Delta Flowthroughs and 35% ALPA DCI Hires

Please don't take this the wrong way but if that is your feeling then you've already lost the battle for any interview. The Delta interview can be prepared for just like any other. If you do the research and the prep work it's entirely doable. You do what you can beforehand and then show up with a clear conscience and let the chips fall as they may. For that reason my Delta interview was no more difficult or stressful than my XJT interview or my NWA interview. Don't buy into the flight deck gossip that XYZ interview is harder than any other therefore you shouldn't apply. They're all challenging and stressful to some degree but often for different reasons. It's how you prepare that helps you manage the stress. If you do that part WELL you'll find yourself actually enjoying the process.

Be the guy who pursues and capitalizes on opportunity not the guy who is complaining to his FO 10 years down the road about the African American female former intern RJ FO "that he once knew and flew with" who got hired by mainline before upgrading. Those guys are quite possibly the biggest POS's in this business. I'll guarantee you if you dig enough said captain 1) made up the FO he was complaining about and 2) never even bothered applying to any airlines...was it fear or laziness? Either way don't listen to him for career advice!

Don't get me wrong, i don't think i wouldn't get hired because of my race or gender, i know many people that were much smarter than me academically that didn't get hired and i want to make sure i don't blow my only chance.
 
Don't let urban legend hold your career back.

Any airline is going to hire people that are going to do the job, represent the company well and stay out of the chief pilot's office. The guys running around complaining publicly with their theories on why they didn't get hired (trust me, HR won't tell you) probably weren't a match for the corporate culture.

Aptitude, qualifications and personality. You nail those three and you're golden.

Listen to those that have success with the process and politely excuse yourself from those that have not. #protip.
 
Don't let urban legend hold your career back.

Any airline is going to hire people that are going to do the job, represent the company well and stay out of the chief pilot's office. The guys running around complaining publicly with their theories on why they didn't get hired (trust me, HR won't tell you) probably weren't a match for the corporate culture.

Aptitude, qualifications and personality. You nail those three and you're golden.

Listen to those that have success with the process and politely excuse yourself from those that have not. #protip.

Doug has hit the nail on the head.

If you're a high quality, well networked, properly qualified candidate, then you WILL find and employer that you will fit in with. If HR doesn't think you're a match for the company, trust them, you don't want to work there. You won't fit in, and it won't have a good result. Not getting a job does not mean you're stupid, lazy, not a minority, not a girl, not a captain, or not anything else. If you've gotten the interview and they don't decide to hire you, don't worry about it.

Further, what we forget all too often is that we're interviewing THE COMPANY as much as they're interviewing US. I've had a few interviews where, when I walked out, I thought to myself, "Even if they offer me a job, I won't be taking it. These guys don't have any business running a company." And this isn't just with airlines, but with all jobs.
 
To many people are worried about 35%.

You do realize that 65% is a bigger number than 35% Right?

Kind of validates the American Airlines recurrent video about "click-click, click-click" generation.
 
Searching for the 'click-click, click-click' generation just gets me a whole lot of results about a Cummins diesel that won't start. Never heard of said generation.
 
There is a video about the latest generation depending too much on automation, and an increase of incidents /ASAP reports. He surmises that pilots aren't turning off automation, and losing their skill set. Air France 447 comes to mind, and heck my company sends out near daily memos about balancing automation.

The correlation to this thread is that too many people are worked up on the ALPA DCI 35% and forgetting that an even larger contingent will come from elsewhere.

Don't forget the basic folks...
 
Ahh. I'm not concerned at all about the 35% was just curious what the language actually read. I realize that nearly everyone is a DCI carrier so obviously way more than 35% of new hires will come from DCI carriers.

Not to take the thread way off topic but do you have a link of that video? Can't find it anywhere.
 
Ahh. I'm not concerned at all about the 35% was just curious what the language actually read. I realize that nearly everyone is a DCI carrier so obviously way more than 35% of new hires will come from DCI carriers.

Not to take the thread way off topic but do you have a link of that video? Can't find it anywhere.

It is an internal AA/Eagle training video, it is narrated by a guy named Vandenberg. I have never seen it other than at the school house.
 
It is called children of the magenta or something. I have seen it posted on various forums but cannot find it
 
It is called Children of the Magenta. A link to the vid was posted here a while back and there was a whole thread about it if anyone can find it.
 
Losing a skill set is no where near the threat to aviation safety that never having it in the first place is. THAT'S the issue in my mind.
 
There is a video about the latest generation depending too much on automation, and an increase of incidents /ASAP reports. He surmises that pilots aren't turning off automation, and losing their skill set. Air France 447 comes to mind, and heck my company sends out near daily memos about balancing automation.

The correlation to this thread is that too many people are worked up on the ALPA DCI 35% and forgetting that an even larger contingent will come from elsewhere.

