PDT's reduced minimums
 

off of piedmont's website:

Qualifications for approved Colleges/Universities:
Total Time: 300
Multi-Engine Time: 50
College Degree


anyone know if Piedmont is strickly sticking to the 300TT and 50ME if you come from an approved school? any chance of getting hired with lower times than these? I have heard, from a former PDT captain that if you are a grad of an approved school, go for it regardless.

"No minimums" for Purdue grads, according to friends who are about to graduate...

theyve come out to Riddle and hired a couple of grads for this summer...they were all over 300, cant vouch for the 50...

just apply anyways, they NEED ppl

The mins are 300 and 50. You asking about lower than this! I had time than that when I graduated from UND.

I am one of 13 pilots to get hired by PDT from ERAU prescott. I don't quite have the 300 and was told to wait until I had 300. The same goes with a few other guys. We don't get class dates until we have 300 hours. Can't wait to get my time and start training.

ARe you serious?????????????????????/ THATS IS SO PATHETICALLY LOW, some of you guys have a lotta nerve, just get the godamn 50 multi is that too much to ask?

Why, for asking a question? Do you blame them for wondering if they can avoid spending a grand or two on more multi-time? I sure don't.

The Jersey'tude is coming out in you Saab...settle down.

Come on bro, is it that much for an AIRLINE to ask its applicants to have 300hrs total time and 50 multi? I don't mean to have an attitude, but come on......................

It seemed to me that John Buchanan was not budging with any of us on either the total time or multi. Then again I have 82 so I'm over the minimum. Despite the need for warm bodies, they require the 300 total.

No, its not "that much"....but Piedmont has hired Purdue grads since summer 2004 with as low as 25 multi. Granted those pilots had at least 500tt (still a pittance) and 120ish hours in the 727 simulator (helpful but not a Dash), but they all made it through training there okay. Knowing some of the folks they hired...if they can make it through training I'm sure most anybody can:D

We had the 727 for a while. I got stuck with an A320 sim. D@mn frenchies!

as low as 20

I agree with SAAB . . . It sounds super low when someones talk about 300/50. That's what some of the guys who have 4000+/2500ME think when they hear 600/100 or 1000/200. It the exact same feeling.

Nonetheless, I will NEVER NEVER fly PDT if that is truely the case. I'd rather take the bus or rent a car.

Have you EVER EVER flown Piedmont anyway?

Used to . . quit flying them as of today.

At our recently concluded career fair, we had a speaker who is a retired NWA 747 captain who was hired by Northwest Airlines in October of 1965 at the age of twenty-one with 265 hours. Captain on the 707, 727 and 747. Also a Flight Instructor/Check Airman on the 747.

Required times will ebb and flow. People now think they're too low, but they'll start to rise again, eventually to the point where some may say they're too high. I think the quality of a low time pilot is highly dependent on how they were trained. I would trust a 300 hour ERAU or, dare I say it, UND pilot over someone from Joe Shmoe's FBO.

I can assure you there are no captains there under about 4000 TT. Most are well over 8 or 10,000 TT. But go ahead and leave more seats for the rest of us, thank you.

I would sure like to know what airline ellen flies for. If everyone there hates their job as much as she does i will never fly on them again!!!..

ps. i know i don't mean it,

pps i still don't think ellen works for the airlines.

Enjoy you rental car!!
Being a CA at PDT i have flown with a few of these (low timers) and 95% of them do a great job. And anyway the last time i checked the CA decides which legs the FO flys. If you can't fly you become the gear monkey.
And just another note PDT has a very very senior pilot group!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:cool:

I wouldn't trust a 300 hour ERAU guy to sit the right way on a toilet seat! GO SIOUX!!!:D

Seriously though, I had more than 300 hours when i graduated. I sure hope these morons aren't so blinded by their desire to fly something that burns jet A and has lots of people in the back that they are skipping out of school before finishing a degree. That would definitely be one step forward and two steps waaaay back.

I hope people don't fall into that trap. Get a Degree. PDT will wait.

Agree. From a previous post I made.

