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KodiakRS posted:Does anyone here have first or second hand experience with the flight training programs the airlines have started in the U.S.? They seem like they might be the way to go for training if you're interested in going down the 121 route but knowing airlines they could also be overpriced pilot mills that exploit students. They haven't been around long enough to develop a reputation that I've heard about even though I fly for an airline that has one. I work for an airline that has one, and it's a bit of a mess. We don't own the flight school (it's a contract), but the deal is that students cough up the $$ for the private/instrument, then the airline will kick in up to $26k for the commercial, and then they owe the airline a certain amount of time. The problem is that we have entirely too many FO's, so the reserves never fly, so they never upgrade, so we don't actually need the people coming out of that program. To "fix" that, people in the program are being allowed to go work for an entirely different regional (which directly competes with us), and then they're allowed to bypass everyone stuck here and jump to mainline after they have the required time.
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Oct 9, 2023 03:11
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PT6A posted:We have some of those programs starting in Canada. They're between $117000 and $140000, and at the end you get a guaranteed* spot as a first officer somewhere. We have a spectacularly bad program in 'Murrica, through ATP. After you pay them $101k for your ratings, if you're too good to build time by working as a CFI or something, you can pay an additional $175,000 for 1,188 hours flying around in a 172 with some other dumb bastard who signed up for that program. This puts the total cost at ATP pretty close to what four years at a public medical school would cost, and obviously airlines are famous for being much more stable than practicing medicine.
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Oct 9, 2023 17:14
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Rolo posted:This is criminal. I took out ~88k at 22 years old, which is insane, to get my ratings and I struggled my rear end off just to pay the absolute minimum. Granted, the aviation economy sucked badly while I was starting out and it took me like 4 years to start feeling comfortably paid. I still cannot imagine having that much debt during the “gee I sure hope this career is for me” phase. Christ. I got my degree and all my training for a bit under $100k (graduated in '09) from UND, which wasn't a terrible deal at the time. For shits and giggles, I'll occasionally add up what Embry-Riddle charges, and last time I'd checked, they're up to well over $300,000, and that's assuming they don't raise prices in the intervening four years.
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Oct 9, 2023 20:09
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Arson Daily posted:this is the advice I give to anyone who asks me about getting into aviation. Heard from a friend of a friend that my airline hired a person with only a HS diploma recently. May be true, may be not, but its believable in this day and age I'd suspect it is. I know the regionals would probably hire you if you flunked out of HS, and most of the majors have dropped the degree requirement, so I'm sure at least one of them has hired someone without a degree by now.
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Oct 11, 2023 06:59
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CBJSprague24 posted:Mesa unveils a pay for time program: Since it's Mesa, I assume you have to have at least one DUI to qualify for the program, since they won't hire anyone with less than two.
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Oct 12, 2023 03:48
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cigaw posted:
I asked one of our maintenance folks about that a while ago, and their best guess was that the engine would likely try and restart, since the FADEC doesn't seem to look for fire bottle status when it runs a start cycle. The person I talked to figured the bigger issue would be whether the extinguishing agent fouls the igniters or any of the various sensors the FADEC uses to schedule fuel and air to the engine, since erroneous readings from those could trigger the hot/hung start logic the system uses to decide when to abort a start.
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Oct 25, 2023 07:41
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I've had really good luck with Ariat ropers. They hold up super well to exposure to deice fluid and other crap on the ramp, and I'll usually get about 4 years out of a pair before the sole either wears too much, or the leather finally gives up and starts cracking. I give mine a polish every couple of weeks and an occasional pass with some leather conditioner, but that's about all the upkeep they need.
