New Hire PSA

cessna172heavy

cessna172heavy

New Member
Hey all. I just wanted to say hi as a new member of jetcareers forum.

I was recently offered a position as an FO with PSA, class starts October 22nd. I was hoping to connect with any other fellow pilots who may also be starting in the same class, or anyone who has recently finished training and may be able to give some advise/input as to life on the line as a new PSA crewmember.

Good luck to all, look forward to hearing from you.
 
Out of curiosity did you do an RJ program of some sort?

I don't know you from anybody so don't take this personally, but here's what's happening (and Jeremy can chime in on this as he's actually doing some of the training). The guys doing the hiring are taking RJ experience (mostly the simulated kind) in favor or actual flying experience. People are having more luck passing systems and to some extend the sim with this RJ training. However, RJ training really doesn't help too much when the newbies get out on the line. So, at that point it reverts back to how much general flight experience they have and the trend has been more RJ training and less actual flying.

All that said, welcome aboard, it's a great company to work for, although like most places, you WILL get screwed over by management. Stuff looks like it is moving along nicely now and with any luck you won't have to sit reserve to long. As far as training goes, just do what the instructors tell you. They know what YOU need to know. Also, put in the effort it takes and ask for help if you are starting to get behind. If you've got specific questions ask them here or drop me a PM. Good luck.
 
Yes, I did take a CRJ course on advise from a pilot I know, and who runs part of the PSA training department. They put it this way: Being a low time guy with no 121 experience will prove to be quite a challenge when thrown into this sort of aviation realm. I was told that acquiring the job without the RJ course would be no problem, but to give me an edge in training and a better chance on the line, I should consider taking a course. It will help a lot and probably prevent washout in the groundschool/sim. I've been told a lot of guys wash out of training for many reasons. Some just expect to be spoon fed, and cannot keep up with "drinking from a fire hose". Also, guys like me who have just never done this kind of flying can find it frustrating and too difficult to keep up.

That being said, I took the advise of a lot of very experienced pilots (my father included) and decided I wanted to go for it. I attended a CRJ course, did very well, and look forward to working at PSA. I know it takes a lot of work and dedication, and I am the type of guy who thrives and succeeds in that type of environment.

I know flying experience goes a long way, I just couldn't help but not pass up such an opportunity. I've read a lot of posts about Captains that get paired with a fresh, low time FO who just can't keep up, and how they wish the airline was hiring more experienced people. I sympathize with their situation, but I hope I am given the chance to show my abilities and dedication before being lumped into this category, cause we all know, not everybody is alike.

As for my CFI training, I do plan to finish. I think it will still prove to be another good learning tool, and also a backup. I look up to all of you who have spent countless hours mentoring and teaching others, and especially the experience you have gained from such flying. It is still another goal of mine to accomplish not only for me, but to serve and promote aviation as a whole.

Anyway, enough rambling from me. I wanted to thank all of you for the support and advise. I look forward to more talks here with you, and hopefully to meet some of you on the line sometime in the future.
 
cessna172heavy said:
I know flying experience goes a long way, I just couldn't help but not pass up such an opportunity.
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Nor do I think you should have passed it up just because you might not be as qualified as you could be/need to be once you get on line. There is only ONE person on this forum that I know of that has said he held off going to a jet/tprop because he wasn't ready. Everybody else has jumped at the opportunity. If that's what the market will bear, then you shouldn't be worried about it. I guess the point I was making (and this isn't the first thread I've made it in) is that knowing CRJ systems and profiles will be really helpful getting through systems and sim but really isn't going to do anything for you when you get on line. I would much rather have a guy who has a handle on Class B radio communications and how to fly an ILS then somebody who can explain to be when the B Pumps are on and why and when the ILS 2 Engine profile says to slow to 180 and go flaps 8. That sort of stuff is pretty useless when they have screwed up vectors to final and you are joining above the glideslope just inside the marker and there is an (early model) Citation 3 miles ahead of you on the approach.

Again, I agree 100% that despite being low time you have every right to a job they offered you. Study hard and you'll do just fine.
 
BobDDuck said:
I guess the point I was making (and this isn't the first thread I've made it in) is that knowing CRJ systems and profiles will be really helpful getting through systems and sim but really isn't going to do anything for you when you get on line. I would much rather have a guy who has a handle on Class B radio communications and how to fly an ILS then somebody who can explain to be when the B Pumps are on and why and when the ILS 2 Engine profile says to slow to 180 and go flaps 8. That sort of stuff is pretty useless when they have screwed up vectors to final and you are joining above the glideslope just inside the marker and there is an (early model) Citation 3 miles ahead of you on the approach.
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I agree with you as well. I understand what you mean. I was lucky enough to do all of my training and 90% of my flying in a busy class B/C area, and when I fly with someone who hasn't got that experience, it is FRUSTRATING!

By the way, I was looking at your website/blog. I like it, It's pretty cool. Looks like you put a lot of time and effort into it. If you don't mind me asking, what does it cost to keep it going?
 
I don't put THAT much time into it (as can be seen by the lack of posts). Hosting plus domain registration is $120 a year. Host in lunarpages.com. Doug actually recommended them and I've got to say they have been pretty good so far. Once I got the blog set up and what not it just sort of sits there. I've got uploading pictures pretty much down to a science now. I actually just spent about an hour trying to clean up a lot of the trackback spam. I think I've figured out how to stop it, but I need to go back and clean up all the old stuff. Some posts have 500 to 1000 trackbacks for porn and Viagra.
 
Congrats on being hired by PSA. Just out of curiousity, how long after you applied did you hear back from them?
 
yardman said:
Congrats on being hired by PSA. Just out of curiousity, how long after you applied did you hear back from them?
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I applied September 10th or 11th. Took about a week to hear back, but I had to email and call someone I know there to get the ball rolling. They said they replied to me via email, but I didn't get it, so they re-sent. I interviewed on September 25th, and didn't hear back until October 5th for a class date because the HR person who interviewed us left the company shortly thereafter, and they had a hard time getting a hold of interviewers paperwork. It was a long, nervous process, but I kept hounding them until I got results.
 
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