Training

EatSleepFly

EatSleepFly

Well-Known Member
Quick update:

Got the ATR 72 out of SJU (42's are all retired now at AE). Wasn't given a choice, but its what I expected, so I was prepared for it. I'm totally psyched though, the ATR is a very cool airplane, and while most of my class will be freezing their cahoonas off up north this winter, I'll be sitting reserve on the beach.

There were two of us new-hires that got the ATR, and there are two captains in our class who are upgrading from ERJ F/O to ATR CA, so we each have a sim partner thats a CA...which is very cool. The four of us are kind of the "black sheep" so to speak...as we got seperated from the rest of the indoc. class on day 1 since the ATR's are flown on a different certificate (Executive Airways) and we have some different procedures to cover.

Anyhoo....just wanted to give a quick update. Tomorrow we finish basic indoc., and systems starts on Monday.

Adios! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

By the way...it looks like once I get out on the line (early Nov.), I'll have some pretty killer "pics from the road." I'll be flying into places like Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, Gitmo Bay, Jamaica, etc. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif
 
Get used to being the 'black sheep'. Exec is kind of considered to be off in their own little world, so to speak...... Stems from the old days when we were still 4 separate carriers and none of us main-land people had much contact with the Exec folks.

The ATR kicks serious butt. It was and still is my favorite off all the airplanes I ever worked on. Sad to hear all the -42s are gone though, despite their lousy air conditioning I actually liked them better. The -72 212As are the BOMB. I got to fly most of them when they were brand new in ORD. How sweet to get on an airplane to work and have that "new airplane" smell!

I still want to know who your instructors are!

Glad to hear things are going well for ya!
 
That sounds Awesome! Island hopping in the Carribean! Watch out for the hurricanes though! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif
 
Finished systems today. Only missed 3 out of 100 on the written. Two AHRS questions that I knew I missed because I distinctly remember being especially spaced-out the afternoon we covered that. The third was a question that I wouldn't have missed had I gotten my lazy arse up and looked at the CPT. But its ok, I got the highest in my class! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif (Higher than the CA upgrades...muhahahahaaaa).

I get out of this wretched state on Oct. 25th...counting down the days!

Anyways, just thought I'd give a quick update for anyone interested. Looks like the storms are clearing out of DFW and the ramp is open again, so I can finally catch my flight home for the weekend.

Bye!
 
Since I haven't been reading all of the posts closely I could be wrong, but it sounds like you just got on with Eagle. How many in your class were assigned to San Juan PR? Is that still pretty typical? How long to before you have the senority to move back to the 48? I've been thinking about applying at Eagle, but going to PR is the one thing that holds me back. (Have a wife and kids and moving them to PR sounds like a little much for me, and commuting would be unreasonable from the Utah area.) Thanks!
 
[ QUOTE ]
I've been thinking about applying at Eagle, but going to PR is the one thing that holds me back. (Have a wife and kids and moving them to PR sounds like a little much for me, and commuting would be unreasonable from the Utah area.) Thanks!

[/ QUOTE ]

That sounds like more reason to get on with Eagle!!
grin.gif
 
Hmmmm.. . . . Lloyd, you may be right. BTW that avatar disturbs me. Anywhoo, if anybody at Eagle knows what the most likely base for for newbies is, let me know. I suspect it is San Juan. My Spanish is rusty, but I could get by.
 
Re: Passed Oral!

Passed my oral this morning. It went very well, wasn't weak on anything.

It consisted of reciting the limitations, memory items, and a barrage of systems questions until he was satisfied that I knew what I was talking about. After that, I had to fill out a load manifest, figure out weights, speeds, t/o and landing distances, with an in-flight hydraulic system failure that would require a zero flap landing. Then had to calculate zero flap landing distances/bug speeds, and give the conditions required to be met for re-dispatch with the MEL item. I'm probably forgetting a couple of things, but thats a quick rundown of most of it, for anyone who's interested.

All I have left now is ten sim sessions including the checkride. Unfortunately, all but the checkride are 0430 shows, meaning I have to be up around 3am. Yikes!

When I get all finished, I'll try to make up a "diary" of sorts, outlining the entire process from interview to the line.

