Low regional mins
04-20-2007, 07:23 AM
#12
Line Holder
Joined APC: Mar 2006
Position: CRJ-200/700
Posts: 74
I agree as well, wait it out. I believe everyone should pay their dues no matter what profession they choose but in our case especially becoming a professional pilot. And that doesn't mean just getting your tickets. You should sweat it out a little while in a small single engine plane doing CFIing or approaches down to mins, while building your multi on the side or in your case MEIing. I personally skipped the whole CFIing thing and built over 1000 hours flying skydivers. I had an absolute blast doing it, plus when the day was over I was basically paid out in beer and drank the night away with the other pilots, skydivers and the boss while sharing the stories of that day. I can honestly say that I hand flew all my hours up to the point where I got hired on to the airlines, where I was around 1400tt or so. To this day, I still hand fly the jet up to 18k on my legs and sometimes below 10k depending on workload, it makes it more fun plus I miss the piloting feel. AP is just a tool and you can tend to forget that after a while.
Beyond all that, right now your experience level is really not very high and it may make it more difficult for you throughout sim training and especially going through your first hundred or so hours after IOE. IOE captains are there to train you, that is what they get paid for. Regular line captains expect you to know what you are doing and don't want to baby sit you. Dont get me wrong they will help you but after several mistakes, especially the same ones over and over again, the captain (at their will) may write you up and then you have to deal with retraining and a possible carpet dance with the Chief Pilot or the Feds blah blah blah...
Moral of the story is get experience however you want and have fun doing it! You will be much more respected on the line and feel much more ready when "your time" comes. Good luck to you!
Beyond all that, right now your experience level is really not very high and it may make it more difficult for you throughout sim training and especially going through your first hundred or so hours after IOE. IOE captains are there to train you, that is what they get paid for. Regular line captains expect you to know what you are doing and don't want to baby sit you. Dont get me wrong they will help you but after several mistakes, especially the same ones over and over again, the captain (at their will) may write you up and then you have to deal with retraining and a possible carpet dance with the Chief Pilot or the Feds blah blah blah...
Moral of the story is get experience however you want and have fun doing it! You will be much more respected on the line and feel much more ready when "your time" comes. Good luck to you!
04-20-2007, 09:54 PM
#14
Line Holder
Joined APC: Apr 2007
Position: Holds down the fort
Posts: 41
Im not a pilot myself, but I agree with pp's....wait it out and get more experience, and build some hours! My dh had about 700 hrs of Flight instructing before he got hired on with GCA flying airtours over the grand canyon. It really helped him build time, and he got vital turbine time as well....He just got hired by skywest, and couldnt be happier! He feels he made the right decision for his career by holding out a bit longer. 
04-21-2007, 02:23 AM
#15
Moderator
Joined APC: May 2006
Position: ATP, CFI etc.
Posts: 6,056
I have several flight instructors at at ExpressJet. While they like the company, neither reports the life is all that great and one of them reports he is going to look for a cargo job. That does not reflect on XJet but it reflects on regionals. I have come to the conclusion seniority at a regional is less inportant than choosing one you can put up with for a few years. I am not very tempted to apply to low min regionals and am spending my weekends tossing out airheads to build time. It's as much fun as it sounds (a lot). I am working on my CFI ticket, but since I live 45 miles from a flight school I do not plan to use it.
Last edited by Cubdriver; 04-21-2007 at 02:30 AM.
04-21-2007, 05:21 AM
#16
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: May 2006
Position: WB Bunkie
Posts: 1,246
Being a good pilot is about composure, perspective and respect. As I'm sure you've seen almost anybody can be taught to manipulate flight controls.
A good pilot must have composure in all situations, especially emergencies. As an airline pilot you will face hairy situations like ILS down to mins with low fuel. As a flight instructor you may deal with a student losing control of the A/C during a crosswind landing close to the ground. Some people have this trait at 250 hours, some need to build confidence in themselves to get composure, quite a few never have it and get frantic in tough situations.
You also need to have perspective. When sorting out a tough situation while in the air, sometimes you need to put priority on a few key issues and learn to put the rest on hold. When a real emergency comes up you never want to act too quickly, but often a timely decision must be made. Composure is a prerequisite for perspective.
Finally you need to have respect. You must appreciate the roles of all crew members, company employees, controllers, etc. Interpersonal relationships and CRM make up the vast majority of your day. If you can learn how to be tactful, assertive, polite and respectful at the same time then you'll be great!
The bottome line is, the jump from a skyhawk to a RJ is going to be a big one no matter how many hours you have. Fact is, some people are ready for it sooner than others. You may have the skills needed right now, some may have them at 800 hours, some may never get them (but will still be out there flying jets). 600 TT with 250 Jet is going to make you a lot more competitive at XJet than 600 TT with 300 dual given. But if you do go for a regional at 250 hours, make sure you're ready because a lot of people aren't ready for them that soon and failing training is never a good thing
A good pilot must have composure in all situations, especially emergencies. As an airline pilot you will face hairy situations like ILS down to mins with low fuel. As a flight instructor you may deal with a student losing control of the A/C during a crosswind landing close to the ground. Some people have this trait at 250 hours, some need to build confidence in themselves to get composure, quite a few never have it and get frantic in tough situations.
