Ameriflight
12-25-2018, 07:22 AM
#4851
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Mar 2017
Posts: 176
Originally Posted by rftorp
Where are the 1900s based?
While not aimed specifically at you, I would like to add to this thread....
A quick search of the company website and the job listings will give you most every answer you seek... remember, a pilot needs to know where to find the answers to a question in their daily work, and doing a half hour of research, looking at this thread a bit, and the companies websites, to do basic research in any companies you have interest in might be a good first step....let's face it, company culture and lifestyle is a huge factor in deciding if any company is the right "fit" for both the job seeker and the employer.
When a person speaks to an informed possible future hire, it makes a much better first impression for any job seeker in any situation... people only get one chance to make a first impression.
Yes, the copilot positions in planes NOT NEEDING a copilot has a contract, simply put it person flying in that position is an added expense, and the company must ensure they stay around once a qualified captain for a bit to even break even on the $$.
Reality is, seeing ice, thunderstorms, snowstorms, deicing, etc with an experienced captain the first time is a huge help...I did it back in the day Solo....was pretty stressful...a bit of time in the right seat to get "seasoned" a bit before switching seats knowing you will stay a couple years isn't a bad deal IMHO.
Everybody's goals and expectations are different, but I have always said, be ready to stay at any job a bit...you never know when things suddenly change like it did on September 11th, or when the retirement age changed (the majors almost stopped hiring for several years).... unexpected events that left many people stuck at jobs several years longer than they had planned.
Honestly look at lifestyle, family time, and the way a company treats it's employees are all important....no place is perfect, but size of a company plays a huge role...in a huge operation, you are simply a number in a union, Cannon fodder...in smaller companies, the job still needs to get done, buy you as an individual are more likely to make an impact with your knowledge and inputs....a huge factor in job satisfaction.
Having friends who live and die, having memorized their union contract to a large part, and usually only get weekdays off (Tues, Wednesday and maybe Thursday) with half if the first and last day spent commuting, eating prepackaged meals out if a cooler bad or food court, I can say cargo has been good to me.
But it's different for everyone...
Look what's really important to you...
Some get "shinny jet syndrome", and some just like to fly, get a pay check, and enjoy their life.
12-26-2018, 11:52 AM
#4852
Line Holder
Joined APC: Mar 2014
Posts: 35
Thanks Zippy; I agree 100% that is why I'm looking at potential pilot bases. I have always wanted to be a pilot but never did it for various reasons. Now I want to change careers and do what I always wanted to do. I am not looking to break into the the majors, I just want to fly for a living in a part 135 operation for a few years. Maybe even fly charter or corporate at some point. Just fly until I retire.
12-27-2018, 12:33 PM
#4854
Ameriflight
Joined APC: Sep 2014
Posts: 318
Originally Posted by Selfmade92
$15,000 was the last one I've seen.
every 400h it'll get reduced by $5,000. So once you fly 1,200h with AMF the contract is "paid off"
I'd say average flight time for BE99 is about 50 to 60h a month.
every 400h it'll get reduced by $5,000. So once you fly 1,200h with AMF the contract is "paid off"
I'd say average flight time for BE99 is about 50 to 60h a month.
12-27-2018, 12:39 PM
#4855
Ameriflight
Joined APC: Sep 2014
Posts: 318
Originally Posted by Flyingbono
Curious what the real/practical requirements are to be home based in the BE99? Seemed like several months ago, there were a number of home based positions posted, but have not seen them for a while. At the time, the listed requirements were the same as the other BE99 CA positions, but I think I saw a comment somewhere that Ameriflight is actually looking for higher experience for home basing due to the variety of locales/conditions that might be encountered.
So are they still hiring home based folks at all? If so, what are you looking for? I surpass the normal BE99 CA listed requirements, but have to stay in the Austin area for another year for family reasons. SAT would be a 2 hr one-way drive for me, not really commutable for the Ameriflight schedule.
So are they still hiring home based folks at all? If so, what are you looking for? I surpass the normal BE99 CA listed requirements, but have to stay in the Austin area for another year for family reasons. SAT would be a 2 hr one-way drive for me, not really commutable for the Ameriflight schedule.
And at the moment, we aren't hiring any Home Based Captains.
