flynavyj

Have a friend who works there in Kansas, he's a former charter guy, and said he likes it. Is home much of the month, said he's happy with pay, and treated well. On their website, it says there's no positions available.

Also on the contrary, while talking with him, about days off. He said it varies. He never mentioned hard days off,and said "you'll know tomorrow if today was a day off". It's not a lifestyle i'd be happy to conform to, but for some, clearly, it works.

Sheriff Pilot

Know several of the pilots for exec airshares that fly out of AAO and the Kansas City area. For the most part they all enjoy their jobs and don't have many problems with the company just like any other job out there. Was told by one of their pilots that they're expected to take delivery on their first Phenom 100 sometime in march. PM me if you have any question you may have for some of the pilots. Usually see them weekly

pilot22

I fly out of the Wichita area and have met several of the pilots, they all seem very happy and upbeat about their jobs. They are VERY excitied about the phenom 100's coming. They do however work very hard, but they all seem to have a lot passion for the work they do and also for their owners. If my job ever went south I would try to get on with them!

9999

Nice post.

I just met two of your King Air guys two days ago at AAO and remembered this thread....so I asked them. They said they both enjoy it, though one of them did not appear to be as enthusiastic as the other.

Two nice guys overall and the plane looked nice from the outside. Never got the time to check it out thoroughly.

Bill Lumberg

King Air Driver,

Great information. I have spoken with a few other EAS pilots and they echo your sentiments. I have a few questions for you if you don't mind:

1. When is the first Phenom 100 expected on the line for customers?

2. How many are expected on the line in 2009?

3. After flying the Phenom, what have you liked most about the "fun" airplane? How does it compare to flying the Beechjet?

4. Will there be Phenom pilots based at all bases or just certain bases initially?

Thanks

KingAirDriver

Compared to the Beechjet, the best thing about this aircraft (IMVHO) is the simplicity. It is very automated; there's very little to do! The Prodigy system is really impressive. I had no G1000 experience prior to this, but I was very proficient with the Garmin 530. If you're competent with the GNS-530/430, you won't have a problem with the Prodigy. I took to it right away and was shooting approaches/arrivals/departures without instructor input on the first lesson. It's just like a big 530, but the nice thing is having the FMS keyboard to avoid turning knobs. Although, you may still use knobs for data entry if it's natual for you. But, again, it's just so automated. All switches/knobs are left in the Auto position until there is a problem. Arriving at the plane (other than preflight), all you really have to do is turn the two BATTs ON and turn the Start knob. That's all. Enter your V-speeds, weight/fuel info, LFE (Landing Field Elevation), and T/O data for FADEC, and the only other thing to do is turn the lights on as you're taking the runway. No "Hot 5," it's Auto as well.

Initially, the first Phenom pilots will be in ICT with the first a/c. Unknown where the other a/c are going at this point, but I expect pilots at those bases to be trained in time.

Sorry, I know that's thrown together in a jumbled mess, but I've gotta run! Fire off more questions if you have them, or shoot a PM to me. Hope that helps!

Tgaug6300

Is the potty going to be a belted seat? What don't you like about the airplane. Are you currently flying the one out of Alliance?

KingAirDriver

Hey there T,

Yes, we are flying out of Alliance. Been here since last Thursday, passed the oral today, go home for a break tomorrow. Back Monday evening to finish up and have the flight portion next Thursday.

To answer your question, No. The potty is not belted, and may not be occupied during taxi, takeoff or landing. Max seating is 5 pax in a single-pilot operation. One lap child under 2 yrs is allowed.

One thing I don't like is the checklist, or the lay out to be more specific. There are some charts in one location, and other charts and tables in other sections. You have to do a little hunting. We're constantly going between several locations to find certain speeds. It just needs to be revised.

Not sure if I mentioned the tire speed yet, but it's 139 kts ground speed. We flew a no-flap approach today and our Vref was 144 KIAS. You can see the problem. A Limitation states that the tires must be replaced after landings above 139 kts ground speed.

The landing gear and flap extention takes a long, long time. Care must be exercised to configure the a/c ahead of time.

There's really very little that I do not like about the airplane. It has been great so far. Keep in mind that we are flying one of the EXPERIMENTAL planes, not a production aircraft. They keep bringing that fact up because there have been improvements and changes made that did not include this one, so I imagine the production aircraft will be really slick.

Tgaug6300

Thanks KAD! Nice to hear from someone who actually flys it! Take care!

Short Bus Drive

"Not sure if I mentioned the tire speed yet, but it's 139 kts ground speed. We flew a no-flap approach today and our Vref was 144 KIAS. You can see the problem. A Limitation states that the tires must be replaced after landings above 139 kts ground speed."

???? I CAN'T see the problem. Unless you were landing with a tailwind, and touched down above 139 kts GROUND speed?

Vref, KIAS, etc....???
The limitation is based on GROUND speed. NO?