Well, I was going to wait until I heard back from them, but if I don't post this soon, I'll forget everything.
Interviewed with Ameriflight out in Burbank last week, and it went something like this:
Showed up at 0915 for a 0930 interview. Was given 4 scenario questions to answer on a piece of paper. I can't remember the exact wording of each, but I'll paraphrase:
1.)
30 mins from your destination, dispatch calls and wants you to divert to an airport 150 nm away to pick up some important freight. Your ground speed is 150 knots, when you reach your destination you will have 1 hour of fuel remaining. Do you tell dispatch you are too low on fuel to make it, or do you say OK? [It was something like that... I think it was basically looking to see if you were an "ultra conservative, must have 3 spare tons of fuel at all times" type, or a "get it done legally and safely" type.]
2.) You are in a Lance, on a non-rev reposition flight to pick up freight. 25 min. into your flight, the red Hydraulic warning light comes on. Being that the emergency gear extension in the Lance is the freefall type, and hydraulic pressure is only used to keep it retracted, you know that getting the gear down will not pose a problem, so there is not a safety of flight issue. What would you do?
3.) You are covering another pilot's run. At one of the stops, a courier complains that the other pilot has a bad attitude. What do you say/do?
4.) You go to start your Lance, 5 minutes before you are scheduled to depart. The starter turns, but the engine does not start. You try again- not even the slightest sign of wanting to start. What do you do?
HR Interview:
After I finished those, I met with Joanie, the H.R. lady. She was very nice and laid back... She began by giving a general overview of the company, aircraft, and bases, as well as making copies of my certificates, and most recent logbook. Be sure you get a copy of your driving record. I didn't have one because on the phone when she was listing off everything, she didn't mention it. The night before I interviewed though, I noticed it was mentioned on their website. Ooops. She said it was no big deal, but still...
- Questions about current and former jobs, nothing really specific, just sort of a "get to know you" type chat.
- Why Ameriflight?
- What do you like/dislike about your current job?
- What would you change about your current job?
- Are you familiar with deice/anti-ice systems? Weather radar?
- Base preferences
After the H.R. portion, she got one of the training captains to come down and give the technical portion of the interview.
Technical Interview:
Started by meeting Ryan, a training captain at BUR.
- He had me pick a system on the Caravan and draw it out. I chose the electrical system and tried to describe it while I was drawing it, but it sort of seemed like he wasn't paying attention. Oh well... He kept the drawing, maybe he was going to check my work later.
- Lots of questions on Low Altitude enroute charts (Jeppesen). Basically know everything there is to know on the chart. I mean everything. He asked stuff that I only knew because I have read that "introduction" section of the Jepps from front to back about a dozen times out of boredom in cruise.
- He picked out a departure procedure and said, "the weather is XXX and runway XX is in use- can you use the DP?"
- Alternate requirements- both fuel and weather, Part 135. I'm currently flying 135, I don't know if they would ask that of someone coming from a CFI job.
- When do you need a takeoff alternate?
- Takeoff mins under Part 135 (if you are 135, know your current Ops Specs)
- Lots of questions on approach charts. Lots of "how to idenify" fix questions.
- Factors affecting Vmc.
- What is P-factor? (Don't know if he was trying to catch me off guard or what, but I had to think about that one for a second, it's been awhile since I've given any flight instruction. Managed to dig it out though...)
That's about all I can remember from the tech portion. Sorry I didn't give any specifics, but if I posted every exact question, that would defeat the purpose of an interview.
Sim Ride:
Was in their Navajo sim. Very stable, not your typical Frasca POS. Identical to a PA31 cockpit inside. Was given the departure airport diagram, destination approach plate, and checklist to review for a few minutes beforehand.
Profile was as follows:
Departed from runway 3 at SMO. Runway heading to 900', right turn around to 270 and climb to 4000. Intercept LAX 316 radial to SILEX intersection on the ILS 8 approach at BUR. Did procedure turn, then ILS to 8. Got to DH, he didn't say anything so I went missed. "Departure" advised me to hold as published, which is direct to VNY VOR, then depart VNY on the 242 radial to hold on the approach course at SILEX intersection. Entered the hold, and that was the end of the sim.
After the interview, I met up with BrettinLJ and we ate lunch over at the cafeteria at the Disney studios, which was awesome! Thanks Brett, it was great meeting you!
I guess that's it. If I think of anything else, I'll post it here. Overall, got a great impression from the company. They are hiring quite a bit for various airplanes and bases. She said no more hiring into the Lances as they are eventually getting rid of them and there aren't many left. Everyone will start in the PA31 or bigger depending on flight time and company need.
Hope this helps someone!