cargo and checks at night, oh my !?

[wingnutt]

No doubt you know this because they told you so in class. Wait till youve been around two years and shut down five engines, had numerous bleed leak/wing overheats, gear problems, nose wheel problems, hydraulic failures... etc. No one will make you go with a problem but they sure as wont stop you if youre too stupid not to. And i have seen that happen plenty of times.

oh good grief...dont kid yourself. this happens in every other 135 cargo outfit also. it aint like you are the only ones to ever have mechanical "irregularities". if you can deal with it, fly the plane and be happy. if you cant, down the plane and be happy. if you dont like having to deal with it, get the hell out of cargo and be happy elsewhere...sheesh.

oh, and as for that 121 cert...hasnt that been the golden egg for about the last 5 years now?!?

 

[amfteamster]

Five engine failures? Good thing this wasnt your caravan. There are good points about AMF but mx aint one of them. Just because they tell you that in class doesnt make it so.

A strong pilot that knows his sh1t and will not take any will do fine at Ameriflight. One that can be pushed into doing something questionable, will be. Keep your head on a swivel or the'll stick you in the a$$ and tell you its a handshake.

 

[barnyard]

Would that top down overhaul mean the exit of Hazelet?

Can you confirm/deny this rumor???

 

[Hose A. Jiminez]

Twenty+ engine shutdown/failures in a twelve month period from what the guys down in Texas tell me.

 

[AZaviator]

Twenty+ engine shutdown/failures in a twelve month period from what the guys down in Texas tell me.

Wow, another post bashing Ameriflight with absolutely zero credibility and zero usefulness which goes along with some of your other posts:

Downside is the type of flying. The majority of pilots fly the same trip day in day out week after week. Not too impressive to major airlines. You dont want Flight instruction and Ameriflight to be the only jobs on your resume

Its better than a kick in the ballbag. Except when they kick you in the ballbag.

Still waiting for a USEFUL post with some credibility. Your background of "tacos and frijoles" doesn't say much about you or your experience......then again...maybe it does!?

 

[TexaSWA]

Twenty+ engine shutdown/failures in a twelve month period from what the guys down in Texas tell me.

I can personally account for four of those and know of a couple of other guys that had at least that many each. Made for some interesting interview stories though.

 

[tathepilot]

Still waiting for a USEFUL post with some credibility.

Me too !

 

[SDCFI]

I can personally account for four of those and know of a couple of other guys that had at least that many each. Made for some interesting interview stories though.

How long ago was this? Must've been a problem with the Dallas base. I've never been there so I can't speak from experience. I was in PDX for 9mo's and we never had an engine problem, piston or turbine. Haven't heard of any recently in BUR either. I haven't had so much as hiccup in over a year here in piston or 99 airplanes.

 

[roughneck]

I have had to shut down four engines too. DFW MX sucked really bad in the past. They have had some major changes (I think we are on our 4 or 5th MX manager in 3 years) Things are better, but you still better watch your step. Our chief pilot had an engine failure last week going into MSY.

The MX problem is not confined to the Dallas base. We have had nearly every MX manager in the system work on the A/C in Dallas and still have MAJOR problems. Ask the CVG guys if they have problems!

As for Hazlet, I heard he has been asked to resign, but it won't be effective for a couple of months. (no conformation on that, but rumor has it!)

AMF has had 2 fatality accidents this year and numerous others in the past. I believe AMF had something like 11 incidents in the past twelve months as well. (Do a search on the NTSB website and you will be surprised at what you find)

AMF is an OK place to work, but you better watch your own back because no one else will. Study and know your stuff and make sure that you have the type of personality that will allow you to stand up for what you know is right or you will get put into positions that are compromising to say the least.

With questionable MX, it is no surprise that we have problems, but the training at AMF is not the best. You have guys doing the training that don't have any experience other than AMF. They begin to believe their own BS after awhile. Some of these guys have been here 10+ years and have never been "allowed" to fly turbine A/C because the company doesn't trust them to do so. They teach the initial training and upgrade training, go figure!

Bottom line is, if you are going to work at AMF you need to have substantial prior experience and a strong personality to keep yourself safe in this environment.

This post is not meant to bash AMF, only inform some of you newbies about the dangers.

 

[SDCFI]

I did a search for Ameriflight on the NTSB site and found 10 results. 4 fatals, none of which are directly mx related (the Metro in GEG is still pending, and a deferred nav may have been a factor). 1 had smoke from behind a CB panel and another had a gear collapse due to a cracked roll pin. The rest were pilot/gnd personnel issues (forgetting to put gear down, a/c hit by tug, hard landing, and a/c ran off snow covered rwy.) I've heard most of our recent incidents have been pilot issues (hit cones, hard landing, cargo door open in flt). People just aren't paying attention. It's certainly true that no one here will stop you from violating yourself or flying an unairworthy airplane. If someone suggests that you can fly a broken airplane (they won't ask or tell you to, they know better) all you have to do is politely decline and they'll send someone to fix it. They (operations) may not like it, but that's their problem, not yours. Watch your back and don't do anything stupid and you'll be fine here or at any other 135 operation.

