Bugchaser asked
> Will soon have more than the 1000 turbine but will mostly be single. How will that be looked at by airlines?
Let me offer a couple of thoughts particularly as your time relates to the mins at SWA. First, 1000 hours in turbine cropdusters absolutely meets the 1000 turbine PIC requirement. If you meet the other requirements (2500 total time, ATP, 737 type, etc), you WILL be put on the list for an interview. (No guarantees how long the wait may be.)
That said, your app will look considerably different from the majority of apps that SWA gets. Most guys have either military, 121, or corporate backgrounds. Some have some cropdusting, but not many got their 1000 t-pic that way. The good news is that SWA does NOT use a cookie-cutter for making job offers. You do NOT need to "conform" to all the standard stereotype expectations (including navy suit, white shirt, red tie, plain-toe black lace-up dress shoes, black briefcase, blah blah blah) to get the nod!
The warning, though, is that you will have some things to "prove" to the interviewers / decision board that may go a bit beyond what a military/121/corporate guy has to show them. These 3 environments all operate mostly (or all) IFR, have considerable structure, generally lots of CRM experience (or leading a flight, for single seat military guys -- different but similar), and deal with a great deal of automation. You will do yourself the most favors by emphasizing how you function well in such an environment (doesn't need to be 1000 hours in that environment, but you want to convince them that you won't flail when you get out on the line in the jet).
Even if it isn't a lot of hours, being able to relate how you've done well with high performance aircraft in the IFR environment will reassure guys that you'll be able to pass IOE. CRM is CRM and doesn't need to be in a high performance aircraft, but you'll want to have several examples of working with another pilot in the cockpit to show that you can do that well. Being able to discuss the regulations & structure that you work within (working with a chief pilot to solve a problem, consulting a regs/policy manual for guidance, etc) will dispel the fear that you just "go out VFR & do whatever you feel like."
Please understand that I'm NOT suggesting that ag flying is in any way undisciplined, but the differences between the stick-n-rudder flying you do in VMC & low altitude with some fairly aggressive yanking and banking at times and the structured, highly procedural, crew-centered, FMC-intensive, "keep it smooth for the paying passengers" environment are significant.
If you are looking to apply to SWA and are planning on getting the type, you'll probably do yourself some favors by brushing up on IFR procedures & sharpening your instrument scan... The type rating school I went to could generally teach most guys who came to them to fly the sim well enough to pass the checkride, but some folks had a severely hard time with it; they tended to be mostly VFR pilots.
Several other places besides SWA have a sim ride as part of the interview; you might benefit from an hour or two with an instructor in such a sim getting used to "flying" in that enviroment. For guys who already fly one "heavy," I tend to think that buying time is "the exact same" sim you're going to interview in is a waste of $, but a simulator is a big video game & you do NOT get all the same cues flying it that you do flying an aircraft. Similar, overlapping skills, but if you've never flown a sim for a "heavy" aircraft before, you don't want to do it for the first time on an interview that matters to you!
All that said, I will respectfully disagree with the poster who said that you have to go to a regional first before your app will have any chance at a major like SWA or FedEx. While 121 time will certainly give you valuable experience in all the things I mentioned above, it is not the ONLY way to do it, and you may well have everything you need in your background to convince an interviewer that you can do well in training and IOE & become an asset to the company.
Two suggestions: if you're geographically close to one of the type rating schools, it might be a good thing to go chat with them about your background & what it takes for someone like you to be successful at SWA (or wherever your interest lies). I'll plug Higher Power (
www.jetcrew.com) here -- great people who absolutely know their stuff. They see people with diverse backgrounds go through their programs & tend to have a good feel for who can do well & who will be severely challenged by the structure & IFR involved. Second, interview prep people like Rob Beeks (
[email protected], iirc) also have seen enough people go through the process that he also can probably give you a good evaluation of how your experience & background would stack up.
Best of luck to you, and feel free to PM me if anything I said here is unclear or you'd like further clairification.
cheers,
Snoopy
