Colgan just hired street captain

The fed said,"I'm only down here because somebody tried to hot fuel a DH8." Could have been Piedmont or somebody else, I don't know.

I don't know about Dash 8-400. If my memory serve me, there is no procedures for "hot refueling" for our dash 100 and 300. :) For some of older model PDT has, they just need ground power to refueling.

By the way, after nose wheel accident, PDT got its share of FAA observation also.
 
Agreed, people get too worked up over these things.


I know guys. Wait till the facts come out. Who knows if this is true and like many rumors here it is probably not. But if this guy left Colgan as a captain and is coming back are we 100% correct in calling him a "street captain" ? he could be still be current and in that case all we are doing is reallly just giving a former co-worker his job back at the bottom of the seniority list. Not totally a bad thing. Maybe he got his dream job and then got furloughed right away, entirely possible in this economy. I personally would not mind helping out a fellow pilot if this was the case. Now if Colgan has to spend the entire amount of money on him that it would take to upgrade an existing FO than that is another story.

The one thing I have learned at Colgan is that if you leave on good terms they will do their best to take you back if possible.

Personally I hope the Street Captain thing is something of the past. I had a chance to fly with a few of these guys. All of them were very experienced in the Saab and no problems at all but there were a couple one in particular-BAD FOR BABY. Still cleaning the stains out of the underwear.
 
While everyone is entitled to their opinion, and I'm not saying your necessarily wrong, I might suggest that such open bashing a fellow co-worker may come back to bite you in the ass. Personally, I was not there, nor do I know all the details so I will reserve my personal judgement at this time.

Just a thought...;)


Unfortunately, I am familiar with the details of the hot refuelling incident among others that have occured recently on both types of aircraft. And, I stand by my statement on the stupidity of the crew in that case. We have had way too many people "coloring outside the lines" and it has created a real perception that we are a bunch of cowboys. I am quite familiar with the fuel manual, and have sat in both seats. I also flew in the military and routinely hot refuelled both at-sea and ashore. There is no reason to hot refuel a "Q"...
And Tuck n' Truck is right on all counts.
 
only because ramen noodles are losing their taste appeal. Being a regional FO esp. at Colgan is not fun.

Try boiling a hotdog with it, tastes pretty good and the hotdog water adds to the "spices". i've lived off of ramen and personally wish I had some good old american ramen, not this indian werid crap.

=Jason-
 
So? Is he qualified? Is there a shortage of available people to fill that position? Does he have experience on the Saab? Are the available FOs for upgrade unwilling, or somehow blemished in a way that would preclude their service in a post 3407 colgan? BFD. Fly your line, and chill out, today's street captain could be tomorrows chief pilot/ check airman.

It's all rumor so I don't really know if anyone was hired or not. IF they did hire a street capt. it will not go over well with the FO's. You have to understand there are plenty of qualified FO's at Colgan who have bid for the Saab captain spots. There are even FO's who were awarded it and given a class date, only to have that class canceled. There are FO's waiting to upgrade and there is no shortage to fill such a positon.
 
Unfortunately, I am familiar with the details of the hot refuelling incident among others that have occured recently on both types of aircraft. And, I stand by my statement on the stupidity of the crew in that case. We have had way too many people "coloring outside the lines" and it has created a real perception that we are a bunch of cowboys. I am quite familiar with the fuel manual, and have sat in both seats. I also flew in the military and routinely hot refuelled both at-sea and ashore. There is no reason to hot refuel a "Q"...
And Tuck n' Truck is right on all counts.

I am also familiar with the details, and I'm pretty sure this guy knows what he did was stupid, and understands and accepted the punishment given. I'm not saying that it wasn't stupid, but it was more like a costly brain fart, than something he intentionally did on a regular basis. And no, it wasn't me.
 
The Dash i don't think will ever be approved... the single point is all of 11 feet behind that spinning prop... It can bat start, so... no real pressing need to turn one while pumping.

I also have to quesiton the judgement of a fueler who would be willing.

