Tales from my NJA interview

[ozpilot]

I
Oz - thanks for the .pdf file. I was actually just lookin for something like this.

M

Your welcome. The Flight Safety manuals that we use are also on the internet, but I think that would be overkill.

Heres my view on the X. To me its a love/hate relationship. I'm on the 7 & 7 and I can tell you that by day 5 I'm ready to go home. On my last tour we did 5 transcons in 7 days. That gets old. On the other hand when I'm at home around day 5 or 6 I'm ready to go flying again.

At the moment I'm at home with a sprained shoulder (next time I'll let the FO load the bags ). So I have not been in the plane for 2 weeks. Next week is a week off. The week after that is Flight Safety Recurrent followed by another week off. After that I have a week of vacation followed by another week off. So its going to be another 5+ weeks before I strap on the plane again.

As much as I like to spend time with the family, I know I'm going to be chomping at the bit to get back in the plane again.

 

[skiandsurf]

How long is a typical overnight on the X.. I know it'll probably vary, but because it's so busy are they mostly 10 hrs with an early show? Or do ya get a descent overnight sometimes? To catch up on some rest.

There is nothing "typical" about NJ flying. The only thing constant is change.

It seems like everyweek is different from the last week. One week you will be bustin your tail on transcons, then next week you will be doing short flights. There is no rhyme or reason. One exception, if you get paired up with a guy that doesnt want to work, and the company knows this guy, you can expect an easy week.

Your question was more about the overnights, again there is no straight answer. 14/10s is a clue. 14 hrs of duty, followed by a 10 hr rest. Fatigue calls are almost expected if they work you too hard. Its not a problem.

Remember this, you dont make (as much) money sitting in a hotel.

 

[ozpilot]

How long is a typical overnight on the X.. I know it'll probably vary, but because it's so busy are they mostly 10 hrs with an early show? Or do ya get a descent overnight sometimes? To catch up on some rest.

In my experience, in a 7 day tour we might get 2 or 3 ten hour turns. If you get 2 in a row, I would really question taking a third.

IMHO the biggest threat to safety at Netjets (or any non-scheduled operation) is fatigue.

Unlike the 121 world, scheduling will work you every day 14/10 if necessary to cover the trip load. This is the single biggest complain you will hear on the road at Netjets.

Do I blame them? No, they have a job to do too. Do I care? No.

I take the view that when scheduling adds a trip to my line, they are not telling us to do it, they are asking us to do it. If, in the crews opinion, we can safely make they trip then we will, if not we wont.

The reason that the company designates me as PIC and gives me the responsibility for a $20 million plane, the crew and the passengers is because they expect that I can make that decision.

The big plus of Netjets is that the company respects your decision. If you call fatigue you get 14 hours off with no questions asked. If you need more tell them. I've used the F word many times and never had a problem.

 

[Seat 0A]

I take the view that when scheduling adds a trip to my line, they are not telling us to do it, they are asking us to do it. If, in the crews opinion, we can safely make they trip then we will, if not we wont.

The reason that the company designates me as PIC and gives me the responsibility for a $20 million plane, the crew and the passengers is because they expect that I can make that decision.

The big plus of Netjets is that the company respects your decision. If you call fatigue you get 14 hours off with no questions asked. If you need more tell them. I've used the F word many times and never had a problem.

I agree 100% with Oz. However, a caution for any newbies out there; you WILL run into captains who you will swear must have left their balls at home. I still run into these types nearly every tour. When the conversation turns to long days/fatigue they will proudly tell you "I have NEVER fatigued since I have been here".

These guys are dangerous and you need to feel free to tell them you are done and are calling in fatigued. I am paired with a lot of new FO's who tell me they are hesitant to call in fatigued while on probation (and have never had a captain do it for them either). Don't ever feel this way. Do the right thing and the company will support you, probation or not.

There is nothing lower than a captain who does not take the utmost care of his partner. This includes fatigue issues, crewfood, buying the occasional beer or dinner, splitting of Avtrip and Atlantic rewards, helping to clean the cabin, letting the FO check in first at the hotel. I mention this because I see the exact opposite happening on a regular basis.

Welcome to NJA. The majority of the folks here are some of the best people I have met.

 

[shroomwell]

Do you loose pay if you call in fatigued at NJA?

 

[imacdog]

Do you loose pay if you call in fatigued at NJA?

No, you do not "loose" pay, you don't lose pay either.

 

[CA1900]

Do you loose pay if you call in fatigued at NJA?

Nope.

The fatigue call relieves you from operating an airplane (or any other vehicle) through the end of that duty period, and gives you at least 14 hours of rest (versus the normal 10-hour minimum) to recuperate. It's a really good tool to have.

 

[jaybird]

How long is a typical overnight on the X.. I know it'll probably vary, but because it's so busy are they mostly 10 hrs with an early show? Or do ya get a descent overnight sometimes? To catch up on some rest.

When i was at my regional job, 14 hours was a short overnight. At NetJets 14 hours is a long overnight. At least on the XL.

 

[CA1900]

When i was at my regional job, 14 hours was a short overnight.

At my regional job, 8-8.5 hours was a typical overnight. It's all perspective.

 

[Ultra Grump]

Good for you. At least you have time in the X and you can tell your war stories - good or bad. I have friends in both the X and the XL/S at Netjets and both are tired after their 7-day tours. Big surprise with the biggest fleets at Netjets - you can't escape long and busy tours on either fleet. If you are so tired you should have upgraded into the Beechjunk instead of the XL/S and become a lazy FBO TV-watcher (great if you want to catch up on CNBC) in between flights. Why would you possibly move to another busy fleet if you were so tired after flying the X? I guess you needed that extra $250 per month and the busy schedule didn't bother you too much.

IMO, if you are going to work hard anyway, you might as well do it in a hotrod. Sure, you and others will do what you can to slam the X and "scare" the incoming pilots with your dire warnings - that's great Dad... Some people are jaded and couldn't care less - I guess you are among them. I've heard great things about flying the X at Netjets and the fact that it is one of the busiest fleets is old news.

I'm just curious how you became the expert on life at NJA.