Rook

Cool Good Luck

USMCFLYR

Mission accomplished hurricanechaser!
I recently found out that I was picked up for the job.

USMCFLYR

TonyWilliams

Welcome to the agency. I hope your experiences (overall) are better than my two decades there.

N9373M

I've been airborne and heard the "Flight Check" call sign and thought what a cool job. I assume they were validating the ILS for tolerances and obstructions etc on this particular flight. I have not seen the job description, but would love to hear your take on the job, particularly in comparison to the air carriers i.e. schedule, wx, pax, pay (GS11/13?), hours, QOL.

USMCFLYR

Thanks 73M.
Since I was never a P121 guy - I have no idea how it would relate to those jobs, but others that have been in both worlds speak well of the job. I do know that you fly under P135 to/from the missions areas and conduct the actual flight checks under P91.
This little blurb on pay was posted by a guy back in '08 that went from Colgan - via the TSA for the Federal in - to the FAA.
As far as I know it is still current information.
The GS pay scales are public information
You can also search the database for past threads using the FAA, Flight Check, or ASIP key words for additional information

USMCFLYR

hurricanechaser

Congratulations USMCFLYR. I'm sure they picked the right guy for the job. Good luck with everything. If you don't mind sharing your hours with us, it would be great to know what kind of person their looking for next time this position is open, and tell us what you think they liked about you.

I know my hours and experience were not enough to even apply but who knows what I may have to offer next time they are looking for pilots.

WANNABE

Welcome! Which office are you going to?

USMCFLYR

Thanks WANNABE. I'm going to be in the OKC office. I've thrown some pretty firm roots down in the area and I was only able to take an offer based at that location. It was the very last question they asked me in the interview - [why is your location choice limited to OKC?]
I thought it might have been a torpedo

hurricanechaser - I'm hoping that my qualifications were just part of why I got the job, but since it is a government job and the interview process is described as an even playing field for those who interview, I'm not sure how much networking played a part. I have been working towards this job since mid-'08 and trying to learn all that I could about the job and organization. I do believe that timing is very important for this job. Right time applying with the right requirements. From this thread, it seems that being a Federal job that the Veteran's Preference points, or transfer from another Federal service are required to make it in the door, but having spoken with a few of the pilot's with so military background I do know that it isn't a hard requirement, though that may changed with the economic times.

As far as hours and such, here is the blurb off of my resume:
Total Flight Hours: 3732
Total Turbine: 3451
Multi Engine: 3125
Pilot-in-Command: 2882
Instructor Pilot: 1898
Last 12 months: 148

The interview process was in three parts:
Panel interview
Oral interview
Flight Eval

The panel interview I assume could be described as a standard airline type of interview with some of the CRM questions, TMAAT questions, background questions, what would you do if questions, etc...
Since this is only my second interview since leaving the military and the first was nothing like this, so I really don't have much to compare the process too. Others on here have much more experience and might be able to share similarities with the P121/135 world.

The oral interview was what I was worried about the most.
I haven't flown under P91 regs, VFR, or flown using a sectional or low altitude enroute chart in a VERY long time. Again, from reading on this forum I can relate that it seems to be similar to what the fractional orals were like in the past with the timed tests (though this was not timed), rather a one-on-one sit down with the interviewer.

Then obviously the flight eval in an airplane that I had hardly sat in the cockpit of before was intimidating. The eval is flown in one of their BE 300s with an EFIS cockpit. The evaluator acts as a fully qualified SIC during the flight eval. I think he said that you could use all of the automation available to you in the cockpit, but never having used an autopilot like it had, and not being use to flying flight director cues, I chose to hand fly the entire flight. We went through the brief together and he laid out the plan. We went through the start checks together and he did all of the comm. As a single seat guy throughout my career (except for my IP time) that is always something that I found to be hard to give up, but at an unfamiliar field, and with being anything but comfortable in the airplane, it was a welcomed duty delegated.
When I have described the checkout to others more familiar with type rides and such they describe it as "standard". I taxied and tookoff, flew out to a working area to the west of the field where we did some BAW maneuvers (steep turns, clean stall, intercepting and tracking a radial and entering holding). Eventually we left the working area and proceeded to an airport close by for an RNAV approach, to low approach/missed approach. We finished up with an ILS to a full stop at Will Rogers and surprisingly enough he had me land the plane (I had heard that they do another low approach followed by entry into the pattern and a full stop performed by the evaluator)

What they liked about me???
Who knows hurricanechaser.
In my background I do have a lot of safety and CRM experience from a different background (meaning not civilian). Maybe they saw something there that wasn't on everybody elses' resume. When I got put on that path in the military I elected to go to every school available hoping that it would set me apart when I got out of the military and started looking for a flyng job.
I was relaxed in the interview and tried very hard to just be myself like is the normal advice given on this forum. It is much easier to do that when you have a job that you enjoy very much and if not chosen this time around you plan on just waiting for the next opportunity to apply again.
It would have been 10 times the pressure if interviewing without that safety net.

That brings up something that I didn't realize until the actual interview.
In this three part interview, you must pass each stage in order. If you don't pass a certain stage then the interview is over immediately and since you FAILED that stage, are NOT ALLOWED TO REAPPLY FOR ONE YEAR! As long as you make it past all three stages, if not selected, then your name goes into the hopper and you are automatically looked at the next time around and I even think you might not have to go back through the entire process again!

I'm very excited about the opportunity and I would like to thank the members of APC who helped me along the way with advice, gouge, guidance and ideas along the way. If anyone has questions, please feel free to ask them on the open forum or PM me. Obviously I don't know anything about the aspects of the actual job since I haven't started, but I'll be happy to share what I learn along the way.

USMCFLYR

ERJF15

Week 4......still nothing

USMCFLYR

Like the new avatar.
No word is just that though ERJ. Remember the old Fat Lady saying
Did my experience sound familiar to you or do you have a different take on it? I'd like to hear your thoughts.

USMCFLYR