Piedmont?

[hotwings402]

Is Piedmont hiring at all? Little or alot? I have 2200 TT 250ME ATP CFI-I MEI, how marketable am I to them? Or are they only hiring the academy guys?

Thanks

 

[Lou3]

Yes, PDT is still hiring FO's. They hire UND, Purdue, SIU, ERAU grads and those that are current or former part 135, 121. They stick to this pretty strongly. So, even if you have quite a few hours flying part 61 or 91, they are not really interested however, if you are a big flight school grad or have prior 'structured training' or flying you should apply. Bob Trout, is no longer the HR man there however, you can still send in your resume and if they invite you up to SBY the job is yours to lose (I know, sooooo many people say this but in this case is really true). Good luck!

 

[TheBigH]

Is Piedmont hiring at all? Little or alot? I have 2200 TT 250ME ATP CFI-I MEI, how marketable am I to them? Or are they only hiring the academy guys?

Thanks

And you want to go to Piedmont because ...... ?

 

[CEO silly sap]

get that furlough experience early in the career

 

[TheBigH]

get that furlough experience early in the career

It should help with the many years of shafting to come ... But actually man if you believe in Piedmont I've heard they have a great training program, and you don't need to be a hotshot UND grad or whatever, my buddy got hired on as a CFI in a cheap-o flight school ...

So if you really wanna go there for some odd reason, go for it ... You may get a chance to upgrade in 10 years when all the captains have to retire ...

 

[DC8 Flyer]

It should help with the many years of shafting to come ... But actually man if you believe in Piedmont I've heard they have a great training program, and you don't need to be a hotshot UND grad or whatever, my buddy got hired on as a CFI in a cheap-o flight school ...

So if you really wanna go there for some odd reason, go for it ... You may get a chance to upgrade in 10 years when all the captains have to retire ...

Hot shot UND Grad huh? Little jealous there bud? There is just as many Purdue, Riddle and even a few community college guys, not to mention all the ex military, and other walk of life types at PDT.

I don't get it, what is the problem some have with UNDers, or Riddles, etc?

 

[blzr]

Dude, you'll get some really good 121 experience there. Alot of IFR and Icing stuff. Don't go there looking for a career, but 2 or three years will be alot of fun and you will be very maketable elsewhere, 121, 0r 91. Alot of great people there too.

 

[TheBigH]

Hot shot UND Grad huh? Little jealous there bud? There is just as many Purdue, Riddle and even a few community college guys, not to mention all the ex military, and other walk of life types at PDT.

I don't get it, what is the problem some have with UNDers, or Riddles, etc?

Oh relax your bones I was just teasin ... UND came to mind cuz I was gonna go there til I decided I better do something else for a living that makes money, did that and somehow ended back in aviation, go figure ... But I have absolutely nothing against UND or ERAU, that's where my kids will go 20 years from now when they make the mistake of choosing an airline career ...

So no not jealous ... UND rocks, if I could go back in time I'd go there from the get-go ...

 

[mikehoran]

How long are reserve times and upgrade times at Piedmont?

 

[trainer8]

PDT Training

But actually man if you believe in Piedmont I've heard they have a great training program...

Uh...no...not true. JK requires you to re-engineer the airplane. Hope your good at engineering. And I hope your thick skinned. You will be required to know ALL of the idiosyncracies of the de Havilland Dash-8-100,-200, and-300 aircraft including the most incredible minutia you have ever seen. The AQP program they have boasts of being a great training program, but in reality is a checking program. There is a significant difference. Use of automation (yes, the auto-pilot) is restricted until LOFT. I think the problem is the corporate culture of the training department...even the whole airline. I taught Dash-8 training (SIM and ground) for 6 years. I'm disappointed by what I've seen and heard about this training program.

The Dash-8 is a truck. A nice truck. It is an aircraft originally designed to fly a multi-purpose regime in and out of hard surface airports and Canadian utility airports. (read STOL and unpaved surfaces) It is not a neccesarily a difficult aircraft to learn to fly, but these guys make you think you're learning to flying the Space Shuttle. It is, from what I'm told, one of the most difficult, high pressure training courses to get through and it doesn't need to be that way. How you TEACH has alot to do with the outcome of trainees.

Sorry, not much good news there.

T8

 

[TheBigH]

How long are reserve times and upgrade times at Piedmont?

Probably forever and never respectively ....

 

[dhc8fo]

Yes, JK and JP are turds....that is true and they don't make the training fun. BUT, even though I think they are turds, I have always gotten a whole LOT out of my PDT training and I have found that MOST of the instructors (especially JB who retired, and many of the SOE instructors) to be good instructors and forgiving, and generally very helpful.

