Welcome to Flightinfo.com

  • Register now and join the discussion
  • Friendliest aviation Ccmmunity on the web
  • Modern site for PC's, Phones, Tablets - no 3rd party apps required
  • Ask questions, help others, promote aviation
  • Share the passion for aviation
  • Invite everyone to Flightinfo.com and let's have fun

Fedex Sim Busts

  • Thread starter CaptainMark
  • Start date
  • Watchers 15

Welcome to Flightinfo.com

  • Register now and join the discussion
  • Modern secure site, no 3rd party apps required
  • Invite your friends
  • Share the passion of aviation
  • Friendliest aviation community on the web
AlbieF15 said:
FYI--sim passes are the norm--but the busts include military (F18, F16, KC135, C130, P3) and the gamut of civilian types (f-lo'd AA, f-lo'd DAL, B1900, E-145, CL-65). God almighty I am glad I made it through looking back. Get help somewhere--practice in a sim, or a computer, or your local facility--but show up with a good cross check. You don't want to think because "I flew a DC 9 for 2 years before my furlough..." that you are ready. There are plenty of places to get help--Miami, Minneapolis, or your local ANG base--but do something. I sometimes think the profile I did that passed in 2001 might bust today--but that is pure speculation.

Shisha--do you think you looking back you ended up in the right place? You are a CLASS ACT and without getting to spiritual on these boards I am convinced things often happen for a reason. I hope you are happy at your highly profitable, fun, and fired up company.

Cheers and good luck to all.

...also...Mem Trash and Captiain Mark...REAL men fly VOR to VOR or get direct from center. Glass sissys....

deleted...drunk posting= not good.
 
Last edited:
Albie says: "FYI--sim passes are the norm--but the busts include military (F18, F16, KC135, C130, P3) and the gamut of civilian types (f-lo'd AA, f-lo'd DAL, B1900, E-145, CL-65)."

I notice there's no mention of F-15 guys busting! Good one Albie.:beer:
 
CaptainMark said:
worry about being on the bottom of the list memtrash...well at least you are senior to the guy who's name is "end of report"...
and that aircraft you used to fly doesn't float too well either..golf next week..bring lots of $

You make a good point about the bottom of the list. I wish I had been a cheif pilot's god son so I could have been hired younger too. Yea the 11 does sink but so far no kills (at FedEx). The tail loosing bus has issues too.
Long drive of the day gets dinner and drinks. You are younger and bigger so it should be easy for you to win.:smash: Fore!
 
albief15...your right!...but that is too much work..tuning vors went out with MEMTRASHs haircut...GLASS KICKS ASS!! and MEMTRASH you only play golf because you like to wash your buddies balls and clean their shafts...WWWHHHAAAAATTTT!!!
 
The sim portion of any interview is easily overlooked as being a non-event because a) You are a S-Hot fighter pilot or B) You are a current S-Hot heavy guy. At AA in 1991, they were using a round-dial 707 sim, and with no experience beyond fighters, the amazingly ponderous roll rate had me going for a while, as did the painfully slow throttle response.

After I was hired (thankfully!), I later asked a guy who worked the sim how they graded. I don't know if FEDEX does things this way, but the gist was this: If you were a current KC-135 driver, for example, they would expect a higher level of comfort and understanding of the platform vs. a fighter guy, or a SAAB pilot. But in all cases, they were looking for nearly continuous corrections, and an instant recognition when you deviate. It was a cross-check they wanted, a good one, and an attitude that did not accept sloppiness and deviations. I wouldn't announce a recognition of an altitude dev, like "40 high, correcting", just DO IT and be obvious about it. Let the airplane speak for you.

Good luck to all interviewees out there!

I think the general advise to rent a REAL sim is a good one.
 
CaptainMark said:
albief15...your right!...but that is too much work..tuning vors went out with MEMTRASHs haircut...GLASS KICKS ASS!! and MEMTRASH you only play golf because you like to wash your buddies balls and clean their shafts...WWWHHHAAAAATTTT!!!

You mean hair not hair cut I'm sure. I have a three year old fixing my hair style as I tpye.
 
MemTrash said:
You mean hair not hair cut I'm sure. I have a three year old fixing my hair style as I tpye.


is that how you tpye on the A300 fms...i hope you do not tpye that way...you should practice tpying...
 
how much does this sim prep cost? are you guys talking full-motion or just stuff you'd do on a PC?
 
Interviewed in June....Class in August......two words for you if you have an interview.........SIM PREP. Best money I ever spent .....probably in my life. This is not a paid ad from EC.

A very accomplished gentleman in my group of six did not pass the sim part of the interview and did not do the sim prep. It is an opportunity of a life time. The money was a stretch for me at the time, but I am so glad I paid it.

I practiced the profile in a sim, on the computer, in a multiengine jet, and in the sim with AJ. It would have been up in the air whether I would have passed without the sim prep. The FedEx sim is a little "squirrelly" and there is little to no time to warm up.

I personally would not rely on a few hours of MS Sim with my multi million dollar opportunity.

Just my opinion.

Discuss, dispute, debate.

BH
 
with all the experience you all have they still make you do a sim ride?
what a bunch of peckerw.....
 
Cforst513 - the sim prep is about $300-400/hr with a 2 hr recommendation. I suppose it could cost some money if you don't have jumpseat pass privilege or live local to sim facility. However, Bunsenhoneydew makes a great point about a guy in his interview class who had the credentials but didn't pass the sim eval (and also didn't do a sim prep). As I long windedly (sp) detail in my account a yr ago, I did get a sim prep in an A310 in Cinci (interviewed in the A300). Spent $600 on the prep with a few hundred more on a short notice ticket. I felt prepared. And...the guy I did the prep with had done some others for Fedex hopefuls with success, but I could have done better.