 

[tathepilot]

thanks for the info

 

[roughneck]

If someone suggests that you can fly a broken airplane (they won't ask or tell you to, they know better) all you have to do is politely decline and they'll send someone to fix it.

No, they will just send someone with less backbone to fly the trip anyway. Then if they crash, they will try and blame pilot error or as a last resort they will blame someone else.

Watch out and be very careful.

 

[amfteamster]

I've heard most of our recent incidents have been pilot issues (hit cones, hard landing, cargo door open in flt). People just aren't paying attention. .

The requirement for recurrent training is there for a reason. How AMF snuck their recurrent program by the FEDS is beyond me. A multiple choice packet sent out once a year followed by a check ride with no real "recurrent training" so to speak at all? I guess its cheap and easy. So is brushing blame off on pilot error.

You'd be better off asking some 600 hr CFI to give you recurrent rather than relying on their dog and pony show.

 

[starchkr]

Didn't really want to get in on this thread again after it turned into a he said she said bashing or praising of AMF, but i had too when i saw somebody say they have never heard of any engines quitting. I know for a fact that last week you had a plane shut one down going into MSY out of DAL/DFW. Plain and simple, he said he shut the left down and would wait to declare an emergency with approach going into MSY. So there is one.

Other than that, this has kinda taken a turn away from the original post, and to tell you the truth, i don't think any of us care about this hijack that much. Hey, we all have to shut one down at some time...big deal, they fly fine with one. I have shut shut one down, and what do ya know, i am still around and it was a non event. BIG DEAL. Let's get off of AMF and try to answer the "retarts" question.

 

[NLflyer]

Opinion

It's hard to find info on a company, flight school, etc. because your always going to get the guys who like it and the guys who don't. You won't often get a consencus! I think a lot of it depends on your attitude. I personally enjoy working at Ameriflight. But I don't have unrealistic expectations. I am flying 135 cargo... with that I expect old airplanes, inconvenient schedule, and low pay. On the flip side, the airplanes are maintained well (at my base), it's a professional airline style organization, there's a paycheck everyother week, good health benefits, and the company has been around for 35 years. There are more positives than negatives at AMF, try comparing it to most other 135 organizations. Just remember, It's a stepping stone just like flight instructing and they even tell you in groundschool that they don't expect you to stay forever. Anyway, for whatever its worth.

 

[amfteamster]

Re: Opinion

it's a professional airline style organization...

And the hits just keep on comming!!!

 

[Freight Dog]

Hey amfteamster, I think it's time for you to punch out of AMF, buddy. You've been there too long...

I was at AMF for 9 months and I gotta say that I enjoyed it. No, it wasn't all peachy. Like amfteamster said.. you gotta have some backbone or they'll walk all over you. Bear in mind, that's at some bases, not all. When I was outbased to MYF, I couldn't be happier. I was home every day, 4 nights a week schedule, good flying... if I were an old geezer, it'd be easy to settle down doing that. I really truly enjoyed that kind of flying.

I worked at 3 Part 135 operators prior to coming to AMF and they either downsized or went out of business, so I can definitely relate. AMF is a relatively stable company as far as Part 135 world goes.

Maintenance.... I didn't have a problem with it, but I wasn't at DFW. Even when I was there, I heard maintenance truly sucks at DFW. OAK, PHX and BUR... if you had a squawk, it'd be fixed the next day. The planes were old... Hell, one of their Lances is the 2nd oldest Lance ever made... serial number 2. Serial number 1 was crashed by Piper during flight tests. So expect old equipment.

Yes, people have jumped ship and went to work for SWA, some to AWA, some to Alaska. A lot of us went to regionals from there.

All in all, excellent experience, good training program, and great flying. If you're taking the Part 135 route, I'd go with AMF.

 

[AZaviator]

Hey amfteamster, I think it's time for you to punch out of AMF, buddy. You've been there too long...

Yea, just answer that question, with out any Amflight bashing or any other of your usual negative comments.

If you are THAT unhappy with Ameriflight, then why don't you go somewhere else?

 

[SDCFI]

If you are THAT unhappy with Ameriflight, then why don't you go somewhere else?

Probably because he has incidents/accidents/violations on his record that prevent him from getting hired elseware. I know the low pay, 20-30 year old equip, and brutal schedules are pretty enticing, but if you're really that unhappy get the f@ck out and quit whining.

 

[amfteamster]

...getting hired elseware.

Its elsewhere, learn english b1tch.