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Oct 29, 2023 06:26
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hobbesmaster posted:The last couple times I’ve flown out of MSP I wondered if I was imagining things or if there were more crew members in the TSA pre line and why that’s a thing anyway. The TSA essentially tried to get rid of KCM last year (by simply random-ing everyone), and they're still pissed off that flight crews engaged in some pretty entertaining malicious compliance that forced the TSA to back down. At the height of it, I was in SJC before the big AM push, and there were probably 30-40 other crew members there. Since we were all going to get randomed anyway, everyone just went to precheck, and then absolutely refused to cut in line, since we didn't want to be rude. This ended up with the TSA supervisor literally screaming that "YOU NEED TO GO TO THE HEAD OF THE LINE!" (which was ignored), and several flights pushing a little late, all of which got blamed on the TSA.
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Nov 3, 2023 19:13
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hobbesmaster posted:You’d think that flight crews would be the at the bottom of the list of people you want to pick a malicious compliance fight with. You're forgetting that the TSA has one hell of an institutional case of "small man syndrome", and the Freedom Smurfs are very, very stupid. I fully expect the TSA to try and ban jumpseat access or something in response to the Alaska pilot trying to crash that Horizon flight, since the TSA doesn't like flight crews anyway, and they're going to be super salty that all of their "security measures" did gently caress-all (again), so they're also somewhat desperate to justify their existence. two_beer_bishes posted:gently caress the TSA. I've never been hassled while in uniform before, even the lady running the scanner asked me what the gently caress I was doing. The TSA doesn't know their own policies at all. I've repeatedly had to ask for a supervisor (and argue with said supervisor) in PDX, because they're somehow convinced that someone being randomed from KCM (on duty, in uniform) means that all the liquid restrictions apply, or that someone with a KCM badge isn't allowed to go through precheck out of uniform. Last time I went through that, I even showed them an email the TSA and Port of Portland had sent clarifying the issue, and they still wanted to argue about it. azflyboy fucked around with this message at 23:29 on Nov 3, 2023 |
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Nov 3, 2023 23:23
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vessbot posted:It's specifically not random, that's just a nickname/catchword. (Maybe it used to be random in the past? Who knows.) It's called Unpredictable Screening Procedures, and there's various triggers that'll get you on the selection train. (Whether that actually decreases unpredictability, I'll leave to the math PhD's.) The Freedom Smurfs have suspended my KCM access while they investigate whether I was going to hijack myself with a metal fork and butter knife, so I just go straight to precheck now, and they've never said a word to me about it. I may not have done myself a favor by filing an official complaint accusing one of the TSA supervisors at SMF of being "either functionally illiterate or suffering from serious memory or vision issues" (he couldn't remember anything I told him, and was totally unable to read basic information printed on my ID), but gently caress those guys and their stupid power trips.
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Nov 4, 2023 00:30
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I think they're shotgunning that out to everyone with an ATP, since I've received something similar from them. I actually got a cold call from a recruiter at Liberty University trying to hire me as a CFI, and when I asked "Do I actually have to teach, or can I just sit in a corner and watch?" they got all offended and hung up. Guess the American Taliban has no sense of humor.
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Nov 4, 2023 00:44
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vessbot posted:Except for the Enterprise Is that because it's a long road getting from there to here?
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Nov 4, 2023 20:25
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The TSA has an institutional case of "small man syndrome", and they loving hate flight crews. My KCM is currently suspended, since the TSA is investigating a highly dangerous butter knife that was in my lunch bag, so I returned the favor by filing a formal complaint accusing the TSA supervisor in question of "Suffering from significant cognitive, vision, and short term memory issues, or being partially illiterate", since the dumb bastard couldn't remember anything I told him, and seemingly couldn't understand any writing on my ID during the process.
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Nov 11, 2023 08:24
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Bob A Feet posted:So you’re the reason why I keep getting emails about butterknives through my company? Where’s that meme of the guy spreading cream cheese on a bagel with the crash ax? Actually, the day I had that happen, we got an email about the TSA going nuts on "prohibited items". My experience has been that SMF is one of the worst, since I've seen them confiscate a water bottle strap from a FA because "this metal part is a flint, and you could use it to start a fire". Said metal part was just the attachment point for the strap, and when the TSA called the local cops over because of how highly dangerous this was, the police actually laughed at the Freedom Smurfs, and declined to do anything. The Freedom Smurfs still confiscated the water bottle and photographed it as "evidence". azflyboy fucked around with this message at 21:40 on Nov 11, 2023 |
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Nov 11, 2023 21:37
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Two Kings posted:Alaska is going to have to find a way to get rid all those Airbus again and replace them with 737s. Plus, they'll have to route all the inter-island stuff through SEA, since Alaska is absolutely incapable of operating an airline with a business model that doesn't rely on everyone going to Seattle.