I feel very thorough and safe when I fly and most of it is from what I have gotten from PDT's training and ESPECIALLY from flying with so many old salts.

No, you won't upgrade in forever, but you will get a huge amount of experience just simply from flying with the guys who know the plane in and out and who can show you a few things (they aren't all as cool as some, but most are good dudes). You will become a far better pilot if you go to a place like PDT vice a Mesa....etc.

My two cents.

PS...I love knowing all of that "incredible minutia" about the aircraft I am flying everyday and I don't think it is a bad thing to hand fly the DHC-8. God forbid if you get an aircraft with an MEL's autopilot....

 

[Propsync]

I'd go to Piedmont for two years to start over at the bottom of another airline. Looks like a good career move.

 

[N813CA]

trainer8

I went to Piedmont 5 years ago. SOE, not IOE was very good. I think you are full of it. I am now at Comair, and IOE was very good, but Piedmont's AQP was just fine for a UND grads. Most of Piedmont's junior people are UND grads. THEY ALL PASSED. So either way you loose.

 

[N813CA]

trainer8

Piedmont's training was way easier than Comair's.

 

[trainer8]

trainer8

I went to Piedmont 5 years ago. SOE, not IOE was very good. I think you are full of it. I am now at Comair, and IOE was very good, but Piedmont's AQP was just fine for a UND grads. Most of Piedmont's junior people are UND grads. THEY ALL PASSED. So either way you loose.

You are entitled to your opinion and I am to mine. No sweat if I loose this argument with you. The word is out on the street on more than this forum about PDT's training. And, the concensus from your old buddies at PDT is that the corporate culture at PDT is very poor and is reflected especially in their DOT and training enviroment. I agreee, so, I'm in good company.

I'm glad the UND GRADS can take the heat. All I'm saying is that it is not necessary to treat people that way and that the DHC-8 is not the Space Shuttle.

Cheers

T8

 

[WSurf]

You are kinda blowing this way out! If you come to training and CQ prepared (and no, you don't have to rebuild the Dash 8) there is no stress at all. On the other hand if you come in weak, yes they will drill you a bit on the parts you are weak on. Hell, whats wrong with that!!!!! I have been to training and got spanked because I wasn't prepared. And so what, its a wake up call!! COME TO TRAINING PREPARED AND BE SERIOUS ABOUT IT. That's it, they tell you what you need to know! Limitation and procedures.. you don't have to be Chuck Yeager in the sim at all. Now I have heard of a Couple of instructors that are on the odd side and don't take the time to help and teach. However I think ever company has a couple of those kinda of dudes! Usually they are a bit pissed because their careers have made turns and changes that they didn't care for. Then again, we have some instructors that go way beyond the call of duty to help train you and they really enjoy helping people.
Just remember that a Safe Pilot is one that is well trained in the Aircraft that he flies. I really don't think that PDT training is preparing you to fly the Shuttle.... I did get a laugh out of that!!

 

[Dash8]

the sad problem at PDT is their pathetic devotion to being like mama mainline....in the training dept, and corp. offices
right down to that piece of schiesse checklist (can you say airbus checklist with a couple dash items thrown in?)
their answer to everything is
"because mainline does it"

oh, and does anyone really think that bigass hideous ring you know who's wearin looks good? a hard core goomba/made man wouldn't wear that thing

of course the fact that they were very obviously gunning for a number of specific alg guys in transition training doesn't make them look very professional either

but on to the original topic matter...
my limited experience so far is that there really isn't much in the way of 'reserves' certainly not enough to backup the scheduled lines, but their hiring like mad so it prolly won't be long before your in a line, depending on your base, as for upgrades? your guess is as good as mine, they trickle out occasionally at the moment but its around 4+ years

 

[WSurf]

I don't think Piedmont is the greatest place to work, crap what regional is? Everyone thought AWAC was, now look at them... Everyone thought ACA and now look at them maybe going out of business. Bottom line is most regionals have there good and bads! We have a working contract that I would put against most. We do fly old tired equipment, however it could be worse then the 8.

So my Advice to you DASH8... If Piedmont Sucks------->Simply leave!!! Its that easy! Nobody is making you stay at our Sucky airline. I have been here 5 years, and if I thought it sucked I would leave. I wouldn't want to torture myself having to come to work.

 

[DC8 Flyer]

WSURF hit the nail on the head! If you don't like, F'N LEAVE!

