FDX LCAs
01-19-2007, 11:17 AM
#21
New Hire
Joined APC: Oct 2006
Position: FDX A300 C
Posts: 1
However, as we know, guys in the training department suffer from a real lack of creditability. Maybe this will eliminate that, by allowing (or forcing) these guys to actually fly the line with the rest of us. Personally I always had trouble accepting criticism about my VOR approach into SFS from someone who had never even been there. Or flown 3 or 4 legs a night for a week, or flew into a max-crosswind, or, or, well, you get the picture.
Before becoming a A300 flex I spent 5 years as a junior B727 Captain and 3 years as a junior A300 Captain. Everyone knows that the toughest trips are flown by the most junior crews, so I had many opportunities to fly to the "Greats" and the "Grands" in the wintertime, to TLC and other garden spots more times than I care to remember, and into many bad weather situations because some knucklehead felt sick after looking at Intellicast.
Now Jetjok, I can only assume that your seniority places you pretty near the top on the S/O bidpack. I'm sure that this seniority allows you to pick and choose the easiest trips to the nicest parts of the country having the best probability of great weather. Is your creditability slipping away? Likewise, do I have to bump only death marches to keep my street-cred? I submit to you that your past performance over a career in aviation guarantees your creditability until your present performance dictates otherwise. If not then a lot of senior people better start looking at the last page in the bidpack because their professional reputations are slowly but surely going to hell.
01-19-2007, 11:46 AM
#22
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Aug 2006
Posts: 349
Creditability is a tough thing to define. Is it the sum of your experience and performance over a career, or is it better defined as "what have you done for me lately", which is more like a "use it or lose it" philosophy.
Before becoming a A300 flex I spent 5 years as a junior B727 Captain and 3 years as a junior A300 Captain. Everyone knows that the toughest trips are flown by the most junior crews, so I had many opportunities to fly to the "Greats" and the "Grands" in the wintertime, to TLC and other garden spots more times than I care to remember, and into many bad weather situations because some knucklehead felt sick after looking at Intellicast.
Now Jetjok, I can only assume that your seniority places you pretty near the top on the S/O bidpack. I'm sure that this seniority allows you to pick and choose the easiest trips to the nicest parts of the country having the best probability of great weather. Is your creditability slipping away? Likewise, do I have to bump only death marches to keep my street-cred? I submit to you that your past performance over a career in aviation guarantees your creditability until your present performance dictates otherwise. If not then a lot of senior people better start looking at the last page in the bidpack because their professional reputations are slowly but surely going to hell.
Before becoming a A300 flex I spent 5 years as a junior B727 Captain and 3 years as a junior A300 Captain. Everyone knows that the toughest trips are flown by the most junior crews, so I had many opportunities to fly to the "Greats" and the "Grands" in the wintertime, to TLC and other garden spots more times than I care to remember, and into many bad weather situations because some knucklehead felt sick after looking at Intellicast.
Now Jetjok, I can only assume that your seniority places you pretty near the top on the S/O bidpack. I'm sure that this seniority allows you to pick and choose the easiest trips to the nicest parts of the country having the best probability of great weather. Is your creditability slipping away? Likewise, do I have to bump only death marches to keep my street-cred? I submit to you that your past performance over a career in aviation guarantees your creditability until your present performance dictates otherwise. If not then a lot of senior people better start looking at the last page in the bidpack because their professional reputations are slowly but surely going to hell.
Welcome. The lack of credibility comes not from those who have done the flying to all the "Garden" spots in our system but from those that spent their entire career in the 727 training dept then went to the 11 or Bus and amazingly in 3 months their now flexing in the new jet.
Lots of Flex guys are great. There's just alot too that have made a career out of flying the sim.
Past...
01-19-2007, 11:54 AM
#23
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Sep 2006
Position: Retired
Posts: 3,717
Creditability is a tough thing to define. Is it the sum of your experience and performance over a career, or is it better defined as "what have you done for me lately", which is more like a "use it or lose it" philosophy.
