Originally Posted by
Packrat
Just remember, being an F/O at a regional means being the ultimate chameleon, especially with your history. You're going to have to sit next to a twenty something Captain with 1/10th of your experience and maintain ziplip for at least two years until you can upgrade.
Best of luck.
When he hits the line the Captain, even a young one, will have thousands hours more regional flying than he does. There's a learning curve for everyone.
As a retired F-18 guy said "I'm impressed by how good the training is and how sharp the guys are."
And a retired B-52(?) guy said he was surprised at the complexity of basic, but normal, airline flying. SID's, STAR's, fast turns, busy taxi clearances, reroutes, variety of approach types, high tempo ops, radio chatter, etc. Land, unload, grab a quick bite and a pee, reload, and launch again.
Every job, every seat, has a learning curve. Between switching seats or aircraft I've done it about 28 times. I you add in different regions in the world it goes over 30. Going to the next assignment means learning that job instead of believing I know it because I've done it x times before. Doing it x times over helps. Some stuff transfers, some doesn't transfer to the new job. That's part of the learning curve.
That's why I mentioned to come back with your impressions. The F-18 and B-52 guys did. It's interesting reading their impressions since they have a new perspective on it.