Don't forget the basic folks...

At my company you can pass a check ride in the sim with about 4 minutes of hand flying. In fact, its taught that way. Really sad actually. They claim its to reduce pilot deviations, but in my opinion the way to reduce pilot deviations is to get people to be more careful and come down on those who aren't. Not to say "well, just use the autopilot." Treating the symptom, not the problem.
 
At my company you can pass a check ride in the sim with about 4 minutes of hand flying. In fact, its taught that way. Really sad actually. They claim its to reduce pilot deviations, but in my opinion the way to reduce pilot deviations is to get people to be more careful and come down on those who aren't. Not to say "well, just use the autopilot." Treating the symptom, not the problem.

I think you're missing the point. The autopilot is a tool in your toolbox when the crap hits the fan. WAY too many happily click off the autopilot at exactly the same moment that they need it most. It is a workload saver, and a situational awareness aid. Use it.

Hand fly when you A) have no choice because it's broken, and B) during low workload times when you can afford your SA to be down.

Safety studies abound that show this to be the safest course.
 
I think you're missing the point. The autopilot is a tool in your toolbox when the crap hits the fan. WAY too many happily click off the autopilot at exactly the same moment that they need it most. It is a workload saver, and a situational awareness aid. Use it.

Hand fly when you A) have no choice because it's broken, and B) during low workload times when you can afford your SA to be down.

Safety studies abound that show this to be the safest course.

I agree that it is an immense safety tool. I actually put that in an ASAP report about a captain being threatened with discipline for refusing a plane without an autopilot. To my memory, I have never done a V1 cut in the sim without turning the autopilot on at 600ft. I have run a QRH checklist for fluctuating oil pressure in moderate turbulence and icing with the autopilot deferred. Lots of step down descents so you can pull the thrust lever to idle. Really would have been handy at that time.

Where I have issue I suppose is that if you're double checking per the checklist, verifying what is set up in the box, etc. Taking off, climbing to 10,000 and arming nav mode is not exactly high workload.

Nobody is perfect, and I will admit to realizing right before selecting NAV mode that my heading bug is 180 degrees from where it should be, but 99% of the time if you're at least attempting to do what you're supposed to do, you'll usually catch these things. Those who aren't, won't get it right with the autopilot on either.
 
I agree that it is an immense safety tool. I actually put that in an ASAP report about a captain being threatened with discipline for refusing a plane without an autopilot. To my memory, I have never done a V1 cut in the sim without turning the autopilot on at 600ft. I have run a QRH checklist for fluctuating oil pressure in moderate turbulence and icing with the autopilot deferred. Lots of step down descents so you can pull the thrust lever to idle. Really would have been handy at that time.

Where I have issue I suppose is that if you're double checking per the checklist, verifying what is set up in the box, etc. Taking off, climbing to 10,000 and arming nav mode is not exactly high workload.

Nobody is perfect, and I will admit to realizing right before selecting NAV mode that my heading bug is 180 degrees from where it should be, but 99% of the time if you're at least attempting to do what you're supposed to do, you'll usually catch these things. Those who aren't, won't get it right with the autopilot on either.

I hear ya. The reason for autopilot on at 600 feet recommendation for RNAV departures is that your SA opens up when it is on, and you can see a problem hopefully before the controller does.

BTW, the ERJ side has a much different automation culture than the CRJ side.
 
I hear ya. The reason for autopilot on at 600 feet recommendation for RNAV departures is that your SA opens up when it is on, and you can see a problem hopefully before the controller does.

BTW, the ERJ side has a much different automation culture than the CRJ side.

Automation culture? The whole plane is automated! I can't even turn the batteries on, I simply turn them to "AUTO" :)
 
I hear ya. The reason for autopilot on at 600 feet recommendation for RNAV departures is that your SA opens up when it is on, and you can see a problem hopefully before the controller does.

BTW, the ERJ side has a much different automation culture than the CRJ side.

I definitely agree, which is why on the 5th leg of a 5 leg day (or 7 leg for you guys in ATL) I'll more than happily let Captain Collins take the plane after we get it all cleaned up. Much more likely to catch an error when you can focus all your attention on monitoring.

But when you're well rested, well caffeinated, there should be no problem with hand flying an RNAV departure. Which I like how the manual still "strongly advises" autopilot usage. Enough that if it is messed up, you can be held accountable because "why didn't you use all available tools?" but gives us the option to not be button pushers.
 
This scares me as a passenger when I read what you wrote about turning the AP asap.
An FA told me one day that she knew how she was going to die, either on a DH or in the hotel shuttle.

I have a challenge for you: hand fly your aircraft up to cruise, assuming you fly something in the FL310+ range.

Prepare to learn something about:
1. Yourself and your skill level.
2. High level aerodynamics.
 
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