PDT has its ups and downs, people piss and moan but it could be worse, you could be flying for ASA /giggle. Training is EASY, simply study, you know instead of going to Murphy's every nite maybe spend 30 minutes studying before you drink all your brain cells away.

 

[Dash8]

hey, i didn't ask to come here, and no 'one' is keeping me here, but i'm stuck because of financial issues among others, i would leave if there were someplace i could go and not go bankrupt even faster than i am here...
but i'm stuck here for now, and just wanna come in, do my job and go the heII home...

its funny how some of you guys defend pdt(not all mind you, i do consider a number of pdt guys that i know a friend), and how in the past the pilot group, and the union just rolled over and let mgmt enact all those rediculous provisions and letters...
what? did they have pictures of y'all with a goat or something? (not you wsurf or dc8 specifically, just a general statement)
for the most part, most of you don't realize it because all you've known is pdt, yes theres plenty of worse places to work at, but were coming from a different perspective, we've seen how a dash operation can be run
hopefully we can get some more of our guys in the union so it might actually grow a backbone and standup to mgmt....
200 some odd outstanding greivances??? i mean come on....

i really don't want to start a pissing match, were all stuck together, and need to fight mgmt not each other, just remember that the alg guys are bringing a different perspective on things, use our knowledge and tenacity to benefit the pilot group and try to make our lives better while we're here

 

[Sig]

Who farted?

 

[WSurf]

Dash8 I can agree with that! I just had a problem with you coming on here and bashing your own company! Let other people do that!!! LOL If you have been at PDT for a long time I can understand your pain. I feel sorry for all the new FO's that will never experince the fun of working here. The days when we were up to 60 Dash8's KeyWest overnights! Crews all over at the same hotels! Everyone was happy to be at work! Dash 8/300 were coming in. Its hard to have worked here when this was the Number 1 place to work. Now the only people we can get are 500hr pilots.
I don't think we will ever see those days again. And after 2008 we just might be gone for good anyway. But I try to stay postive and come to work and do the best I can. I think thats all we can do! It would be nice if we had our own control in terms of running this company, but we don't. Group does and look what they have done to what used to be the best regional airline.

 

[suupah]

Is anyone concerned for the future of PDT in light of AWAC?

 

[WSurf]

No!!!!!

 

[suupah]

WSURF,

could you expand on your answer please!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Hobit]

WSurf,

I've got a few questions about PDT. Mind if I PM ya?

Hobit

 

[Dash8]

Dash8 I can agree with that! I just had a problem with you coming on here and bashing your own company! Let other people do that!!! LOL If you have been at PDT for a long time I can understand your pain. I feel sorry for all the new FO's that will never experince the fun of working here. The days when we were up to 60 Dash8's KeyWest overnights! Crews all over at the same hotels! Everyone was happy to be at work! Dash 8/300 were coming in. Its hard to have worked here when this was the Number 1 place to work. Now the only people we can get are 500hr pilots.
I don't think we will ever see those days again. And after 2008 we just might be gone for good anyway. But I try to stay postive and come to work and do the best I can. I think thats all we can do! It would be nice if we had our own control in terms of running this company, but we don't. Group does and look what they have done to what used to be the best regional airline.

fair enough wsurf, but, i have a question here, for a long time we at alg have been hearing about how great pdt is from y'all, and how great the contract is...
well, we're all here now, and with the exception of a couple of small things.....pdt is worse than alg was in most every respect....it seems like the pilot group and union just rolled over and let mgmt enact all those rediculous amendments and rules, and that junior guys are systematically screwed (no reserve lines published prior to completion bid, no differential pay for 300, no pay for reserve days not worked that would take you over guarantee just to name a few) i'm not that junior, but i still see how crappy that is
don't get me wrong, i'm not blaming you or anyone else specifically, just pointing out some of the deficiencies to the 'pdt is/was the best place to work'
and alg certainly wasn't a day at the fair either, we had our own issues for sure

 

[sync8]

Well..ALG is NO LONGER .. SO I would suggest that your time would be better spent trying to fix the company that you now work for..and be grateful that you have a job at all..like the rest of us trailing edge of technology Dash Trash types.. ALG MEC did give up YOUR rights to a hard fought contract..nothing is worse than that ...PERIOD..We all suck in different ways..now is the time to at least present a common front to get things changed for the better..We are all at PDT now ..as unfortunate as that is..So lets make the best of a difficult situation..

 

[CLR2LAN]

whats the und/erau guys getting hired on with these days?