colgan upgrade
 

just the the email about my upgrade i interview and class. Just wondering if anyone has gone through this recently and what should i expect

You interview for an upgrade? Just curious.
Anyway, good luck!

Yeah they started it a while ago. I've heard its pretty much a joke though

What are your times? I'm guessing my upgrade will be in about 6 months

colon is pretty much a joke! get a real job

Whats a joke about it?

Got me to a 757 for CAL in 2 years. I guess I'm not the one laughing. 24 years old.

yeah I've only been here a year and I'm going to be getting pic turbine time. Real funny joke huh


And to jamers I will have about 920 in type by the end of the year and 1900 total

I'm sure there will be plenty of current captains that would be more than happy to help you out on what to expect for upgrade. Great job and good luck!

Go get 'em tiger. Get yours...and help the guy below you.

Very civil post, well written.

Congratulations flyguyniner on your future upgrade. Enjoy your experience as a captain and the responsibility it comes with and not to mention the turbine pic.

Joke is on the ignorant guy who thinks hes better than everyone else because he works for a first rate REGIONAL AIRLINE

Just another Forum Tuff-guy typer who thinks anyone cares what he thinks.

Yes, I wonder what his upgrade time will be....

(We had a couple of guys from Eagle in our new-hire class who left Eagle because of the upgrade time. So to me, Colgan doesn't seem all that bad, all things considered....)

dude how do you know what A/C you got, you didnt even start class???????????? You bid for the a/c and base in training.................

PS I think you may have had some connections over at CAL, believe me there are thousands of more qualified people then you or I that havent gotten the call

Almost EVERBODY who gets a pilot position at a major airline has "connections"...which are nothing more than another pilot or two willing to put his or her reputation on the line and stand up for a guy. There's nothing wrong with that. Employers have been asking for references since employment began.

I made it to CAL from Colgan in 34 months. Colgan was a great way to get to a major and still is. Your whining about Colgan has gotten worn and tiresome. Give it a rest. We got it.

your right, its wasnt COLGAN that got you anywhere...................... thats my point

Am I right about the a/c, you guys don't get it assigned before training do you?

He wouldn't have made it to CAL without that turbine PIC time. What's the upgrade time running at ExpressJet these days? I know I'll likely be sitting left seat before some of my friends at Eagle. I'm not saying that to knock other airlines, btw - I'm just saying that FOR ME, Colgan was the right choice....

I spent 21 of my 34 months at Colgan as a captain, meaning 121 PIC time. It's worked out very well for me. It was the 121 PIC experience and a good recommendation that landed me the interview. Everyone in my class was a former captain, either regional, military, or corporate (as was everyone in the two classes behind me, with one exception). When I hired with Colgan in 2004, they had the shortest upgrade time. I turned down both ExpressJet and SkyWest to go with them. I've never regretted that decision.

I can't tell you the number of captains here at CAL I've now flown with that have responded with a big smile when I tell them I was a former turboprop driver. You can watch them visibly relax and they usually start immediately talking about their days flying props for their ol' regional. It's been a good ice breaker.

Im not saying it isnt, I loved the SAAB and it has made me a better pilot for sure, nothing worse then listening to some of the guys I have met that came on XJT with 600hrs and never flew a prop, it speaks dividends, I know. All I am saying is that you getting hired at CAL probably had more to do with you as an individual and your internal rec, not the 1000hrs of TPIC on the SAAB, I may be wrong I dunno, but check your PM's serious question for . At the same point I do understand that 5,000hrs in the right seat isnt worth much either

its 2.5 years, and its worth it, believe me, I have been at both, you havent even had your first groundstop yet................

Cute avatar, shouldnt it be wheels up on a runway somewhere:p

I guess the'll give anyone 4 stripes nowadays huh? :p

PIC Turbine is PIC Turbine right? I agree with you. I personally know a Colgan 1900 captain who went to a 767.

Congratulations!!!!:D

Ok, I guess I'll be the one to respond to the original question. In the past, the upgrade interview was just a formality. I had my interview about 2 months ago and was surprised by the number of systems questions and FOP questions I was asked.

Know your systems! I was asked a few memory items, some dispatch questions (3585, definition of marginal, T/O mins, restrictions on high min captains). I was asked a bunch of hydraulic questions. What does the emergency accumulator do? What causes an overtemp in the hydraulic system? When the gear is put down, the hydraulic pump will run until which gear is down and locked?

You should study for this like it's a PC. The studying will not go to waste as you will probably be going to upgrade soon and you'll have to hit the books hard anyway. I did alright in my interview. Not great, but okay.

Best of Luck!

Hell, I haven't had my first sim session yet! They don't come much greener than me!

Haven't we covered that one before?

surprising..............

Do you know how much Turbine PIC time is required by Continental?
I'll give you a hint: it's less than one hour.

Someone on this thread might just be the most negative whiny pilot I have ever come in contact with. It's getting old.

True, but us lowly turboprop drivers need the PIC because none of our time is in turbojet

I'm not saying the TPIC isn't helpful, because we all know it is.
But, if you had 1K hours of dual given before starting at Colgan, and then flew for 1K hours at Colgan (even if it's all SIC), you're now at CAL's mins.

seriously, enough is enough already.:p

To those of you heading off to upgrade at Colgan, congrats and good luck. I mean it too enough whining, if were going to whine, let it be about management, not each other.............

I told my chief pilot his daughter's great in bed; can you fix it so I don't get fired?

what's the difference between that and flying 2000 hours at Colgan? Except if you have more time at the 121 job, you end up upgrading. 121 TPIC is far more valuable than dual given.

absolutely........................ its very difficult to get fired at a union airline

well havnt gotten one response to the question that I started this thread with. Good going guys this place is great. LOL

Im assuming you've already had a PC, if that's the case just study like it's another PC. Also, be prepared for questions like, "What makes a good captain?" "How do you earn the crews respect?" "Whats one of the biggest contributers to an incident/accident?"

Just go there and play the game. The upgrade interview in my opinion is worthless but oh well.

I actually havnt had a of yet and I probably won't because they said I should be in a mid jan class and my pc isn't scheduled for dec. Which I see as a good thing not as many chances to screw up lol

one year of 121 experience and 1900TT? scary! do you honestly think your ready to be a captain? (serious question)

There have been plenty of 1500 hour captains in Metros, Bandits, Beech 99s, 1900s, J31/32s, and yes even Saabs over the last decade.

NOT MINIMIZING EXPERIENCE, but I'd say being "captain" is just as much about good CRM/ADM skills as it is having a ton of 121 experience or the sum in the total time column of your logbook.

Express used to have 6 month upgrades in the mid to late 90s. Some probably had less than 1900TT.

Upgrade at Colgan probably isnt that bad, once you get out on the line, you deal with the same 20 or so airports in the Northeast, and out of IAH you are only going to places like CLL not much room for error if ya know what I mean. I remember out of ABE after a month or so of doing the same stuff you would memorize every airway and frequency etc........ It was nice