Tales from my NJA interview

[bosdrx]

OK folks, heres the scoop.

The best advice i can give is to get on aviationinterviews.com and check out the most recent posts. This stuff is really right on. I didn't get a lot of the HR questions listed there but it helped me start thinking in the right frame of mind. I also talked through all the tech and hr questions outloud. It helped me get my thoughts in order so I could answer somewhat intelligently without sounding like rainmain. It's true what you hear about them putting you at ease when you get there. Its still an interview to be sure, but it helps that the people you're sitting across the table from are pleasant to talk with.

I interviewed with 4 other guys: one military, one other regional guy, and two retired major airline guys. I'm not sure how they did, but all seemed like good people.

And then there was the sim... They give a pretty good brief the evening before the ride but no doubt, it was squirrley. Just talk through everything. If you're off hdg/alt, say you're correcting. Make sure you communicate with the guy sitting next to you. Thats a huge part of what theyre looking for.

So this afternoon I got the call from Linda and she offered me 3 different airplanes and 3 different class dates for TEB:

08/06 in the Encore
10/08 in the X
11/05 (i think) in the XL

I took 10/08 in the X. I'm pretty excited to make the change. Its gonna be an adjustment from the 121 life I've been living for the last 6 years, but I'm ready to do it.

For the guys that answered all my endless questions, thanks! It defintely helped me feel more prepared.

Good luck guys. Study up before you get to CMH and you'll do just fine.

Matt

 

[RJET]

Welcome to NJA. Just curious what they are telling new hires in terms of time to upgrading.

 

[bosdrx]

Thanks! I forgot to mention the upgrade. I was told that 24 months was holding up right now for the ultra/400. I've been around enough to know not to hold my breath. I can afford FO pay, so I'm not sweating it. I'm planning on 3 to 5 years. I'd be happy to be wrong.

 

[pilotpat]

bosdrx....GOOD FRIGGIN' JOB dude! Congrats, man. I've been subscribed to aviationinterviews for a couple months and have a database of gouge that I've been working with.

Hopefully, I'll hear something in the next few weeks about interviewing. Have fun with the X, even if guys say its a "workhorse"!

 

[brokeflyer]

Thanks! I forgot to mention the upgrade. I was told that 24 months was holding up right now for the ultra/400. I've been around enough to know not to hold my breath. I can afford FO pay, so I'm not sweating it. I'm planning on 3 to 5 years. I'd be happy to be wrong.

24 months.....LOL......i got some swamp land for sale too...

your call about 5 yrs is about the minimum.....lotta captains going around collecting types.....

 

[imacdog]

Congrats on getting the call, Matt! Im surprised to hear there were only five in your interview class, but the important thing is you got yourself a class date. Good luck in training!

 

[ozpilot]

Congrats Bosdrx! I'm a Captain in the X - looking forward to flying with you.

 

[CRJFlyer]

c-ya in Oct. I took the same date/plane. They did offer the ultra in Aug.

 

[On Your Six]

Thanks! I forgot to mention the upgrade. I was told that 24 months was holding up right now for the ultra/400. I've been around enough to know not to hold my breath. I can afford FO pay, so I'm not sweating it. I'm planning on 3 to 5 years. I'd be happy to be wrong.

Congrats! Of course fractional flying will be different from 121 flying but I know several people who have made the switch and they love it. The X should be a nice airplane to fly despite its busy schedule (maybe you can buy one of those beaded seats taxi drivers use when they sit for long periods of time to save your a$$). Personally, I'd rather be productive during my 7-day tour than super bored at an FBO all the time. You could argue that the XL fleet is just as busy or busier due to its popularity and fleet size. In this case, if you are going to go at all, you might as well go FAST.

If I were going to Netjets, I'd definitely want to get some X time - if not as PIC then at least as SIC so that I could say that I flew the batwing... But that's just me. Have fun!

 

[Ultra Grump]

So this afternoon I got the call from Linda and she offered me 3 different airplanes and 3 different class dates for TEB:

08/06 in the Encore
10/08 in the X
11/05 (i think) in the XL

I took 10/08 in the X.

