Hiring minimums
11-17-2010, 05:07 AM
#33
SDQ Base Chief
Joined APC: Mar 2006
Position: 320 CA
Posts: 5,633
Living in DAY will restrict your future options if you want to get hired with another airline and commute to/from work. If you have flexibility at the beginning, it might make sense to move to a large hub city (NYC, ORD, LAX, etc) and find a regional that has a base there. If you get hired at a new airline in the future it will be much easier commuting from a hub city than it would be from DAY. Good luck!
11-17-2010, 05:11 AM
#34
Prime Minister/Moderator
Joined APC: Jan 2006
Position: Engines Turn Or People Swim
Posts: 39,554
No, separate columns. Some airlines might require a certain amount of actual IMC (100 hours) others just want a certain amount of "instrument time" which would include IMC and Hood. This usually means flight, not sim, but some will accept a certain amount of sim.
11-17-2010, 05:13 AM
#35
Prime Minister/Moderator
Joined APC: Jan 2006
Position: Engines Turn Or People Swim
Posts: 39,554
IFR = IFR flight plan, this could be IMC or VMC.
IMC = Actual IMC. This is what US employers care about, not IFR time. US pilots don't even log "IFR time"
To avoid confusion, lets keep those terms straight.
As others have said, your actual IMC is usually 5-10% of your total, although this could vary by geography. A pilot flying small freight planes out PHX could have zero IMC the whole time.
There's no place in the US (maybe Alaska) where you could hit 75% IMC. It would be possible if you were flying in a very limited geographic location which was socked in at low altitudes all the time, or all winter long for example. But you would really need to be able to explain that...I would go so far as to print out a bunch of METARS over a period of time, that will save the interviewers the trouble of doing it themselves.
11-17-2010, 12:53 PM
#36
Line Holder
Joined APC: Dec 2007
Posts: 75
Thanks for all your help and advice guys.
Cal Varnson: Are you sure you want to marry an English chick?! There's a reason I'm marrying an American! Our ladies over here can be an interesting breed, plus the teeth sometimes take some getting used to!
porqueno: I'm probably going to be moving to Ohio. My fiance lives about 2 hours from DTW and an hour from DAY at the moment, however, she can be relocated by her company if required to be near me.
It's funny that a lot of you guys are saying stay in the UK. Many people over here are saying the exact opposite. The European market is a mess. Our pay is pretty good admittedly, but tax is huge, in some places as much as 50%. The real kicker though is career progression. The market over here has been totally messed up by 200hr wonderkids paying $50,000 to $60,000 for the right to fly 300 hours in the RHS on an Airbus or Boeing. The right hand seat here is now just another seat that is making revenue for the airlines.
I'm stuck on the J32. In the past I would have been able to progress to a 737 or A320 from where I am now and then on to the really heavy metal in 10 years or so. Now the only option you have is to pay for your three or four months joyride on a Boeing or Airbus and then hope to be picked up by an airline in the Far East or Asia. There are only a handful of airlines that pay for type ratings now and even fewer that actually employ you as opposed to taking you on as a contractor. British Airways recently opened up their recruitment for five days to take on 30 guys, they received over 5,000 applications. I was turned down, but so were people with over 10,000hours on type!
In short, the market is in a mess in Europe too, just a totally different one!
Cal Varnson: Are you sure you want to marry an English chick?! There's a reason I'm marrying an American! Our ladies over here can be an interesting breed, plus the teeth sometimes take some getting used to!
porqueno: I'm probably going to be moving to Ohio. My fiance lives about 2 hours from DTW and an hour from DAY at the moment, however, she can be relocated by her company if required to be near me.
It's funny that a lot of you guys are saying stay in the UK. Many people over here are saying the exact opposite. The European market is a mess. Our pay is pretty good admittedly, but tax is huge, in some places as much as 50%. The real kicker though is career progression. The market over here has been totally messed up by 200hr wonderkids paying $50,000 to $60,000 for the right to fly 300 hours in the RHS on an Airbus or Boeing. The right hand seat here is now just another seat that is making revenue for the airlines.
I'm stuck on the J32. In the past I would have been able to progress to a 737 or A320 from where I am now and then on to the really heavy metal in 10 years or so. Now the only option you have is to pay for your three or four months joyride on a Boeing or Airbus and then hope to be picked up by an airline in the Far East or Asia. There are only a handful of airlines that pay for type ratings now and even fewer that actually employ you as opposed to taking you on as a contractor. British Airways recently opened up their recruitment for five days to take on 30 guys, they received over 5,000 applications. I was turned down, but so were people with over 10,000hours on type!
In short, the market is in a mess in Europe too, just a totally different one!
11-17-2010, 07:18 PM
#37
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Jul 2005
Posts: 442
Unless things have changed, the FAA is only going to give you a private pilot certificate (It's a certificate over here, not a license). You will have to take an instrument and a commercial checkride. That should keep you occupied while you're waiting for your work visa. Don't forget to get the smurfs' permission to start flight training.
11-18-2010, 02:37 AM
#38
Gets Weekends Off
Thread Starter
Joined APC: Nov 2010
Position: EMB145 FO
Posts: 273
Thanks for all your help and clarification guys.
I spoke to someone at the FAA yesterday who said I can get a PPL, ME and IR based on my current British license, but I'll need to do a Commercial check ride and a minimum of three hours training first.
Anyway, that should keep me busy for a while! Thanks once again.
I spoke to someone at the FAA yesterday who said I can get a PPL, ME and IR based on my current British license, but I'll need to do a Commercial check ride and a minimum of three hours training first.
Anyway, that should keep me busy for a while! Thanks once again.
11-18-2010, 09:49 PM
#39
On Reserve
Joined APC: Apr 2008
Position: CRJ 200/700 FO
Posts: 14
By the time you get your green card settled, the only obstacle is getting FAA tickets which is a lot easier than the other way around. But that is a separate issue. PSA will probably being hiring next spring, and they are based out of DAY with a crewbase there. I don't think you will have a problem at all. US regionals are pretty lousy pay and work rules wise. Good luck
11-19-2010, 02:56 AM
#40
Gets Weekends Off
Thread Starter
Joined APC: Nov 2010
Position: EMB145 FO
Posts: 273
Thanks granlistillo. My fiancée and I are making sure we have a decent amount in savings before I make the jump to a regional. She has a reasonably well paid job, thus it being quite hard to move to a hub city initially. We're uncertain as to whether the move to the US will be permanent, or just for 2 or 3 years at the moment. It all depends on how the industry is looking on both sides of the Atlantic and when having kids starts to come into the equation. I'll definitely be applying to PSA though.
I'm already making arrangements to get the FAA conversion done. It doesn't seem like too complex an exercise when compared to converting the other way. The JAA conversion is ridiculous, there is no way an experienced airline pilot should be made to do 14 irrelevant ground school exams, 15 hours of IR training and an additional 5 hours of CPL training plus the two checkrides.
I really appreciate all the help everyone has given me on this thread. If I can be of any assistance to anyone, please just let me know.
I'm already making arrangements to get the FAA conversion done. It doesn't seem like too complex an exercise when compared to converting the other way. The JAA conversion is ridiculous, there is no way an experienced airline pilot should be made to do 14 irrelevant ground school exams, 15 hours of IR training and an additional 5 hours of CPL training plus the two checkrides.
I really appreciate all the help everyone has given me on this thread. If I can be of any assistance to anyone, please just let me know.
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