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Dec 3, 2023 22:45
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The last airline Alaska bought ended up with them paying $2.6 billion for what amounted to a few California gates after they closed Virgins' JFK base and sold the entire fleet, so I'm sure spending $1.9 billion for another airline with a not-Seattle base and a bunch of A321's won't have any problems.
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Dec 4, 2023 00:55
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Two Kings posted:They are eventually going to whittle the brand and carrier down so much that they will quietly eliminate it. Alaska bought Virgin because they were terrified JetBlue was going to do so, which is part of why they massively overpaid. After the fact, Alaska tried to justify the merger as "We're gonna be a national airline!" before closing JFK, and then "We're gonna take over California!" before basically giving up and making everyone go to Seattle, so the track record isn't great. Since Hawaiian isn't in great financial shape and Alaska says the deal is profitable in two years, there's likely quite a few "here's how much we jack up fares" emails at both carriers that the DOJ is going to have a lot of fun with.
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Dec 4, 2023 01:55
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Two Kings posted:US major Airline pilot contracts generally don’t allow you to keep separate pilot lists and contracts. AAG likely wants to keep Hawaiian and Alaska as separate airlines under the same holding company, which is how they've operated Horizon and Alaska for the last few decades. Whether the Alaska contract allows that, I don't know, but it's successfully allowed AAG to do some really creative accounting by shifting money between Alaska and Horizon to juice quarterly numbers when required.
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Dec 4, 2023 03:50
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cigaw posted:Both are ALPA carriers and have Merging clauses in their respective PWA. A joint working agreement and eventual seniority list merge will have to be worked out, but Hawaiian internal comms are stating that livery and branding are to remain separate. Horizon technically had its' own branding and livery until a few years ago, so taking the same "legally separate, but not really" approach with Hawaiian seems like the "best case" for AAG, in which case Hawaiian will end up with a "president" who is basically just a figurehead responsible for doing whatever the AAG board decides. Keeping the companies separate also makes it way easier for AAG to do creative accounting, since they'll simply set up a completely opaque system whereby Alaska, Hawaiian, and Horizon all bill each other for things like ramp space, GSE use, gate agents, etc..., which lets them move large amounts of money around in order to either make one carrier look more or less profitable, or avoid triggering a bonus payout to employees. Two Kings posted:
That may not be a too big an ask. Alaska sold the American deal as "Look at all the places you can go from Seattle on American!", but American has basically given up on Seattle, so I'd assume the American codeshare is way less valuable than being able to raise Hawaii fares and get a stranglehold on inter-island flying. azflyboy fucked around with this message at 04:19 on Dec 4, 2023 |
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Dec 4, 2023 04:13
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Alaska tried a price war with Southwest after buying Virgin (Alaska wanted to take over California), and it didn't go well for Team Eskimo.
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Dec 4, 2023 05:35
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Be wary of any place that wants a bunch of money up front. It's not unheard of (not sure about your area specifically) for flight schools to do "block rates", where you put down something like $1000 at a time in exchange for a lower hourly rate, but if there's places wanting $5-10k up front, or promising a "fixed cost" for the entire PPL, they're probably up to something. The other thing to be aware of is that the Jeppesen private pilot textbook is a huge rip off. All they're doing is repackaging a couple of FAA publications (the airplane flying handbook and pilot's handbook of aeronautical knowledge) that are free online with shiny pictures and some questions at the end, and then charging $90 for it. If you haven't already, it's probably worth making sure you can pass the relevant medical exam for what you're wanting to do before you throw a lot of money at it, since FAA medical standards are incredibly obtuse, and there's a quite a few seemingly innocuous questions ("Have you talked to a therapist?") that can make your life absolute hell depending on how they're answered.
