Multi-engine time building remains one of the most persistent logistical and financial challenges facing pilots transitioning from single-engine ratings toward professional or turbine careers. The scenario described — two pilots seeking a facility that will allow unsupervised, dual-pilot flight in a light twin to accumulate roughly 20 hours each — reflects a well-worn strategy in the certificated pilot community. The approach is broadly legal under FAR Part 61, provided both pilots hold at minimum a private certificate with a multi-engine land rating, and the operating facility authorizes such use under its rental or leaseback agreements. Finding an FBO or flight school willing to release a twin-engine aircraft without an instructor on board, however, has become progressively more difficult as insurance underwriters have tightened requirements on multi-engine rentals over the past decade.
The insurance dimension is the central friction point in this type of arrangement. Most flight schools and FBOs that operate light twins — typically Piper Senecas, Beechcraft Duchesses, or occasionally Piper Aztecs — face hull and liability premiums that are substantially higher than comparable single-engine aircraft, and insurers frequently mandate minimum total time, multi-engine time, or recent flight review requirements before allowing solo or dual-student operations without a CFI aboard. Facilities that do permit "buddy flights" in twins tend to be smaller leaseback operators or independent owners who rent through informal arrangements, rather than established flight academies. Pilots pursuing this strategy are advised to contact FBOs directly, ask specifically about their insurance minimums, and be prepared to demonstrate logged multi-engine PIC or SIC time from a prior checkout.
From a career-building standpoint, multi-engine time in piston aircraft holds diminishing but still real value depending on the pilot's intended trajectory. Regional airline hiring, which has rebounded strongly through the mid-2020s alongside continued demand for ATP-certificate holders, values total multi-engine time as part of the overall logbook profile, even when that time is accumulated in a Duchess rather than a turboprop. For pilots pursuing fractional or Part 135 charter operations in light jets or turboprops, the multi-engine background demonstrates basic systems familiarity and crew coordination awareness, even if the specific aircraft type carries little direct weight. The strategy of flying with a safety pilot or co-pilot to split costs while building time simultaneously is also a practical response to the ongoing cost escalation in flight training, where light twin wet rental rates in many U.S. markets now exceed $250–$350 per hour.
The broader trend underlying this inquiry is the increasing difficulty of finding affordable, accessible piston multi-engine training aircraft as the fleet ages and replacement becomes economically impractical for most operators. The Beechcraft Duchess production line closed in 1982, and the Piper Seneca, while still nominally in production, is rarely acquired new by training operations. Maintenance costs on aging airframes, combined with parts availability challenges and rising insurance minimums, have caused many flight schools to exit the piston twin market entirely, redirecting students toward simulator-based multi-engine training or accelerating them directly into turbine-type courses. For pilots who still seek traditional piston multi time, geographic flexibility — including willingness to travel to smaller regional airports with active leaseback communities — is increasingly a prerequisite to finding the kind of arrangement described.