What about running #1 while they fuel? The fuel point is behind #2. Hot refuel is not permitted by our opspecs either, but boarding with an engine (#2) running is, and we've had to do that a couple of times.
 
Our Hot Refuel/Deplane/Boarding procedures

-Pull into the gate
-Shut down the left engine
-Unload the passengers
-Crossbleed start the left engine from the right engine
-Shutdown the right engine
-Refuel (the singlepoint is on the left wing root
-Crossbleed start the right engine from the left engine
-Shutdown the left engine
-Load the passengers
-Push back
-Crossbleed start the left engine from the right engine


Good times. I've done it once from the right seat. I think I would refuse an airplane before knowingly going into a situation like that again.

That's freakin' NUTS. We shut down #1, pull into the gate, leave #2 running, off load the pax, have one person at the controls and one watching the fueling operations (normally with ARFF close by), load the passengers, push back, cross bleed the left engine and get out of dodge.
 
It's all rumor so I don't really know if anyone was hired or not. IF they did hire a street capt. it will not go over well with the FO's. You have to understand there are plenty of qualified FO's at Colgan who have bid for the Saab captain spots. There are even FO's who were awarded it and given a class date, only to have that class canceled. There are FO's waiting to upgrade and there is no shortage to fill such a positon.


Get your displacement rights in writing in your contract, and then you can have a whole-list-shuffle.

In other words, if a base closes and everybody is displaced because of something the company does, then the whole seniority list rebids positions.

Net results? Captains without sufficient seniority to hold captain positions revert to FO.

Worked at Eagle on the flowbacks. They're wicked pissed, but that's breaks.
 
What about running #1 while they fuel? The fuel point is behind #2. Hot refuel is not permitted by our opspecs either, but boarding with an engine (#2) running is, and we've had to do that a couple of times.


If you are fueling, with people (crew included) on board, the Forward door is required to be open. This is not a company issue. Airport, ARFF, county and federal laws require it.

If #1 is turning on the Q, the door is required closed... So by process of elimination, I'm pretty sure that even a creative CA would get busted ;) It is really just not needed.

We are not permitted to do a single engine turn in the Q. I can understand why, Our engines move a significant amount of air, even feathered, and make it windy, plus a small person (child) could run under the plane more easily, or vice versa, the prop could toss something. Im not getting paid nearly enough, to take that type of risk to get out on time.

Now that we have a manned station in OPS, i don't even bother yelling at the rampies that are doing everything they can to be stupid. Just acars company, and let OPS yell at them for me. So many of these corners are cut because people are rushing. Nearly every ASAP i've read involves the word RUSH, RUSHED, QUICK or ON TIME. you only have to look though a few to realize, stupid stuff happens when we rush... and I don't get an on time bonus, so the risk/reward... just ain't there for me.

Case in point, i have NEVER seen a heavy driver rush... it almost feels like I've moved to the deep south things go so slow. Lots of them don't like the EWR-BOS legs, cause they are to short, and rush the crew!!! If they get delayed, they send off the message, and blame goes where it is due, Heck, watch American taxi... If everybody just slowed down, used their heads, and did what they were supposed to... it would go so much smoother. Eventually CAL would come to understand turning full to full, in 35 minutes wont happen. We have to gate check bags, Which takes 15 minutes on each side. If we had bins overhead large enough for bags, it would be different.

Since I have "slowed down" the only paper work I have had to file, was: 1 Disruptive pax, offloaded by police, 1) Pax making a bomb threat against a flight to Isreal, 1)3+hour sit requiring CPR program in EWR, and 1 ASAP for a situation where my FO rushed, and skiped a part of his entrance flow, delaying normal gear retraction.

Sorry to diverge, but... It just gets frustrating watching the stupid stuff happen, that really didn't need to happen. Esp. right now, everybody just needs to step back, and ask themselfs what would company, or the FAA think... and if they wouldn't do it with a fed on board, they shouldn't be doing it now.
 
Get your displacement rights in writing in your contract, and then you can have a whole-list-shuffle.