There is a guy named AJ who works with Aaron Hagan at Emeralcoastinterviewconsulting. This guy not only gives you some stick and rudder prep, but he also prepares you in a manner to "accept nothing but perfection." This latter concept, IMHO, is absolutely key. You see, you can look online or call around and get some sim time. Sure, the guy you do it with may say he's helped other Fedex folks, but you're doing yourself a disservice if you don't do it with the best folks you can. What I mean is, at the end of the scenario/sim prep, the guy should tell you something like "that's a good profile but you want to make sure you're not settling for anything less than perfection during your interview" rather than, "you did a good job and should have no problem with your sim prep." Reading what I've written or what others have written, or even doing MS flightsim ain't the same as being in a box and experiencing the real deal, IMHO. There are subtle differences to each of these scenarios, and some may even think that what I've written here is BS. Think of it as you may. And realize that the sim eval at Fedex IS WHAT IT IS. That said, folks who have pm'ed me over the past year have met success in the sim and for that I feel awesome. I feel great because I didn't keep my failure a secret...I shared it with future candidates and it's nice to know they met success. Not because of what I've written...but because of creating an awareness of preparation they may not have had had they not read the post.

AlbieF15,
Thank you for your kind words. And thank you for the HR interview prep. Because some have asked, I will say that I was hired at Southwest following the FedEx sim. While I didn't do my FDX sim prep with Emeraldcoast (due to reasons I state in my post a yr ago) I owe alot of my HR preparation to Aaron and his methods of bringing out your best in an interview. I did attend his seminar and encourage others to seek a similar seminar. Yes, things did work out for the better. My commute is a 40min drive to work to my base. I work with awesome folks who care about what they do and what direction the company is going. And I love my job. I was so scope locked on FDX that I barely even considered others. Still, six months prior to the FDX interview (that I never knew I would get), I got the 737 type and, well, things worked out better than I could have imagined.

Bottom line: get the prep and be as prepared for the interview as you possibly can. Be humble and always have a plan B.

Good luck,

-S
 
shindler said:
with all the experience you all have they still make you do a sim ride?
what a bunch of peckerw.....

its basic airmanship..and people still bust it...nerves play a huge part...go figure
 
Last edited:
PLEASE don't start THAT thread again.

Moderators can move our stuff to Cargo if they want to, and that's ok by most of us, but they haven't.

Just get over yourselves, stop freaking out because Fedex is on a "Majors" board. Other airlines end up here, too that aren't Majors...
 
I promise to put it to rest

I initially replied to this thread because I had a buddy call me up last week to talk about his busting the FedEx sim two weeks prior (first week of Jan 2006). He was/is crushed. I told him I knew how he felt. Still, life goes on and there are other opportunities out there. I saw Capt Mark's thread and it seemed like he was surprised that folks have failed it. So, I dug up the past and posted a link to my post a year ago. I did prepare and still came up short. That happens too. Life goes on. But I have also heard from folks over the last year through pm's that they had gotten bad advice from veteran FedEx pilots. Those veterans had told them that the sim was no big deal. Well, maybe it was no big deal to them, but it is a big deal and IMHO anyone who tells a future candidate that the sim is no big deal is doing them a disservice. One FedEx Capt told a candidate to "click off the A/P a week prior to your interview and you'll do fine." This guy didn't get any prep and also downed the sim at FedEx.

Capt Mark, your post above originally said before you edited it "It's basic airmanship...and people still flunk it...go figure." Not sure what you were trying to state there? Good on you if you went in there and it was no big deal. I would submit that if you tell a future candidate that it was no big deal based on your interview 10+ yrs ago, I think you would be doing that guy a disservice - just like the other FedEx Capt told the candidate to just click off the A/P? Not trying to be disrespectful, but you may not realize the impact someone like you can have on a future candidate's general attitude towards preparation.

The sim eval (for any company) is an element of the interview process that you have some control. Better preparation betters your opportunity to succeed. And even if you are a crackerjack pilot, at the very least it will calm your nerves.

Believe me, I'm over it. You can see by my number of posts that I've moved on, but I'm still willing to help a brother out and hope I don't get another phone call again like I did last week. That's painful. I also hope veteran pilots at any of the companies don't lull future candidates into a sense of complacency by telling them the interview (sim or otherwise) is no big deal. It is a big deal and it's worth the extra effort.

Get mad at me if you wish, just offering my point to future candidates. Hope those future candidates prepare and get the job.

Good luck,

-S
 
Easy now..i also stated that nerves play a huge part..if you are going to quote me..be fair ...and it was in response to the statement that why is fedex making people do sim rides with all that experience...
 
prep

Was overseas when i got the call...tried to get sim prep and they laughed (it was 11 months after 9-11). I worked hard on my own in our military sim...it was nothing like an A-300 but I tried to replicate the same maneuvers and worked on my crosscheck for countless hours doing these maneuvers. Even though it wasn't a heavy I really think it helped. We had 3/5 pass the sim the day I interviewed...so I guess it just depends. I am convinced the only reason I passed the sim was all the extra practice...and the only reason I passed the interview was Albie.

Do the prep if you can...if not find another way to make sure your scan is strong...where there is a will there is a way.
 

Latest resources

Back
Top