Airnet Upgrade Question

[starchkr]

Ahhhh...the "never flown freight because we are too scared" idiots have chimed in. They are uninformed and are lacking a true understanding of the industry on the whole.

First, Ready2fly, the majors could give a $hit whether you have flown with FMS or EFIS (your autopilot comment shows lack of knowledge of the Airnet fleet by the way) or any other equipment. You do realize that an FMS is just a glorified GPS right?! All (well most) Airnet a/c have GPS...before you go saying that i am full of crap for saying that, just realize i now fly an Airbus, so i know all about the FMS and EFIS crap.

Second Ready2fly, dispatch does NOT make anyone fly through T-storms or icing conditions. All flight parameters are left up to the PIC period...something you have probably never had to worry about during your life as you sit in the right seat and throw gear all day long(in the future at least). If the PIC says he can go then he can go, if he says no he's going to wait it out then he waits it out and goes when he feels safe...plain and simple. You are right, the regionals don't do that, the regionals have airplanes full of young "momma's boys" type guys who think anything but a clear day is something to worry about.

So as far as freight dogs being better pilots...HE!! yes they are!!!! During my short time flying the Airbus i have noticed my skills going south because of all the automation, and in all reality i sometimes wish i could hand fly the airplane down to mins on an ILS again...but ops specs say otherwise so i follow what the company wants me to do.

 

[waka]

No flame here. I've talked to guys that have flown night freight and have quit or been fired because they have refused to fly broken airplanes of fly thru storms or ice. Are you saying that airnet is different?

Not only Airnet but, this is not even true for most freight operators. I had many years in 135 on-demand freight, carrying a pager with a 20 minute show to the airport etc. I've worked for what many would consider as scumbag operators. i.e. Grand Aire. Sure, there is pressure to fly but, NOT ONCE was I ordered to fly or else be fired. As long as there is a valid reason, wx, mx, then no problem. They might moan and whine a little and you may have to talk to the D.O. or C.P. the next day to explain your case. I had never heard this from my peers either. There might be some isolated cases but it certainly is not modus operandi.

 

[rubicon789]

Ahhhh...the "never flown freight because we are too scared" idiots have chimed in. They are uninformed and are lacking a true understanding of the industry on the whole.

First, Ready2fly, the majors could give a $hit whether you have flown with FMS or EFIS (your autopilot comment shows lack of knowledge of the Airnet fleet by the way) or any other equipment. You do realize that an FMS is just a glorified GPS right?! All (well most) Airnet a/c have GPS...before you go saying that i am full of crap for saying that, just realize i now fly an Airbus, so i know all about the FMS and EFIS crap.

Second Ready2fly, dispatch does NOT make anyone fly through T-storms or icing conditions. All flight parameters are left up to the PIC period...something you have probably never had to worry about during your life as you sit in the right seat and throw gear all day long(in the future at least). If the PIC says he can go then he can go, if he says no he's going to wait it out then he waits it out and goes when he feels safe...plain and simple. You are right, the regionals don't do that, the regionals have airplanes full of young "momma's boys" type guys who think anything but a clear day is something to worry about.

So as far as freight dogs being better pilots...HE!! yes they are!!!! During my short time flying the Airbus i have noticed my skills going south because of all the automation, and in all reality i sometimes wish i could hand fly the airplane down to mins on an ILS again...but ops specs say otherwise so i follow what the company wants me to do.

Well said Starchkr... this guy needs to get his head out of his A$$

 

[rubicon789]

Still sounds more fun than spending life at a regional

yup, and you'll be twice the pilot when its all said and done.

It is fun as hell, and yes I would say it makes you a much better pilot in the end.

 

[aussiefly]

I would be surprised if airnet forces ANYONE to fly during T-storms. I think the likely explanation is that because these night freight dogs are up in icing and hard IMC conditions regularly that there skill level is considerably higher than the average pilot. Due to that fact obviously their comfort level is higher and that may lead to the impression that the company forces them to fly because they don't stop for bad weather.

I think it's just a case of them knowing their limits and being comfortable flying right tot he edge of them. I also understand that the airnet training is pretty good and is probably some of the best when it relates to icing strategies.


Ultimately, they don't force anyone to fly and from what i've been told actually offer some options like if it's legal wx but your not comfortable flying as a new pilot they might offer you the option of another experience guy riding along. Stuff like that.

Anyway, all the airnet guys i've met are happy and fairly well paid. It seems that they hire guys with really good attitudes and that helps to make it a bit more fun to get up and go to work every day. so thats why i'll be intending to add my name to the list one of these days


cheers

 

[TigerDriver]

give a freight dog two vor's, an adf, a bag full of charts, and a couple of maxim's and the job will get done night after night, on time and in his own bed (most of the time) the next morning.
as far as thunderstorms go... just slow down, cinch in, close your eyes and scream like hell, it'll pass.
and as far as what the majors want... well, they want pilots, not equipment operators that all seem to be a dime a dozen these days.

 

[uscpilot]

Airlines are intrested in PIC Turbine, not PIC FMS/Autopilot. By and large they dont care if you flew guages or EFIS. They want someone who has made and will continue to make good decisions while in charge of a large turbine powered aircraft.
WDR11

 

[Ready2Fly]

Airlines are intrested in PIC Turbine, not PIC FMS/Autopilot. By and large they dont care if you flew guages or EFIS. They want someone who has made and will continue to make good decisions while in charge of a large turbine powered aircraft.
WDR11

And just what "large" turbine a/c does airnet fly?

 

[uscpilot]

And just what "large" turbine a/c does airnet fly?

I did not say large, you did. Jetblue had/has (not sure if they still have it) a 20,000 requirement. The LR-60 MTOW is 23500. Some smaller carriers may want someone to have time in a heavy. However SWA, Frontier, Airtran, Fedex, and many others do not care. They want PIC Turbine. Or would you consider they Airnet pilots that moved on to the carriers that I mentioned just anomalies?
Look you are obvously a flame baiter, you could have answered all your questions by using the search function.
WDR11
*Edit* I better put this here. You took my post out of context (Granted I should have reread my it, but what is done is done, and I stepped on my dick). Airlines fly large turbine aircraft. I did not say Airnet, you did. You do not need large a/c experience to fly a large a/c.

 

[aussiefly]

well said uscpilot.
Gees all I wanted was to ask some questions about a good company which I consider a real career alternative to working at a regional and we get flame baiters coming out of the woodwork.

I wonder how some of these guys get jobs when they obviously have no social skills (if he really is a pilot that is, hard to tell on here sometimes).

Cheers