Pinnacle 4/30 class...
 

I heard there are supposed to be like 40 people in that class.

I heard that, too. I had the option of starting in two or four weeks, but didn't want all those guys ahead of me for the rest of my time there. As it is, I bet I wind up in the top two or three in my class, seniority-wise.

Ken

You must be older than most new hires then I'm guessing? I start May 15th...just turned 21, two others in my class I know to be 22, another is 24; so if the trend is young, then just be older than that.

Correction...May 14th

I'm 40, which ought to put me close to the top of the class. See you on the 14th! Come and find me when you get in (I'll be at the Homestead Suites) and I'll give you the lowdown on the first two weeks.

Ken

In my class last sept I was the youngest at 21, there were some 24 yr olds, a guy was 50, a gal was 45ish, and the average was 28yrs old. Seniority moves fast around here so don't sweat it! Don't even get me started on the Homestead... its NOT in the best part of the neighborhood..

If you can suggest a better place to stay, I'm all ears. I'd stay at the Peabody, but I don't want to rent a car if I can avoid it, and I'd rather stay where some of the other guys are staying to facilitate after-hours studying.

Ken

hahaha, when i went through training we were staying at the holiday inn select,, now that is rough, at least the homestead is back in the corner a little more. whats nice is its only a 5 min walk at the most to the cec.

Ya, have fun at the Stead, it is pure paradise. Now you guys are getting $300/week and a $500 bonus if you stay longer than 6 months. Isn't much, but it is more than I got when I went through.

Why the bonus? Is there alot of people bailing out before then or something?

uhh... YEA! There are a couple regionals right now offering $2500 bonus *when you show up* for previous CRJ experience.. $500 is almost a slap in the face.

The airport area is not a good part of town. 2 miles north is the "hood"- NO JOKE! Just keep your valuables out of sight- especially in your car at night. The place is fenced in, as well as security patroling- but a guy in my class still had his cat converter CUT OFF in the middle of the night (going for the platinum in the cat). just watch yourself...Do not expect to go eat close to the airport/CEC- you will need to take a 10 minute ride down to southhaven or a 10 minute ride to germantown/collierville.

Yeah at least they give you 1 1/2 - 2 hours for lunch during training. I just go back to the hotel and eat and then chill/nap for an hour.

$500 just for dodging bullets? I think they could probably just get some flak-jackets for cheaper, especially if they bought in bulk.:D

Is it a good idea to have a car while in training, or can you get by just fine without it?

Having a car becomes a distraction. A lot of people go out and do stuff throughout the week. Some even start touring crashpads in MEM. Break ins in the parking lot have happened in the past, and more than half of your class will have a car if you need rides to Wallyworld.

You can carpool to Beale Street on the weekends. Not having a car keeps you in your room studying during training. Unless, you came from another 121 carrier, you will need to study a lot more than you are used to.

You can get by without a car. While it may become a distraction (it won't, if you have your priorities in order), it can benefit you in the studying department. You won't have to spend as much time waiting for a ride/shuttle van to get to/from class, shopping, sims, etc.

Bring the car if you can.

It is only a distraction if you don't have discipline, and the training isn't all that hard. It is more time consuming than anything else. Anyway, about the car, I would take it so you don't have to rely on anyone else to get around when you need to. During the ground training portion, everyone has the same schedule, so not having a car then is not as big of a deal, but when you get to sims, you really need a car, though there are guys that made it through without having a car. That way you don't have to worry relying on someone else to take you to and from Flight Safety. If you get the 2200-0200 sim session, good luck finding someone to take you around at that time of the day. We used to take a van downtown so that we wouldn't have to leave our car there. Go with a group and it is cheap. You will really appreciate having your car while you are there for 2 months. You will get so sick of being at the Homestead, at least have the freedom of having your own car. But by all means, I wouldn't rent one if you don't have one. You don't get paid enough to do that, unless you have saved up some extra cash.

You want a car, if you have a ferrari- get a beater. If you have a reliable set of wheels, bring it.

