Saab to the Q??

[jtrain609]

I was kind of being facetious with the 10 767's a day thing man, just trying to point out that it's not NEARLY as good as some people think it is.

I had a bunch of guys in my pad doing IAH-EWR that said it was a super easy commute for about 2 weeks, kept saying how many flights there were and then the next thing you know these cats are looking for tips on how to hang themselves with whatever is in their flight kit.

 

[L-16B]

IAH-EWR is not 10 767s a day. It's 1 767 day, a few 757s a day and a lot of 737-800s a day. The 737s only have 1 jumpseat and there are a lot of commuters and deadheaders. If you do IAH-EWR, look at some of the through flights on XJT (MEM, BNA, XNA, CVG, etc). That may be your only option.

I haven't seen a 767 on the route since April or May. I'm sure they put one on it every once in a while to do a reposition. There are normally 2 to 3 757's a day, which is good with 2 jumpseats. There used to be more 737-500's, but as we know they are all being retired. I've ridden the second jumpseat in that thing at least 3 or 4 times. The captain always feels sorry for me and lets me walk around or sit in the flight attendant jumpseat after we take off.

Regardless, dont let the frequency or light loads right now fool you, its a ###### commute.

 

[Snuggle]

brewpilot, I know 1 saab FO who transitioned over to the Q. I hear he is now going to the saab as a CA in Jan. No Q upgrade in sight for any Q FO's at the moment. Apparently in order to be a Q CA you need 1000 hours PIC in the Beech or Saab, or at least that's what the FO's ahead of me have been told.

 

[SpiraMirabilis]

The Q is easier to fly than the Beech or the Saab so thats weird

 

[USMC-SSGT]

Snuggle, are you talking about F.S?
I heard through the grapevine that he may be taking an upgrade and it is not the dash 8.

 

[L-16B]

The Q is easier to fly than the Beech or the Saab so thats weird

Thank you, that's what I've thought all along. I've heard all about the 1000 pic crap b4, I don't know if it's true or not, but if it is they can blow all the smoke they want to right now the way the industry is (practically no upgrades). Besides, as it is now they would rather transition/hire a street captain then upgrade an F.O. :banghead: (Vote Alpa)

Once hiring and the industry picks up we all know Colgan could care less about numbers, they just need warm bodies. They are all high and mighty on their beloved Q, which is stupid because it is in fact easier to fly, its got all kinds of computers and fms thingamabobers which do your job for you.

Oh god I can't wait to get to the Saab, I have dreams of IAH every night.

 

[Snuggle]

Snuggle, are you talking about F.S?
I heard through the grapevine that he may be taking an upgrade and it is not the dash 8.

Yes, and I've heard the same.

Strange how I haven't ran into you yet. Some people I never see and others I see all the time.

 

[wick81]

EWR seems like a bigger cluster, but it might not once I get used to it. Just to be honest though, I love it because i'm based at home, and don't have to commute. Commuting would make it a completely different story.

On a side note, I don't believe the 1000 PIC thing...

 

[v1valarob]

Come on guys, we all know that Colgan transitions and upgrades per their needs. When they need people to upgrade or transition, they bend the rules.

 

[USMC-SSGT]

Yes, and I've heard the same.

Strange how I haven't ran into you yet. Some people I never see and others I see all the time.

I actually ran into S.P (top 5 or so in EWR for FOs, came from the beech) and he confirmed that it was actually him AND F.S. that were taking the Jan upgrade. I am shocked that for once I am going to go back up in seniority. I was number 4 then number 3 then 6,8,12, and I think im somewhere near 14 now and will be going back up 2 thanks to the upgrade.

You may have seen me before....how would you know, youve never seen me.

 

[brewpilot]

the Q's a comfortable plane but i'm not so sure it's worth delaying an upgrade over though. As of right now they are not allowing upgrades from the right seat of the Q unless you have a 1000 hours of pic time. And with the 12 month seat lock you may not be able to upgrade to captain on the saab nearly as soon as you would if you had stayed on the saab.
Thinking long term I think it is smarter to stay on the saab and get your 1000 and if you are still stuck here then jump over to the Q and be a lil more comfortable while you wait.

1000 PIC??? I don't think so. Last I heard it was 3000TT 1000 in type, thats what you meant I am sure. Its not like I am going to go and rent a cessna on the side to build 1000 pic time.

 

[brewpilot]

Also, just wondering on the crashpad situation in EWR? Whats the average going rate?

 

[SpiraMirabilis]

One million dollars!!!

