Gulfstream PICs

[PA-44Typed]

Whats life like as a PIC there? Pay, training contract, any info would be great.
thanks

 

[Captjiggles]

It's like a wet fart some days and an air biscuit most days!

 

[atlcrashpad]

PIC's don't pay as much fo der flight times as dah SIC's does..... bouyyyyy.....

 

[V-1]

It's like being a flight instructor...except all your students now have the "My mom and dad paid a lot for this, I'm entitled." attitude now? Just a guess.

 

[andyd]

I left Pcl for a street capt at GIA. Best decision I have ever made. Spent 7 months there on the line. The training is excellent but if you've never flown a 1900 before (i was a former streamer that did the program 4 years ago).....going directly to the left seat could be a challenge. Expect to be on reserve the entire time you are at GIA. 11 months a day off, great work rules. If you go, move to your base and do NOT commute...you will be very happy. Captains authority is nearly non-existant however, scheduling, maint control and dispatch will try to brow beat you into taking a broken airplane into bad weather. Hold your ground but be prepared to defend your actions and make damn sure it was warranted if you refused an a/c. if you are on good terms with scheduling you can and will make well above guarantee(my best month was 145 hrs credit)...play nice with them and they will remember, never answer the phone and play games with them...they remember that too. For the most part the f/o's are up to speed but don't let your guard down....especially with the ones who have less than 100 hours in the a/c. make sure this is the place you want to spend several years, with oil at 100 a barrel and 65 being law now....hiring at the majors is about to come to a screaching halt.

 

[chrisrj83]

It's not as bad as most people on here will tell you it is. Pay is decent for a 1900 captain, fist year pay is $33.68 and $3.90 override for being based in Key West. Training could be better. I took over three months to get on line. Most of the f/o's that you fly with are pretty good, but you do have to watch out sometimes. The biggest complaint I have is the maint. Overall not a terrible place to work.

 

[Whiskerbizkit]

Whats life like as a PIC there? Pay, training contract, any info would be great.
thanks

I hope you havn't updated your profile, PA-44 to 1900 CA not ever flying 121 is scary!!!

 

[172driver]

It's not as bad as most people on here will tell you it is. Pay is decent for a 1900 captain, fist year pay is $33.68

 

[chrisrj83]

According to Airline Pilot Central 1st year 1900 Capt pay:

Great Lakes: $27.00
Commutair: $30.00
Colgan: $32.00
Gulfstream: $32.00 (actual 33.68)
Big Sky: $36.00

I'm just saying pay isn'y bad compared to any other company with 1900s.

 

[skypine69]

11 days off...work rules are great. That, my friends is the problems right there. When pilots think that 11 days off is great, we have lost. oh well.

 

[sopdan]

I left Pcl for a street capt at GIA. Best decision I have ever made. Spent 7 months there on the line. The training is excellent but if you've never flown a 1900 before (i was a former streamer that did the program 4 years ago).....going directly to the left seat could be a challenge. Expect to be on reserve the entire time you are at GIA. 11 months a day off, great work rules. If you go, move to your base and do NOT commute...you will be very happy. Captains authority is nearly non-existant however, scheduling, maint control and dispatch will try to brow beat you into taking a broken airplane into bad weather. Hold your ground but be prepared to defend your actions and make damn sure it was warranted if you refused an a/c. if you are on good terms with scheduling you can and will make well above guarantee(my best month was 145 hrs credit)...play nice with them and they will remember, never answer the phone and play games with them...they remember that too. For the most part the f/o's are up to speed but don't let your guard down....especially with the ones who have less than 100 hours in the a/c. make sure this is the place you want to spend several years, with oil at 100 a barrel and 65 being law now....hiring at the majors is about to come to a screaching halt.

Is that a joke??? (please tell me it is) Sounds like a great place to work where they respect their employees and captains, and have an emphasis on safety....

 

[chrisrj83]

11 days off...work rules are great. That, my friends is the problems right there. When pilots think that 11 days off is great, we have lost. oh well.

What are you even talking about? 11 day is just the minimum number of day required off for a reserve pilot. It's just like anywhere else. The better seniority gets the better your days off look. The best line this month has 18 days off, not to bad if you ask me.

 

[John Pennekamp]

Does GIA still have those ex-ASA Brakillyas?

 

[EatinRamen]

I made the move from ASA to GIA and my QOL has improved tremendously. Pay is about what I was making at ASA, but I was a line-holder right out of training with 14 - 16 days off a month at GIA. At ASA after two years, I could only hold 4 day trips. Here I hold 2 and 3 day trips.

I haven't had any real issues with dispatch or mx. When a plane breaks, I write it up. It is either MEL'd, fixed, or grounded. Dispatch has always worked with me when I have issues regarding weather.

