Flight Express hiring VFR guys

[wheelsup]

http://flightexpress.com/pilot_employment_florida.htm

1100 total time, not a huge break but that's atleast 2 months less working as an average CFI (no doubt someone will say they flew 150 hours a month as an instructor....).

~wheelsup

 

[flyinlow67]

Sounds like they are hiring **CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED** near anyone who shows up...no kidding.
Just on climbto350.com:
"Show up to Flight Express on Monday the 18th. We will accept the first 20 students into ground school." They are still requiring at least 1100 total though. Most regionals will hire at less than that.

Wouldn't it be a beatch to drive 6-7 or 8 hours and find out you are the 21st guy!

 

[JB74]

They also dropped the $300 non-refundable "training fee".

 

[wheelsup]

They are still requiring at least 1100 total though. Most regionals will hire at less than that.

Wouldn't it be a beatch to drive 6-7 or 8 hours and find out you are the 21st guy!

But they don't require a commerical multi, or any amount of multi for that matter. At the first flight school I worked at there were several instructors that had 2000+ TT but no multi time (no twin at the school) but they weren't willing to move to get the twin time. One went to gulfstream, one bought 200 hours at Ari-Ben, and one quit and joined the Army. Just think, those guys would've had a chance to get some real-world experience and not have to plunk down insane amounts of money if they just would've flown a [insert 210, lance, cherokee 6, caravan] for a couple months, then gone to the [baron, 402, be99, navajo]...but they didn't want to fly a single!

Even still there are instructors that think freight flying is above them...I say do what you need to, to get that multi time...

~wheelsup

 

[Nolife]

Wow

I could get my old job back.

 

[flyinlow67]

I went from CFI to flying freight in an Aztec. I will probably get flamed for this, but a CFI who flys a piston twin in the winter single pilot for 6 -12 months and then goes to a regional, will be a much better candidate and a much better pilot, than a CFI who comes straight out of teaching into a regional.
I had about 1000 dual given when I got my freight job. I had about 20-30 actual and I thought I was a good instrument pilot. 7 months of flying the midwest in a piston twin, with only 2 kx170's an ADF and a DME, made me a much better instrument pilot.
I met Flight Express pilots every night on my run, and by and large, they seemed to like the job and company. The only complaint I really heard was the long upgrade times to twin. Recently, they said that had even shortened to 6-8 months, depending on the run.

 

[John Glenn]

Actually...

They are still requiring at least 1100 total though. Most regionals will hire at less than that.

As a single pilot operation we are between a rock and a hard spot. You do need experience when you are the sole manipulator on board. If we did have a two man crew it would be different. Besides, when asked if the mins could be lowered the answer from the agency was NO!

Wouldn't it be a beatch to drive 6-7 or 8 hours and find out you are the 21st guy!

It would be BUT the more likely scenario is 50% of those who say they will be here won't even bother to show up. Of those 25% will have a sudden family emergency, one will slip in the shower, another will realize the airfare is too expensive when they wait until the night before to book, another will not be able to reach the dean of his intern program, another will have their mortgage increase overnight and they have to stay home and sign papers on Tuesday, grandmother will die (again), and that list goes on. The remaining balance of no shows won't even bother to call.

I promise you this, IF 25 FAA qualified pilots show up, 25 will start training. If 25 pass the training, all 25 will have a flying job!

The sooner we can get 210 drivers, the sooner we can put our guys in the twin. We want you in the twin as much if not more than you do. So if you want a flying job, we have them. So help a brother out! Oh yeah, we are offering our existing line pilots a $1000.00 IF they refer someone to us and they get on line and stay with for three months. BUT the the refering pilot must still be employed here at the 3 month anniversary.

 

[flyinlow67]

What is your guy's pass rate? Not to knock the training program you have, but I guess the question I have is the quality of applicants you get.
Are there a bunch of idiots who can't get hired anywhere else, or CFI's who just haven't gotten thier break yet? I think the problem with the industry right now is that all these CFI's think they can skip the freight jobs and get on with regionals, so they don't even bother applying to them. They just work at McD's or teach and wait on CHQ or XJT to call when they could be gaining the best flying skills they will ever get.

 

[YODA]

Believe it or not, not everyone seeks the "dream" of flying for the airlines. FLX has a majority of pilots that well exceed the airlines minimums, they stay because they like it. Freight flying is not for everyone, If someone chooses to skip that and try to go straight to the regionals than good for them. If they can pass the training program and do well flying the line than who is to say that is wrong. I know of a number of pilots at the airline I work for that went from CFI to the right seat of an RJ and they do a fine job. As for me, I flew freight for FLX for 3 years and enjoyed it. I also think your use of the word "idiot" is a bit strong. This is a tough industry, and that maybe the only job some folks can get right now. Those guys hired me right after 9/11/01, while the rest of my friends that had recently been hired by regionals were furloughed! Hopefully people needing a job and some good flight experience will turn up and get hired.

 

[flyinlow67]

I am not implying for a minute that FLX guys are idiots. What I asked is if you get alot of people that can't get on anywhere else.
As for people not wanting to work for the airlines, I am one of them. I am fortunate (no, darn lucky) to have gone from CFI, to freight and right into 91/135 corporate, flying a mix of piston/turboprop/jet aircraft. I didn't have to fly the screwed up world of part 121.
If you will READ the post, I said that one of the problems with getting good freight pilots in the numbers that are needed is they are all waiting for the regionals jobs. I shouldn't say all, but quite a few are.