Bone75

Gents, I'm looking at submitting an app to Kalitta as I'm being told they are a better choice than Atlas right now. Any idea how the sim portion of the interview process has changed since Kalitta has parked their 747-2s? Lastly, what does the company mean by "Pilots are home based with the exception of recurrent pilot training in YIP..."? I live in SOCAL... regardless of seniority as a new hire, can I request lines at LAX? Thanks all in advance for your time.

orka

Sim profile is the same, it may be in 200 or 400 sim. Home based means they will buy you a ticket to/from where they need you, except for annual recurrent training in YIP which you are responsible for getting yourself to/from. You can bid LAX lines but even if you are awarded one you may be assigned elsewhere, no guarantees except for the days you are awarded and the pay credit. Then again, everyone ends up in LAX once in a while.

Bone75

Roger that!! thanks Orka... I've heard Pan Am aviation does 747 sim rides to prep guys/gals in advance of interviews but to prepare for either a -2 or -4 could get very expensive. do you bite the bullet and prepare for both or roll the dice? how heavy (no pun intended) is the sim portion weighed in the hiring process?

Cheers,

sky jet

They are not checking if you can fly a 747-?. They are checking to see if you can fly. Raw data. Dirty side down, shinny side up. Can you fly a departure, enter a hold, fly an approach? Turn off the flight director and auto pilot on your current aircraft and you will be getting all the practice you need. No need to spend a ton of money on a 747 simulator.

Bone75

Very good sir, many thanks. I understand all.

lionflyer

Microsoft flight sim is all you need to prepare for the sim profile or turn off the magenta crap on the airplane you currently fly and practice.

scoolbubba

K4 drivers,

What can a new hire expect as far as first year life, training, trip locations, reroutes?

I get the 17 on, 13 off rotation. Do you bid out trips or just start points? How’s quality of life on the road? What’s a typical trip like once you hit the first layover?

Thanks!

sky jet

You bid on work days. There are either lines of flying or reserve associated with those lines. We are so busy and short right now that those lines are just fantasy. The only hard part of your bid will be your days off. You will start and end where the company needs you. You will fly to wherever the company sends you. That might be to places that you couldn't find on a map if your life depended on it or places people pay huge dollars to vacation at.

Quality of life on the road is both a function of you and the crew you are with. Some people treat the job as an adventure and sightsee every chance they get. Others spend most of their layover time in the hotel. Some guys work out, some like to eat.

There is no typical trip. It is ACMI. Even if it is DHL and you have been to the cities many times there are bound to be changes. Delays, schedule changes etc. I will give you one example from last month. I went to bed in IST thinking I was departing the next day for SNN-ATL. When I woke up to get ready to leave I found an email telling me I was instead going to HKG. If you are not comfortable with destination changes that are half way around the world from where you thought you were going you probably won't like K4. Some guys revel in our insanity and others simply hate it and eventually leave.

scoolbubba

Thanks for the info. Appreciate it.

lionflyer

The IST flying is a whole other level of BS.