gotta step in here.....
You wanted the good, bad and ugly.... looks like you only got the "...sun-shiny day!.." side of things....
"Low pay, good training, etc"
The bad Yes, low pay - good training....hmmm.....It is of course, FAA-approved; yet, only 5 days ground school, topped off by only 1.5-2.5 hours of flight training/check ride.
The good The usual Ground school instructor (JD) knows his $hit and is a good instructor/check airman.
"The company is letter perfect on paperwork"
The bad In order to be so perfect, you have to have a perfectionist (read INCREDIBLY anal-retentive) running the show. That person is hated, yes hated by a majority of the employees there (not just the pilot group).
-too many reasons to list why....ok, maybe one example-- acts like Capt. Roger Ramjet without the skills/judgment to back it up.
The good He is a very hard worker and thus has his T's crossed and I's dotted.
"mx is great"
MX is good, not great. Better than a lot of 135 operators, not as good as a few.
"I very much enjoyed the pilots I flew with"
True. 85% of the guy/gals there are great, fun, mellow people IMO.
"Great safety record"
True. Not one fatality (or accident, I believe) in some 30 years of operation.
"Upgrade times I was told were 18 months"
Depends on how much and who's a$$ you kiss will accel/deccelerate your timeline. Your timeline is not based on seniority at all.
"The callout is 30 minutes, but all captains I flew with had around a 30 minute drive alone, much less get dressed time, etc. It was never an issue, so I wouldn't worry about that too much."
Partially true (maybe 30%). There are 3-4 "schedules" to choose from: Charter-as it sounds. 6 hard days off/month otherwise 24hr. pager (yet, usually call you the night b4 - not too many pop up trips these days). Med 1, 2, 3 - sometimes have to be at the airport all day-10minute response time air ambulance deal. At night on call at home- better be there in 30 mins. or the helicopter crew will make a stink and then your fearless leader will stink on you. You will get this schedule at random/or request. You better be there in 30 mins. from answering your page at 2am.seriously. Corporate-only avail. to a few, 10 days off, 4 hr callout charter style. AASI- 2wk on/ 2wk off sched. No pager when off. Not sure if the contract will continue. Bottom line, I don’t agree to the above quote-you are expected to be at the airport w/in 30 mins (5 mins to respond to a page and then the 30 mins start).
"...but they take pretty good care of their pilots..."
management makes you feel like a stepchild most of the time(not as bad as a red-headed stepchild, mind you) and the monthly pilot meetings are generally a mgmt's review of what you (pilot group) didn't do right, we need to do better,etc. and maybe a murmur of an "attaboy" 1 out of 4 meetings.
You have to cover hotel expenses and food while RON-ing and then they reimburse you. (Yet if you're gone for long time, IE: > 1.5 weeks they might help you out with the hotel expenses - company card, etc.)
Overall treatment is probably better than a lot of 135 ops, not as good as some.
"....flying by the Learjet book...... I have never met any other operators that do... if you get my drift.
....watch how far outside the "Learjet book" profile a select few fly. It's an experience
"...They really seem to back the pilots up on their flight related decisions."
The bad...again watch out for a call from the dynamic duo ready to double-team doggy-style you as to why you didn't take the flight, didn't get in to a destination, or say that they’ve done it before so why didn't you, etc.
The good the above doesn’t happen too often and almost never happens on charter flights.
My overall recommendation is this:
If you are relatively low time (1500-2000) with no turbine experience go there for awhile and suck it up (bend over once in awhile). If you don’t need the jet time and low pay, don’t go.