Definitely take your car if you are able. It will save valuable time when you are busy, tired and need to get something to eat etc.. Also, after ground school is over in the afternoon or evening if the CPTs are occupied at CEC you have the option of going over to FlightSafety to do flows and/or sit in on sims. (By the way, sitting in on a sim session before sim one was of great benefit to me and I highly recommend it.) As for the car being a distraction, I would respectfully suggest that if someone can't focus on getting the job done then they may be in the wrong business.

The hotel area is crappy but the parking lot has guards at night. Don't leave anything of value visible in your car and you should be fine barring some very bad luck.

If you go down to Beale Street on the weekends split a cab/van. Parking can be expensive and it would be really dumb to end up with a DUI after coming this far...

Work hard in training but take some time to relax on the weekends and you should have no problems.

Well, I've arrived at the Homestead and have elected to try the first week without a rental car. The best rates I could find were all around $800/mo. for an econobox. Ouch. I'd drive my car up from Orlando next weekend if I weren't worried about some of the vehicle security comments I've read...

Ken

we just rented one for the weekends, 20 bucks a day from enterprise, and they will pick you up!!

To some of you that have alreadt, or now going through training, Is there a set schedule as in 8 - 5 all the way through or something else. Also do you get weekends off? Thanks , TC.

yes you get weekends off, my experience so far, 1st two weeks, death by power point, use your down time to get your IAI down cold and your Lim. down. You will be given alot of other information for you to absorb. The next two weeks, there is not enough time in the day to get everything down try and stay ahead. Its not bad just manage your time wisely, FYI turn your phone off or bring donuts to my class first, have fun enjoy robert and I'll see you in the morning... Hope this helps

And by all means learn this phrase and live by it "Cooperate to graduate" You guys are all teammates so help out the guys that have trouble. Enjoy a beer every now and then so you don't burn out. I was a check airman there up until March '07 and have since moved on,but I do miss flying with the newbies. Good luck guys.

That's a good idea and I might wind up doing that for the weekends that I'm here. This coming weekend (and at least two others), however, I'm going home. One night in the Homestead and I already miss my wife, my house, my bed & my tv... :)

I'm really looking forward to getting started this morning.

Ken

go to bed man for gods sake!!! you have 8 hours of power point ahead of you!!!! :)

So for everybody in the 4/30 and 5/14 class, hows it been so far? I start class 5/30. Just wondering what everybody thinks so far. Thanks!!

Well, Indoc is pretty dull, though you'll get through it like everybody else. Systems is interesting, as is FMS class. Memory items & limitations will take a couple of weeks to get down pat. I memorized three pages each night and then tested myself from the beginning each night before memorizing that day's three new pages. Seemed to work out alright.

One of our (4/30 class) big frustrations is the fact that the paper tigers are gone and the new graphic flight simulators (GFS) they've installed aren't ready for prime time. We keep hearing how the next class (or the one after that) will have access to them to practice flows & callouts, but we'll just have to muddle through without. Also, due to some licensing issues, we can't view the animated systems slides, just the static ones.

Make sure that you and your sim partner spend some time out at the maintenance hangar, sitting in the airplane practicing flows & callouts.

Fortunately, one of my classmates has shared a three-CD set of systems lessons from another airline. The data (having been crosschecked with our CFM) is good and the lessons really help make sense of how the switches, EICAS messages, and synoptic page symbology all relate. Great stuff!

That's about it from my perspective. We're in the last week of systems now, with our systems/limitations/memory items tests next Tuesday. Then CPTs and orals. Then sims.

Hope this helped some. Start studying your limitations/memory items now... :)

Regards,
Ken

also look into crj2.com... about 95% of it is good. The 5% is mainly company lims that are different then PCL, but if you are studying the lims you will see the obvious differences. Systems are systems though..

Any chance of getting that CD set to the rest of us? Sounds like a big help.

Thanks in advance.

V/R,
Apollo

thanks guys, good info, see ya in a week

I heard the guys in the April 30th class are a bunch of crazy people.

Heard what, from whom, exactly?

?!?

KB

www.crj2.com Enjoy indoc. I'm in systems