What do you like about your job?

[woutlaw]

Serious question here: What do you regional folks like about your jobs?

The reason I ask is that I'm considering moving on from instructing to a regional, preferably Mesaba. (I live in the Twin Cities and don't want to relocate. Commuting is ok, moving isn't.)

I enjoy instructing but I miss actually flying an airplane. Likewise, while I get to fly some relatively interesting equipment -- Cirrus, the odd Bonanza, etc... -- and get a few interesting flights now and again, knocking around the local area in a 172 isn't particularly entertaining.

The pros to a regional job, as I see it, are excellent training and experience in all sorts of weather at all sorts of airports, turbine equipment, part 121 structure (the "airline way of doing things") and about as much flying in a month as you can stand.

The cons have been hashed over again and again here in FI, so no need to go through those again.

I don't really know what to expect on the plus-side of regional life as an FO, so, well, that's my question: What do you guys like about the job?

Thanks!

Will

 

[Flyprdu]

Beats working.

 

[MarineGrunt]

It beats working for a living.

If you want to do it - do it. I almost gave up getting into the airlines and professional aviation in general, from all the whining I heard on flightinfo, but it would have been the WORST thing I could have done.

 

[The_Russian]

Go to the airlines, but keep instructing on the side. Not only will you need the money to suppliment your life, but as a 121 pilot, you can up your fee to a nice $35-40/hour. Professional students and regular GA guys will pay a premium fee to learn to fly with an "airline pilot".

 

[woutlaw]

Go to the airlines, but keep instructing on the side. Not only will you need the money to suppliment your life, but as a 121 pilot, you can up your fee to a nice $35-40/hour. Professional students and regular GA guys will pay a premium fee to learn to fly with an "airline pilot".

Yeah, I plan on always being an instructor, it's the most satisfying work I've ever done and it'll keep a little extra cash in my pocket.

Fee-wise, well, I already charge $50/hr as an independent CFI and have flown about 450 hours so far this year. I'll up it to $75 if I become a 121 guy.

First year FO salary will be a pay cut, so it's more about the experience and what I can learn than what I can make, at least initially.

(No, I'm not independently wealthy, far from it. Just lucky to have a spouse with a "real job" that allows me to start a second career at age 41 from the bottom.)

 

[The_Russian]

I'm uppin' my rates next week!

 

[Quack]

If you want to stay in msp then go to mesaba for sure. commuting is not worth the hassel or time away from home as a regional fo. they're growing and look to be for a little while. most of the senior guys have left during the bankruptcy, and upgrades are next to nothing. i'd be a little leary about pncl with everything going on over there right now. back to your question, it's the best job in the world when that door shuts, but can be one of the worst jobs when it opens! no matter where you go they will try and feed you the whole, we're a team and family atmosphere kool aid. you have to look through that and realize that your a number in a big pond with a ton of responsibility, and you're not going to make a lot of money doing it. if you can see through that and you're ok with it, then it's not too bad!

 

[TV9Driver]

when i was furloughed and had to get a desk job - the thing that struck me the most was how much I hated the monotony of the 9-5 life. Yeah, I was home every night, but I was usually too tired to play with the kids. In the airlines, you might be gone for 4 days at a time, but you also have better quality time at home. Plus, you have pretty flexible schedules, which are ideal for nomads like ourselves.

 

[mcjohn]

Here ya go. I had posted this on another forum site. I was defending the trade against young folks who claim going to a regional would always be on the bottom of their list.

Here's my 2 cents:

1. If you want to gain tons of experience by flying in all kinds of weather day and night into very large and very small airports in category D aircraft you'll probably get it. You should want to fly a lot. At least for a little while. It's ridiculous to be quite young and feel that a 30 hour a month corporate gig is where you're SUPPOSED to be while making 6 figures.

2. You are compensated fairly for the most part. You (any low timers in general) have less than 1000 hours and are going to get paid upwards of 20 something bucks an hour just to start training and have ample opportunity to pick up open time and work extra hours out on the line. That's pretty good paid training for someone making the leap from a c172 or similar to a category D jet.

3. You can check out the world jumpseating on almost any airline of course. The CASS system is great.

4. You will learn tons about yourself and people in general as you struggle through your initial airline training experience. Very much a worthy life experience IMHO.

5. You will have a large group of aviation professionals as close friends old and young.

6. Airline training departments are more willing than ever before to work with you and help the less than 1000 hour total timers make a very challenging transition. Attitude and willingness to learn are all it takes....well a little aptitude of course but you don't have to be some super experienced pilot anymore if you know what I mean.

7. Get paid 20 something bucks an hour to find out if all this is for you. Do you like flying enough to take the good with the bad? You'll find out at a regional. You'll often fly 7 legs a day, each under an hour and be challenged as a pilot. You will perpetually have the opportunity to hone in on technique, decision making, landings, and what it's like to share the cockpit with very diverse individuals and personalities.

I'm sorry folks but all this adds up. It believe it WILL gear you up very well for the future climate of aviation and spending some time at regional right now will certainly benefit most who go for it. It's not always fun. It can be a dirty tiring job at times but if you love aviation and want to continually challenge yourself as most aviators do, a stint at the regionals should not be on the bottom of your list.

 

[mcjohn]

BTW, step 2 up there:

2. You are compensated fairly for the most part.

Read "for the most part." We are NOT paid enough really and I hope this improves one day.

 

[FlySacto]

Yeah, I plan on always being an instructor, it's the most satisfying work I've ever done and it'll keep a little extra cash in my pocket.