Before becoming a A300 flex I spent 5 years as a junior B727 Captain and 3 years as a junior A300 Captain. Everyone knows that the toughest trips are flown by the most junior crews, so I had many opportunities to fly to the "Greats" and the "Grands" in the wintertime, to TLC and other garden spots more times than I care to remember, and into many bad weather situations because some knucklehead felt sick after looking at Intellicast.
Now Jetjok, I can only assume that your seniority places you pretty near the top on the S/O bidpack. I'm sure that this seniority allows you to pick and choose the easiest trips to the nicest parts of the country having the best probability of great weather. Is your creditability slipping away? Likewise, do I have to bump only death marches to keep my street-cred? I submit to you that your past performance over a career in aviation guarantees your creditability until your present performance dictates otherwise. If not then a lot of senior people better start looking at the last page in the bidpack because their professional reputations are slowly but surely going to hell.
Before becoming a A300 flex I spent 5 years as a junior B727 Captain and 3 years as a junior A300 Captain. Everyone knows that the toughest trips are flown by the most junior crews, so I had many opportunities to fly to the "Greats" and the "Grands" in the wintertime, to TLC and other garden spots more times than I care to remember, and into many bad weather situations because some knucklehead felt sick after looking at Intellicast.
Now Jetjok, I can only assume that your seniority places you pretty near the top on the S/O bidpack. I'm sure that this seniority allows you to pick and choose the easiest trips to the nicest parts of the country having the best probability of great weather. Is your creditability slipping away? Likewise, do I have to bump only death marches to keep my street-cred? I submit to you that your past performance over a career in aviation guarantees your creditability until your present performance dictates otherwise. If not then a lot of senior people better start looking at the last page in the bidpack because their professional reputations are slowly but surely going to hell.
But here's the issue: I'm not involved with the training or critiquing of others. I fly the line. My seniority allows me certain advantages over my less-senior counterparts. I don't think creditability is an issue with any of the guys that earn their living hauling freight from one place to another, on an ongoing basis, but it is for guys who rarely leave the training department. That would include you, if you fall under the above statement. Sorry, but that's how I see it, and if you read the rest of the replies in this thread, many others see it the same way too.
And by the way, just to clarify my stand. I was being supportive of the effort of the training department to get all LCA doing all the jobs, because I felt it would not only help their creditability, but give some of them an appreciation of the job that we were hired to do.
It must be a credibility thing. Damn spellchecker!
01-21-2007, 05:58 AM
#25
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Sep 2006
Position: B-767
Posts: 222
I talked to a 727 LCA the other day. Sounds like only one lca guy wants to transition to "super flex" status, thats it. I guess the current lca and flex instructors have the option to be supers. The guys applying for the new jobs will be super flexs, and the training will probably be over a year. Good luck.
01-21-2007, 06:07 AM
#26
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Jul 2006
Position: A300 Captain
Posts: 257
I talked to a 727 LCA the other day. Sounds like only one lca guy wants to transition to "super flex" status, thats it. I guess the current lca and flex instructors have the option to be supers. The guys applying for the new jobs will be super flexs, and the training will probably be over a year. Good luck.
01-21-2007, 10:29 PM
#27
Nice lookin' tree, there!
Joined APC: Sep 2006
Position: Tool-Box, old man
Posts: 2,204
For my IOE I spent 10 days in Europe and Asia with a guy who was initial cadre on the MD11 here in the early nineties. Used to pick up the new planes from Long Beach. He had been an LCA for many many years, and flew hard international the whole time. I learned everything from how to find the Bon to how to taxi to the south side of CDG at night in the fog.
This guy to my knowledge never ran a sim and would laugh if you told him to. He was the best: a hard-core international guy who worked every flight to learn more about the system and the aircraft. It was a "high gain" learning experience for me.
The real risk here is - we've convinced ourselves that IOE is a mere formality - a week in an MD10 going to Dallas and back, and then over to Oahu and back for your international knowledge.