Ellen is: (my best guess)

CMEL Pilot who does not fly for an airline.
Has extensive research capabilities at her disposal - college students ?
- almost all her threads start with a publication quote.
Has a MBA or above and concentrates on the airline industry.
- look at the variety of subjects she covers
Works as a college professor or labor law attorney.
- well spoken
- has classes or court on M,T, W Few posts on those days.
Is in her mid 30s. (maturity sluffs off insults)
- probably good looking (got self confidence)
Husband is a regional pilot (Skywest ???)
- when he is gone she stays up all night and makes 20+ posts
Is a hell of a lot smarter then many of us.

I may not agree with her but she makes interesting arguments. :)

You're obviously talking about the Daytona pukes. I wouldn't trust them to drive a car, much less fly a Dash 8.

On another note, I'm wondering where the topic of not finishing school came from. I highly doubt that the lower times of 300/50 apply if you haven't graduated. And I know some pilots think ERAU/UND/Purdue pilots are stupid for getting an aviation degree. At least in my case, I took courses not centered around being a pilot just in case I get furloughed or, less likely, lose my medical.

I hope you are thinking past training. Make sure every hour you spend in the air is getting you ready for Part 121...or you may end up washing out. Good Luck.

Oh I am fully aware that training will be more difficult for me than it would be for someone with more hours. If I wasn't, this board would certainly let me know. Thats why I like going to a structured flight school like ERAU. Everything is done like the airlines, from the flying to the CRM training to practicing everything we learned in an A320 multicrew environment. I know, its an Airbus, but its better than nothing. And no, I'm not the typical Riddle puke that thinks I'm God's gift to the cockpit just for going there. I hate those people. They've helped turn a highly respected school into something to be despised.

Flight1339I think the quality of a low time pilot is highly dependent on how they were trained.

I would trust a 300 hour ERAU or, dare I say it, UND pilot over someone from Joe Shmoe's FBO

How come you think an riddle or und pilot would have better training than someone from an FBO school? Have you been to both? I never attended one of those schools (went to a regular college) I can't say anything about their training programs. However, at the flight school I taught at while I went to college, we've had a couple of these guys work there and I don't think anybody was impressed by them. One of them even ran one of our cherokees off the runway and just about totaled it. I guess he couldn't divide his attention between worrying about the bill collectors calling nonstop for his student loan payments and the student he was with. Anyway, if I had a choice I would take the FBO guy any day. But that's just me.

I jumpseat on PDT twice a week from BWI to LGA. Every crew who has flown me too work has been outstanding. Their professionalism and dedication to safety is unquestionable. I don't have a single reservation about jumpseating on PDT. I always thank them after the flight, and I am thanking them here now.

Ellen once tried to claim that the CRJ had poor brakes...that told me "she" doesn't know anything airplane or airline-specific because if there is ANYTHING the CRJ does well, its stop on the runway.

"Her" subsequent comments have led me to believe she also doesn't know anything about the regional airline industry.

<thread jack>

Riddle/UND/Purdue/Parks/WMU/OSU/etc offer a standardized pilot. In essence, each pilot they graduate is a "product" that (hopefully) has completed a standardized training program and performs to a minimum standard above the basic PTS. They also typically have advanced systems and simulator and/or aircraft experience. Because of this, these programs have proven the "trainability" of their graduates to the airlines...and the same cannot always be said of pilots who have trained in the FBO environment.

Doesn't mean one is better than the other, and all programs (and graduates from each program) are not made equal.

</thread hijack>

I would agree with boiler. I HAVE been to both an FBO and a flight school. In fact, I got my private part 61 and the rest part 141/142. The training is vastly different at both. Checklists and procedures are more centralized to the way airlines do things. We have advanced classes in aircraft systems, nav systems and CRM, things an FBO won't teach you. That way things are a lot easier in ground schools because you've heard most things at least once in your career. I can go and talk to pilots all day long about detailed topics and deal with advanced aircraft. If I can figure out how to fly an Airbus, I can learn to fly anything else ;). Obviously it'll take a lot of hard work and studying, but I can do it.

"We have advanced classes in aircraft systems, nav systems and CRM, things an FBO won't teach you."

