PSA Street Captains?

ATN_Pilot said:
Good grief, we used to upgrade 1500 hour pilots with a fresh ATP into the left seat of a BE-1900. Lots of airlines did back in the late '90s. And the CRJ is a lot more forgiving than a Hondo.
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Hell, I had 600 hours in airplanes when they cut me loose, by myself, in the 1900. But you know, since I could only kill people on the ground, not in the plane, it didn't matter.
 
I like how the guy who started this thread also happens to be giving out all this advice, yet he has no dog in this fight. @Trip7, we're all VERY happy for you and how you got lucky and hired as an FO straight to Delta. It's all very flattering. I appreciate the advice you and some others lend to the community, it certainly helped a recent decision I made. But, everyone has different situations and I think you need to respect that. Maybe you are, but sometimes you come off as very pushy, when you never were actually in this position. That's just my view on it. This whole industry is risk vs. reward. I made a risk and it's paying off very well for me. Others haven't been as lucky or fortunate.
 
ATN_Pilot said:
@Trip7, you can lead the horse to water, but you can't force it to drink. Amiright?
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What the hell does Trip7 know about making a lateral move? He hit the lottery big time, in a VERY short amount of time. Standing on his soapbox shouting at Screaming_Emu just seems to lack class IMO.

In one month I will be upgrading, after four years and over ELEVEN years of flying. I'm lucky that I do not have to make a difficult decision about making a lateral upgrade, but I have had to make the difficult decision to leave a great flying job/schedule to start over at another regional. Unless you've done it as a 30+ year old with lots of responsibilities, you may not understand the difficulty of it. It sucks, and is not easy and certainly isn't without risk.
 
motormadness24 said:
I like how the guy who started this thread also happens to be giving out all this advice, yet he has no dog in this fight. @Trip7, we're all VERY happy for you and how you got lucky and hired as an FO straight to Delta. It's all very flattering. I appreciate the advice you and some others lend to the community, it certainly helped a recent decision I made. But, everyone has different situations and I think you need to respect that. Maybe you are, but sometimes you come off as very pushy, when you never were actually in this position. That's just my view on it. This whole industry is risk vs. reward. I made a risk and it's paying off very well for me. Others haven't been as lucky or fortunate.
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@Trip7 is like the Don King of whatever the hot new regional is. "Work work work, game changer. Work work work, drops mic."

Surejet could have a two hour upgrade tomorrow and there would be ranting and raving about it.
 
ATN_Pilot said:
Good grief, we used to upgrade 1500 hour pilots with a fresh ATP into the left seat of a BE-1900. Lots of airlines did back in the late '90s. And the CRJ is a lot more forgiving than a Hondo.
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Did not fly the 1900 but the turbo props I flew were a little more forgiving then turbofans with supercritical airfoils operating at higher flight levels. Also there is something to be said about cutting your teeth on turboprops with shorter legs each day.
I think some of the recent foreign airline crashes are the canary in the coal mine. As an example if you look at the Air France crash while, on paper, the FOs at the controls looked experienced if you factored in that both were ab initio pilots who almost immediately (if not immediately), went into long haul flying they had very little stick and rudder time.
Wait... what's the topic??
 
motormadness24 said:
So have many of the rest of us. There is nothing wrong at all with being lucky. I consider myself extremely lucky to be in the position I am.
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My first airline choice was ACA. Interview went very poorly.
Choice number two was COMAIR, but they did not call until I was already in training.
So it goes.
 
GypsyPilot said:
What the hell does Trip7 know about making a lateral move? He hit the lottery big time, in a VERY short amount of time. Standing on his soapbox shouting at Screaming_Emu just seems to lack class IMO.

In one month I will be upgrading, after four years and over ELEVEN years of flying. I'm lucky that I do not have to make a difficult decision about making a lateral upgrade, but I have had to make the difficult decision to leave a great flying job/schedule to start over at another regional. Unless you've done it as a 30+ year old with lots of responsibilities, you may not understand the difficulty of it. It sucks, and is not easy and certainly isn't without risk.
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I haven't referenced anyone specifically in this thread. Just a general view of excuses being made from several folks. Several others have mentioned the same. But someone always gets sensitive and will turn the thread into Trip7 lucky this Trip7 lucky that. Carry on. Some members will take advantage of this opportunity and that alone makes this post a success.