 

[v1valarob]

They are all high and mighty on their beloved Q, which is stupid because it is in fact easier to fly, its got all kinds of computers and fms thingamabobers which do your job for you.

It holds more people, weighs more than any other Colgan aircraft, is newer and costs more. They have reason to ask that you have more experience to fly the plane. All those fancy pieces of equipment Im sure can be MEL'd.

 

[USMC-SSGT]

1000 PIC??? I don't think so. Last I heard it was 3000TT 1000 in type, thats what you meant I am sure. Its not like I am going to go and rent a cessna on the side to build 1000 pic time.

You are right, it is not 1000PIC....it is 1000PIC in the Saab or the Beech or equivalent (the cessna rental will not count.) Its in a memo under the chief pilot tab on the colgan air crew website. They mentioned it going on a per case basis when the need arises but we will see. Regardless it is going relatively senior (senior as far as CJC is concerned) for the time being and we only have 1 FO in the company who could hold it. I think the most junior CA is an early 06' hire as opposed to the most junior 340 CA (not street CA) is an early 07' hire. If there were an opening and they would let an FO have it they would have had to be here for almost 3 years. Just do what the other guys are doing, take the saab upgrade or come to the Q to....do whatever it is people are coming over to do, and then upgrade back into the saab.

You can save your money on the cessna rental.

EWR crashpads...I pay $200.00 Some pay $275.00 average is somewhere around $250.00

 

[kellwolf]

It holds more people, weighs more than any other Colgan aircraft, is newer and costs more. They have reason to ask that you have more experience to fly the plane. All those fancy pieces of equipment Im sure can be MEL'd.

And when the FMS in the -200 goes out, it can be both terrifying and a bit funny to look at your FO.....who has just frozen.

Me: "No problem. We'll just get the charts out. So....where are we?"
FO: "Charts? You mean the en route ones? Uh.....I haven't looked at those since my instrument rating, really. And, I, kinda don't really know where we are."
Me: <facepalm>

I was a little surprised that I never got a failed FMS situation on my PC last week.

 

[Cruise]

EWR crashpads...I pay $200.00 Some pay $275.00 average is somewhere around $250.00

Yeah, I pay $250.00....it's a great place as far as crashpads go. Guess what? It still blows monkey chunks!!!!! I freakin' hate being in the crashpad. I avoid coming here at all costs.



Also, on a side note, I heard this little tidbit of info from a fellow pilot......according to an indirect quote from the person who sets up all the schedules (D.C.) 4 day trips will not be the norm here in EWR since she doesn't want us to like our schedules. It will be an overwhelming majority of two or one day trips. Also, expect the avg. # of days off to hover somewhere around 12. Apparently we shouldn't enjoy any QOL with a couple extra days off to ease the commute.

If there is any validity to what this pilot told me...and I have no reason, whatsoever, to not believe this.....I say thanks to MGMT for continuing to make the OC's job that much easier to unify the pilot group for a successful ALPA election this year.


www.alpa.org/colgan





.

 

[SpiraMirabilis]

And when the FMS in the -200 goes out, it can be both terrifying and a bit funny to look at your FO.....who has just frozen.

Me: "No problem. We'll just get the charts out. So....where are we?"
FO: "Charts? You mean the en route ones? Uh.....I haven't looked at those since my instrument rating, really. And, I, kinda don't really know where we are."
Me: <facepalm>
I was a little surprised that I never got a failed FMS situation on my PC last week.

Hahaha. Awesome!

 

[TUCKnTRUCK]

Failed fms? sure did last week.. but was already on a published segment of an approach (4r circle 31r ) i think... Just said, ok, blue needles, continue.

In talking to the guys down there, the bid list for Q CA is pretty deep right now. Senority wise, the earliest any FO in the Q would be able to transition now would be next year, and there are not going to be many more classes right now. Mostly for attrition. As far as i know, there are 20+ more CA's then lines. Even the #1 FO on the Q is at least 1 to 2 classes back as more senior people bid into it with the airways reductions.

This makes the "1000" beech or saab pic requirement kinda moot. Even if you have 1000 in the Q you just won't be able to upgrade into it quickly.
I really wouldn't get bent out of shape over this requirement. Trust that the training ramp up next fall for the additional airframes will get things moving again.

the Q is a senior airplane. No matter where you look, the senior airplane is not a good place to be an fo. there is very limited vertical progression.

 

[Snuggle]

You may have seen me before....how would you know, youve never seen me.

If I've never seen you, then how could I have seen you before?