Great Lakes Questions

[suupah]

I was wondering if anyone could answer some questions about Great Lakes. I am thinking about going there in the hopes of finding a quick upgrade to build turbine PIC.

My questions are

1. How fast is the upgrade?
2. When is Phoenix opening up and will it be a junior base?
3. Are pilots from Great Lakes going directly to the majors and if so how much
time do they have when they get hired?
4. How is the quality of Life for a great lakes pilot interms of time on/off, length
of trips and travel benefits/health bene's?

I have heard good and bad about this company but anymore for me it is looking like turbine pic is very important.

any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Cardinal]

Is the search function broken? Cause omebody posts this identical question about every 14 days. Plan on upgrade taking a year. No strike just yet, we haven't been released, who knows if we'll ever be released. You'll get at least 30 days notice, anyway Medical is $62 per pay period for a single guy. Lakes is a lousy company, don't get me wrong, and they always turn up new ways to suck just a little bit more. Yet at the same time you can be happy here, especially if you have few external commitments, like a family. I like it, have fun, enjoy the flying, and the airplane ( of course it has it's annoyances) but go to work expecting to be screwed, and am not dissapointed. If you plan on leaving inside 15 months, they'll hunt you down for the $7500 non pro-rata training contract. As far as prorities, if you put your QOL even a little bit ahead of fast-track career progression you'll be unhappy. If you don't mind an as%pounding for a few years, you'll love it. The people are great. DEN is the big base, maybe ABQ in a few months. PHX has already opened, is senior on the Captain side, but fairly junior as far as FO's. 6 crews down there in May. Prepare to be cold in winter, hot in the summer, get stupid comments from pax everyday on every flight, throw bags to get out on time and make your commute, be distrusted by mgmt, be the flight attendant bitch, and get paid nothing. Count on getting junior-manned down to 10 days off per month for at least half of any given year. If that sounds like fun to you, well then come on home.

Pretty much all of the meaningful commentary I can come up with I've posted recently, mostly here:
http://forums.flightinfo.com/showthread.php?t=45343
and here:
http://forums.flightinfo.com/showthread.php?t=45543
and a little bit here:
http://forums.flightinfo.com/showthread.php?t=46332
and most recently:
http://forums.flightinfo.com/showthread.php?t=49690

 

[suupah]

Thanks,

a couple of q's i didint' find answers to.

How much turbine pic are guys leaving to the majors with?
What kind of avionics do the 19's have?
Are the majors ok with 1900 time as opposed to crj time?

Thanks

 

[wntsouthwest]

Hey if you are looking for some quick PIC time go to Ameriflight and work your way up to the Metro and leave shortly after..just a thought

 

[suupah]

Thanks for the tip. I just always thought that the airlines wanted CRM. plus man, i don't have the 135 mins.

 

[Herculeus]

The majors will hire people from AMF.CRM is important but not to tough to learn.Plus if you fly at AMF they want you to act like there is sombody in the right seat.Upgrades to the 99 are 4-5 months and its a great experience and pays more.

 

[kmox29]

Thanks,

a couple of q's i didint' find answers to.

How much turbine pic are guys leaving to the majors with?


Thanks

Holy Crap!! The Majors are hiring?

 

[Cardinal]

How much turbine pic are guys leaving to the majors with?
What kind of avionics do the 19's have?
Are the majors ok with 1900 time as opposed to crj time?

1. kmox29 has a point. The bunch that's leaving lately to "desirable places" (not an RJ) are at the 4 year point, so probablly 2-3000 PIC.

2. Needle, ball, and compass This is what it should look like. Pull out the Autopilot, GPS, the FO's Flight Director, the 2nd ADF, Anti-Skid, Power Steering, and Brake Deice and you'll have a typical Lakes aircraft.

3. God only knows.

 

[suupah]

ahh one more question. I know what the base pay is, but with the average line and per diem and all what can a GLA FO expect to gross monthly?

 

[Cardinal]

$1500.

I just got a PM reminding me of a couple choice details I left out:

You didn't point out that 1690 Radio Disney is up and standard on the GLA photo, as well the cruise torque being back around 2500 or so to make block.

These items truly round out the Lakes experience, and I was remiss in neglecting them.

 

[Guitar Guy]

And with the bare-bones equipment, you will develop a very good instrument scan. Trust me, that will really help out when you do sim rides in future interviews.

Although the pay ain't great, you will get a lot of excellent experience at Lakes. You'll see high-density altitudes, snow and ice, mountainous terrain, Class B and Class E airports (maybe even Class G) etc. - the sort of experience that you may not get at other places. On top of that, with a small pilot group, you'll really get to know your co-workers.

As for the PIC time, it's a definite consideration. You can easily rack up 900 or more hours per year there, so the time will accumulate quickly.

Best of luck to you.