Are simulator portions of job interviews unfair?

In every sim eval I've had for a job all they've wanted to see is that I made an honest effort to learn their profile as best I could, I could brief a hold entry, and that my very large pitch, power, and altitude deviations got slightly less large as the sim session progressed.
 
Jesus. If I can pass a sim interview/ride/assessment/unfairevaluationofmyparentingskills, then anyone can.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I interviewed at airnet in 2008. Before I interviewed there I was flying Day VFR single engine. Knowing what the job entailed, I got instrument current in a sim and focused on IFR skills. I also did the day before prep on the sim. At the interview I did ok. I talked to BW way after the fact and although my skills at the time were demonstrably rusty, it was satisfactory. The reason I was offered the job was my attitude. From there I was able to have a successful career in single pilot ops for years.
 
Last edited:
Cherokee_Cruiser said:
Airline pilot interviews got millennial'ed. Gone are the days of sim evaluations, medical exams, ATP written exams, and technical interviews. Now it's all TMAAT and how much volunteer work you have. And because of the new format, pilots (in general) suck at interviewing and the overwhelming majority of those interviewing at the legacies have taken interview prep. So, the airlines are now subject to well-rehearsed pilots who otherwise wouldn't be like that if they weren't trained. While interviewing isn't a war, almost no one is going in without a $400 prep course. It's the new norm, for better or for worse.
Click to expand...

I'm not supporting current interview tactics. That being said, what's an airlines biggest problem with pilots? Bad pilots that crash planes or pilots who cause friction between themselves and coworkers/schedulers?
 
AAPalmTree said:
I'm not supporting current interview tactics. That being said, what's an airlines biggest problem with pilots? Bad pilots that crash planes or pilots who cause friction between themselves and coworkers/schedulers?
Click to expand...

Agree 100%

I'm glad airlines are so focused on personality. I've had to work with some real •birds in 135 and 91 but they were generally very good pilots.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
averettpilot said:
I'm curious of the result of this interview now.

Flying, whether in an actual aircraft or a sim, is simple. Make the needles do what you require them to do. If they don't cooperate, it's your fault. Since this is a requirement of any flying job, I find this type of evaluation quite reasonable.
Click to expand...
There is more to flying than just making the needles do what you want them to.

In my opinion, stick and rudder skills are overrated. You obviously need them to fly safely, but anyone who flies an airplane on a day-to-day basis has stick and rudder skills. Its the things like your attitude and habits and mindset that makes the difference between a good pilot and a bad one.
 
nbv4 said:
There is more to flying than just making the needles do what you want them to.

In my opinion, stick and rudder skills are overrated. You obviously need them to fly safely, but anyone who flies an airplane on a day-to-day basis has stick and rudder skills. Its the things like your attitude and habits and mindset that makes the difference between a good pilot and a bad one.
Click to expand...
1. Once again I'll point out this was 9 years ago.
2. Having actually done that job you were applying for, single pilot night freight: stick and rudder skills, along with attitude is what kept us alive on the back side of the clock.

Best of luck to you in this career.
 
Last edited:
scooter2525 said:
I interviewed at airnet in 2008. Before I interviewed there I was flying Day VFR single engine. Knowing what the job entailed, I got instrument current in a sim and focused on IFR skills. I also did the day before prep on the sim. At the interview I did ok. I talked to BW way after the fact and although my skills at the time were demonstrably rusty, it was satisfactory. The reason I was offered the job was my attitude. From there I was able to have a successful career in single pilot ops for years.
Click to expand...
BW was BS'ing you...you got that job cause of your drop dead sexy looks.
 
nbv4 said:
There is more to flying than just making the needles do what you want them to.

In my opinion, stick and rudder skills are overrated. You obviously need them to fly safely, but anyone who flies an airplane on a day-to-day basis has stick and rudder skills. Its the things like your attitude and habits and mindset that makes the difference between a good pilot and a bad one.
Click to expand...
Lazy 8s are overrated. Basic IFR flying is not. If you were applying to a major airline after having about 10K hours 121 and having a lengthy record of successful checkrides, then a sim
Check in a Fresca seems unnecessary. However, an entry level job, flying single pilots ops in all weather when you have 1200hrs in the pattern... seems justified. Time to make your peace with it though, that's 10 years ago.
 
Air Wisconsin interviewed someone named "Rebecca Shaw" and didn't hire her due to her lack of instrument skills on the sim eval. You might better know her as the co-pilot in Colgan 3407.

I did the same eval. It was a joke. Straight and level, some climbs, turns, a decent, and maybe an ILS.

If I were hiring for entry level jobs I would keep the sim eval. After that, if you haven't failed a checkride at the professional level, focus on the people person skills. IMO.
 
Stone Cold said:
1. Once again I'll point out this was 9 years ago.
2. Having actually done that job you were applying for, single pilot night freight, stick and rudder skills, along with attitude is what kept us alive on the back side of the clock.

Best of luck to you in this career.
Click to expand...

Truth!
 
nbv4 said:
In my opinion, stick and rudder skills are overrated. You obviously need them to fly safely, but anyone who flies an airplane on a day-to-day basis has stick and rudder skills. Its the things like your attitude and habits and mindset that makes the difference between a good pilot and a bad one.
Click to expand...

Apparently that's not the case, per the results of your sim eval.

And, to your second point? While I agree with this, you complaining about something that happened 9 years ago makes me thinking that you seem to be falling in the latter rather than the former category there.
 
For the OP, we haven't met, so I may be making an incorrect assumption here, but...
It seems that you may be a bit concerned that you will have to do a sim eval as part of a job interview soon and it has you on edge ( given your previous experience with one, and your time away from flying the past few years ).
Aside from getting some flying in to knock off the rust, and a flight review I would suggest taking the opportunity to get some time in a GTD such as an AST 300, with an instructor. Maybe start with the basics ( attitude instrument flying ), zero turbulence at first, then crank it up!
Next practice some approaches, same as the BAIF, and after you're back up to speed on that have the instructor throw in an unexpected hold here and there.
Step 1 is to get the negative experience from the past out of the front of your mind, it'll never completely go away, but don't let it intimidate you, use it as motivation instead!
There is a great group of people on this site, and if you're capable of doing the job and have a good attitude I think you will find that very few people here wouldn't honestly want you to succeed, in fact they'd be thrilled to see you do it and would be happy to be your co-workers!

I think Billy Maddison summed it up pretty well when he described the responsibilities of a pet owner.

:)

If you really want this then make it happen.
 
BobDDuck said:
Apparently that's not the case, per the results of your sim eval.
Click to expand...
Stick and rudder skills are specific to an airframe. At the time I did my Airnet interview, I had been logging 100+ hours per month for many months in a C152 as an instructor. Had the interview been in a 152 the flight would have gone perfectly. Instead it was in completely different plane where stick my rudder skills were mostly reset. Familiarity with the checklist and where the switches are located are part of stick and rudder skills along with familiarity with how the plane reacts to power+pitch changes.
 
Considering that you have been out of this game for a while and are thinking of getting back in, sitting here arguing this point with a bunch of current professional aviators is a waste of time.

You asked for opinions. You got some.

Good luck.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top