Stone Cold
Well-Known Member
Okay, so I'm finally getting off my duff and updating everybody on training. I'll try to give some details on stuff, but don't want to bore anybody either, so this might be a little long!
I've been here for almost 3 full weeks now. The first week and a half are all indoc, regs, HAZMAT, etc. and very long but definitely eye-opening. We took our indoc test (I did decent on it, so I was happy), then you get the Baron books after your test. They go over the main items on the Baron and you have your baron written the next day. Their reasoning for this quick turn-around is they want you to learn how to study for aircraft-specific items (Part 23 airplanes, anyways) in a short time. If we get something other than the Baron (Navajo or 310), we'll have 1 day of ground, 1-2 flights in the a/c then checkride, so they want you to know how to prepare for the future tests.
After we learned the airplane, we were headed off to the Frascas. We have 2 Frascas and used them to their full potential during our off time. Our first flight in the sim was on a Friday, then we had the weekend to practice to our heart's content and feel really comfortable with the profiles, Baron numbers, and the sim. 1-2 more flights in the sim with the instructor and we had our stage checks in the sim. It went well overall...glad we prepared over the weekend, though, and beat each other up in there since it's an extremely fast-paced session. All maneuvers, while in a 10 mile leg hold; 4 approaches, 2 non-precision (1 PP), 2 precision (1 SE), and land all in 1 hour total with no repositioning, freezing the sim, etc.
We have had a couple flights in the Baron now. It's an awesome airplane!!! It's very fast-paced, though, and very slick coming down so you have to plan ahead on the approaches to fly the profiles and the settings the company wants. We have had a 3 day weekend so we can sit in the a/c and sim and prepare. We will probably have our checkrides on Tuesday, then it's to IOE and the line.
Our schedule during the first 2 weeks was from Noon until Midnight, then the Monday of sims we started in on the 8PM to 6AM schedule. We've been keeping that schedule, even on weekends since it would be painful at this time to change the schedule. If we end up in the Caravan, we'll go to Wichita for a week of "suck, squeeze, bang, blow" school and go to IOE from there. I still have no clue where our potential bases are, but we'll find out after our checkride. Our base and run will determine what we end up qualified in.
As far as the staff here, everybody has been absolutely awesome. The CEO has been in to our class a couple of times, everybody is on a first-name basis here, CEO on down, and everybody seems to enjoy it. There might be a few moans and groans, and lots of talk about how we're changing due to Check 21, but I'll tell you right now we still have a TON of checks going through there. They're still hiring pilots, still upgrading into the Lear in 12-15 months, depending on how picky you are with your run, and still flying the line, along with recognizing they are in a state of change. They are also flying a lot of medical and other "stuff" around.
If you are looking at Airnet, it still seems to be a great company, with excellent benefits, more than most "average regional F/Os" will make (most people make around $30K+/year to start here). Base pay is just under $23K. We are guaranteed $111/day minimum. Yes, there is a year training agreement, but, for me, it was worth it just with the training. I may hate it on line, but right now, I am a happy camper. On average, we work Mon-Thurs nights. Some routes have Fridays, or you could be a "floater" pilot and have an 8/6 schedule. I am personally hoping to be a floater, but not sure if there are going to be any openings.
Well, that's enough of me being a "company man". I'll try to update later on, but it's back to studying now. Take care and good luck to all!
TX
I've been here for almost 3 full weeks now. The first week and a half are all indoc, regs, HAZMAT, etc. and very long but definitely eye-opening. We took our indoc test (I did decent on it, so I was happy), then you get the Baron books after your test. They go over the main items on the Baron and you have your baron written the next day. Their reasoning for this quick turn-around is they want you to learn how to study for aircraft-specific items (Part 23 airplanes, anyways) in a short time. If we get something other than the Baron (Navajo or 310), we'll have 1 day of ground, 1-2 flights in the a/c then checkride, so they want you to know how to prepare for the future tests.
After we learned the airplane, we were headed off to the Frascas. We have 2 Frascas and used them to their full potential during our off time. Our first flight in the sim was on a Friday, then we had the weekend to practice to our heart's content and feel really comfortable with the profiles, Baron numbers, and the sim. 1-2 more flights in the sim with the instructor and we had our stage checks in the sim. It went well overall...glad we prepared over the weekend, though, and beat each other up in there since it's an extremely fast-paced session. All maneuvers, while in a 10 mile leg hold; 4 approaches, 2 non-precision (1 PP), 2 precision (1 SE), and land all in 1 hour total with no repositioning, freezing the sim, etc.
We have had a couple flights in the Baron now. It's an awesome airplane!!! It's very fast-paced, though, and very slick coming down so you have to plan ahead on the approaches to fly the profiles and the settings the company wants. We have had a 3 day weekend so we can sit in the a/c and sim and prepare. We will probably have our checkrides on Tuesday, then it's to IOE and the line.
Our schedule during the first 2 weeks was from Noon until Midnight, then the Monday of sims we started in on the 8PM to 6AM schedule. We've been keeping that schedule, even on weekends since it would be painful at this time to change the schedule. If we end up in the Caravan, we'll go to Wichita for a week of "suck, squeeze, bang, blow" school and go to IOE from there. I still have no clue where our potential bases are, but we'll find out after our checkride. Our base and run will determine what we end up qualified in.
As far as the staff here, everybody has been absolutely awesome. The CEO has been in to our class a couple of times, everybody is on a first-name basis here, CEO on down, and everybody seems to enjoy it. There might be a few moans and groans, and lots of talk about how we're changing due to Check 21, but I'll tell you right now we still have a TON of checks going through there. They're still hiring pilots, still upgrading into the Lear in 12-15 months, depending on how picky you are with your run, and still flying the line, along with recognizing they are in a state of change. They are also flying a lot of medical and other "stuff" around.
If you are looking at Airnet, it still seems to be a great company, with excellent benefits, more than most "average regional F/Os" will make (most people make around $30K+/year to start here). Base pay is just under $23K. We are guaranteed $111/day minimum. Yes, there is a year training agreement, but, for me, it was worth it just with the training. I may hate it on line, but right now, I am a happy camper. On average, we work Mon-Thurs nights. Some routes have Fridays, or you could be a "floater" pilot and have an 8/6 schedule. I am personally hoping to be a floater, but not sure if there are going to be any openings.
Well, that's enough of me being a "company man". I'll try to update later on, but it's back to studying now. Take care and good luck to all!
TX