I know people like to hate GIA because of their pay for training FO's, but for a 1900 operator, it really isn't a bad place to be. I'm racking up PIC time quicker than I would have had I stayed at ASA and waited another 2 years to upgrade. There are a few FO's you need to watch like a hawk, but as a former CFI, it's nothing new to me. And yes, our contract is pretty good. Reserves get a min of 11 days off a month... so does every other regional. We get min pay of 4 hrs for every day of work and have other nice perks I didn't have at ASA.

So yeah, I didn't have SJS, and decided to make the move back into the T-Prop. Do I fly 6, 7 or 8 legs a day? Yeah. But my time at work is efficiently used, versus, flying two legs a day at ASA and having a 4 day trip valued at only 16 hours.

Last thing I'll say about this place is that I don't intend to be here forever. Hopefully the economy doesn't get too screwed up and I'll be out after a relatively short time. But I am way happier flying at Gulfstream, logging my PIC, and having time off to enjoy being at home.

 

[EatinRamen]

Yes we do have some of ASA's ex Brasillias. They break down a lot from what I hear, but we just got a new-to-us E-120 from Discovery Air.

 

[John Pennekamp]

I made the move from ASA to GIA and my QOL has improved tremendously. Pay is about what I was making at ASA, but I was a line-holder right out of training with 14 - 16 days off a month at GIA. At ASA after two years, I could only hold 4 day trips. Here I hold 2 and 3 day trips.

I haven't had any real issues with dispatch or mx. When a plane breaks, I write it up. It is either MEL'd, fixed, or grounded. Dispatch has always worked with me when I have issues regarding weather.

I know people like to hate GIA because of their pay for training FO's, but for a 1900 operator, it really isn't a bad place to be. I'm racking up PIC time quicker than I would have had I stayed at ASA and waited another 2 years to upgrade. There are a few FO's you need to watch like a hawk, but as a former CFI, it's nothing new to me. And yes, our contract is pretty good. Reserves get a min of 11 days off a month... so does every other regional. We get min pay of 4 hrs for every day of work and have other nice perks I didn't have at ASA.

So yeah, I didn't have SJS, and decided to make the move back into the T-Prop. Do I fly 6, 7 or 8 legs a day? Yeah. But my time at work is efficiently used, versus, flying two legs a day at ASA and having a 4 day trip valued at only 16 hours.

Last thing I'll say about this place is that I don't intend to be here forever. Hopefully the economy doesn't get too screwed up and I'll be out after a relatively short time. But I am way happier flying at Gulfstream, logging my PIC, and having time off to enjoy being at home.

You failed to mention that you now make less as a GIA cap than ASA FOs make under the new contract. If you stayed, you'd be a CRJ captain right now, making about $60 an hour and flying 80+ a month. Where will you go when the economy tanks?

 

[EatinRamen]

No I wouldn't. Please don't make stuff up. If I had upgraded, I'd be sitting on reserve for a long time as an RJ captain. Plus the upgrade is still around 3 years, I believe. ASA's travel bennefits stink now. Schedules still suck as well.

It's not all about the money jack@ss. I'm home more than I ever was at ASA.

 

[capt1900]

I've been on the Emb-120 for 3 months now and it has not broken down on me.

 

[John Pennekamp]

No I wouldn't. Please don't make stuff up. If I had upgraded, I'd be sitting on reserve for a long time as an RJ captain. Plus the upgrade is still around 3 years, I believe. ASA's travel bennefits stink now. Schedules still suck as well.

It's not all about the money jack@ss. I'm home more than I ever was at ASA.

Jackass? Who's the jackass? Um, you walked away from jet PIC and $65K a year to fly a 1900 at a PFT airline with a bunch of kids, pal. Just pointing out that your decision wasn't for everyone, as you seemed to promote. You didn't even make a lateral move, you moved down. Good luck getting hired anywhere but a regional with all that 1900 pic time.

 

[chrisrj83]

Jackass? Who's the jackass? Um, you walked away from jet PIC and $65K a year to fly a 1900 at a PFT airline with a bunch of kids, pal. Just pointing out that your decision wasn't for everyone, as you seemed to promote. You didn't even make a lateral move, you moved down. Good luck getting hired anywhere but a regional with all that 1900 pic time.

Who are you to judge his decision to go to another airline. He said earlier he has at least another year to upgrade in the jet. He also said his quality of life went up. As far as only getting hired by a regional with his PIC 1900 time. I can think of a handful of people that are waiting for class dates a Southwest, Spirit, Northwest, and Airtran just to name a few. Do a little research before you open your mouth next time.