Don't know about other peoples situations but having a30 thousand hour american airlines pilot teaching me instruments is probably going to prepare me more than being a cfi. being 135 would probably be about the equal level of experience he has. but he has flown that as well. 300 hours worth of hard ifr and procedures should give me a good buffer to get through flying an ils and a hold dont you think not to mention i have actually flown a challenger 601 which handles exactly like a crj. basically that means i know how to fly the sim and how sensitive it is and what to expect. where as a cfi or a 135 pilot without crm experience probably doesnt. is that a huge advantage over other applicants? probably not much but its better than nothing. where i really stand out is having been trained by an air force pilot to fly tight formation in a cj6a. i doubt any civilian has that training. that usually comes from the military. hope to see you guys on the line with whichever airline choose. by the way this is not meant to be cocky just posting the truth about my specific situation.