Sim Instructor QOL
 

Curious if anyone knows what the QOL is like for sim instructors? Saw an LinkedIn post saying $150,000/year for 16 events. Is this accurate? Any chance to make overtime/work more? Benefits? Any other tidbits?

You're probably not going to get a lot of enthusiasm from seniority list pilots on this one, but yes the LinkedIn post is accurate. No idea what the benefits are.

accurate... but just know that a majority of people support only seniority list pilots being in the training department and touching our metal. So most guys aren't well received unless they are ex frontier employees or flew an airbus and actually understand our procedures and stuff. Usually they lack the tribal bus knowledge that you get from actually flying the line.

I can't believe they are going down this path again. From what I heard from senior guys in the training dept, the last time we did this new hires trained by non seniority list pilots had to be retrained by sim instructors who had actually flown the line. I'm sure many rationalizations and mental backflips have convinced them that somehow it will be different this time.

Can someone speak to the op's original question. Assuming for example you're a retired A320 CA/sim instructor who knows what they're talking about.

No clue what the benrfits are. I'm sre they aren't great but pay is way better than it used to be for non seniority list instructors. I think you must do 16 sim sessions per month. Sims start at 5am and run to 2am so expect either early mornings or late nights. The nice time slots will go senior obviously. MCO or DEN base.

I can’t substantiate but we had one or two in my newhire class, supposedly at least one of them already quit. I can only assume for the reasons you state. The position is a contractor position, pays just shy of $800 per session and 16 a month. Wild speculation from me, that could drive someone to quit, is being a local area retiree who was told “maybe could be up to” 16 and it ended up being assigned all 16. At the rate they were trying to train. Idk if they only keep you in DEN but I could see getting sent out to MCO living out of a hotel for a week at a time, and that would suck. And like you said, worst schedules I bet. All my instructors said your sim seniority begins when you start sim instructing, regardless of company seniority. Makes sense.

No, the position currently being hired for is not a contractor position, it's a full time employee position. They bid on schedules which all have 16 events on them. Instructors are based in either DEN and MCO, no living out of hotels. Schedules all based on seniority which is based on instructor class date. Worst schedules typically go to the most junior instructor, whether that's a line pilot or non-seniority list instructor.

Well at least that’s a little better. Sounds like it used to be a contractor position.

They have hired contractors in the past, but not currently.

Good info. What would be more helpful is a comparison to sim instructor positions at other airlines (of which I have no idea about)…

According to several of the new instructors I've talked to, we're now paying more than a couple of the other airlines (SWA, JBU for example), and quite a bit more than some of the non-airline sim outfits, with more time off and better schedule flexibility. I would imagine the landscape is changing quickly though across the board.

Thanks for all the good info…

I just overheard they were going to make SC an ES DPE’s. Anyone else heard anything about this?

What’s an ES DPE? I also heard they hired a BCP and it’s real bad. Not ES but no idea who

designated pilot examiner.

Well yea I know what a DPE is just not an ES DPE. And has SC even been an instructor?

I'm guessing es is a persons initials and the poster forgot the d in the word and.

Oh lol ES. Yea got it. Well sorry for everyone reading, 2 min of your life you’ll never get back.

I think we’ve got some acronyms mixed up here. A couple of the Chiefs are going through LCA training. DPEs don’t exist at the airlines…we have APDs. Sort of similar in some ways to a DPE but different.

Right. And it shouldn’t be surprising to anybody…with the trouble they’ve had hiring/retaining LCA’s it makes sense the company makes the chiefs available for IOE/line checks.

Oh get out the popcorn. Some of our high mins base chiefs are going to be doing IOE? I hate to wonder what's next around here..

Yes, I very much got my acronyms mixed up. I could say it was because I had both tears and laughter going on. However it was more likely fear for where we may be headed as two of the least qualified pilots step in to a training / checking position.
If they are to be LCA’s that is one thing, but if they are to be APD’s that to me is frightening.
Either way diminishes the standard in a way that is concerning.One that I would hope ALPA would be watching closely.

This is one of the most frightening things I've heard of. Neither of the Denver management "pilots" have any business doing any kind of instruction whatsoever.

Hold up. You guys are just making sh|t up here.

S.C. and E.S are not going to be APDs. So settle down.

And for the record S.C. would be a good LCA. He's a good guy and a good pilot. It's unfair to say he's "the least qualified." That's totally ridiculous.

Now E.S. on the other hand.... yeah, I agree

I don’t think ANY of the Chief Pilots should be any sort of check position. For one, that’s sort of a conflict of interest. Asking your CP to give a line check to a pilot whom they know is troublesome in non-flying areas (like showing up late, etc) but is otherwise a capable pilot screams of a questionable situation. If the pilot fails a checkride, I’m sure they’ll think it’s because of the CPs dislike of them (and start a subsequent grievance). Two, the CPs are already busy. But third, and most important, CPs are paid a monthly guarantee without override. Having them fly IOE for “free” takes $ away from some other LCA.

Not a good idea to me…

I agree with all of that. But to be clear, they will not be giving actual checks rides.

So what’s the point then?

You don't know the difference between a LCA and an APD?

I'm intimately familiar with the difference. I highlighted the difference a few posts up. If they won't be giving actual checks (which is what I inferred from "actual checks rides [sic]" -- I read it as actual checks/rides), what's the point in them being a LCA? I know they won't be conducting type rating checkrides because they won't be APDs.

Do you? You dismiss the idea of a CP being an LCA because they “won’t be giving actual check rides”. What do you think a “line check” is?

Instead of discussing semantics, can we all just go back to the Speculation thread so we can come up with ideas for getting a better contract?

I figure they would be doing IOE

Culminating in a....

Balked landing ?