Sadly I am inclined to agree with you. I don’t see it just being lifted across the board.

I was being sarcastic...it was a false promise.

Got the Vax and I officially DGAF about Covid. At the point where everyone that wants the vax has been able to get one we should be able to toss the masks IMO. If it’s still spreading and people are dying via those that chose not to get the vax at that point there’s nothing we can do. My give a poop meter on covid and masks are at zero at this point. Aren’t we pretty much at the point where it’s available to everyone in just about every state? So really we are a month from anyone that wants it can be fully vaxed?

Not quite, I know places like New York they seem to be pretty slow up there. they seem to be slowing moving from group to group.

Many of us have been fully ‘vaxed’ weeks ago... I am glad you chose to do it, my WiFi hasn’t been this strong ever! Masks on planes will be the norm for the foreseeable future...

Dunno if it's changed in the last 4 years but when I went through it, the training was good but fairly compressed. Most of the other opinions in this thread match my own, regarding the quality and pacing. It's "good" training, but compressed.

My first ever heavy aircraft V1 cut was done 1 sim before my checkride. Big boy approach, for sure. You really do need to get ahead of the curve and stay there or it'll be rough no matter what your background is. They do NOT coddle ex-military folks like some companies do.

We all wore slacks/khaki pants and polo or button shirts with nice shoes. I don't think anyone got additional training on how to dress themselves.

The joke was that Spirit hired on personality and washed out poseurs during training. The class behind mine had 2 Mesa CAs sent back to Mesa to start over as first year FOs after their 3rd sim, with FAA documentation following them for the rest of their lives.

We lost 3-4 training days due to a hurricane. They didn't re-flow the training, they just took away our days off. That hurt some of us more than others. It certainly set me back.

I have a personal rule to never fly a checkride I'm not confident I'll pass. I used that rule to convince my instructor to move my one-day "weekend" to the day before my oral exam instead of having me do my oral the last day of a 7-day work week. I'm not ashamed to admit I was behind the curve and needed a study day, and I'd have quit before going to that oral unprepared. I guess he believed me because they shuffled the schedule and I made it through just fine, but nothing about it was easy since it was my first time for just about everything there and second chances were not always offered.

My sim partner just about quit too. He unbuckled, took off his headset, and started motoring his seat back in the sim 10 minutes before the end of our 4th sim because he'd had enough of a particularly condescending instructor's nonsense. A short non-verbal conversation between us (while the instructor droned on about something stupid) resulted in him buckling back in and we finished up without further incident. But he was about 6.9 seconds from going down the sim escape rope. True effing story.

I found value in the 320 apps. The oral is pretty much you go through the flow, and the check airman stops you and asks about the systems and logic behind the switch or button (airbus, right?). The app is PERFECT for this, since each button/switch is clickable and pops up relevant limits and logic. Several of us in the class would use the app down in the hotel bar area for small group study, in addition to pinning up the cockpit posters and running through the flows with our sim partners or whoever else wanted to run through them. Small group study participation wasn't crucial but it helped me out quite a bit so I recommend finding at least one or two others to go over flows and systems with during your off time.

The training program from what I hear from FOs on the line has made some great improvements. The fact that there are actually planned multiple days off in a row now is amazing in itself. When I went through we got our first two days off in a row I think after week 4 and that was only because of an instructor shortage. Spirit won’t drag your training out past 2 months. I hear about other airlines getting people done in 4. That seems insane to me. Spirit isn’t teaching people how to fly approaches or complex jets, they’re teaching them to be able to fly Spirit planes safely on the line. I loved our instructors, I hated the pace. Instruction is still top notch everytime I go through the school house. Pace has improved.

Training was great and I actually preferred the compact nature of it as I hate living in a training hotel longer then I have to.

That being said there is zero time to get behind. Come in prepared knowing what your supposed to know and spending almost all free time studying and nobody should have any problems.

also if you show that your trying hard they will work with you to a point as far as extra training goes.

what app is this ?

hercretired A320 Cockpit App I think it’s around $30-40

thank you.........

Some of us also had Switch 320. Not free, but worth it. I spent more on my zipper ties.

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/switch...er/id966316564

Its made by an NK pilot, he does a great job of keeping it updated and current.

