Im curious about the 5 hour cockpit requirement. Is it as exciting as it sounds? Are you suppose to just observe or do you actually have to fill anything out during or after. Do pilots have to spend any time with dispatchers to see their side? Flying in the cockpit would be a dream to me. I was just wondering if it is as cool as it sounds and what can I expect when I go to do it. Any details or good stories would be great to hear about.
5 hour requirement
- Thread starter omapilot
- Start date
thewaffles
Well-Known Member
It's a pretty cool perk to have that as a dispatcher, at my company pretty much all of the pilots have been welcoming and friendly. I recently did my FAM ride down to SXM and then to SJU, boy was that a great experience. The crews I was with were having a good time and educating me as we went. On the other side, we do get some pilots that come to the office, but not too often since we're not as close to the airport as we used to be. Generally when I jumpseat, most pilots have no idea as to how stuff goes on in our office.
Mach82
Well-Known Member
Yes,you are expected to turn a 1 page essay on what you learned.
HAHA! just kidding. It's usually a piece of paper that the captain fills out stating flight #, dep airport, arrival airport, etc.Every once in awhile a class of new pilots stop by to see the SOC and get a shock that a dispatcher isn't responsible for just their flight. Some keep this in mind when they hit the line and try to avoid the silly time wasting ACARS messages.
Don't expect a big comfy seat to sit in. Bring sunglasses, sunscreen, and camera! They don't serve Mai Tai's
. If you do bring a camera to take photos, ask the crew beforehand if they are ok with it.
izanti
Well-Known Member
My first time like most peoples, I had no idea what I was doing and it was over way to fast!
Now though I am sad to say I have hundreds of jump seats under my belt and is more of a hassle than fun. Dont get me wrong I still love every minute being up front but after double commuting for over a year and half I got a little burnt out. I think last year alone I jump seated 100+ times, (KXXX-KATL-KXYZ) so it was a hassle to get home and back to work each week.
To answer your post Omapilot, if you like flying, you will love your FAM flights. You get first hand experience of what these complex airplanes are like to handle and hopefully you will get a good crew. I cannot repeat half the stuff I have seen done in the cockpits on a half dozen different carriers. You will just half to see for yourself. Its usual a great time unless you get a captain who doesn't want to talk or doesn't want you there.
Keep in mind too many captains will expect you to participate as part of the crew because essentially if you are occupying that seat, you are part of the crew. Wear a headset if offered, call out traffic if seen and watch for missed radio calls.
Good luck.
manniax
Well-met in the Ka-tet
Jumpseating is one of those benefits that sounds really cool at first, and after you do it a few times the luster kind of wears off. That being said, I have been to some cool destinations while doing my annual jumpseat requirement. (Europe, Trinidad, Hawaii, etc. although it wasn't until I got to a major that I started being able to choose cool places like that as my destination.) Also, it's nice to have in your "back pocket" as a way to get somewhere if the flight is full, as long as your carrier is in CASS. I have never had any strong desire to fly professionally so the "thrill" of being up front may be less for me than for other people, but it is still pretty cool. Biggest frustration is when you have gate agents or flight crew members who are not aware that dispatchers can jumpseat - this is generally only a factor for when you're trying to ride somewhere on your days off, though.
It's just like anything else; the first time you do it, it is new and exciting. The 100th time not so much. For me the best part of jumpseating was having something to occupy my time during the flight. I found that occupying the jumpseat made any flight more tolerable. I think I would rather have ridden a 5 hour flight up front, than a 45 minute one in back.
I still enjoy it after 5 years. The key is to build up good rapport with the crews and by the time you're due for your second year flight you'll know who to go with. At that point you should also have some more information and questions for the crews to make it more educational.
Krystal
Dispatch Betty
The JS ride can be the coolest thing ever (my most recent) or you spend 5 hours ready to strangle yourself with your headset cord. Depends on the crew, where youre going, how long it is. I must say, though, I NEVER get tired of it. As a commuter, I find myself in the Jump often and its always a treat.
Neither of the airlines Ive worked for made the pilots come in to observe dispatchers and its certainly not a legal requirement...although I really think it should be a legally required part of training for 121 pilots. They should be made to sit with a dispatcher during a major "push" (Mid morning, mid afternoon, evening) and on a bad wx or mx day would be better. Most of the time, they guys have no idea what we're actually doing behind the scenes. (Hint: we aint sippin' wine and watching Martha Stewart, boys!) Ive had a few of my pilot friends (from both my company and others) drop by SOC and sit with me for awhile... what they see usually surprises them and they have always left saying that they definately learned things that they will take out onto the line with them.
Neither of the airlines Ive worked for made the pilots come in to observe dispatchers and its certainly not a legal requirement...although I really think it should be a legally required part of training for 121 pilots. They should be made to sit with a dispatcher during a major "push" (Mid morning, mid afternoon, evening) and on a bad wx or mx day would be better. Most of the time, they guys have no idea what we're actually doing behind the scenes. (Hint: we aint sippin' wine and watching Martha Stewart, boys!) Ive had a few of my pilot friends (from both my company and others) drop by SOC and sit with me for awhile... what they see usually surprises them and they have always left saying that they definately learned things that they will take out onto the line with them.
Legacy United had (not sure anyone) a requirement for pilots to go to Elk Grove and observe a desk(s) for a day. I'm not exactly sure about the details but I think it was an open invitation for all pilots and a requirement for "Baby Captains" before/during their transition time.
It wasn't a requirement at my last two carries and in fact a pilot once made a facebook comment on one of our crew scheduler's pictures of WHQ, on the airline's last day of operations, saying he would have never guessed that it what it looked like. Big difference compared to L-UAL.
As others have said, the FAM rides can be really cool if you get the right guys. I got to preflight the Airbus MCDU the entire evening on my first FAM ride. My other one was with a great dude who I had just spent the entire afternoon with in the sim before the flight. We talked a ton.
I once jumpseated on a AA757 to MIA during a FAA line check. Before push, I thought it was going to be a very "long" flight but it turns out the FAA was super cool and it ended up being a great flight and a lot of fun. The FAA inspector was actually fun to talk to since he had been on the ETOPS certification team for the airline that was under our same holding company.
It wasn't a requirement at my last two carries and in fact a pilot once made a facebook comment on one of our crew scheduler's pictures of WHQ, on the airline's last day of operations, saying he would have never guessed that it what it looked like. Big difference compared to L-UAL.
As others have said, the FAM rides can be really cool if you get the right guys. I got to preflight the Airbus MCDU the entire evening on my first FAM ride. My other one was with a great dude who I had just spent the entire afternoon with in the sim before the flight. We talked a ton.
I once jumpseated on a AA757 to MIA during a FAA line check. Before push, I thought it was going to be a very "long" flight but it turns out the FAA was super cool and it ended up being a great flight and a lot of fun. The FAA inspector was actually fun to talk to since he had been on the ETOPS certification team for the airline that was under our same holding company.