Has anyone done this? It sounds great that Colgan would offer this to better prepare for the interview and sim ride. Is it as good as it sounds?
"Because of the current pilot shortage in the regional airline industry Colgan Air has been challenged with keeping our recruiting and hiring standards high while faced with a pool of lower time candidates. In response to this challenge we have developed the Pilot Development Program. Candidates that do not meet our posted minimums would be eligible for this program, at the company's discretion. All candidates will go through our regular interview process, including a full motion simulator evaluation, to determine suitability.
The week-long program will be held at Flight Safety at Hobby in Houston and will include four days of ground school and three days of simulator observation and instruction. The curriculum for the ground school was developed based on the deficiencies that we have seen with new hires in our Saab first officer training over the last year. The primary focus will be an instrument refresher course in a multi-crew environment. The ground school will also include CRM, Situational Awareness, Colgan Air Procedures and Policies, and an overview of Systems and turbine engines. The simulator portion of the training will include a total of 12 hours of observation of our new hires in the SAAB sim and 6 hours of instruction in the King Air C90 simulator. An offer of employment with Colgan Air as a First Officer training candidate will be contingent upon a successful check ride by a check airman after completion of this program. Because this is a pre-hire program, candidates that do not successfully complete the program will not be faced with a failed training on their permanent record.
Colgan Air will subsidize the cost of all expenses associated with this program however candidates will be responsible for their hotel rooms, meals and personal expenses. They will be eligible for Colgan Air's reduced rate at the Spring Hill Suites.
If you know of anyone who would be a good candidate for this program, please feel free to email me their resume at
[email protected]. As always, thank you so much for your support." (Quote from USMC-SGT in Colgan Training Contract thread)