+1 on the usefulness of the app (I trained in some of the last classes for 2020)

I’m gonna recommend the onestepprep for studying as well. I’m more of an audio and visual learner so their program was perfect and worked better for me then the app - and onestepprep is made by a spirit guy. There are many resources to get you through the training for whatever kind of learning style you have. I thought the Spirit training was great and had no issues as I was prepared.

I second this. The videos simplify alot of the in depth systems knowledge you get in ETHOS and AOM1 so you dont get wrapped around the axle or go down rabbit holes in the oral. He also has a succesful A320 type rating course for foreign nationals so he really knows his stuff. I just wish I had bought his course sooner in initial. I would have been drinking more beers.

Thought I’d ask this question here. I’m headed to FLL Sunday for training. I’m packing now. I’m assuming slides day we wear a bathing suit? Just looking for some added advice on packing. 5 years ago when I was gone for a month I remember wishing I had packed differently. I’ll be on a Spirit flight to base and I’m wondering how they’ll handle an extra bag for me. Looks like we’re near a Walgreens so I could load up on food and stuff there. This first trip is 2 weeks long. Thanks in advance.

Swimsuit for the pool and raft part. Jeans and polos for the slides and firefighting bit. Or that was the case when we went through.

Thanks that’s all I really wanted to know about those days.

will need the bathing suit for all the poolside study sessions too...you will be in south florida after all...

As a non rev (space available or space positive) you get:

1 Checked bag free
1 Carry On bag free
1 small personal item free

If it's still the Sheraton in Plantation, you pretty much have to Uber to a laundromat for laundry. It's time consuming to get there and then do it, especially when you want to study or sleep. Heavily recommend packing enough to get through the 2 weeks without doing laundry. The second stint, if you can pack enough to only need laundry done once, that'll save you time.

There's also a Target at the mall just South of the hotel (maybe an 8 minute walk), just a little further than the Walgreens. You can get about 99% of what you'd need at those two places, including a cheap $2 set of hangers for all your clothes if the hotel skimps in your closet.

(And as far as that raft, there's a locker room to change)

I was in training Spring last year and there was a washer and dryer at the Sheraton. Quick walk to Publix to grab what you need. Roof top pool rocks.

This is all accurate as of last month. Target is also an easy walk should you need it.

can email crew training and they will add a bag to your flight so you can bring 2. still 40lb limit though - not 50
Its not the Sheraton - per company email - its a different property - Hilton family of hotels

5 Sims before your checkride? That’s the shortest program for the Airbus I have heard about. I thought the FAA knocked that garbage off after Valuejet! Are there a whole bunch of part task trainers used for FMS and basic procedures before you get in the sim?

Yes, as well as FTDs. 5 sims is plenty!

When I started it was 4 sims. The 4th being your type ride. Let’s say it wasn’t very fun.

You’ll do 10 or so CSI lessons on touch screen trainers and fly flights, program the FMS do your flows and call outs.

Then you’ll have 4-5 FTDs which is a full sim (just no motion). Then you finally fly the actual sim 5 times.

Trust me, you’ll be fine.

FTDs are five sims as well, they just don’t move. Training is action packed, but very doable.

5 sims is plenty. The program is robust leading up to those rides.

maybe it’s not for you??

You must have not heard, we use to do 4 sims. I didn't think it was an issue. TBH, it was easier than my previous regional when we had 10 sims.

He is at Delta, 5 sims is 5 too many for a Delta pilot.

The program recommended by Airbus is 7 full flight simulators followed by a checkride and then a LOFT period. A additional 10th sim is recommended for low vis operations.

Airbus is also a plane that’s used as a zero to hero plane,
so I don’t think it’s a “one size fits all” global playbook.
Spirit has a very high pass rate going back to 4 sims, and now with 5 sims, it still remains high.

Now if I was coming from 200 hours TT in Europe,
10 sims would be helpful.

If I was hired at 2300 TT from a job fair, maybe I would like more sims.

We haven’t had issues with pilots succeeding in training, Spirit isn’t hiring based on faces they want in the terminal, I’ll leave it at that.

Oh cool, that definitely helps then.

And yeah, the FTD's are basically sims, you're just not on motion.

they changed the hotels for training recently. Plenty of the things you need for an extended stay are available around the new hotel(s) I’m told.

Maybe the boys over there at Delta who put an Airbus into ALPHA floor recently shoulda gotten that 10th sim too 😂😂😂

According to FOQA data, we put them into Alpha Floor as well.