HAHA...

Sometimes I wonder how I got so far in aviation without all that stuff, me coming from a small FBO background and all.

Know what, I've never thought all that stuff was such a big deal. Would it help if your a 300 hour wonder looking for an RJ job? You betcha. Otherwise, it's kind of a waste of time as the experience/background you pick up by taking your time to become a seasoned pilot before going to the airlines kinda helps you fill in the blanks.

I, too, spent some time at Riddle and 141. Riddle training was of marginally better quality than the FBO. But at what cost? It certainly wasn't worth the money and I'm VERY glad I didn't take that route for all my ratings. I learned things, experienced things, at the little school that I'd NEVER have seen at Riddle.

I did my US certificates/ratings at FlightSafety Academy in Vero Beach. I have also had some flying lessons at an FBO.

No comparison.

The level of professionalism and attention to detail at FS was tremendous and I consider it money well spent. The FBO was a joke in terms of appearance, attention to detail, aircraft scheduling, attitude (bad, considering I was a customer), facilities, etc. FS was run professionaly and expected professionalism from their students.

When people ask me about it there is simply no hesitation about recommending a professional level of school.

Sorry for the thread drift.

Funny Saab, I also had lessons at an FBO and a "University Flight School" and I agree there was no comparison.

The FBO was superior in every regard.

I found the FBO to be much more professional, in fact every aspect you found FS to excel at, I found my local FBO to offer a superior product in. That is not to say that the FBO next door didn't suck the chrome off exaust pipes. Nor is it to say that every University level flight program is not as good as the FBO training I recieved. I found the formal ground school to be invaluable, and despite my best efforts, don't think I came anywhere near duplicating it with my students.

The individual variations are tremendous, and you have to examine each school individually, rather than say "all FBOs are inferior to all Universiy Flight Schools", or vice versa.

I'm not saying that all university flight schools are better in every way. Every school and FBO is different. There will never be an agreement between the univ vs FBO battle and it is naive to think so. We will never be able to change each other's opinions. Just as an example, my second IP was a Flight Safety grad and he regrets ever going there. Everyone is different. I just think that the extra advanced training that you get outside of single engine training is valuable and interesting.

I also experienced FBO and Erby Diddle...And you know what? For getting me a job 2 days before graduation driving some Dash 8's, I'm not going to complain at all (I used to despise Riddle - you know what I'm talking about Rob). I learned vast amounts from both. I think experiencing both has afforded me a rather well rounded start in this game.

I doubt anyone is quitting school to get the job, it's the grads they're hiring, not the students. I could be wrong, but come on, lets be a little realistic.

Attack me all you want, I won't be back on this forum for about 7 weeks...I should be reading that 660 pages of material PDT gave me. Ground school starts on Wednesday! :D

hey I'm the same and in your class, hows the studying going?

"For getting me a job 2 days before graduation driving some Dash 8's"

So, Riddle "got you a job". Do they just assign class dates to Riddle guys these days?

How about. "I earned the job because I did well in the interview process and met the airlines min hiring standards". It just doesn't sound right when one says "My school got me my job". Kinda like....I paid my money, now where's my job....

It's a sense of entitlement I'm just not comfortable with. Such strange times we live in. I almost liked it better when a Riddle guy had to scratch and claw for a CFI job, like when I graduated, and the "ERAU job placement service" was a joke.

I really hold nothing against folks for taking whatever job comes their way, whenever it comes there. I just think it's sad that the industry has stooped so low as to view a guy fresh out of Riddle, no other background, no other experience, as someone qualified to be a 121 airline pilot with 300 hours of flight time.

Just the other day a sport plane here in Spokane landed on a road when the engine quit. Guy did a great job. The guy had 140 hours and the local media was making an issue of what little experience that was to be flying an aircraft. How amazed would they be to see the backgrounds of some airline F/O's these days?

PAX are probably more worried about the 300 hr pilot landing on their car on the highway than flying with a similar pilot at the airport.

How many low time pilot articles have we seen with little to no reaction. PAX don't care. Doesn't mean we shouldn't tho...