How should I get to Skywest?
 

Hey guys I could really use some advice here.......My ultimate goal is to fly for Skywest out of ORD, but I will probably graduate with about 400 hours total time. Obviously I need at least 1000 hours for SKW....should I flight instruct till I get 1000, or should I get on with a low time regional like Pinnacle and jump ship after 6 months or a year?

You'll be lucky to graduate with 400TT if you don't instruct, and in a lot of debt.

You should definitely instruct or find some other form of flying job available. I know of a couple companies that love to hire UND kids for non instructing jobs. PM me if you want more details. Be sure to keep ol Chippy in line now, ya hear?

Oh god this looks like it is turning in to a 9E ramper party...

Brady is that you?

Yeah yeah it's me.... Hey I'd say do some instructing, it really teaches you a lot and I think has improved my flying especially in IMC.

Forget skywest,,,uNITED will hire this fall and they used to have 350 hour minimum....you can have my seat there after I turndown the recall....

It depends.

Pinnacle Upside: Get turbine 121 experience, which will give you a high chance of success at SKW, as well as the jet.

Pinnacle Downside: Doing 121 training as a low-timer (failing your first 121 training event is NOT the way to get your career started). Also you will not have the 1000 PIC required for IACO ATP privileges. I assume pinnacle has a one year training contract (but not sure) so you might be stuck there for a year. Also by working for a lower-tier regional, you are contributing to the decline of the industry and diluting the quality of the good jobs you hope to have in the future. But Pinnacle is better than mesa or gojets!

CFI Upside: Great experience, get your ICAO PIC, hopefully live in a place convenient for you. Probably get on with SKW in less than one year.

CFI downside: The SKW interview will probably be more challenging (except the sim will be easier for you) and you will likely get the EMB, not the jet.

Seems like a tossup. Since you don't plan to stay at Pinnacle you don't need to rush to get your seniority. I would probably do whichever is more comfortable for you. If you can get a CFI job and live at home, great. If you have to move to Kodiak, AK to get a CFI job, maybe just do pinnacle.

Not the last time they were hiring. It was ATP minimums. They changed hiring minimums about a year before they stopped hiring. I am sure when they start hiring again, and they will by fall, it will be the same.

Thanks for the advice Rickair, you made a good point about possibly getting the Bro if i instruct....which is what I don't want at all. Also, I've seen in your previous posts that you mentioned the military to supplement income....my plan is to take a MLOA and try to get a flying slot with the ANG or AFRC. Is that what you have done?

Instruct. My story, instructed at UND for almost 2 years and then got on instructing for at another place for more money. Got more than the mins for Skywest and I'm here now on the RJ. To say the interview with be harder for a CFI vs 121, not too sure about that. Which aircraft would you rather have to draw out systems, ERJ/CRJ or Seminole/Baron. I'm not saying anything bad about going to a low time place (I got on with Big Sky but turned it down) but the important part is that your overall knowledge and experience with go way up once you move on from UND instructing. However, do apply to UND if you get the chance to instruct there. My two cents.

Go to a regional that does not have a training contract (TSA anyone?) and get the turbine time. Go to a SKW job fair with 800 TT (400 turbine) and SKW will hire you. A guy from the December class did just that. Passing the initial training at another airline and getting line experience will get you into SKW faster than any other way hands down. Why SKW? Why not CHQ? or XJT?

I was in the navy long before I started the whole airline thing, but if you want to do guard/reserves, definately try to get on with a regional before you go to military training. That way your seniority will accrue while you are on LOA.

You're a sick sick man (because that is a great idea)... We had a guy do that here. He went to war (gone for 2 years) and he is heavily resented. Good for him though.

Wow(not saying you feel this way, but apparently lots at TSA do), way to respect someone who was willing to risk their life to protect your way of life. Add another reason not to work for TSA.

I want SKW because I want to live in Chicago and fly out of ORD. My old man flies for AA and I've grown up loving ORD for some odd reason....I thought about XJT but I don't really wanna live in the south, and can't afford the west coast with a regional salary. Republic is also an option, but I don't agree with the EMB 170's pay scale and what they are doing to this industry....carrying more passengers for less pay.

Do any of you guys that are going to a 121 carrier and making a lateral move to another regional 6 months to a year later have any consideration of the ramifications this may have later in your career?

Don't you think the majors might look at this unkindly? Would they question hiring you if say, they aren't the highest paying knowing that you meet the minimums for others? Will they want to pay for your training to have you leave only a year later?

You don't agree with RAH's 170 scale but you agree with SKW's CRJ-700 scale and their first year pay? Sorry, I have to ask why.

Whats wrong with the Bro, afraid you might have to learn to fly?

Props are for boats, not planes.

