Worked for me. I'll read it later.

If you're getting prompted to download something else, have your computer scanned.

Cheers!

 

Pilots: can operate multimillion dollar machinery - can't open a link and click download


it's 414 pages, probably a couple of pics here and there, thats why it's 33mb

 

Actually, I owe Cruz5350 an apology; when you try to follow the link from an iPhone it takes you on a wild goose chase for some reason, popping up into the app store??? Odd. I will add an alternate link for mobile devices shortly; but, I don't recommend reading it from a mobile device, it's not that kind of book.

Sorry Cruz.
C.S.

 

Often when you are redirected from a site it's an indication there is a virus on your computer or the site has been hijacked, but I don't think that's the case this time RE: folks' complaints about the original zippy link which is probably related to mobile devices and compatibility. Here is an alternate link (I can no longer add it to the original post). I have not tested it from my iPhone so if it too is bad... just download to a computer from the original link and enjoy reading on an overnight. It may or may not put you to sleep according to your interest level. 400+ pages LOL.

Flying Upside DownFor anyone out there who has "considered" a project like this book or has the phrase "I have friends with stories like this" going through their head, please PM me as you see appropriate.

Lastly, our team forgot to edit the email contact listed in the introduction and it's no longer valid. The genius who was supposed to set it up lost the login info and, well, that's that. So this account here at APC is a good contact point now.

Fly safe!
C.S.

PS: IF you want to re-post this pdf elsewhere, please feel free. Our team would appreciate original credit, but other than that the intent of the work we all did was to inform people about realities and cut through the sunshine being blown up would-be contract pilot's asses. We are planning to post at PPRuNE etc but if someone beats us to the punch we won't be disappointed. We'll simply pop in, thank the effort and add our 2-3 cents as necessary.

 

Almost all contract jobs require that circle to land restriction be removed.

 

^ Not contract jobs in Japan :0)

 

Please read word number one of my post. The word ALMOST.

Based on your previous posts, I figured you would say something like that.

So you have have a couple of Japanese 320 jobs that pay less than 10k USD a month after tax (Vanilla, Peach, Jetstar). A 767 job that currently mostly hires only JCAB licensed captains. ALL these jobs take 6-9 months of ground school. I might do that for ANA, but not for any other job in Japan. Then again, I have always chose NOT to do it for ANA, even though it is a very good contract job.

Pretty much every other contract job in Asia, that pays anything and hires real pilots, requires that circling restriction be removed from your license. Most countries also will not accept a FAA temp license. You need the real deal.

I got a 737 rating a year ago. A week later, I got the circling restriction removed.

When I went to the contract world the first time, I didn't do it till I was ready to go. It cost me 3 months work.

For anybody thinking about doing contract work, do your homework ahead of time. Each country/Company has its own unique requirements, some of which can be EXTREMELY difficult, expensive, or time consuming to meet. Some, all three.

Japan requires all flight times to be in minutes, not decimal. And your logbooks have to be PERFECT, no mistakes. Korea requires flight times to be broken down within a type (aka 737 700 vs 800, 320 vs 321) Some require cross country time, believe it or not. These are just a few examples. Get ALL the requirements as far ahead as you can, to see if you can EVER meet them.

If you don't do it their way, you won't get the job. Period. You won't go there to teach them how to fly. They will teach you how to fly their way, to their SOPS's. Or you won't ever fly the line for them.

I flew in China for a two year contract. It was awesome. Made lots of money, and had a great time. Was it perfect? Not a chance. Neither is the mythical "dream" legacy airline job. I have 20 years at one, and am counting the days till I can get another LOA so I can go back to a contract job, probably China.

 

People that have a good experience at a particular gig rarely take the time to come to any of these web boards and tell others about it...., most of what you get is the angry rants...!

I know several people that work in China as well as the ME..., there are some satisfied costumer out there believe it or not...!

 

I have been in China for about a year and a half now. In my experience it is a bit of an adventure. It is like the Wild Wild Wes...er...East here. Not for everyone, and after a year and a half my patience is beginning to wear thin. Can't speak to all airlines, but one of the guys here is on his fourth different Chinese airline in ten years (yes, you can switch). He says they all have their issues, just some issues are different than others. It is a matter of hoping the airline you get on with has issues you can deal with.

 

Yes yes and yes. I've heard horror stories about plenty of foreign aviation authorities from all over, not just China. And the homework bit, that's why we put together this little project, to help others out who are trying to find "in the trenches" information beyond a soudbyte in a forum on PPRunE or APC. Altruism aside, it's also been cathartic; read the stories as angry rants or humorous exchanges, you decide. But, ~1,200 views of this thread in 2 days is pretty significant; I think it's safe to say our mission is accomplished.

What a lot of would-be contract pilots don't realize is the significant cost one incurs chasing down a supposed 300K job in China or elsewhere. You buy airline tickets to interview, airline tickets to test, airline tickets re-test. You have hotel bills, local transportation bills, medical test bills, visas to buy, documents to prepare and translate... the list goes on and suddenly you're in $5000+ for a bite at an apple that ends up being a very slim chance as Probe pointed out. And that apple may not be a flavor you can stomach. I've heard of the Chinese washing out 50 guys to take one (notice I used the word "guys" here which is also significant). Once you shell out that money, GOOD LUCK getting it back. I've heard of plenty of stories where guys didn't get paid back, or only recovered a portion of what they spent.

Interestingly, the advice we stand behind is the strategy Probe advocates: GET AN LOA, DON'T QUIT. So, a lot of good insights being offered in the comments here.