Sorry for the trouble, but hope that helps!
12-29-2018, 10:31 AM
#4858
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Aug 2011
Position: Any
Posts: 656
Originally Posted by SonicFlyer
Is there a bonus for someone who has a EMB-120 SIC type?
01-03-2019, 02:13 PM
#4860
New Hire
Joined APC: Jan 2019
Posts: 1
Ameriflight EMB120 Training
I completed six weeks of training with Ameriflight (AMF) and would like to pass along some information regarding that training. I want to start by saying that I am not one to criticize one way or the other the manner in which their ground training was conducted. All I desire to do is to pass along what I experienced, some suggestions for improvement that I would have liked to have seen that would have made my experience more fruitful, and wish you the best of luck if you get hired and are to be trained in the same aircraft as I was (the EMB-120 Brasilia). I heard from other students that training in the other types of aircraft in the fleet was handled differently, so I do not have any information regarding that.
The company instructor made it clear to us that AMF desires to train
the best Brasilia pilots in the world. A lofty goal, to be sure. There is certainly
quite a bit to cover in the class in the time allotted. We were told that some
students, who were rated in the aircraft with thousands of hours in it, had
said that they had never been instructed in such detail before at their previous
carriers. It is AMF’s desire to teach you how to ‘disassemble’ the systems
because the Brasilia is a complicated, older aircraft. Yet, in flight, if there is
an issue, aside from a few memory items, all actions after those items have been performed will be followed per the QRH, which you will learn how to navigate since some guidance may not be logically presented (i.e. single-engine landing after
engine fire)
As a pilot for AMF, since they operate under Part 135, you will be relied upon to obtain your own weather (your flight plans are usually already on file with Center), to be in control of how your aircraft is loaded (you will need to be there while that is done), and that’s in addition to pre-flighting the aircraft and making sure it is properly fueled, and checking that maintenance items have been properly addressed.
Before leaving for initial Indoc training, the company will send you a box of information that includes a large portion of the airplane flight manual, two smaller binders (general ops manual and an SOP for the airplane), and large posters of the cockpit layout. There will also be a letter that states that you should know the flows, memory items and systems before coming to class. The more that you study before getting there, the better the aircraft-specific class will go for you.
This may be an eye-opener for some of you (especially if you are coming from
positions with Part 121 carriers). The Part 121 dispatcher figured out for you
all the aircraft weights for takeoff alternates, destinations and landing alternates, then decided which landing weight was the most restrictive, then told you what
the payload would be, and what the CG was, along with V speeds for takeoff and landing. Then you received the package, reviewed it, and then you departed on your way. However, at AMF, all of those computations will have to be figured out by hand (even though it is otherwise accepted industry-wide to use computers or iPads to do this), keeping in mind, differences in altimeter settings, winds, deferred MEL items, etc. The SOP has a chapter that somewhat addresses this, but it doesn’t go into the details about exactly HOW to do it. For practice, at the end of the day, for homework, we were given the basic information for a fictitious flight and the forms and left to our own devices in coming up with the answers that were needed. Some in the class caught on earlier than others on how to come to the satisfactory conclusions, while others had difficulties. The problem is, you may not get the answer you need going from “A to Z”…the process may go from Z to N to Z to B, etc.
My suggestion would be to have a booklet included with the information sent in the box with the SOP, etc., specifically addressed to this process, that shows sample performance problems solved step by step, from the easiest (no takeoff alternates, no deferred items, etc.) up to more difficult (takeoff alternates, more than one landing alternate, deferred items, figuring landing airport changes enroute, etc.) Then, in addition, spend a full day (if not more) working in class on performance problems. This is a very important part of the pilot’s duties, yet not much time was spent in class addressing it. The ASAP charts that were provided for each runway at each airport are chock full of information need to be interpreted correctly in order to successfully complete the process.