Congratulations and welcome aboard. IMHO, you should have taken the Aug Encore class. Not as sexy an airplane, but losing 2 months seniority can come back to bite you in the ass later. You also wouldn't work as hard. To each his own.

 

[theskyking]

Congratulations and welcome aboard. IMHO, you should have taken the Aug Encore class. Not as sexy an airplane, but losing 2 months seniority can come back to bite you in the ass later. You also wouldn't work as hard. To each his own.

Thinking the same thing, Ultra. Either that or wait for the XL and get the extra $225/mo. Either way, welcome aboard.

 

[bosdrx]

Thats a good point. I thought about taking the first available class, but there were a couple reasons to wait. It'll give my girl and i one more chance to get over to Europe before I give up the travel benefits, and I was more interested in the X (same engines/aviaonics). That being said, if they offered me the XL in october I may have taken that. I dont mind working hard, for me it kinda makes being away from home a little easier. I'm excited to get started, but a little freaked out about leaving the airlines. But the way that industry is going, i really dont mind getting out.

 

[billybob]

congrads bosdrx i hope to join you guys soon, have fun in the x

 

[Seat 0A]

24 months.....LOL......i got some swamp land for sale too...

your call about 5 yrs is about the minimum.....lotta captains going around collecting types.....

I think the last round of Captain awards the most junior guy was hired Feb 2005.

 

[ozpilot]

BTW - If you want to do a little reading about the X before school - heres a good start:

[SIZE=-1]www.atlas-air-service.de/atlas/pdffiles/citation_X.pdf [/SIZE]

 

[hydrarkt]

I left the X for the XL/S. Best move I ever made. You WILL work your ass off in the X. And going fast doesn't help. It just lets you cross time zones quicker. The "coolness" wears off quick. You'll see

 

[On Your Six]

I left the X for the XL/S. Best move I ever made. You WILL work your ass off in the X. And going fast doesn't help. It just lets you cross time zones quicker. The "coolness" wears off quick. You'll see

Good for you. At least you have time in the X and you can tell your war stories - good or bad. I have friends in both the X and the XL/S at Netjets and both are tired after their 7-day tours. Big surprise with the biggest fleets at Netjets - you can't escape long and busy tours on either fleet. If you are so tired you should have upgraded into the Beechjunk instead of the XL/S and become a lazy FBO TV-watcher (great if you want to catch up on CNBC) in between flights. Why would you possibly move to another busy fleet if you were so tired after flying the X? I guess you needed that extra $250 per month and the busy schedule didn't bother you too much.

IMO, if you are going to work hard anyway, you might as well do it in a hotrod. Sure, you and others will do what you can to slam the X and "scare" the incoming pilots with your dire warnings - that's great Dad... Some people are jaded and couldn't care less - I guess you are among them. I've heard great things about flying the X at Netjets and the fact that it is one of the busiest fleets is old news.

 

[bosdrx]

I left the X for the XL/S. Best move I ever made. You WILL work your ass off in the X. And going fast doesn't help. It just lets you cross time zones quicker. The "coolness" wears off quick. You'll see

I dont doubt for a second that I'm not gonna give a sh!t about how cool my airplane is when I'm on hour 13 on day 6. I fly a cool plane now, but its the last thing im thinkin about when I'm gettin abused by scheduling. I was thinkin about what you said hydrarkt about the XL when Linda told me what was available. I just didn't want to wait until november to get started. October was about as long as i felt good about holding out. I'll give it a couple years and see what happens. I also heard that the XL was working almost as hard as the X so it wouldn't make a huge difference.

Oz - thanks for the .pdf file. I was actually just lookin for something like this.

M

 

[stingray]

Congrats to you, Looking forward to seeing you here flying the X. Oh yea I left the XL/XLS and came to the X. both fleets work hard. Just make the best of which ever fleet your in. Each one has its pros and cons.
Got some questions on the X. P.M. me.
Glad your here!!

 

[CRJFlyer]

How long is a typical overnight on the X.. I know it'll probably vary, but because it's so busy are they mostly 10 hrs with an early show? Or do ya get a descent overnight sometimes? To catch up on some rest.