B.W. -

Perhaps you didn't catch the part of my email where I apologized and stated I had NOT yet taken over the reigns, but B.K. would still be your primary point of contact until such time as you heard otherwise?

Or the part where I said even with that being the case, I am always willing to lend an ear and a helping hand if I can?

I find it quite ironic that your accounting of your initial contact with me - in an online forum such as this one, of all places - is quite different from the reply you actually received, and that being a retired military officer you would handle it this way considering I took vacation to serve our country AND still responded to you.

If this is your version of 'helping,' you're not.

There's always three sides to the story I guess.

Oh my... very sensitive.. C.A. Please learn from your NE counterpart's leadership. OBTW... you're not a fighter pilot if you fly A-10's (per your linked in page). You're an attack guy.

Now if we can get back to grown up business... This is a valuable forum and Line pilot to Management comms are very important... which is the information that folks reading this tune in. You have a good day.

Getting into the semantics of F vs. A and the role of the A-10 is truly an internet forum gem in how it relates to your original argument on King Air fleet intra-company communication. Internet tough-guy GOLD my friend !!!

after further review I must agree with you Krusty... that was a dumb comment in the context of the conversation.... better next time.

Is "Yammer" an app that many Gama folks are on? Sorry to sound like a dope, just curious...Never heard of it until now...Thanks!

Yammer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Yammer, Inc.
Yammer logo.png
Type of business Subsidiary
Type of site
Enterprise collaboration
Founded September 2008
Headquarters San Francisco, CA, US
Founder(s) David O. Sacks
Adam Pisoni[1]
Parent Microsoft
Website Yammer.com
Yammer is a freemium enterprise social networking service used for private communication within organizations. Access to a Yammer network is determined by a user's Internet domain so that only individuals with approved email addresses may join their respective networks.[2]

The service began as an internal communication system for the genealogy website Geni.com,[3] and was launched as an independent product in 2008.[4] Microsoft later acquired Yammer in 2012 for US$1.2 billion.[5]

Making $80k a year as a captain on a turboprop with a 8/6 schedule is way better than a lot of other jobs out there. I used to be on a 12/6 schedule making $72k a year as a Hawker captain flying airplanes that were older than the Wright Flyer with really crappy maintenance and operating at the fringes of the FAR's. Same applies for making $80k/year as an Excel FO or $110k/year as an Excel captain. No job is perfect, but some are better than others.

The real question should be is how long will Wheels Up be around operating under its current form. Kenny D has a habit of starting companies, building them up, and then selling them off. Who would buy WU? And how would the pilot group be affected? Mergers/buyouts never work out well for employees. There is a hot rumor that Berkshire Hathaway is looking at WU. Would WU and Netjets be independent operations, or would they be blended in together? Would they keep the King Air's? Would the WU/Gama pilots be blended in to the NetJets pilot fold, or would they stay with Gama (which would most likely mean layoffs, what is Gama going to do with 200 pilots all of a sudden?). I guess only time can tell. I will say that the pilot job market is like its never been before, so there are lots of options out there.

Wow! Would that ever be good news if in fact Berkshire Hathaway took over. I would love to see that with the hopes that they would drop any association with Gama and all administration would be done in house. What a great operation that could be.

What is your deal? Have you tried to get on here and couldn't for some reason?

XOJet Vs WheelsUp
 

What are your thoughts? Pros vs cons for each? If you had to choose, which and why?

I have talked to others that, like myself, have had difficulty getting past, uh, some of the folks that do the hiring there. It has nothing to do with qualifications or anything like that. When I started reading some of the earlier comments about "the three" and noticed a lot of favoritism, etc, etc. I talked to a captain at Newark one time that confirmed that that seemed to be normal operating practice there.
I would love to fly there but it isn't to be.

In response to your question on XOJET V's WUP, it is easy for me as I have 6000 hrs in King Airs alone. I like the plane, they have great maintenance, pay is good, benefits are great, schedule could be a tad better but I can fly for another 6-7 years so I would prefer to be in something I can fly in my sleep.

Just let me offer this. Quit smack talking it every chance you get and send your resume in weekly so it remains on the top of the pile. Personality and customer service focus are big here. Tweak your resume to emphasize these. Maybe that's the problem.

You're not neccessarily wrong on your gripes. I don't drink the Kool Aid here, but at least work here and gain some insight. You're complaining about the place before you even gain emplyment here.

