Citation Shares

[Skyking650]

NJA Capt,

Point well taken, but don't believe that schedulers are not aware of your situation. Our schedulers and licensed dispatchers keep a sharp eye on all aspects of the daily routine. Weather, aircraft and airport issues, STMP's, just about anything that you and I can think of, they also keep abreast of. This is not to say that things don't slip through the cracks from time to time.

Chuck Yeager was a household name used as an example of a great and motivated individual who could have been trapped by a senority system and never realized his potential.

Fracman,

thanks for the correction...yes we are a Cessna/Tag partnership. Thought I'd plug the parent of Cessna.

 

[Lrjet55]

Let me ask you CS guys a question regarding your "merit" system.
If you are on the road for 7 days with just your other crew member and no direct contact with management then how does the comapny know if you are the type of individual that deserves advancement or a raise?
I go on tour and fly my airplane for my 6 days or so and the only regualr contact I have with the company is when I check in with a flight manager for a brief or to call in times and the occasional time I need PM approval. On a regular basis things go smoothly and I dont have to put out fires so I am on my own, so to speak.
My question and comment are not intended to incite controversy, I am just curious.

 

[Skyking650]

LRjet55,

Great question,

1 of every 5 Citationshares pilots is a Standards Pilot so we are able to fly with and evaluate our crewmembers on a regular basis. Whenever a Standards Pilot flies with another crewmember they perform simple written evaluation that covers all aspects of the job. This evaluation is forwarded to the PM at the end of the tour and goes in the evaluated Pilots file. Over the course of a year, every pilot will have a few evaluations and (2) instructor evals from training sessions at flightsafety. From these evaluations and comments from share owners, dispatchers, schedulers and other company personnel that we come in contact with, a fairly accurate review of a flight crew members performance can be ascertained. Its not a perfect world, but this system seems to be working well and every one of our pilots that I have conversed with about our Merit System is happy with it. That, I guess is what matters.

Thanks again for your questions.

One quick question for you, do you think it takes 6 or 7 days to find out what level of performer a person is? It sounds like you are a good performer who works with little to no supervision. I could probably give you a realistic performance evaluation that you would agree with after only maybe a flight or two.

 

[Lrjet55]

I think your system is a little odd just because it is something I am not accustomed to but if it is working then that is what matters. As you continue to grow do you have provisions in place to mantain the systems effectiveness?

If one is adept at doing a job then that will be evident early. I agree with you there. I suppose over course of being together for 6 or 7 days allows for those "bad" days we all have to be evened out.

Are the owners, dispatchers and flight managers encouraged to provide feedback and if so, how?

 

[Skyking650]

Lrjet55,

Our owners (passengers) are offered a survey card during the preflight briefing of every flight. These cards ask alot of questions concerning the flight crew. Things like appearance, timeliness, aircraft condition, stocking, flight conditions, even the quality of the landing. These cards don't always get filled out and sent in, but alot do and the customers appreciate the opportunity to share their views. After all, it is their airplane and the pilots work for them in a round about way.

All of our employees are encouraged to offer feedback. Communication is key to success and safety in this business. While we are getting bigger every day, we are still at a stage where most of us know each other and the dispatchers and schedulers are very in tune with the different personalities of most of the pilots.

I hope that Im not giving too much information here about how we conduct our business. I get lots of emails and feel that this forum is a good place to allow folks to read about some of our daily life and the CitationShares corporate culture. I hope that nothing that you have read is found to be negative or degrading as that is not now and has never been the agenda of any CitationShares employee.

 

[boxcar]

even the quality of the landing. [/B]

You've got to $hitting me! How can a pax legitimately comment on "the quality of the landing"? Did they note that they crossed the threshold on-speed and on centerline? Did they note that the touchdown point was precise without float? Did thay perceive that the touchdown was intentionally firm because the runway was short and wet? Do they know how to correctly grade a landing in a gusty crosswind?

 

[boxcar]

"No they don't, but you're missing a pretty significant part of the equation. These people aren't just "pax", they're owners. A pilot that doesn't go back and explain a "firm" landing to an owner is just asking for trouble in my estimation. Right, wrong or indifferent, that's the way the world works."

Thanks for sharing your wisdom about how the world works, but my point is passengers have no meaningful way to grade landings. (If the "owner" isn't a required crewmember, he/she is a passenger.) Most of us can make every landing a greaser if we carry extra speed and power until touchdown, but I doubt that CS really wants this to be happening. If you want to grade me on how well I can explain away an "arrival", fair enough. But, put that grade in the "quality of BS" block, not in "quality of landing".

 

[Lrjet55]

I have to agree with boxcar. I consider myself an all around pilot. I take care of the customer, the company and the airplane. I would be extrememly frustrated if I get to the arirplane in the morning put all my ice, coffee, papers and catering on board, greet the customer, provide them with a flawless flight and then happen to have a not so perfect landing. Psychology dictates you will remember the negative over the positive as well as the last event to happen. There goes a perfect flight.
Besides, how do you make a perfect landing in an SII or an Ultra.
I also see your point Griz.

 

[yosemite]

Hey folks... whether you like it or not, Griz is right. The landing is the most remembered, graded, part of a flight. It doesn't matter who you have sitting there with you... and I've made them with everything from puking kids, a critical wife, and the current POTUS all watching what I did... the landing is ALWAYS what they remember the most.

I don't know about any of you, but one of the first things I was taught when I enrolled in the commercial pilot program at my school was to "start making good landings now. You'll always be judged by the last landing you make, so it better be a good one." Its an old pilot adage and its as true now as it was 90 years ago.

You can rail and argue what you want about whether a pax has the technical knowledge to grade your landings, but you had better understand, believe, and accept the reality of what Griz said.... Whether you like it or not, and whether you believe them capable of doing it correctly or not.... the other persons in the airplane ARE grading your landing EVERY FRIGGING TIME. And they will talk about it. THAT is real life... not the perfect world, just the real world we have to live and work in.

 

[Lrjet55]

" the other persons in the airplane ARE grading your landing EVERY FRIGGING TIME. "

The difference becomes whether the company will not promote you or even fire you over the ignorance of a passenger, excuse me, owner. Which ultimately boils down to union protection good, merit system bad!!!
No offense to anyone but it is nice to have Local 284 in my back pocket.