I think IOE should involve a round the world trip, with L-888 and many Subic landings. An Atlantic and a Pacific crossing. A look at Paris and Narita.
I got no problem with the LCA's going to the box, but at least one of the guys I did the box with would be inadequate doing IOE. And yes he was a captain.
LCA: The minimum ought to be 2000 hours PIC international. QED.
This guy to my knowledge never ran a sim and would laugh if you told him to. He was the best: a hard-core international guy who worked every flight to learn more about the system and the aircraft. It was a "high gain" learning experience for me.
The real risk here is - we've convinced ourselves that IOE is a mere formality - a week in an MD10 going to Dallas and back, and then over to Oahu and back for your international knowledge.
I think IOE should involve a round the world trip, with L-888 and many Subic landings. An Atlantic and a Pacific crossing. A look at Paris and Narita.
I got no problem with the LCA's going to the box, but at least one of the guys I did the box with would be inadequate doing IOE. And yes he was a captain.
LCA: The minimum ought to be 2000 hours PIC international. QED.
I couldn't agree with you more! All of the "New Guys" that I 've flown with, ( I absolutely hate the term "Purple Nuggets". Two words; ARROGANT and CONDESCENDING. IMHO ), have been wonderful. Unfortunately for them, the furthest west that they had been in training was Honolulu. We all have to do our "first" ocean crossing, but it should be done with an instructor durng I.O.E..
P.S. I think that there should be term limits of a max. of 3 years for anyone in the school house, line training or management.
fbh
01-22-2007, 05:20 AM
#28
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Sep 2006
Position: B-777 Captain
Posts: 943
Huck,
I couldn't agree with you more! All of the "New Guys" that I 've flown with, ( I absolutely hate the term "Purple Nuggets". Two words; ARROGANT and CONDESCENDING. IMHO ), have been wonderful. Unfortunately for them, the furthest west that they had been in training was Honolulu. We all have to do our "first" ocean crossing, but it should be done with an instructor durng I.O.E..
P.S. I think that there should be term limits of a max. of 3 years for anyone in the school house, line training or management.
fbh
I couldn't agree with you more! All of the "New Guys" that I 've flown with, ( I absolutely hate the term "Purple Nuggets". Two words; ARROGANT and CONDESCENDING. IMHO ), have been wonderful. Unfortunately for them, the furthest west that they had been in training was Honolulu. We all have to do our "first" ocean crossing, but it should be done with an instructor durng I.O.E..
P.S. I think that there should be term limits of a max. of 3 years for anyone in the school house, line training or management.
fbh
01-22-2007, 06:15 AM
#29
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: May 2005
Posts: 1,275
There were 2 LCA meetings this month. I think the flexes are invited this year, due to the changes. One meeting was last week and one this week. Although not all the LCAs went last week, the information is still out there.
01-22-2007, 04:07 PM
#30
Line Dawg
Joined APC: Sep 2006
Position: 777 Captain LCA
Posts: 150
Correct on the meetings. Two meetings. One last week, another this week. What is par for the course is that the principals that are directing this bi-flexual BS wouldnt show their faces. One was sitting in his office (MD for Flight Standards) and the MD for Training made an excuse to not show. Just let the department managers handle it.......they did......how's that for courageous leadership......
Even JL spoke. Rather well I might add. If you read between the lines, he wasnt consulted on the Super Flex concept. None of the guys in the trenches (LCA's or Flexes) want it. It will die on the proverbial vine....
Airbus Posting for Flex and LCA........NO TAKERS
727 ................3 applicants.....2 said no way they want to Super Flex....
Just my .02
Even JL spoke. Rather well I might add. If you read between the lines, he wasnt consulted on the Super Flex concept. None of the guys in the trenches (LCA's or Flexes) want it. It will die on the proverbial vine....
Airbus Posting for Flex and LCA........NO TAKERS
727 ................3 applicants.....2 said no way they want to Super Flex....
Just my .02
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