Pink Slip......Does it Hurt?????

[jspilot]

I am working on my CFI currently and while thinking ahead I was wondering...If I was to fail on something minor would that hurt my chances on ever getting on with a major in the future(I am not planning on failing). Is failing a checkride an interview question? Also, is it better to fail a CFI ride than a commerical or ATP because the CFI rating is just an extra benefit to the pilot? Thanks for all the info.

 

[zonker]

I am working on my CFI currently and while thinking ahead I was wondering...If I was to fail on something minor would that hurt my chances on ever getting on with a major in the future(I am not planning on failing). Is failing a checkride an interview question? Also, is it better to fail a CFI ride than a commerical or ATP because the CFI rating is just an extra benefit to the pilot? Thanks for all the info.

No, it wouldn't hurt your chances unless you made a habit of it, then it could be a problem. I don't think any failure is deemed more serious than the next. The one exception to that might be an upgrade failure from FO to Captain. I would imagine that a failure of this sort might place you under extra scrutiny, although this is just my opinion.

That said, just show up for any checkride or interview well-prepared and confident and you'll have no problems in your career.

Good luck!

 

[FLB717]

The ATP is an important license, but the CFI is the cornerstone of your knowledge and experience. I would recommend (from my point of view) to make sure that the CFI is not the first bust you have. Of course no busts are the best policy.

 

[acapoisonpill]

Any bust will be an interview question. Be sure to handle it properly. Explain what you learned from your mistakes. Talk about what you did to correct your errors, and accept responsibility. Blaming the pink slip on the examiner, your instructor, the weather, or any other outside influence will probably cost you the job.

 

[JJJ]

In five airline intervews, I've never been asked about my busted IFR check ride. Don't worry about it.

 

[SWAdude]

Gentleman, Gentleman, Gentleman,

Your pink slip will not hurt your chances. IF you are asked the question, your approach to the answer could affect whether you are offered a position. As well as all the questions you answer. Its never one question. Its how you present yourself in the entire interview.

With all due respect the CFI is not the corner stone of all your knowledge. Its just another rating showing a level of knowledge to practice the privileges it offers. If it was the cornerstone I doubt 80for80 would be the "captain at eagle".

By the way, I also failed my instrument checkride. My fault. I found to have the skills to blow off the procedure turn on a VOR approach.

SWAdude

 

[Hose A. Jiminez]

With all the furloughed pilots out there, mostly from the majors, why would anyone hire you if you busted any checkride? The myth of the CFI being the cornerstone is BS, i'm a Captain at Eagle and I don't have a CFI.

Jspilot,

Do your best not to bust any, but if you do bust one, dont sweat in either. As long as you have a good attitude, dont make excuses and show that you learned from the experience, it will not hurt you with any reasonable interview.

Dont listen to a danm word 80for80 says. He's a bad attitude commuter lifer jackazz. Bust too many checkrides and you could end up like him.

 

[flyhard]

80for80,

Wow a captain at Eagle, that is impressive. Sounds like you are in a great place with a he!! of a future. I am always hearing people say I cannot wait till Eagle callsfor an interview. Did you ever think that maybe you are still a captain at Eagle because you don't have a CFI? I think the question you meant to ask is why would an airline not hire you with a bust?

The fact remains that even pilots are not perfect and make mistakes. That means you need to learn from the mistakes and make yourself a better pilot. Do not avoid a rating or certificate because you are worried about busting. If you do this job for a living, you will do checkrides twice a year.

 

[satpak77]

80for80

10,000 Eagle Captain?

uh, when are you going to write your career guide "Commuter Careers"

LOL

(please respond with one of your stupid as* posts, please validate my attempts to spin you up)

eagerly waiting

 

[BoilerUP]

With all the furloughed pilots out there, mostly from the majors, why would anyone hire you if you busted any checkride? The myth of the CFI being the cornerstone is BS, i'm a Captain at Eagle and I don't have a CFI.

I'm glad you got a job with Eagle without a CFI; you were either incredibly well-heeled, incredibly well-connected, or incredibly lucky. You must be one of those captains all the ex-CFI airline pilots I speak with talk about being sh*tty captains because they never learned to teach, and subsequently are jackasses to their FOs.

While being a CFI doesn't really equate to flying anything bigger than maybe a Seminole, it does teach you how 1. listen, 2. pay attention, 3. realize when somebody is trying to kill you, and 4. have patience. Oh yeah, and that whole "teaching" thing.

jspilot, if you get a pinkslip are are questioned about failures in an interview, TELL THE TRUTH. Explain to them what you did wrong and how you learned from the mistake. Take full responsibility for the outcome. Being HUMBLE goes a long way in this business, airline or otherwise. It may be a black mark against an otherwise spotless resume, but I serioulsy doubt it is a deal killer. As a 777 captain for UAL told me once, "There are two types of pilots - those who have failed a checkride, and those who will".

Best of luck to you in your CFI training. It can be tedious and boring, and you will have someone attempt to kill you, but it is ten times more rewarding than you'll ever imagine.

 

[General Lee]

JSpilot,

Relax. A bust or two probably would not hurt your chances. I know a friend of mine who busted a type rating before he got on with Delta, and he is still here flying the 757. It really is how you respond to that potential question. If you tell them what happened and say that you learned from it, then they will move on. If you tell them how bad the sim instructor was or the examiner, then they might pause and think. That is not good. Just tell them the truth and say that you will never forget what happened and it has made you a better pilot. If you bust every one of your checkrides the first time and then pass on the second---they might be asking you more questions. And, as far as which checkride is worse to fail--I would say the ATP, but then again as long as you don't make it a habit--then you will be ok. Good luck.

Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[TWA Dude]

I have two pink slips on my record: CFI initial and ATP oral (dumb math mistakes on that one). Since then I've been hired by four different airlines; nobody cared. Like speeding tickets, don't get too many and make sure they happened a long time ago.

Dude

 

[Thunderchief]

JS pilot,
I think it is more important on how you explain a busted ride during an interview than the fact if you get one or not. If you're in this business long enough, you might just get one. I am just an average pilot and I got one, it didn't stop ATA from hiring me though because I knew how to explain the fact that I screwed up and it was a learining experience.
Good luck to you and don't sweat the rides too much, be prepared.


80for80 you are such an idiot, I don't think you have ever posted anything constructive. I pity you and your pious attitude.
-TC

 

[Ty Webb]

Originally posted by BoilerUP
I'm glad you got a job with Eagle without a CFI; you were either incredibly well-heeled, incredibly well-connected, or incredibly lucky.



Sorry, Chief, but I gotta weigh in on this one. Being a CFI or having a CFI doesn't matter squat once you get out of the sandbox . . . .

Being a CFI does not guarantee skill or judgement. During my flight training, I had one CFII crash me in an airplane, one try to talk me into flying a 2.5 hour night cross country in a single engine airplane with an inoperative alternator, and one CFII who asked me to take the airplane when he could no longer keep it under control in hardball IFR . . . . . and those are just a few of the experiences that come to mind. In fact, of all the friends I have had who were killed in airplanes, the vast majority of them were CFI's.

So, if you are telling yourself that your CFI makes you a better pilot than a non-CFI . . you are kidding yourself.

It is more about the individual pilot and his approach to Airmanship. That is much more defining than a CFI rating.

 

[BoilerUP]

Ty,

You took my post, and the snippet you quoted, out of context. I never said or insinuated that having a CFI makes one a better pilot. I did, in fact, say:

"While being a CFI doesn't really equate to flying anything bigger than maybe a Seminole, it does teach you how 1. listen, 2. pay attention, 3. realize when somebody is trying to kill you, and 4. have patience. Oh yeah, and that whole "teaching" thing."

It is widely known that a CFI job typically is the first flying job a newly minted commercial pilot will have, and is the route *most* took (military excluded) to accumulate the hours to move on to cargo, charter, corporate, or the airlines. I don't think it is at all out of line to say that those who got airline jobs without having to slug it out in 172s in 90+ degree heat or the dead of a Midwest winter teaching a broad mix of students were either "incredibly well-heeled, incredibly well-connected, or incredibly lucky". Not faulting anybody in that position, just stating that obvious.

If you got a professional flying job without a CFI, more power to you. As I have said in previous posts, sitting in the right seat doing bounce-and-gos with a private student is little benefit to flying bigger, faster equipment. But I *do* think it makes for a more knowledgeable, more patient, more experienced pilot.

All that having been said, I must agree 100%...."Being a CFI does not guarantee skill or judgement". I couldn't say it better myself.

 

[Ty Webb]

What I was trying to say is that having or not having a CFI doesn't by itself tell me anything about a person's professional airmanship.

Maybe I misread your post. I thought you were trying to say that a person was automatically less of a pilot without a CFI. If I thought that were the case, I would go out and get mine tomorrow, but with 3200 hrs of time in aircraft requiring 2 crewmembers and 600 hours of PIC time in a jet requiring 2 pilots, I don't think getting my CFI would be worth it to me at this point.

Now, if I wanted to flight instruct, it would be invaluable.

 

[TriJet]

With all the furloughed pilots out there, mostly from the majors, why would anyone hire you if you busted any checkride? The myth of the CFI being the cornerstone is BS, i'm a Captain at Eagle and I don't have a CFI.

Give me a break dude, failing a single checkride (especially the CFI), is not the end of ones career.

Know your stuff, and attitude will get you the job !!

 

[viking737]

80for80.
Does Capt Hersh know that you posted his picture on this website?
By the way , what does 80 for 80 stand for?

 

[SWAdude]

What it means is that a select group of Eagle pilots, myself included, wanted AMR to allow us to fly the MD-80 for $80/hr, which back then was good money, and i'd do it now just to screw the AArogagant Pricks AAsociation out of their seats and jobs.

Before I got involved in these forums on the internet, I had no idea how many selfish, self serving ignorant a$$holes there were in this world.

80-80 you are the guy that would cross a line to fly viking737's airplane. You are the lowest form of pilot. Be proud.

SWAdude

 

[WhiteCloud]

Let's get back on topic. Unless you have a significant bust record, busting a CFI should not be a big deal. The bust rate at the Washington FSDO on the initial CFI is around 90%. By the time you get qualified to apply for an airline job you have (hopefully) learned a lot more and have become a better pilot through working as a CFI. If the issue of a bust on a CFI comes up a good interview tactic to consider is to talk about how good a job you did while working as a CFI and how well your students are doing. If you ultimately passed the ride on a a subsequent test you've demonstrated that you fixed the problem and, if you have worked as a CFI, instrument pilot or whatever, you've demonstrated that you can handle the job. I think interview panels use that question to see if you squirm away from responsiblility or accept it (like Captains are expected to).