They see me rollin' they hatin' they try to catch me cause they know I be ridin' dirty"

 

BALLIN!!!!!

 

Hey gbntpilot, I will be headed up to Montreal for CRJ training and would greatly appreciate any tips you could give me before I head that way. I do not have 25 posts yet so I cannot pm you. If you wouldn’t mind email me at [email protected] with any info. Thanks so much in advance!

 

So for anyone else out there was the 3-7 business days the longest week of you life!? I am on day 3 right now as we head into the weekend, and would really like to know if its back to teaching steep turns or can I finally do something productive with my certificates...Like sit on reserve.

 

At the risk of getting off topic, I'll just post a few things on here for the benefit of everyone as well as yourself who may be going to Montreal.

1. Don't go through currency exchange at the airport. The fees they charge are too high. You'll be staying at the La Tour Belvedere, which is two blocks down the street from a shopping mall. If you go in the mall entrance right next to the Atwater metro station there are four Bank of Monteal ATM machines. You'll pay a few bucks as a service fee, but as long as you're not pulling out only $20 each day, making a few transactions there to get Canadian cash is a lot cheaper than going through currency exchange.

2. If you use a debit card, you can use it up there with no problem if it has a Visa or Mastercard logo. But, call your bank before you go and let them know you'll be using it out of the country. I didn't do that, and the first time I used my card the bank froze all my accounts due to "unusual card activity". Give them a heads-up and you'll be fine.

3. Don't waste your time bringing all the company manuals. You'll definitely need your POM, and you might like to have your FOM as well. Bring your cockpit posters for flow practice, and definitely the Bombardier Pilot Reference Manual (grey book) to study for the oral. Don't worry about bringing the big systems manual, and logbooks are optional. I chose to log my sim sessions, and I can't really give you a reason why...I just did. But, you'll be provided with all the approach charts you'll need. Don't worry about bringing along your route manuals or enroute charts. You will also need the binder you were given in Minniapolis with the lesson plans, charts, and W&B. Do the W&B before each session...including the first one.

4. If you think you'll need it, try to bring it yourself rather than buying anything in Montreal. For example, if you've got the available space in your bag, bring a small amount of laundry detergent. You'll find things in downtown Montreal are pretty expensive, even before the rediculous Canadian taxes.

5. Your first night there, go find a grocery store and get stuff for breakfast at a minimum. The hotel charges $7.00 for a pretty simple breakfast in the lobby. There's an IGA in that same mall where the ATMs are, or there are a few others scattered around within a few blocks of the hotel. The IGA is the closest though, and has the most selection. Others said it's more expensive, but I didn't see much difference in what I was buying.

6. Restaurants - "Angela" is a pretty good itailian restaurant down the street that delivers 24 hours per day and has ok prices (menu is in the hotel lobby). The mall I described earlier has a food court, although of all the places I went in Montreal, that was one of the few that I saw whose menus did not have any English translation. There's also a Starbucks and McDonalds in there. There's a place directly across the steet from the hotel called "Joe's", although there's no sign for it (I think there's a Coke sign out in front). It's a 24-hour diner on the corner with OK food and cheap prices. You'll find plenty of places to eat within a few blocks of the hotel, but ask to see a menu (for the prices) before you sit down. We made that mistake once and ended up paying WAY more than we thought we were going to. Just about anything you could want can be found on St. Catherine's St., two blocks over from the hotel. The "3 Amigos" restaurant on St. Catherine's had some of the best Mexican I'd ever had.

7. As strange as it sounds, Ovideo, the taxi driver can tell you anything you want to know about current events or rumors at Mesaba. He can tell you exactly how your simulator sessions will go, which instructors are the best, who is the better check airman, everything. It's kinda scary how much he knows.

8. VERY IMPORTANT -- Mesaba does not provide transportation from the airport to the hotel when you get there, or back to the airport when you're done with training. They didn't tell us that and a lot of guys were taken by surprise when we had to pay for a $35 cab ride each way. Taxi between the hotel and Bombardier every day is taken care of by the hotel -- to and from the airport is not. I know a few guys bribed the bus driver and got a ride with ASA back to the airport. They use that hotel for overnights and have an airport shuttle. I just found other guys who needed to go to the airport at the same time and split the cab fare.

9. Even though the signs in the hotel say you have to pay extra for internet access, for Mesaba, the basic package is included. When you sign on you have to agree to pay $5 per day for it, but it's not charged to you. You will need an Ethernet cable if you're bringing a laptop. It's not WiFi.

10. Bombardier has the most awesome coffee machine I've ever seen. I would suggest bringing an insulated mug of some kind for your briefings.


That's about all I can think of. Hope it helps.

 

Great Info! This will really be a tremendous help.

 

Do you know how much longer they are going to continue in Montreal (they said they bought a sim for Minny)? How long after your ground in Minn. until you went up North?

 

Someone else might know more hard facts about this than me. I only know rumors. The last I heard the 200 sim is either very close to being ready, or up and running in Eagan. The last thing I heard was that it was awaiting FAA approval. I have no idea how long that takes. I was in Montreal in December and from what I heard, the 200 guys who were there were part of the last group that will be going to Bombardier.

Mesaba has ordered a 900 simulator, but it will not be ready until late 2008. I would guess that 900 crews will continue to use Bombardier, unless scheduling issues force us to use CAE more than we currently are. If you have a choice, go to Montreal. I heard from multiple check airmen that they can immediately tell a difference between a new FO or CA that trained at Montreal or Denver -- much in favor of Montreal.


I had to wait for a month -- Ground in October, off for November (still paid guarantee), and sim in December. But, it all depends on the seniority of the captain you're paired with coming out of ground school. If you get a relatively junior captain in your class, you may have to wait and not get a very good sim time. If your partner is fairly senior in your class, you may be able to go sooner and have a more desireable time slot. The dates and sim times are all awarded according to your captain's seniority, and your seniority in your class doesn't matter. You're just along for the ride as a new hire FO.

Be sure to rub in the fact that the captains get per diem in training and FOs do not. You might score a few free meals from your partner .