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Dec 4, 2023 23:58
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Kwolok posted:Thanks for the input. Would it be weird for me to request flying both at some point at the flight school? I think trying my hand at either might be the best thing to do. It's not a bad idea at all, since you might find out that there's a problem with the ergonomics or something for you in one type. At the risk of sounding like a smartass, the cost of hobby flying is basically whatever you want to make it. A lot of places have a currency requirement for renters, and flying is a fairly perishable skill, so if you're just flying an hour a month, you'll probably maintain a base level of competency, but more is better, obviously within what you can afford. If you decide you like the whole flying thing, you could also look into joining a flying club or buying a partial share of an airplane, so renting from a school isn't your only option once you have a license.
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Dec 7, 2023 06:45
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It'll be the same rental cost for the airplane, since the instructor is usually not included in that price.
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Dec 7, 2023 07:09
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Kwolok posted:What are you're all's opinions on the A20's vs Zulu3 vs One-X's? These are the three I am considering. If you can find a place that sells those headsets, go try them on, since headsets fit and comfort is pretty subjective, and a lot comes down to what's comfortable for you. Bose pretty much invented ANR headsets, but you're mostly paying for the name at this point, since the A20 is pretty old, they're pretty spendy, and some people find them a bit uncomfortable because of the hinge in the middle. I own a set of A20's, and they're comfortable enough to get through days with 6 hours of flying, but the plastic they're made from isn't the most durable thing, and I had the cord fail under warranty, which was otherwise a $300 part, because Bose pricing is "gently caress you, that's why". David Clark famously builds their headsets to last (I've got a basic model that needed nothing more complex than new ear seals and a mic cover after a decade of hard use), and their customer service is usually really good, but I don't know much about their ANR models, but they seem to be pretty well reviewed. I've never used a LightSpeed headset (they aren't TSO'ed, which means airlines don't allow them), but they have a reputation for being essentially as good as Bose (although the cables apparently tend to develop faults over time because they're a little on the thin side), for a much better price. azflyboy fucked around with this message at 10:00 on Dec 8, 2023 |
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Dec 8, 2023 09:57
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There's a charter company out of Denmark that uses "Mermaid" as a callsign. That one took me bit to figure out.
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Dec 11, 2023 21:00
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There's a charter place out of California that uses "Twilight". Poor bastards are probably sick of sparkly vampire jokes by now.
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Dec 11, 2023 23:37
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Kwolok posted:Totally, I think it's going to be hard to pick. I love how the piper Archer looks, and the throttle on it seems way nicer to use, but I feel like the cessna is a safer plane and having more downward visibility feels nice... The safety records for the 172 and Warrior/Archer/Cherokee are similar enough that neither airplane of a similar vintage is inherently safer, since they both have advantages and disadvantages, and most of the accidents they're involved in are down to pilot error of various kinds.
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Dec 17, 2023 01:50
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When I was instructing, I had to talk a guy out of buying a Cessna TTX to learn to fly in, since the resulting maintenance bills would have been absolutely astronomical, it wasn't clear the guy could have even obtained insurance, and I really didn't want to test out how good my personal liability policy was.
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Dec 17, 2023 20:42
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Rolo posted:My understanding is it’s a mandatory part of the uniform. I know someone who didn't get a Delta job on their first interview because they incorrectly answered "what would you do if the captain isn't wearing their hat?". Apparently the correct answer was some version of "freak the gently caress out because this signifies the end times are upon us".
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Dec 23, 2023 07:32
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From what I can find, annual Avgas consumption in the US is somewhere around 186 million gallons, which is slightly over half the amount of unleaded gas consumed *daily* in the US. It's obviously not great for people doing fuelling or career flight instructors, but since we know lead is dangerous, small children aren't generally exposed to avgas, and most people in aviation won't have any significant exposure outside of flying GA airplanes, I'm pretty sure most of us are more likely to end up with health issues from various "forever" chemicals than from avgas.
