set no minimum flight time for a multi engine add-on rating. What they require is training in the required areas of operation and a satisfactory practical test, so the answer depends on you. Most pilots complete it in roughly ten hours, though some need more and prior instrument proficiency makes a real difference. Arrive with solid single engine airmanship and instrument skills, because working on those in a twin is an expensive way to learn them.
Everything doubles. Two engines burn roughly twice the fuel, carry twice the overhaul reserve, and require twice the maintenance, and insurance for multi engine operations costs considerably more. That produces an hourly rate well above a Cessna 172 or a Piper Archer. The practical response is to keep your inexpensive hours inexpensive by logging cross country and proficiency time in a single, and to use twin time only where a twin is actually required.
Quite a lot at altitude. A normally aspirated light twin loses engine out climb performance rapidly as you go up, which is a serious limitation in the Intermountain West. Turbocharging preserves power at altitude, and these airframes carry a single engine service ceiling in the 9,500 foot range, which is high for a conventional light twin. That is a meaningful margin when you are operating from fields several thousand feet above sea level with terrain rising on both sides.
Not automatically, and it is worth being clear about this. A second engine gives you options, but an engine failure in a twin is a more demanding emergency than one in a single, because you must identify the failed engine, control the yaw, and make a performance decision quickly rather than simply establishing a glide. The training exists for that reason. Handled well, a twin offers real redundancy. Handled poorly, it offers a harder problem.
Currency is tracked by category and class, so takeoffs and landings in a single engine airplane do not keep you current for carrying passengers in a twin. You need three takeoffs and landings within the preceding 90 days in the same category and class, plus a flight review current within 24 calendar months and instrument currency if you intend to fly IFR. Multi engine proficiency also decays faster than most pilots expect, so periodic dual is worth budgeting.
Multi engine blocks are available and priced separately from light sport and single engine blocks, since the operating cost is substantially higher. Ask Glidepath Aviation for the current multi engine schedule and available block sizes rather than assuming the single engine ladder applies. Before you buy, confirm which aircraft the block covers, whether it is valid at both fields operating a Seminole, and what expiration or transfer terms attach to it.
Both routes work and pilots do it either way. Taking the commercial first in a single is usually cheaper, since you build the required experience at single engine rates and then add the multi engine rating afterward. Doing the commercial in a twin gets you a commercial certificate with multi engine privileges in one pass but costs considerably more per hour. Talk it through with a CFI against your actual timeline, budget, and career goal.