Dornier 328 Prop Operator out of Las Vegas Area

[Formula1]

As far as I know there are no "contract pilots" working for Vision- only full time pilots. Because of the work schedule and the fact that they are currently Part 135 (only required to give you 13 days off in a quarter) and there are currently no jumpseat agreements in place with any other carriers, you would definitetly have to live in Las Vegas if you want to do this job.

As far as the type for the Jet or the Turbo-Prop, I believe it is only differences training to get qualified on one versus the other. Someone correct me if I am wrong.

 

[infiniti757]

Vision

Below is the post i put up about Vsion in a different part of the forum.

Also there is no contract flying in the 328s anymore. That apparently was a temporary thing while they trained their own staff and got required operating experience.


Vision is 121 and 135. The training and manual system as well as the supplemental operations to Phoenix are 121 approved. The operations to the Grand Canyon are 135 due to the type of A/C and size of the operations they do there.

The 135 operations are in the DO228s. The majority of flights are out to the Grand Canyon Airport and back. There are some air tours, and during summer rafting season they fly people into several dirt strips inside the canyon.

The 328s are operated under 135 and 121. They only go out to GCN under 135. In addition the fly to Phoenix as a 121 carrier under EAS. They are also going to add Palomar later in the year. They have Much bigger expansion plans for the 121 operation.

The fleet consist of 5 228s, and 2 328s. There are two more 328s going through compliance and they should be online in the next 2 or 3 months. In addition a deal for three 328JETs was inked in the last two weeks. These A/C should be online in the next 6-12 months. Vision has 5 or so 228s parked on the East side of the VVT airport that they are slowly putting online one by one. A sixth 228 is in the hangar and should be online by the end of the year. In addition to these planes they also have 2 737s in exec configuration flying around in Europe, and they Manage all of the aircraft for Roush Racing.

They don't have enough pilots on property to keep up with fleet growth so they are hiring like crazy. The class my friend was in had 13 pilots in it. The upgrade times will be very quick in the 228s. There is one seniority list and apparently they try to stick with it but they really need people so people with the right kind of experience can get Captain jobs off the street in both types. They are running another class right after the current one.

The QOL is OK they do work their guys hard but, it's because they are short pilots. Lots of guys are going to time out and get the last two months of the year off, and lots of them want it that way. The pay is OK, its better than what Scenic pays. Upgrade times are quick. You will work hard but, in my opinion a nice paycheck does a lot more for quality of life than anything else. They are trying very hard to make it a place where you would want to stick around instead of building time and leaving.

Getting hired sounds simple. Apparently there are three ways to go. If you have IFR 135 mins then you get hired based on merit. If you are low time (<1000) then you might be offered the pilot development program which is basically pay for training and then they hire you if they like you ( I personally don't disrespect this as much as a larger company that just makes you pay to keep you around even if you have the time, if you want a job with 400 hours go flight instruct like the rest of us had to). Lastly Vision has deals with some European airlines where the airlines buy a certain amount of time for their pilots to build experience and then go back to work for their European airline. Of the class of 13 my friend was in, their were 2 Europeans, 1 pilot development person and the rest were guys with the time to fly. One guy was hired as 328 capt, 1 as 228 capt, one as 328 FO, 6 as Capt upgrades after about one month and the rest as FOs.

My friend says that management is very accessible and that they are all a good bunch of guys. For him it sounds like a good way to avoid the regionals and still get quality experience.

 

[sa227drvr]

Vison is a horrible place to work. Any one that dosent want to be abused like an animal should not consider it. Someone above said that a decent pay check does more for the quality of life then anything else. Sounds like that was put forth by someone in Vision managment. Extremely, extremely disorginized. Lots of shady sounding stuff going on as well, including operating the 328's part 121 and 135. Never heard of that before but i guess its legal. Also that thing about having deals with European airlines is a crock. They hire a bunch of rich european kids that pay for a block of time. This way they dont have to pay them and in return they get some inexperienced numb skull flying around in the left seat of a 228 for 15 hours a day. Not really the type of place I would wanna be involved with. I dont know whats more infurating. That people out there are paying for their jobs or that some dirt bag company would put people like that to work so they could save a buck.
Think long and hard about going to work for this place.

 

[On Your Six]

Vison is a horrible place to work. Any one that dosent want to be abused like an animal should not consider it. Someone above said that a decent pay check does more for the quality of life then anything else. Sounds like that was put forth by someone in Vision managment. Extremely, extremely disorginized. Lots of shady sounding stuff going on as well, including operating the 328's part 121 and 135. Never heard of that before but i guess its legal. Also that thing about having deals with European airlines is a crock. They hire a bunch of rich european kids that pay for a block of time. This way they dont have to pay them and in return they get some inexperienced numb skull flying around in the left seat of a 228 for 15 hours a day. Not really the type of place I would wanna be involved with. I dont know whats more infurating. That people out there are paying for their jobs or that some dirt bag company would put people like that to work so they could save a buck.
Think long and hard about going to work for this place.

At least you got some 328 time... Must be tough to go back to the Metro after flying the glass on the 328...

 

[sa227drvr]

I imagine it would be tough, but I wouldnt know. Havent flown a metro in over a year. I do know however that flying back and forth to the canyon five times daily during day VFR conditions isnt really quality time. Unless of course your just starting out.

 

[infiniti757]

Nope not management...

Nope I don't work for Vision, I have a friend who just finished class there. He was crashing in my spare room while looking for an apartment. I am a C750 captain that lives here in Vegas. The thing with the paycheck was my addition to what my buddy told me. My point was that Vision pays better than pretty much all the regionals starting out and doesn't lock you in to a contract.

Vision's manuals and training are maintained under 121 regs and the 121 routes are flown as such. The 135 stuff is operated under the 135 operating provisions but the 121 manuals and training system. Apparently they are one of the first to try this. It seems pretty kosher to me (ex-airline) I actually skimmed through it because we are changing the way my flight department handles some of its manuals. Its kind if spiffy the way everything works out. Since the 121 training and operating experience regs are more stringent than the 135 regs you actually end up with a safer 135 operation without all the unnecesary 121 operating requirements (i.e. flight following, dispatch, alternate and fuel requirements) which is good if you are flying VFR to GCN (mostly).

As far as working your a$$ off you are right, my previous post is based upon what is supposed to happen as far as schedules go it seems like they will get it all done the way they say. Personally I'm getting old and couldn't do a job like that. My buddy is single and has no problem with the schedule the way it is, guess we'll see in a few months how he feels.

As far as the company being shady I've had a beer with a few of the guys there now, they seem OK and pretty much everyone I've met likes their job. Of course I don't work there so this is second hand. My two cents take it as you will.

 

[BengalsFan]

Anybody able to put a number to "their pay isn't that bad"? I am looking for something, and am willing to relocate, so if anybody knows what the payscale is, that would be helpful.

thanks

 

[sa227drvr]

I am pretty sure they lock you into a training contract. Maybe not for the FO's but for sure the captains sign a contract. At least on the 228's The 328's are a new program and may be a little different. Never actually worked for Vision but my company had a contract with them for six months. On several occasions we parked the airplanes because they didnt pay the bill. The crash pad they had for us posted an eviction notice on the door every month because they never payed the bill and the cable got turned off after the first month because they didnt pay the bill. We stayed in an apartment for 4 months with no cable because they wouldnt pay the bill to turn it back on! These are just facts about the way they treated the people who flew their customers. You guys feel free to do your own home work and make your own decisions. I still respectfully advise caution.
Oh as far as the pilots that work there, at least the ones I worked with. They were all straight shooters. But I dont particularly remember any of them really caring for their job that much.