Fee-wise, well, I already charge $50/hr as an independent CFI and have flown about 450 hours so far this year. I'll up it to $75 if I become a 121 guy.

First year FO salary will be a pay cut, so it's more about the experience and what I can learn than what I can make, at least initially.

(No, I'm not independently wealthy, far from it. Just lucky to have a spouse with a "real job" that allows me to start a second career at age 41 from the bottom.)

Sounds familiar! I'm an independant CFI and charge 50-100/hr depending on the gig. I still love GA and have a blast in the spam cans and little glass airplanes. The airline job has given me and my family the ability to go blasting around the country and the world on the cheap, and do spur of the moment stuff like drop in on friends or go watch space shuttles launch with the kids. The health bennies with the airline job let my wife quit her job and pursue her own business without us footing all those cost with kids.

The pluses: Flying with good people and hauling around the line all day/night. Long overnights checking out new cities. Exploring local brews/food.

The cons: Crappy lines with four on/two off without enough staffing to provide coverage. I don't want to fly so much but have no choice right now. It really sucks when your kids ask you if you have to go out yet again on a trip. This morning one of my sons asked if I can get "cloned" so I could stay home and it could go fly and make the money. Not good...

Overall, I'm glad I made the change. I love the flying but I'm not thrilled with how the airline has chosen to ride the pilot group. It would be better if I had stayed an FO with the schedule but the Captain upgrade made the job even that much more fun. Time will tell how it utimately goes for me.

Good luck!

 

[norskman2]

I enjoy instructing but I miss actually flying an airplane.

You won't be doing a whole lot of actual flying at the regionals either! Engage autopilot at 700' and away we go!

Windshield heat
Pitot heat
When do we eat?

 

[FlySacto]

You won't be doing a whole lot of actual flying at the regionals either! Engage autopilot at 700' and away we go!

Windshield heat
Pitot heat
When do we eat?

That's your choice to make. I hand fly at least one leg per day. Tuesday I flew an ILS to mins, went missed, held, another ILS and went missed due to the LOC signal going out and getting computer flags, and then diverted through WX to my alternate while leaving "George" fast asleep. You can still go act like a pilot if you dare

 

[Pattern-Master]

Contrary to what people tell ya, it is working for a living. The, " Wow I'm flying a jet", part of the job gets old fast. And it does get boring just like flight instructing after awhile, like doing 3+hour flights from EWR to OMA or MCI. And once again, while it is not pysical labor it is still "work". Just my 2 cents.

 

[John Pennekamp]

As other have said, it beats working in a cubicle or outdoors. And the time off is nice. Even the most junior line holders will only work 4 days a week, while everyone else works 5 or more.

If you want to be in MSP, why not consider Compass? Compass would suck for someone already at a regional because it's an unknown quantity, but sounds like you'd have nothing to lose. They're dying for people. And you'll get a NWA seniority number. Look into it.

 

[woutlaw]

... Crappy lines with four on/two off

Shoot, that'd be like a vacation right now. My typical week is 6 or 7 on / 1 or 0 off. I'm one whipped puppy after a couple straight weeks of zero days off.

Seriously though, thanks for the all the replies.

I knew there had to be some upsides to the job and sounds like the pros were more or less what I thought they were.

Out of curiosity, I assume the CA/FO alternating flying legs is standard. Riding along and yanking the gear for a few years wouldn't be a whole lot of fun.

 

[FlySacto]

Shoot, that'd be like a vacation right now. My typical week is 6 or 7 on / 1 or 0 off. I'm one whipped puppy after a couple straight weeks of zero days off.

Seriously though, thanks for the all the replies.

I knew there had to be some upsides to the job and sounds like the pros were more or less what I thought they were.

Out of curiosity, I assume the CA/FO alternating flying legs is standard. Riding along and yanking the gear for a few years wouldn't be a whole lot of fun.

I'd guess that you're sleeping in your own bed each night though! I fly a four day then have to make time available for my clients on my "days off". I usually have each of us fly two legs then act as NFP for two legs unless special circumstances crop up. Our legs are short as 12 minutes and usually don't exceed two hours.

 

[~~~^~~~]

Not many have mentioned the flying, but RJ flying is fun. They are modern, well equipped, easy, nice flying airplanes with excellent control response and coordination. Much like the flying qualities of the Bonanza you flew.

The systems are well organized and some thought went in to the ergonomics of the jets.

The CRJ seats are better than anything with more than 150 passengers and crew, the flight attendants are younger and usually the crew stays together.

As your flight career progresses you will learn to really appreciate the value of a comfortable seat, friendly crews, systems that work the way they taught you they would, airplanes that are easy to fly through the boxes on your checkrides and airplanes that are easy to handle in adverse conditions.

 

[~~~^~~~]

I assume the CA/FO alternating flying legs is standard. Riding along and yanking the gear for a few years wouldn't be a whole lot of fun.

Usually the Capt. takes the first leg, then you get two legs, Capt. gets two.

Since most flying is to / from a hub, switching every leg would result in one pilot always getting the hub landing.

This routine can obviously be altered by the Captain if they percieve a threat, or good reason not to have the new pilot on the controls. For example, the Captain usually takes the last leg home (or to the overnight if everyone is tired), or contaminated runways, etc... Some of my FO's used to ask for the hub legs because the 10,000 ft runways made them more comfortable while they were still making friends with the jet.

 

[Noise]

the flight attendants are younger and usually the crew stays together.

Well, I don't know that I would go that far...