flier2005

I have heard that Mesa hires Low time pilots. I read an article that said the internet aplication weeds out anyone with less then a thousand hours. Here is my question. How are people getting hired with less than a thousand hours if the article I read is true?

rickair7777

Mesa's minimums for new hires off the street are 1000 & 100. However, they have two pilot training programs which can get you hired with about 300 hours.

One program is for people with little or no flight experience. It takes two years, costs a bunch of money, but has a high success rate (about 80%).

The shorter program requires you to show up with a COM ME. It takes 4-6 months, costs I think $12-14K, and has a similar success rate.

You can read my other posts about "buy-a-job" programs for low time pilots, but this is one of a very few such programs that really performs as advertised. Details are on Mesa's web site.

stanrhintx

Actually, you can show up without the Commercial ME.

Hobbs

I'm not completely sure about this, but I think that most of the low time guys hired by Mesa are from MPD (mesa pilot development). Keep in mind that most of the pilots hired from MPD have been flight instructors with Mesa and probably have around 700+ hrs by the time they graduate and interview(from the ASU program anyway). They have hired guys out of MPD with close to 300tt but those are rare from what I gather. The rest of the guys that come in usually have more than that. Or they have at least been instructing long enough to tell some hilarious stories. Again these aren't definite numbers, just my observations on guys who are in the simulators, or have been hanging around to get interviewed. Its a mixed basket.

stanrhintx

Actually, the people that come from the Junior Colleges (San Juan in Farmington, NM and Midland College in Midland, TX) do not become instructors in their path. Most of us finish with around 300 hours.

Hobbs

Really? I assumed that they would do things pretty much the same. They don't tell us much about Farmington. . Have you gotten to go in the CRJ sim yet? Sometimes they let our instrucors ride along and apparently you can hardly tell it's not real. I'm pretty jacked to get to do that even though its a couple years off. There doesn't seem to be too much respect for MPD guys around here. But after hearing about those two dip ****s at Pinacle who thought their CRJ 200 was an F-16 and augered it into the ground, I cant blame them. But on the other hand, they make it sound as if you make it through and can manage to button your shirt up and tie your shoes you get the job. Only a few guys make it each year. And of the people who do interview each year, a lot are the instructors who have come from other schools like UND and taught for a year. But about the whole pay thing were new pilots are driving down pay. I thought that unions were suposed to make sure that kind of thing didn't happen? I am young and niave though I long to be as cynical as the older pilots.

BigC

Kind of off topic a bit but why did the Delta flying have to go under the Freedom certificate?

stanrhintx

As for the Delta thing, there was some technicality in the regs that forced them to do so. They told me why but I forgot.

With regards to the MPD program, there are idiots from all walks of life. To think badly of all MPD students because of two idiots is kind of silly if you ask me. I would never dream of doing anything like they did, nor is there anything in the training that would make it seem to be OK totry. Idiots are idiots, no matter where they went to school. I've been to the sim in Farmington, it was OK. Having the systems class and the sim was a definite plus in understanding a jet aircraft. I have been assigned the ERJ, and frankly the systems are quite similar (the ERJ is more simple in some respects).

The program offers a guaranteed INTERVIEW, not a guaranteed JOB. I know of two people from Midland who didn't make it through the interview, and one that washed out in the sim. I suspect these people did in fact have the impression all they needed was a pulse to succeed.

Most of us have worked our asses off, simply want to fly airplanes and avoid the politics and bad attitudes that seem to be prevelant.

de727ups

"Most of us have worked our asses off, simply want to fly airplanes and avoid the politics and bad attitudes that seem to be prevelant"

I'm sure you do. You have to ask yourself why the high time guys have such bad attitudes towards 300 hour jet F/O's, JO, and MAPD. Stick with it, though, and they day will come when it all makes sense...

stanrhintx

Dude (or dudette)... just to be clear, I appreciate the wisdom you guys pass on here. I know I have a lot to learn, and that is why I am here taking it all in. I know there are reasons you feel the way you do. I am simply trying to keep a positive attitude in the face of challenge. I have no delusions that I am anything more than maybe slightly past clueless.