Originally Posted by kfahmi

Latest gouge from us guys in training. A bunch of us from the Sept. 22 class are now finishing sims in ATL.

• Hiring indefinitely for both airframes, classes are being planned for 70/month

•*Lots of movement. I've been here almost 3 months and my seniority number has gone up by 90, so about 1 per day.

• Indoc and Systems in SLC is just under 4 weeks. Candlewood is a great long-stay hotel with everything you need for a comfortable stay, plus access to the light-rail that takes you downtown where you can find Whole Foods, Harmon's (great supermarket) and plenty of other stuff.

• You may get a long break between Systems and FTD/Sims. Of the 29 new hires in my class, at least 10 got a 6-week break. Others went into FTD the morning after the Systems exam (ouch)

• FTD/Sims is 2.5 weeks long and will be in SLC if you are not delayed, or in ATL if you are delayed. The hotel in ATL (Drury) is nowhere near as good as the Candlewood...getting healthy food is very difficult and cooking it is impossible. Also the neighborhood is pretty sketchy, especially when you're walking back from FSI at 2:30 am. No grocery stores around...if you don't have a car you can try Uber or a taxi. Or a 90-minute public transit journey into downtown (shuttle to airport, MARTA to Peachtree, then walk).

• Gaps of up to 3 weeks are happening between your LOE (end of Sims) and IOE. My personal wait is 9 days.

• ORD and MSP continue to be the junior bases where all new-hires are being assigned on the CRJ. On the ERJ, ORD is junior and SFO is senior. DEN and COS seem attainable within a few months of training, LAX/SFO maybe 6 months after training (see below.)

• Brasilia going away May 2015. Bro crews are all gonna have to go to a jet. What that does to West Coast domicile availabilities is anyone's guess.

• Training is not easy; come prepared to work hard. Memorize your EP&L's perfectly, not just for the test but because you'll need that knowledge later in Sims.

• Although people say "Don't study anything else in advance," we had guys in Systems who had studied CRJ systems before in their UND or Riddle classes. They were able to focus on prepping for flows, profiles, and callouts while the rest of us were knee-deep in Systems. I wish I'd had some Systems knowledge before showing up. It would have made Systems easier.

• If you get to a point halfway thru Systems where you feel utterly overwhelmed, relax. They over-prepare you for the exam. Just do your homework and devote a couple hours a night to studying, not panicking, and you'll be just fine. Almost everyone got a 90 or above on our SV (last day of Systems)

• For FTD, show up with your flows and profiles well-practiced and life will be easy. The PV (Procedures Validation, day 5 of FTD) is extremely easy if you've prepared in advance. Show up without having studied/ practiced and you will be miserable.

Overall, it's a solid operation with smart instructors who want you to succeed.