New Hires - Bases and Reserve Time
 

Ok, so if I am posting this in the wrong spot I apologize, I am new to the forum.

What are the chances of holding Houston out of training?
How long are new hire FO's on reserve.

I am 56 years old pilot living in Houston and looking to make a career change. I have been a GA pilot for 17 years with just under 1500. I always regretted not following my dream into an aviation career so in the current environment I figured I should just go for it. Thus my username.

The best case for me would be to hold Houston, on reserve or holding a line. If I can't hold Houston but am holding a line somewhere else I won't mind the commute. To be honest sitting on reserve and commuting scares me a bit.

Thanks in advance for any feedback and for putting up with my newbie post.

No one knows anything around here anymore. Too much in transition. IAH out of training is probably not likely, probably within 6 months and then on reserve for at least a year I'm guessing. If you absolutely positively need IAH immediately and don't mind paying out the butt for health insurance, try Mesa.

Junior base bounces between EWR and ORD for new hires, but the previous post is correct in that things are currently in flux. IAH out of training is very unlikely, but perhaps possible after 6 months or so. Reserve in EWR has been lasting around 4 months, but IAH will be much longer.

I was afraid what the OP would get as a response. Let me preface what I will write by saying I am hardly an ExpressJet koolaide drinker. Just look at my recent posts.
Having said that, I think we need to look at each individual separately and try to put aside our personal disappointments when we do so. There are some things I see in the OPs background that make me think XJT may be a good fit.
For the OP:
1. Training will probably be outstanding which, if coming from a GA background will be crtitical. Having said that, you must come prepared. Know how to fly instruments. Get in a PI-135 sim with a good instructor. Learn to fly an airplane with a G1000 and a GFC700 autopilot. Learn to fly with the autopilot, w/ the FD but no autopilot, and raw data. You will also have to fly visually with precision, on speed and on target. If you can find a good instructor with a Mooney fly that as well. Learn to fly it on speed and on target, landing where you want on the center line every time. If the instructor is someone who teaches to normally land zero flaps and 90 knots over the numbers that’s the wrong instructor.
2. Your training will most likely be in Houston. This is good and bad. Tell any family there that your training comes first. Consider getting a hotel room if XJT is paying for it.
3. As pointed out you probably won’t get IAH out of training, so you will be commuting to sit reserve at first. Probably ORD.
3. The company is going through... “turmoil”. You could hit the jackpot and things turn around. More likely you realize after a year that this is a sinking ship, you do a lateral move and get a bonus for doing so as a well trained pilot with 121 experience.
Good luck!

I’ve been commuting for over a year. It sucks, but don’t let it scare you. I’ve even two legged before and if you find the right city pairs, it’s a breeze and in my case, sometimes better than fretting over whether you’ll make a nonstop.

Scheduling has also been working with us to the extend they can to help commuters.

Thank you for the reply.

You really do need a new screen name, considering your post. :):rolleyes::eek:


Good luck with the life reset button.

You know how to fly glass cockpit? Don't try this gig without being glass cockpit proficient.

I think the commuting part is what you make it. I admit that I never have on reserve, but those who seem ok with it are the ones who try to make the best of it. Don’t sit around in a crash pad feeling sorry for yourself and watching MASH reruns. Get out. Do something.

Thanks for the good luck wishes. The screen name is because I want to have no regrets so I am "goin for it"

Thanks for the tip.... I will be spending a lot of time in a G1000 aircraft in the coming weeks and months.

Ditto that on hotel RONs too.

I’m in a similar situation as the OP; mid 40s, career change, current CFI flying about 400 hours a year. Current and proficient IFR, decent with the G1000.

Looking at Expeessjet b/c of their training and ORD base. Coming from only C-172/Pipers, this is my first forrey into fast a/c. Is the washout rate here similar to other companies and they will give you a few extra sims? I heard most make it though if you work hard and have a good attitude. I’ve never busted a ride and don’t want this to be the first. Thanks.

Expressjet is known for having the best training in the industry. They will go above and beyond to help get you through as long as you are making the effort and have a positive attitude. You are pretty certain to get ORD if that is your base of choice.

They do have good training and great instructors, and it's honestly not that hard either way. I came from basic GA and I was mostly bored during training. Had a good sim partner too. Your mileage may vary.