Too bad you're stuck flying a seminole right now. You probably wish UND kept that Eclipse we had on order. Just remember the prop on that Bro is still powered by a turbine engine. When it comes down to it the engines all work the same, difference is what is on the front that is being powered by the turbine.

Ah, the Hulas scholarship program...

good stuff

Props are for airlines that make money.

I think that military service is very respectable. This guy has created his own problems. There are several great guard/ex-military guys at TSA, including the chief pilot.

You kidding, you dont think majors will know why people leave places like COLGAN...................


PS great point about the SKW CRJ pay scale though................

hehehheeheh last I checked we were making boat loads of money, must be all those props we have

So why did YOU go to colgan? Couldn't hold out for a respectible regional?

I personally love the look of turbo-props. Lets not forget that there are boats that use propulsion other than props.

Anyway, to answer your question, I would probably go with a regional, then make a lateral move to skyw. You will have an understanding of a 121 operation that will be valuable to you.

Real Pilots fly taildraggers...in the Bush. Taildraggers have Props. And would you call the Wright's foolish for getting airborne with a Prop??

Don't ever forget your Roots man, never! I can't believe you said that!!

P.S. I'd fly with a good Bush-Pilot over a Jet-Jock any day of the week - and twice on Tuesday!

Like Great Lakes!:D :D :D

First off, you say that your "ultimate goal" is to fly for SkyWest. Are you sure on this, or do you mean that your short-term (5 year) goal is to fly for SkyWest. If SkyW is the ultimate goal, no shame in going to a 121 carrier then making the leap to your dream job of SkyW later.

In your position, I'd recommend instructing for the time, then chasing the interview (if they're hiring by the time you have the mins.). I agree with a previous poster that a 6 month tenure with an airline doesn't say much for loyalty, no matter how bad things are. ALL airlines are a logistical nightmare. Find one that you can deal with and tough it out. Plus, instructing will make you a better person by learning to relate to others in the cockpit.

Yeah sorry I wasn't clear on the "ultimate goal." I was just referring to my short term, regional goal. I obviously want to fly for a mainline eventually. Thanks a million for all the advice guys!

You might consider IFTA in BFL

www.ifta.aero

All Nippon Airways (ANA) runs the school to train their new hires.
After 18 months at IFTA and 8 months in Tokyo the trainees go to the right seat of the 767. Its a "clone" of the Lufthansa school in Goodyear and is owned by

they pay well, will train you and offer better benefits than most companies.

the aircraft are maintained very well by a dedicated beechcraft mx shop on site.

you'll fly about 700-800 h a year.

Downside is that you'll be doing more talkin than flying.
You'll also need to be armed with patience because of language barriers and the fact that while you are teaching the guy across the table from scratch, he'll be flying the 767 2 years from now...

you will have excellent instrument skills.
you'll have better crm and crew skills than most other regional applicants.

if you can make it at ifta you'll be more than well prepared for a 121 job and you'll have the pic and multi time.

PM me if you have any questions

Cheers
George

Alright...just checking. Always make sure your short-term goal is what you feel is the best way to get to your long term goal...do what's right for you.

Good luck.

SJS. I think someone here said it well. Jets are for hot tubs.

Doesnt IFTA have a contract of like 2 years??? I thought I heard something like that...

Prop drivers screw, jet drivers blow! Had to do it, but ease up on the ignorance Randolph, turbine equipment is turbine equipment!

Like I said in my pervious post, I worked UND two years and then moved on instructing to better pay. I picked IFTA becuase of the great bens and pay. However my goal was always to go to the airlines and same with a lot of the other "younger instructors" working there. The big problem with that place is that there are two types of people there. One type is under the mindset that this job is just a stepping stone to the airlines and the other is that this is the final stop. These two types of employees DO NOT mesh well at all in that environment. Thus, there are having a lot of fall out with people leaving even before the end of the agreement. Why do you think a CFI job that pays that well and has great benifits has so many openings? It is not that ANA is sending more than normal classes, it is simply becuase they can not keep the instructors on staff. I only tell you this not to scare you off, but you need to be 100% postitive that you're cool instructing another 2 years and not act or even talk about moving on. Even if you serve your time, you'll be treated like sh*t when you annouce you're out. PM and I can give you all the details and more contacts that work there. Again, I say think you should instruct to build your time for SkyWest, but be carefull of IFTA.

Becuase they can not even keep the IPs on staff, they have now dropped that to one year as of like two weeks ago. However, the new rule did not apply to instructors on staff already. You can image the outrage with the employess and management.

exactly right............ why did you go to COMAIR?

easy there saab :) we should all have a lot of respect for comair guys and what they went through to try to keep the bar somewhat high...

Just wondering thats all......................