In other words, if a base closes and everybody is displaced because of something the company does, then the whole seniority list rebids positions.

Net results? Captains without sufficient seniority to hold captain positions revert to FO.

Worked at Eagle on the flowbacks. They're wicked pissed, but that's breaks.

That seems difficult. How about bypass pay instead? I know everybody wants to be a CA, but the pain is a lot less, when your making more than the street CA next to you... Kinda like, any FO that "Could" hold the spot a street CA is in, be it age, TT, time with company, that bids it, will get CA pay for his longevity.

So, the number 1 fo, who is on the Q bids Q CA... because there are street CA's on the Q, the FO, while not upgraded should receive 4th yr CA pay untill he upgrades or bids different equipment. In turn, if he bid SAAB CA, and there were less senior pilots holding a spot that he could take, he would get 4th yr saab CA pay. etc ( I am very sure, that He would love 4th year ca pay while being an FO... sched of his choice, and high pay for his seat...)
 
You sound like a real class act of a guy. glad guys like you are in this industry.

Not bashing you, just saying. Look, if life is so bad, then go somewhere else. Guess what, you've got a flying job right now, which is a damn sight better than many people. Does that mean you have to take crap? No. But it also doesn't mean that people should be freaking out over every internet rumor. There are still jobs to be found out there if colgan is so bad. But from everything I've heard, despite working the hell out of you, colgan is an awesome place to work, with great people. No brainer for me. Stay where you're at, if its good. People moan and whine about how awful the airline industry is, how poorly they're mistreated, and how much better it would be if item X would only change. If X is what you want, then find the place that offers it and go. If you realize you're not qualified for X or they're not hiring, then find another avenue, or stay stationary.

In the context of the current issue, who here on jetcareers was bumped out of line to be the next Saab captain by the street captain, if that's even the case? Who? Who is directly affected by this? Nobody, because like everything else, its probably just a rumor. And if the guy is there, there's probably a dammed good reason why the company decided to take flak from the pilot group by bypassing seniority to put this guy in.
 
Nearly every colgan fo on here is affected by a street captain. 2 fo's that were slated for 1900 upgrade never got it because of street captains, and are now transitioning with a 1yr seat lock as an fo, delaying upgrade by a minimum of a year. They were qualified for that 1900 spot. In a small company, a small change in sen list can have big ramifications
 
I am also familiar with the details, and I'm pretty sure this guy knows what he did was stupid, and understands and accepted the punishment given. I'm not saying that it wasn't stupid, but it was more like a costly brain fart, than something he intentionally did on a regular basis. And no, it wasn't me.

:yeahthat:

Exactly! On occasion, people do dumb stuff. Doesn't make it right, but that's reality. The CA is a good guy who had a bad day. He recognizes this and has accepted that fact. He's been through the ringer for this mistake and has certainly taken something away from the experience.

If any of you say you're not capable of making mistakes, then I wouldn't ever want to fly w/ you.....because you're delusional.
 
only because ramen noodles are losing their taste appeal. Being a regional FO esp. at Colgan is not fun.

It may not be fun but its gotta be better than being a CFI and getting all of your flights canceled when its not VFR wx and making $0 for a couple of days in a row. I consider anyone in your position to be blessed...you have a job...you get some kind of minimum salary...its in a career field of your choosing. I would jump at the chance to fly for a regional, it would be a pay raise for me.

Ramens get old real quick. What I suggest is mix it up a little. Go to your local grocery store and buy the off brand (great value in my case) bags of flavored noodles and rice. They are pretty good and break the dullness of repeated doses of ramens noodles.
 
Just to clarify, Sherpa himself is not the one living on ramen... Those in our position can at least manage lean pockets and peanut butter. I'd look at his post as him understanding why fo's really want to upgrade and make some money.
 
Just to clarify, Sherpa himself is not the one living on ramen... Those in our position can at least manage lean pockets and peanut butter. I'd look at his post as him understanding why fo's really want to upgrade and make some money.


Everybody wants to make more money, problem is, there's not really that much more to go around right now.
 
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