You need not worry. It sounds like they give unlimited sim sessions and ridiculous amounts of IOE to the “i always wanted to try it” crowd. No pilot shortage, indeed.......

What are the chances of holding Houston out of training?
Not good, but you'll get back here likely in less than a year.

How long are new hire FO's on reserve.
It completely depends on base. My fo today just got down to Iah after about 10 months in ORD. He said he didn't mind the ORD commute and he liked how quickly he gained seniority % up there. In Houston he's bottom of the barrel.. But driving to work on reserve with our work rules is not bad at all. I did it for years.

I am 56 years old pilot living in Houston and looking to make a career change. I have been a GA pilot for 17 years with just under 1500. I always regretted not following my dream into an aviation career so in the current environment I figured I should just go for it. Thus my username.
Time is ticking away. I say go for it. ExpressJet has fantastic training, great LCA;) , and probably the best work rule wise contract in the RJ world.

The best case for me would be to hold Houston, on reserve or holding a line. If I can't hold Houston but am holding a line somewhere else I won't mind the commute. To be honest sitting on reserve and commuting scares me a bit.

Commuting to reserve sucks, there's no way to sugar coat it. But, it's just part of the game. Again, I bet you'll be back in IAH within a year of being on property

I have to say that the training department is excellent. I am in a similar situation. I am 54 and did my CTP course in the Houston training center and then went to the ASA side in Atlanta, since I live there. The instructors were the best and would work with you as long as you showed that you wanted to learn. All the pilots (8) that were in my training class were older except one. Systems class were straight forward and if you listen in class all the test were easily passed. My sim partner failed one major test and the instructors spent extra time with just him to make sure he passed the test and we moved on. I personally went through about 54 hours in the sims with training and CTP before having to go out on pilot leave due to a minor stroke, but ExpressJet has kept me on a leave of absent for the last two years, which means once the FAA approves my medical I will come back with seniority as if I never left. Even when I was not able to continue by training, our instructors worked with my sim partner one on one (one instructor instructing and one instructor working as a sim partner) until he completed his training. I know people will say a lot of bad things about ExpressJet, but it's not all bad. Best of luck.

XJet has always been a very good company. Even more reason why what Scumwest has done to us is so infuriating.

That will do the trick. Is an FMS part of the cockpit?

If you show up glass cockpit proficient and able to initialize/work the FMS, you will breeze thru training. Those two things are most likely to eat an older GA pilot's lunch.

Have fun!

My advice is to strongly consider someone besides XJT since their future is so unclear. There has been some good news lately for XJT, but it still looks murky.

If Houston is a big factor, then XJT is a good choice despite the shaky future. The way things are now, if XJT does go down the drain, you can always make a move somewhere else without worry.

Again, based upon the GA background I would recommend XJT though I am pessimistic about our long-term future. He can always get initial 121 training here where the training is better, then move laterally as necessary.
Also, while I agree with the glass training comment (see my post above), I don't think basic stick and rudder skills can be ignored. Thus my recommendation to some training in a Mooney, preferably a modern one, learning to land on speed, on target, on the center line each and every time.

Expressjet is so desperate for pilots. Apply and when they call you for the interview go. In the interview tell them you need IAH or you will go elsewhere. I almost guarantee they will give it to you.

Agreed that EVERYONE is desperate for pilots, but that’s not how it works with regard to basing. If there’s a vacancy, you’ll get it. If not, seniority rules.

Exactly. That would be a huge grievance.

Let me second, or third, the comments about preparing yourself for the flying training environment. Airline flying is precision glass cockpit instrument flying, even in a "visual" environment. When the second career guys have trouble, it tends to be trouble flying instruments and managing the FMS flight computers. With that said, XJT will work with you to get you through if you can continue to improve through training. Good luck.

I also second this. Stick and rudder is a given, but you really don't get to demonstrate that much in training, since it's all simulator. You will be taught to turn the autopilot on quick and off late, concentrating on flight management.

There is some required hand flying of the sim and you absolutely have to master it, but it is a sim. It doesn't properly simulate stick and rudder.

