When did this new training process start that only gives us 4 days of ground school? Also, how much time is being spent in the procedures trainer now prior to heading to the SIM? Getting ready for my class date on the Q and would appreciate as much information as possible on what to expect. Thanks.

 

It happened last year around July or August, however I believe the Q400 ground school has now been extended by a week (?) to cover more stuff.

 

There's also more FMS lab now and maybe more VPT's

 

That sounds about right.

When they made the shift to everything being on the iPad, that resulted in new hires having some pretty large knowledge gaps, so the failure/retraining rate went through the roof for a while, but I believe it's come down after more ground school was added.

 

In the pilot conference call last week, one of our managers also stated that they were adding an extra sim session. I don't know when this goes into effect (maybe they've already added it).

Don't get too bent out of shape over anything you read on this site. Go to class, study hard, and ask questions. You'll be fine. For me, the ground school was the hardest, just because there's so much material. The simulator sessions are challenging and fun, very much oriented to real-world operations. IOE is enjoyable. You'll fly with some great check airmen and get to stretch your wings
doing some longer legs.

I did a bunch of sim support back in January. Some of the less experienced (or not current) guys have needed extra time in the sim. Don't sweat it if it happens to you. If I recall correctly the "target" for IOE is 50 cycles, or about three or four trips. That's quite a bit of flying. I've worked with a bunch of FO's that are just off of IOE and they are generally very good. Took me years to learn all that stuff!

 

[QUOTE=DashAviator;2584566]In the pilot conference call last week, one of our managers also stated that they were adding an extra sim session. I don't know when this goes into effect (maybe they've already added it).

Don't get too bent out of shape over anything you read on this site. Go to class, study hard, and ask questions. You'll be fine. For me, the ground school was the hardest, just because there's so much material. The simulator sessions are challenging and fun, very much oriented to real-world operations. IOE is enjoyable. You'll fly with some great check airmen and get to stretch your wings
doing some longer legs.

I did a bunch of sim support back in January. Some of the less experienced (or not current) guys have needed extra time in the sim. Don't sweat it if it happens to you. If I recall correctly the "target" for IOE is 50 cycles, or about three or four trips. That's quite a bit of flying. I've worked with a bunch of FO's that are just off of IOE and they are generally very good. Took me years to learn all that stuff![/QUOTE

Really? Air Groups mantra is and alway has been cutting costs. Sim time is expensive. Secondly, there is a shortage of sim slots as it is. If Air Group is considering more sim sessions, the failure/re-train rate is through the roof. That goes without saying.
Throwing pilots into a scenerio where their airline career starts off with a “training failure” on their permanent record is worth sweating.

 

If I recall correctly, our syllabus calls for a total of twelve sim sessions, each around 4 hours. Lessons 1-8 are training, session 9 is Maneuvers Validation, lessons 10 and 11 are four line-oriented scenarios (training), and the final session is LOE (another two line-oriented scenarios). This seems to be comparable to training programs at other regional airlines.

I have a lot of respect for our training department, especially our sim instructors. I helped out last year(doing sim support) with two guys who needed THREE extra sim sessions. Our instructors were totally professional and did everything they could to help the two new guys. Both of 'em made it.

I agree that you don't want a training failure on your record, especially as a new Part 121 pilot. And yeah, the Air Group is cheap. But, people that show up for training need to come prepared and be willing to commit 100%. The training program isn't set up to teach you basic instrument flying. You need to be current, at least close to ATP standards. It's also a bad time to be distracted by personal issues. If you have to deal with a serious issue (say, a death in the family), then talk to the training department and get assigned to a later class.

 

I agree with you, but that's why I said it could be the hiring department's fault. They shouldn't be hiring pilots they think have a marginal chance of making it to the line.

 

I am a RW guy considering Horizon, and I would like very much to know what to expect from Horizon's training program, especially considering my minimal FW time.

Is the syllabus permitted to be shared publicly, or is it a corporate secret? If not avail for public use, is it permissible to email it to me?

Much appreciated.

 

In years past Horizon's training program was modeled to accommodate 5000-6000 121 pilots with turbine experience. That program has been cut back significantly and the 5-6000 hour 121 new hire pilots don't exist. The results are quite predictable.