Gama 8&6 XO 8&6
FO Pay about the same I think.
Gama has free health insurance. That's a big bonus.
Gama has per diem. XO has a company card to spend on food I think?
Gama has KA and XL's XO has X's and 300's. I'd rather be in an XO plane if all else was equal. No one wants to do 6 legs in the NE in a KA in July.

Who knows. Up to the person. I give Gama the edge because of the health insurance. There are other issues, though. I don't work for XO, so I might be wrong on some of that info.

Time for Gama/WU to add some bigger airplanes. It has the big membership base to do it. How about some used Sovereigns, CL300s or rebuilt Citation X Elites ( X Elite) - plenty on the market these days. I took a look at a WU XL on the ramp a few days ago - looked a bit tired and worn. WU is a huge success in terms of membership and aircraft growth - time to add some new horses to the stable......... :cool:

I think right now they are focused on profitability with these two so they can IPO or sell to private equity. It's been about 5 years since they took investments, and the pressure is likely building to return some money to those people. Adding another fleet that would by necessity be small and unprofitable at the start delays this goal.

How do you expect to get hired when you constantly bash the very people who will be reading your resume? "The three" you talk of likely read these forums & the main guy that does the hiring used to be a police officer. I'm sure he could figure out who you are. Most likely he already has which is probably why you haven't got the call.

How are things going at WU these days? I'm interested in the applying for a California based Captain position.

Where is the interview conducted? What can I expect during the interview?

All the people I have spoken with at XO seem great and are generally happy with the the way things go over there. Mx is good. They have a reasonable fatigue policy. Seems like a fun place to work. But, the continuous continent crossing is too much of a long term health risk for me (medical lost 2x).
Plus, only 1 week vacay for the 1st 4 years seems a bit is too slim ( this is the biggest complaint I have heard from several I spoke with).

Anyone at Gama reading this: if you ware west coast based, do they mainly keep you on the WC? Also, is there any fatigue policy there if you they are running you super hard?

No and No. You're basically run until you say "uncle".

We do work hard, but I’ve never heard of anyone being chastised for banging out fatigued with just reasoning. This job isn’t hard, but people make it hard. I have no qualms calling fatigued. They may ask for a report so they can track it, but that’s it.

What are competitive mins for SIC? No where on here or the job posting does it mention it.

I’m not sure. It depends on the type of experience you have. Maybe someone else can chime in. Regardless, keep throwing your info in. We need pilots.

I just got an e-mail back from them. You have to be ATP eligible for the first officer position. They really didn't make that clear to me on the application.

I’m not quite ready to apply as I’m flying a lot doing survey work this season. I won’t be at ATP mins by the end of the season though. I saw that as a requirement for pic but wasn’t sure on sic. I really don’t want to do regionals but it’s looks like it’s gonna be airlines more and more.

Survey work is only useful if you can hit ATP mins with it. If you can't, it's often a waste of time.

I don’t consider anything a waste of time that provides 100+ hours a month and a paycheck. If not at Atp mins I will be at 135 mins which a lot more than when I started survey.

I think what he means is that light aircraft flight time hits a point of diminishing returns. I did photo mapping early on in 172's and 182's however at 1k hours I knew I had to get some other aircraft experience to stand out.

What's the minimums for Captain please? Thanks in advance.

I believe they lowered PIC mins to 2500tt but with significant Turbo-prop/King Air/Multi- time... no less than 1000 Multi....

I have 7000tt but mostly in PC12/C208. I'm swinging gear from the right seat until I get 1000 Multi.

Thanks for the reply, don’t have that much either.

What's the promissory note amount for FOs?

Used to be $18K and change. I assume it hasn't changed much.

What's the significance of the red Wheels Up plane sitting in Wichita??

I beleive it’s ovarian cancer awareness, just like the pink plane is for breast cancer.

FAPA in DFW
 

Hey...to any current Gama pilots out there: is it worth my time to drive down to DFW for the FAPA on 9 December? I'm currently sitting at just over 2,600TT, 500PIC (mostly KC-135), and over 2,400ME jet time. Looking to get out of the 121 world and be home based in ICT.

Your thoughts?

Sent you a PM

FO
 

Are the FO minimums 1500 and a ATP?
Approaching 1000TT and looking at jobs for SIC

There are no official mins unfortunately, but you have to be at least ATP qualified from what I understand.