I recently went thru 121 regional new-hire training as an old guy, with a surprising amount of other old guys from GA, corporate prop and small jet corporate. The only thing which gave any of the older guys a problem was the FMS. It can eat your lunch. My saving grace was having 9,000 hours in the plane. I logged quite a bit of after hours time, helping other old guys learn how to work the FMS on the computer sims.

There is no at home trainer available for the FMS, so my advice is to be all over the FMS before you get in the sim. Instructors in the classroom may say "All this will make more sense in the sim when you can actually push the buttons rather than click a mouse." And they are correct, but you have got to be able to initialize the FMS in less than 5 minutes, before getting into the sim- despite the fact that it is a mouse driven computer simulator.

Take it from a fellow old guy.

The first order of business should be a psych evaluation for any new hire. This place has nothing to offer. Not sure what nonsense the recruiters are spewing. The only thing we have going is a perpetual net loss of pilots, indefinite upgrades, stalled contract. In regional land we are the new bottom of the barrel.

I don't disagree, but read my comments on why it may not be a bad idea to at least come here and get initial 121 training. But yeah, as soon as you finish IOE look for a place to get off the insanity train.

The visual "hand flying" will come later when you are expected to be able to fly the Expressway Visual 31 at LGA; the Bridge or Stadium Visual 29 at EWR; or the River Visual 19 at DCA. You aren't taught this in the sim, but are expected to be able to do that stick and rudder stuff.

I would be curious to hear what the recruiters are telling our handful of new hires. Because we really have nothing to offer besides a decent training department,

Note to any new hires: A regional recruiter is equivalent to a human parasite. A self-serving piece of panty waste who will tell you anything to make themselves shine.

You guys are making 121 training seem so much harder than I remember it. :) I was so bored for that 10 weeks. It's mostly death by powerpoint for the first few weeks. The ftd and sims are kinda fun; you see the instruction come together. Every procedure and profile is spelled out in detail in the FOM Vol 1 and the instructors will teach you from that. Follow the procedures and instructions and it's not hard. The 145 is a very easy first jet. Relatively simple systems and equally simple FMS.

Your experience can and will vary.

It's not hard but people do wash out. If someone is coming from a primarily GA background only having flown a few hundred hours/year, there may be much to learn and old habits to unlearn. Again, I think you have to look at each person as an individual and understand their background. I've taught enough pilots, civilian and military, to know that they come with different skill sets.

Absolutely true. I technically came from a part time GA background as well but I guess I had the aptitude for this.

I don't know whether or not mid 40s is considered old, but I have been instructing for the past few years; averaging about 400 hours a year. Is the FMS similar to the CRJ200's FMS? I have a manual that I was thinking about reading to help me prepare. Also, what is the washout rate at Expressjet? The training department is a huge draw for me. Thanks!

Mid 40’s is not old. And, 400 hours per year will be a big help. It does depend on how the 400 hours are earned. 400 hours on pipeline patrol is different than 400 hours in hard IFR. You will do fine, just study and work hard.

CFI's usually have the easiest time of things in training second to only some of the prior 121 guys (other prior 121 guys come in cocky and that knocks them out). Especially if you've been doing any instrument instruction it'll be a breeze.

Instructors are used to absorbing and dishing out loads of info and that's all 121 training is. My sim partner and I were both CFII's and we couldn't figure out why everyone says airline training is so hard haha.

Trip/Duty Rigs, Commuting Policy, etc.
 

Apologize if these have been covered in another thread:

1) Are there trip/duty rigs?
2) What is the commuting policy?
3) What are the short call reserve times? (If it varies by base, specifically looking for ORD & CLE)

I appreciate any/all info.

Credit rules here suck. No trip/duty rigs, min 2 hour a day average (3 if a full day layover). 4 day trips pay a min of 15 hours. Open time pickups are minimum 3.75 per day.

I'm told if we agree to PBS in the next contract, there will be rigs and min day.

In actual practice most of our pairings have decently high credit. My monthly schedule tends to average 5 to 6 hours credit per working day.

Unlimited use policy. Two flights with seats available (jumpseat included) to get to base 1 hr prior to show.

3 times in rolling 12 months only need 1 flight.

2 hour call out short call. Only bas that will be different will be Tys.

It’s 15 prior to show...or am I missing something?

Not sure what’s 15 prior to show

Commuter policy. 1 flight to put you there at least 15 minutes prior to report (3 times in 12 months)