Originally Posted by
AkAv8er
Hello,
I’m moving to Seattle with the wife in the next month and am taking a hard look at Ameriflight. It looks like it could be a good fit with said wife (weekend warrior) but I have a few questions that are alluding me.
I’m looking at the beech 1900 captain posting at BFI. I have the min prerequisites but not a lot more. I’m hoping I can be a viable candidate but could be open to working into that role if nec.
I see that most schedules avg. 5 days a week maybe 60 hrs/mo. Is a schedule like that something to expect as a newb out of training? Would it be unrealistic to hope for most weekends off? About how many overnights a month are you all averaging (esp. newer folks)? Should I expect to be on reserve for a while out of training? If so how long does it take to get a line and how much flying are folks getting on reserve?
What kind of delay are people seeing between applying and an interview? What kind of time frame bet. a job offer and a start to training? I’ve heard that training is pretty intensive- maybe comparable to a regional airline. Is training usually a few months plus ioe?
Lastly just looking for more info on the aircraft. I’ve seen a lot of varying opinions on the a/c and equipment. I’ve flown g1000 caravans and Alaska bush planes with stacks you need to sweet talk and consider slapping around; I feel like I’ve seen both extremes. What kind of avionics are in the B1900s? Autopilots (besides FO)? Are you folks pretty happy with the maintenance program?
A pilot friend told me that Ameriflight may pay for your atp after a few years if the stars align. Is that true?
Thanks for any input.
Let me correct a partial error in a previous reply. You won't get your ATP at your first recurrent at 6 months. The earliest would be at your first annual recurrent. They want at least a year out of you before making that kind of investment.
As for weekends, I think Seattle only has one run that operates on the weekend and it is a metro. The plane repositions to SUS on Saturday and then flies to SLC and BFI with the medical low level radioactive cargo.
You can plan 6-8 weeks for training, counting Indoc, MEICC and aircraft training, including OE.
As for avionics, I'm not positive if all 1900s have GPS yet. I know we are sending them and the metros through as fast as we can. All BE99s and E120s have GPS. Some BE99s don't have autopilots but all other aircraft do.
As a pilot I know that if you have a mx issue there is no one in your chain of command that will pressure you to fly a broken airplane. Now if an issue is legally MEL'd, then you should have a good reason if you choose to refuse it.
The other responder's estimate might be a bit high for pay, unless he is counting the bonuses AMF has offered the past couple of years to stay over two Peak periods. There is talk something will be offered again this year, but no specifics have been released yet. But the pay is MUCH better then it was just 3 or 4 years ago. Starting pay for a BE99 captain today is about the same as an eleven year metro captain ten years ago.