Halfway through the four-week ground school, you will be given a 75-question, internet-based open-book test that required 80% to pass, yet we were told
that the class average was below that. We asked ourselves, how difficult can this test be, since it is open book? We became suspicious when they told us they would give us ten hours to take it, that it was a systems test and that we could use our notes, the AFM, the GOM and SOP. However, there were performance problems (see previous paragraph about those), and other non-systems-related questions thrown in that addressed runway signs, fog types, weather fronts and their related weather, etc. Then, at towards the end of sim training, you will be expected to take another, similar test, closed book. It also requires a passing grade of 80% and passing it determines if you will continue with the training program. There is a bank of over 300 questions from which the 75 are chosen and it is designed to be taken on a laptop. It took us between eight and nine hours to take the test. Make sure you take care of yourselves while taking this test: drink lots of water and snack throughout. You will need to keep up your mental strength.
The company instructor made it clear to us that AMF desires to train
the best Brasilia pilots in the world. A lofty goal, to be sure. There is certainly
quite a bit to cover in the class in the time allotted. We were told that some
students, who were rated in the aircraft with thousands of hours in it, had
said that they had never been instructed in such detail before at their previous
carriers. It is AMF’s desire to teach you how to ‘disassemble’ the systems
because the Brasilia is a complicated, older aircraft. Yet, in flight, if there is
an issue, aside from a few memory items, all actions after those items have been performed will be followed per the QRH, which you will learn how to navigate since some guidance may not be logically presented (i.e. single-engine landing after
engine fire)
As a pilot for AMF, since they operate under Part 135, you will be relied upon to obtain your own weather (your flight plans are usually already on file with Center), to be in control of how your aircraft is loaded (you will need to be there while that is done), and that’s in addition to pre-flighting the aircraft and making sure it is properly fueled, and checking that maintenance items have been properly addressed.
Before leaving for initial Indoc training, the company will send you a box of information that includes a large portion of the airplane flight manual, two smaller binders (general ops manual and an SOP for the airplane), and large posters of the cockpit layout. There will also be a letter that states that you should know the flows, memory items and systems before coming to class. The more that you study before getting there, the better the aircraft-specific class will go for you.
This may be an eye-opener for some of you (especially if you are coming from
positions with Part 121 carriers). The Part 121 dispatcher figured out for you
all the aircraft weights for takeoff alternates, destinations and landing alternates, then decided which landing weight was the most restrictive, then told you what
the payload would be, and what the CG was, along with V speeds for takeoff and landing. Then you received the package, reviewed it, and then you departed on your way. However, at AMF, all of those computations will have to be figured out by hand (even though it is otherwise accepted industry-wide to use computers or iPads to do this), keeping in mind, differences in altimeter settings, winds, deferred MEL items, etc. The SOP has a chapter that somewhat addresses this, but it doesn’t go into the details about exactly HOW to do it. For practice, at the end of the day, for homework, we were given the basic information for a fictitious flight and the forms and left to our own devices in coming up with the answers that were needed. Some in the class caught on earlier than others on how to come to the satisfactory conclusions, while others had difficulties. The problem is, you may not get the answer you need going from “A to Z”…the process may go from Z to N to Z to B, etc.
My suggestion would be to have a booklet included with the information sent in the box with the SOP, etc., specifically addressed to this process, that shows sample performance problems solved step by step, from the easiest (no takeoff alternates, no deferred items, etc.) up to more difficult (takeoff alternates, more than one landing alternate, deferred items, figuring landing airport changes enroute, etc.) Then, in addition, spend a full day (if not more) working in class on performance problems. This is a very important part of the pilot’s duties, yet not much time was spent in class addressing it. The ASAP charts that were provided for each runway at each airport are chock full of information need to be interpreted correctly in order to successfully complete the process.
Halfway through the four-week ground school, you will be given a 75-question, internet-based open-book test that required 80% to pass, yet we were told
that the class average was below that. We asked ourselves, how difficult can this test be, since it is open book? We became suspicious when they told us they would give us ten hours to take it, that it was a systems test and that we could use our notes, the AFM, the GOM and SOP. However, there were performance problems (see previous paragraph about those), and other non-systems-related questions thrown in that addressed runway signs, fog types, weather fronts and their related weather, etc. Then, at towards the end of sim training, you will be expected to take another, similar test, closed book. It also requires a passing grade of 80% and passing it determines if you will continue with the training program. There is a bank of over 300 questions from which the 75 are chosen and it is designed to be taken on a laptop. It took us between eight and nine hours to take the test. Make sure you take care of yourselves while taking this test: drink lots of water and snack throughout. You will need to keep up your mental strength.
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