I've been looking for some current information on Piedmont, but all the info is a couple years old. Anyone have insight to what bases are currently going junior and how the training is? I saw that it used to be dreadful but was getting better. Is it still or what?

 

just signed a new contract that will make reserve life a little more bearable with 11 days off as opposed to 10 (but piedmont reserve will always be abused and treated sub human) . We are short on pilot as is and attrition is about to start increasing, so hopefully you will not sit on reserve for too long. You should be able to get any base within a few bids/months. EWN will probably be the hardest to hold as it the smallest. Training can be rough, but if you cooperate and show a desire to be there (observing other people sim sessions) they will try hard to get you through.

IMHO if you can/do live close to a base it isn't terribly bad, but it's a really tough airline to commute for do to base locations and crappy schedules. If you can get on with a jet carrier you will probably be in a better position in the long run. Good Luck with what ever you decide.

 

Is ROA able to be heald out of training? Also, what does a typical trip look like?

 

Why is training rough? Honest question.

 

there is a good chance that you could hold it out of training as (I think) it is the largest place, so it has the most attrition. Every bid is different and it will depend on how senior you are in your class and how many people in your class want it. If you don't get it out of training you should be able to get it within a few months.

 

Coming to a turbine 121 environment from a flight instructor job (which most of our applicants come from) is a huge transition. For the past 9 years PDT survived by hiring pilots with less experience than that was required by other regionals which may have reflected in our high wash out rate.

Right now PDT NEEDS pilots, so if you show a lot of effort they will give you extra sim time to get you line qualified.

good luck in your decision

 

Short answer: *******s in the training dept. I know AW is still there as an example. They almost expected you to know how to fly the Dash right out of the gate on lesson 1.

*Disclaimer: I know they aren't all bad down there. I managed to have 6 ir 7 different instructors during my initial a few years back and only the aforementioned was the bad apple, the rest being pleasant to train with.

 

My experience is dated, so take it with a grain of salt.

It seemed like you needed some practical turbine systems experience going through initial. You needed to know the basics, like what an outflow valve, inverter, TRU, etc is. After that, you needed to know what's important. They did a good job driving the meat of it home. I haven't seen a Dash 8 in 5 years, but I can still tell you what the 2-0, 0-2 rule is. I can still describe the hydraulics and ratlle off most of the limitations. Learn what they're feeding you and you'll pass indoc and systems with no problems. Don't expect to drink beer everynight. Go back to your room after class, relax for an hour over a meal, then study what it was you went over that day. Test yourself on it.

I imagine you still get a load of information before training starts. Learn the limitations. All of them. When you sit down and start looking at them most aren't hard to remember. When you're done, start learning the flows. They will make absolutely no sense until you start actually throwing switches in the sim. Understand that and it'll make learning what seems like nonsense a little easier. Same with the callouts.

The sim is a different animal. A lot of newhires even 5 years ago trained in glass cockpits at college and had some difficulty getting comfortable with a 6 pack. The autopilot / flight director was another big stumbling block. Understand that whatever direction the bar is is where you need to put the airplane. Setting it up right was another hurdle. Bottom line in the sim, TAKE YOUR TIME. You're not being graded on how fast you can set up the cockpit or fly a maneuver. When you get your first engine failure, stabilize the airplane, then "set max power....". Same with any other emergency. Nothing will kill you faster in that thing than rushing through a procedure and botching it. This holds true for any transport category airplane.

I found the flight dept at Piedmont to be no more difficult than any other program I've been through, it just requires more effort. At Flight Safety I had a good time most nights, showed up for the oral, passed, flew the checkride and passed. That wouldn't have flown at Piedmont. It's not a type rating mill. Prepare yourself by flying some steam gauges, expect to work, learn what they're feeding you, fly the sim purposefully, and you'll be fine.

 

My information on Piedmont is a little dated too but I heard they have some nice equipment over there.

 

Rode jumpseat on one of these bad johnnys from ILM-CLT the other day.. BIG rumors they are gonna buy Empire!?