Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill Lumberg
What don't you like about the X? I know the X crews work hard, but I hear the G200 and Sovereign fleets are getting busier. At least you didn't get a non-APU aircraft like the Ultra or Beechjet.
I've been on the X at NJA for about a year now, and I have no complaints. Mind you though, I'm 5'8" and 165 lbs. It is indeed a cramped environment up front, and I can see how it would get pretty uncomfortable for some of the bigger guys. I last time I did legs longer than about 2 hours was in the C-130, so it took a little getting used to.
As far as the leg lengths, there are some coast-to-coast legs, but I tend to find that doing a long leg or two during the day is less fatiguing than having to do six short hops in a day. I've done both in the X, and it seems that way to me. Maybe that's my personal physiology. And if you're going to have to go coast-to-coast, at least you'll get there faster than anyone else out there. Do we work hard on the X? Yeah, most of the time. If I had to choose between flying all day and sitting around an FBO all day, I'd choose the flying every time.
As far as other comfort items go, the height of the cabin is also much nicer than some of our smaller jets. A guy my height doesn't have to bend over at all. The APU is huge for me as well. Cooler in the summer, warmer in the winter and no begging for a GPU at every stop.
Also, on the plus side, blowing by everybody in the sky besides the military fighter guys never gets old. Often, you have to reduce power at cruise altitude to keep from exceeding the max of 0.92 mach. The altitudes we cruise at also tend to reduce much of the hassle associated with traffic and weather avoidance.
The X was my first choice and I'm still glad I got it. Only the Falcon 2000, with it's roomier cockpit and FA would have come close in my book.
BTW, the hiring folks at NJA don't really try to match you to airplane may have prior time in. I had nearly 2000 hours in the Beechjet when I interviewed, and it wasn't even offered. Same story with a buddy of mine who had about 3500 Beechjet hours and was assigned the Falcon. They simply match you to an aircraft based of vacancies in the fleet, your preferences and what they think you can handle based on prior experience and what they see in the interview.
-NTFB
02-13-2013
It's always good to see more ex-mil guys getting hired as well. I understand from my last recurrent that only 5% of our pilots are ex-military.