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Dec 24, 2023 06:44
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Kwolok posted:Take off, sure, but landing? Probably the closest you can get to that is what's known as a hand flown CAT III approach, and even that requires some level of visual reference to actually land. Those approaches are almost always done via autoland, but I worked for one of the few airlines that hand-flew them, which was required because the autopilot on our airplanes wasn't sophisticated enough to do autoland. Our minimums were a 50' ceiling and 600 RVR (basically 600ft of horizontal visibility), which isn't a lot at 120kt, so we used a HUD for all of our cues for the landing flare and guidance on the first part of the landing rollout.
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Dec 26, 2023 14:48
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St_Ides posted:I don't think any civilian airports operate them in Canada. Not sure about the US There's a handful of joint-use airports that have PAR's in the US, but I don't know if any strictly civilian airports do.
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Dec 26, 2023 15:24
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Autolands are a little weird to see in action. On our E-175's, all we need to do to autoland is tell the airplane to use a higher approach speed, set both of the minimums switches to RA, dial in the correct minimums, and then push the APP button. Assuming we remember to extend the flaps and gear, somewhere between 1000' and 500', the autoland system kicks in and activates a dedicated yaw servo, after which, my job is just to watch and make sure it's not doing anything weird. At about 50ft, the airplane automatically flares itself and retards the power levers to land, but once it touches down, I still have to engage the thrust reversers and hit the autopilot disconnect button, since the AP kicks off automatically four seconds after touchdown, and keeps giving an "AUTOPILOT, AUTOPILOT, AUTOPILOT" aural warning until the disconnect is pressed to shut it up.
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Dec 26, 2023 19:45
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Do they not do autoland? I'm pretty sure Alaska's 737's can autoland, so I'd just assumed that was what everyone else did.
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Dec 26, 2023 20:02
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"FICON 5/5/5, 10% turds"
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Jan 3, 2024 08:36
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CBJSprague24 posted:Aero Crew News says APA is starting a committee to look at folding American's regionals into mainline itself. Assuming the story is true, this was just a case of which of the majors was going to blink first. The most recent round of pay bumps have completely broken the "traditional" regional business model, since regionals had to double (or better) their starting pay, which results in a situation where airlines with a wholly-owned regional are now spending way more on payroll, for an airline that's generally pretty crippled by scope, so merging it gives the parent company an opportunity to fill the gaps between the 76 seat RJ's and the ~150 seat 737/A320 that everyone but Delta currently has.
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Jan 4, 2024 04:59
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KodiakRS posted:APA has not been handling it well at all and has resorting to scare tactics like this: That's almost as entertaining as Delta putting up those "look how many video games you can buy instead of paying union dues!" posters a few years ago.
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Jan 4, 2024 19:33
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Rolo posted:TSA goon just straight up catcalled 2 of the FA’s I walked out with. It was creepy and lame as poo poo. Correct response is "Don't you have grandmas to fondle?"
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Jan 6, 2024 18:58
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Kwolok posted:Realistically, if I'm just a basic GA pilot who isn't allowed to receive payment from my passengers, do you ever get in trouble for things like, "yeah I didn't accept payment from my passengers but they bought me lunch and dinner" kinda thing? The FAA doesn't have the resources (or willingness) to go after the vast majority of that kind of thing, so what gets people in trouble is publicly announcing that you'll fly people for compensation, getting involved in accident, or doing something blatant enough that a legitimate charter operator reports you to the FAA. There's a bunch of precedent that "compensation" is basically whatever the FAA says it is (they've successfully argued "goodwill" counts), but if it's just what you're describing, the FAA won't care unless you're doing something really blatant and/or stupid.
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Jan 14, 2024 20:54
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Yep, there's also some for parts of Alaska as well.
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Jan 14, 2024 22:22
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