milehigh1976

I am considering accepting an instructor position at the Sierra Academy in Atwater, CA located at Castle airport, formerly Castle Air Force Base. I am soliciting any and all input from current or former CFI's. Speak freely.

rickair7777

Flown in there once or twice. If you're not from the area, ask about how the ground fog affects their flight ops. You might be effectively unemployed for days (weeks?) on end at certain times of the year if you can't depart in 0/0 conditions (which is legal in 61, if not a great idea).

milehigh1976

Apparently, morning fog occurs a lot in the winter...probably mountain slope stuff; KMER is in a valley with elevation of like 191 feet.

DBSociety

Did you take the position?

clipperskipper

They operate the Alarus AMD 2000 which has some very positive feedback as a primary
and IFR trainer.

milehigh1976

I did accept the position. I have mixed feedback.
The chief flight instructor is awesome. The flight instructor cadre is very solid. The mechanic knows his shiznit.

The aircraft are old. C152 for pvt, The alarus for Inst and the PA44 for multi-comm. I'm not gonna lie, I hate the fleet. The fleet sucks something fierce.

Operations are very organized and they have their sights on the ball. The owners seem to be bean counters and cripple the entire organization from maximizing potential.

The fleet sucks something fierce. We do have a King Air 90 which is in great condition (that is the exception to the ****ty fleet)...but get your hopes up not...the chief and the assist. chief are the only ones to teach in that bad boy.

The airport kicks butt...it's the old castle air force base. The feds have dumped so much money intothis airport. Very well maintained class D airport. I am pleased to be instructing in a towered field.

The students are sharp and the only drawback is a language barrier. This flight school contracts with Chinese airlines who send their new hires with zero time over here for their initial training.

We send them back to China with a brand new 250 hour commercial multi ticket, they get typed in the A320, B737...and in some cases the A340 (seriously...an FO on a wide body right out the gates? Remind me not to travel to China...ever!)

The Chinese system is different. For the FO's first year, they are the NFP for every leg. Their position is a junior FO. After a year of probation, they upgrade to a full flegged FO and then touch the flight controls and fly legs, acting as a true SIC...not just FMS/radio operator.

As as instructor for someone who has their career all planned out for them, it is a great challenge.

The jury is still out if I am content here. The living conditions are in the old NCO dorms leftover from the air force. Why they don't have instructors in the old officer quarters is beyond me, but I think it has a lot to do with not spending money.

Did I mention the fleet sucks? It's bad. If I leave before I get out of this job what I intend to earn, it will be because the fleet wasn't worth the risk. I question the aircraft every day.

jhugz

I've done Chinese contract instruction for the better part of the last year. PM if you have any questions. Do they still have that craptastic pay scale where you only get paid after each course completion?

DBSociety

That has to come from the manufacturers website. Anyone who has flown this piece of junk knows the real deal. Sierra won't even use them for trainers and the only reason the go (simulated) IFR is because of the 430.

Heres a few quotes from another board...
These were all separate posters and hardly a fraction of what was being said. Best thing is they don't make them anymore so all you can do is cannabalize parts from the ones they crash. I'm sure milehigh could chime in about how many Alari they have in the boneyard there at Castle.

flynmonkey

I know this is a late response, and I don't like posting to these forums due to the fact that most things said are from disgruntled or disillusioned ex-employees. I am an ex-employee and will try my best to be unbiased and fair. My experience there was great, at FIRST but that changed into the worse job experience that I ever had. I have over 500 hours in the alarus ch 2000t, my opinion is that it shouldn't be certificated. I had way to many failures with engines and nav equipment, mostly with nav equipment in imc. The company owner disregarded his own contract and continuously cut pay (illegally) and at the same time increased our rent. At the time we had over 100 instructors and over 250 students, after that most everybody left. The best twin engine they have is 5AB or it was then. They have had several issues, but I won't go into details, you can look it up and see for yourself. My only advice is be very very CAREFUL, when the time comes the owner of that company will NOT hesitate one second to turn on you and or put you or your certificate in Jeopardy. This is my opinion based on the experience I had there. I wish you the best.

milehigh1976

Boy, oh boy were you right. This winter has been abnormal in the sense that the fog in the San Joaquin Valley lingered longer, was denser, and was around more frequently than in past winters. It was poverty and those poor students had inconsistent training due to weather cancellations.

Nevertheless, those that sustained the period grew stronger. It is cool now.