To answer your question, Lee D:

The most junior base is usually a crapshoot. If you are older than mid-20's, you probably won't have to worry about SJU. Most are getting the ERJ, but theres usually a CRJ slot (not usually the most senior) and some Saab slots. I was even able to bid out of SJU to MIA, which is normally a super-senior base, so it varies. In my class, BOS was the most junior base...not sure about the later classes.
 
Re: Passed Oral!

Okay, here's an ATR limitation for ya:

What's the max wind speed in which you can operate the FWD Cargo door?
 
Re: Passed Oral!

[ QUOTE ]
Okay, here's an ATR limitation for ya:

What's the max wind speed in which you can operate the FWD Cargo door?

[/ QUOTE ]

45 knots!!!
cool.gif


He asked me that one too...

I had Arana for the oral...not sure if you knew him, but I know he's been in the training dept. for at least 5-6 years.
 
Re: Passed Oral!

Ha! Really? The only reason I know that is because one night in PIA while attempting to help get the crew bags out of Cargo 1 I managed to shut my thumb between the strut of the FWD cargo door and the airplane. Smashed it up pretty bad, I ended up in the emergency room at 2am getting it x-rayed because I was sure it was broken. While trying to write on the hotel sign in sheet my F/O noticed I was having trouble writing (every try writing without being able to use your thumb?) and asked why my thumb was so many shades of black and purple. I fessed up and told them what happened, and he proceeds to tell me that the wind limitation on the operation of that cargo door is 45 knots. I don't know why he told me that, it wasn't windy that night, and at the moment I really didn't care too much about wind limitations on cargo doors. I just wanted my thumb to stop throbbing. Maybe he was trying to take my mind off it, I dunno, but that bit of trivia has been floating around in my brain taking up valuable memory space for 6 years now.

Anyway....

Glad you passed your oral!
grin.gif
 
Re: Passed Oral!

[ QUOTE ]
I had Arana for the oral...not sure if you knew him, but I know he's been in the training dept. for at least 5-6 years.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hmm, I recognize the name, but I can't put a face with it....
 
Re: Passed Oral!

Dang! I nearly responded with 45 knots (remembering loading 42s and 72s back in mid-2000). But I thought I'd look stupid.
grin.gif
 
Update (10/18/04)

Quick update:

Halfway through sims now, checkride is one week from today. Just started into single engine stuff. Its going pretty well, but getting up at 0300 every day got way old after about the third day of it. Honestly, the sim started off a little rough but not from an actual "flying" standpoint. Our first instructor was hands down the worst instructor I've ever had in my entire career (my sim partner- a CA upgrade- concurred)...but thats all I'll say.

We have a much better instructor now though, that we'll have for the rest of training until the checkride. He definitely keeps the pressure on and the failures coming, but he's good and we're keeping up well
insane.gif
.

The ATR isn't too much faster than the King Air I was flying, so staying ahead of the airplane isn't a big deal. The thing is a tank though...extremely heavy on roll and pretty touchy on pitch. The rudder is big and effective. They tell us the sim is far more unstable than the airplane, which is comforting, since if you look away from your instruments for 2 seconds in the sim with the AP off, you're bound to be someplace you really didn't want to be when you look back up.

I think my biggest challenge so far has been just procedural things like flows and callouts, but with each session they've gotten more solid, and now I think I've got them down. I still miss one every now and then, but I get in less trouble for that than my sim partner does for making jet callouts (he came from the ERJ, which he says is MUCH easier, lol).
grin.gif
Oh...and stalls. This thing is a royal handful with stalls. The line between good recovery and stick pusher is rather fine, and the difficulty is compounded by the instability of the sim. Ah well, today I managed to do them within standards, which was definitely a confidence booster.

Anyways, just wanted to give a quick update. Once I finish up here on Monday, I get 5 days off, then its down to RSW on 10/29 for my 72 differences training and takeoffs and landings in the aircraft (3 nights there, 2 nights of training). From there it will probably be straight to Miami to start IOE on or around 11/1.

Well...off to bed to dream about all the engine fires/failures, V1 cuts, Dual Engine flameouts, Dual DC Generator Failures, hydraulic system failures and all of the other "fun" stuff we had this morning.
buck.gif
cool.gif
 
Re: Update (10/18/04)

Sorry to hear about your instructor? Is he an exec guy? Cause that'll pretty much tell me all I need to know........

That sucks you got the early sim periods! Yuck! One thing I really don't miss about work is those obnoxious BF-ing early wake-ups.
 
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