What I do know about lateral moves is several former very junior XJT friends of mine are sitting in upgrade class as we speak. Opportunity awaits. #RunNeverWalk
 
motormadness24 said:
So have many of the rest of us. There is nothing wrong at all with being lucky. I consider myself extremely lucky to be in the position I am.
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Exactly. I have also worked my ass off. I had ZERO financial help getting through college and flight training (with a high GPA). I also had to deal with some other things in the past that were less than helpful. I had to take care of my Dad for awhile, and also helped my brother through college. I have never failed a checkride, I try to help anybody I can, I volunteer, and I network as I'm able (most of my jobs have been as a result of that). I have numerous LORs from LCA mad CPs, although have never asked anybody to write one for me.

Despite that, I cannot get a Legacy interview at all. But whatever, it's not owed to me and I'll continue doing what I'm doing - cause that's who I am. The only thing that pushes my button is when it's implied that people like myself are not moving on due to some kind of lack of effort!
 
I've read Screaming Emu's posts here for a while and he sounds like a smart/educated rational person who I'm sure is not brushing things off lightly. If he says he's done the math on this PSA DEC thing, then he has. In the end it is his decision and from all looks of it he has evaluated what matters to him most and let that be his guide. I say good for him.
 
ATN_Pilot said:
Good grief, we used to upgrade 1500 hour pilots with a fresh ATP into the left seat of a BE-1900. Lots of airlines did back in the late '90s. And the CRJ is a lot more forgiving than a Hondo.
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The thing I find a little funny is the 767 is even more forgiving than the CRJ. So it seems we put our weaker pilots in the most unforgiving planes.
 
Cherokee_Cruiser said:
I've read Screaming Emu's posts here for a while and he sounds like a smart/educated rational person who I'm sure is not brushing things off lightly. If he says he's done the math on this PSA DEC thing, then he has. In the end it is his decision and from all looks of it he has evaluated what matters to him most and let that be his guide. I say good for him.
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Thanks. I put a lot of thought into absolutely everything that I do. Even staying at expressjet (by not making a lateral move) is a calculated move. Don't get me wrong, I have my applications out to any non regional that will take them. I want out of the regional game. I'm still doing the research on the PSA move, but thus far it doesn't even appear to be a direct entry captain position but rather the ability to POSSIBLY hold a captain slot right out of training.
 
I don't think anyone is saying lateral moves are bad. There is a big difference, however, in a junior and senior FO making a lateral move. Every situation is different.
 
All I have to say is that everyone has a different situation. The people telling others to attempt to get a DEC at PSA have only had one major issue in their career and that was age 65. Beyond that their careers have progressed smoothly. There is no way these people know if this is what we need or want. They don't even know if it would work out as planned since many details are still missing as to how they got that opportunity to make the jump.
 
motormadness24 said:
So have many of the rest of us.
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I'm not just talking about flying or education. @Trip7 can tell his own story if he wants, so I won't give the details, but the man worked his ass off to network outside of the cockpit to make the right connections to get where he wanted to be. Few people put the effort into it that he did.

Blackhawk said:
Did not fly the 1900 but the turbo props I flew were a little more forgiving then turbofans with supercritical airfoils operating at higher flight levels.
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Bull. A highly automated modern jet is a cakewalk compared to a turboprop or a cabin class piston twin. I could sleep most of the flight in a CRJ or 717.

Gonzo said:
The thing I find a little funny is the 767 is even more forgiving than the CRJ. So it seems we put our weaker pilots in the most unforgiving planes.
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Yep.
 
I live in a PSA base, was leaving a part 135 to go to my first regional, and was still nervous about going to PSA. It is all a gamble, and there is a great deal of conflicting information. I don't blame anyone for being hesitant to make a lateral move. It could work out really well, or it could be the worst move in their career. It won't be evident if it was a good or bad move until it is too late.
 
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