QOL at Redwood

[dougdrvr]

Well sir, we hired quite a lot of Aloha, ATA, & Abex guys when they shut down. How many did your outfit hire? Put down your ALPA magazine and see how the hiring is these days. I have a 25 year pin and some of us here have battle stars. We aren't going to starve our families just to make you feel better, and we aren't crossing any picket lines, so kiss it.

Foodstamps: 5K is a hard limit for now. May change down the road, but not in the short term. We mostly hire guys with 121 experience as well. Sorry, but that's the truth. I have a GV type and doubt I could ever use it as I have no corporate experience so I know how you feel...

They've hired a lot of Midwest guys too, which proves they have good taste.

 

[climbhappy]

to guys who flew the 737 before coming to VA: ballpark how long that it took to get comfortable with automation of airbus as defined by by how quickly you unfold the newspaper to read sports in the climbout. below ten k?, after autopilot on? cruisie level off?

 

[Ralph Cramden]

to guys who flew the 737 before coming to VA: ballpark how long that it took to get comfortable with automation of airbus as defined by by how quickly you unfold the newspaper to read sports in the climbout. below ten k?, after autopilot on? cruisie level off?

You progress from "what the H is it doing" to "There it goes again" pretty quickly. To get it to stop doing "it" at all takes a long time. Five years in and I still see new things, and occasionally (and randomly) receive recurrent on some of Fifi's bad habits.

 

[waveflyer]

Not to critique- you're way more current& have a few years more than me on the AB- but a lot of those "what's it doing?" can be corrected by a bit deeper studying- most I know end up loving the airbus as soon as they realize that it's definitely not a Boeing and stop trying to make it fit into the mold we all create by our previous experience- it's just not like any other plane- and as soon as I took that clean slate approach- the airplane made a lot more sense-
Actually really enjoy hand flying it too

 

[Ralph Cramden]

Completely agree with you waveflier, it does take an open mind and study. I fly with a lot of very experienced guys that are new to the bus. They all have to get through the previous experience barrier. (I did too.)

If only Fifi had moving throttles and a more intuitive FMGC the assimilation process would be easier. Sometimes human factors trick us as well. Our company changed "activate & confirm approach" to simply "activate approach" and I was reminded of the change after making the old call. Fine, thank you, activate approach then. Sure enough Fifi started galloping toward 250 kts when I pushed speed at the FAF fully configured. I pulled speed and dialed it down to VLS while he reactivated (and confirmed this time) approach. My F/O was apologizing profusely, but I said you were lead into it by the verbiage change and I didn't verify what you did, so we both got a French lesson today.

 

[foodstamps]

Foodstamps: 5K is a hard limit for now. May change down the road, but not in the short term. We mostly hire guys with 121 experience as well. Sorry, but that's the truth. I have a GV type and doubt I could ever use it as I have no corporate experience so I know how you feel...

Thanks for the candid response, I will continue to keep my fingers crossed

 

[waveflyer]

The 5k is part of the insidiousness of outsourcing- not only did it put downward pressure on major airline contracts- an environment that has left more than a few on the street- but left a multitude of very talented pilots with lots of flight time for whom a VA career is a very real step up.

All the "major" airline pilots have no one to blame but themselves for VAs intro rates- AND their own wage issues. What a dumb idea to allow outsourcing of jets...

 

[FBN0223]

The 5k is part of the insidiousness of outsourcing- not only did it put downward pressure on major airline contracts- an environment that has left more than a few on the street- but left a multitude of very talented pilots with lots of flight time for whom a VA career is a very real step up.

All the "major" airline pilots have no one to blame but themselves for VAs intro rates- AND their own wage issues. What a dumb idea to allow outsourcing of jets...

Well said.

 

[thepotato232]

Pay gripes and other miscellaneous dick waggling aside, when did a cheap polyester short-sleeve shirt accompanied by epaulets and a tie become the height of fashion? The only other people I've seen rocking the short-sleeve and tie look are the kind of people for whom pocket protectors and Coke bottle glasses are also de rigueur.

 

[waveflyer]

Pay gripes and other miscellaneous dick waggling aside, when did a cheap polyester short-sleeve shirt accompanied by epaulets and a tie become the height of fashion? The only other people I've seen rocking the short-sleeve and tie look are the kind of people for whom pocket protectors and Coke bottle glasses are also de rigueur.

Seriously!!

Can we let go of tradition and realize that this particular tradition was created by what was fashionable at the time!