You also need to have perspective. When sorting out a tough situation while in the air, sometimes you need to put priority on a few key issues and learn to put the rest on hold. When a real emergency comes up you never want to act too quickly, but often a timely decision must be made. Composure is a prerequisite for perspective.
Finally you need to have respect. You must appreciate the roles of all crew members, company employees, controllers, etc. Interpersonal relationships and CRM make up the vast majority of your day. If you can learn how to be tactful, assertive, polite and respectful at the same time then you'll be great!
The bottome line is, the jump from a skyhawk to a RJ is going to be a big one no matter how many hours you have. Fact is, some people are ready for it sooner than others. You may have the skills needed right now, some may have them at 800 hours, some may never get them (but will still be out there flying jets). 600 TT with 250 Jet is going to make you a lot more competitive at XJet than 600 TT with 300 dual given. But if you do go for a regional at 250 hours, make sure you're ready because a lot of people aren't ready for them that soon and failing training is never a good thing
04-21-2007, 09:47 AM
#18
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Apr 2006
Posts: 657
Being a good pilot is about composure, perspective and respect. As I'm sure you've seen almost anybody can be taught to manipulate flight controls.
A good pilot must have composure in all situations, especially emergencies. As an airline pilot you will face hairy situations like ILS down to mins with low fuel. As a flight instructor you may deal with a student losing control of the A/C during a crosswind landing close to the ground. Some people have this trait at 250 hours, some need to build confidence in themselves to get composure, quite a few never have it and get frantic in tough situations.
You also need to have perspective. When sorting out a tough situation while in the air, sometimes you need to put priority on a few key issues and learn to put the rest on hold. When a real emergency comes up you never want to act too quickly, but often a timely decision must be made. Composure is a prerequisite for perspective.
Finally you need to have respect. You must appreciate the roles of all crew members, company employees, controllers, etc. Interpersonal relationships and CRM make up the vast majority of your day. If you can learn how to be tactful, assertive, polite and respectful at the same time then you'll be great!
The bottome line is, the jump from a skyhawk to a RJ is going to be a big one no matter how many hours you have. Fact is, some people are ready for it sooner than others. You may have the skills needed right now, some may have them at 800 hours, some may never get them (but will still be out there flying jets). 600 TT with 250 Jet is going to make you a lot more competitive at XJet than 600 TT with 300 dual given. But if you do go for a regional at 250 hours, make sure you're ready because a lot of people aren't ready for them that soon and failing training is never a good thing
A good pilot must have composure in all situations, especially emergencies. As an airline pilot you will face hairy situations like ILS down to mins with low fuel. As a flight instructor you may deal with a student losing control of the A/C during a crosswind landing close to the ground. Some people have this trait at 250 hours, some need to build confidence in themselves to get composure, quite a few never have it and get frantic in tough situations.
You also need to have perspective. When sorting out a tough situation while in the air, sometimes you need to put priority on a few key issues and learn to put the rest on hold. When a real emergency comes up you never want to act too quickly, but often a timely decision must be made. Composure is a prerequisite for perspective.
Finally you need to have respect. You must appreciate the roles of all crew members, company employees, controllers, etc. Interpersonal relationships and CRM make up the vast majority of your day. If you can learn how to be tactful, assertive, polite and respectful at the same time then you'll be great!
The bottome line is, the jump from a skyhawk to a RJ is going to be a big one no matter how many hours you have. Fact is, some people are ready for it sooner than others. You may have the skills needed right now, some may have them at 800 hours, some may never get them (but will still be out there flying jets). 600 TT with 250 Jet is going to make you a lot more competitive at XJet than 600 TT with 300 dual given. But if you do go for a regional at 250 hours, make sure you're ready because a lot of people aren't ready for them that soon and failing training is never a good thing
OLD Airline pilots are WISE (Because they have seen and experienced a lot and haven't killed themselves or their passengers.)
YOUNG PILOTS are impatient, excited and cocky.
TIME builds WISDOM. One needs wisdom to be a good Airline Pilot.
04-21-2007, 07:54 PM
#19
Swearing at the FMA
Joined APC: Jun 2006
Position: MD-88 FO
Posts: 902
Whatever you choose, make sure that you are well-rounded. By instructing and chasing experience via various internships, one gains a lot more experience, not just in the logbook, but also in terms of life experience...and those types of folks are a lot more fun/useful on a 5 day trip.
04-24-2007, 05:57 AM
#20
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Nov 2005
Posts: 108
If I had to go the route you're following, I would have taken the summer (this summer).. go to FL and fly banners or traffic watch. You'll get another 300 hrs by Sep, then go to a company that will put me in a seat where I can upgrade to a ME Pic cargo job. PIC is king.. 1,000 PIC in a BE99 and you can apply to FedEx while your peer at XYZ air is still sitting in the right seat. You may even build enough turbine and PIC to be a DEC at a regional down the road. The opportunity is there if you are patient.
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