freight dawger who sold out :)

[bluelake]

Well,

I have been seeing the following message when I visit the forums recently:

"Hello bluelake it appears that you have not posted on our forums in approximately a month, why not take a few moments to ask a question, help provide a solution or just engage in a conversation with another member in any one of our forums? "

So, I guess I will provide an update.... I hung up my dawg hat in April and joined Republic Airlines. After finishing IOE in early July, I spent 2.5 months on reserve and now have a line.

Others here have posted some really decent "been here a year" type posts which are really informative, so I wont try to duplicate that. I can add a little bit about Republic for those who might be interested in this company in particular.

My period on reserve was very very productive. I am not sure how the company doles out reserve assignments. Ihave a classmate just next to me in terms of seniority. He got lots of day trips, repos.. etc.. and hardly ever met the gaurentee. In contrast, I was assigned almost all four-day trips and always hit like 85-95 hours. This was good news because the per diem does add up after a while when your gone on all the time. Being gone on overnights makes the per diem non-taxable. And yeah I know the arguments about 'per diem is not income'. But it does help a lot.

I am based in DC, but commute from upstate NY. Even during reserve, I only had to spend a few nights a month in the DC area. Fast forward to my November schedule, I got assigned four 4-day trips, and I cant even believe how they are all almost completely commutable. I think I will spend only 2 nights in DC and it will be one if I can get released from a deadhead. This good schedule surprises me as I am an extremely junior line holder but I think it may have to do with the fact there are a bunch of pilots here, so the bidding software can do its little magic. I dont know.

The aircraft (E170) is very straightforward to operate. Handflying a base to final type visual approach feels like flying. Any other time to me honestly I feel like I am OPERATING it. The routes are not too bad, and I'd say that captains I fly with are: 95% cool.

All in all, I was not sure if moving out of the kick-butt freight work into the regionals was right for me and I mainly chose it because I wanted to get back to northern NY area.. I dont know what the future holds for the company, or for me. But, almost 6 months in.. I have a better sked than I thought I would have by now.. I am making more money than that dreaded first yr FO calculation (monthly guarentee X hourly pay rate), and I am commuting without much heartache.

A little editorial about getting into the regionals. Have some fun in your flying career along the way. I loved being a CFI (especially the -I part), loved cargo flying and even my summer with the USFS/BLM fire contract. I am SO glad I did that. This airline job is going to be very boring. And trust me on this one point: after you walk around your RJ or whatever and get past your first 100 hours or so.. your not gonna be thinking what a cool job you got. You'll be thinking about what you are gonna do on your days off, how to get more days off, and that next burrito. So, enjoy wherever you are at now.

BLuelake

[kellwolf]

Handflying a base to final type visual approach feels like flying.

To everyone that thinks all RJ pilots are reduced to systems admins, there ya go. It happens a LOT at out stations. I hand flew a pattern last night into Panama City, and it was probably the most fun I've had since I flew a Seminole.

[Ian J]

Originally Posted by kellwolf

To everyone that thinks all RJ pilots are reduced to systems admins, there ya go. It happens a LOT at out stations. I hand flew a pattern last night into Panama City, and it was probably the most fun I've had since I flew a Seminole.

Can you hand fly whenever you want, or are there rules about when you can do it?

[Alchemy]

Where I work, you are free to hand fly whenever you want except during monitored approaches (less than 4000RVR/CAT II) and during level flight in RVSM airspace (except when it's necessary to hand fly because of turbulence or re-trimming). In those instances the CFM states that the autopilot SHOULD be used. The autopilot can be MEL'd, although obviously you'd have to stay out of RVSM airspace.

In my experience most pilots engage the autopilot leaving 10,000 on departure and disengage it a few minutes prior to intercepting the final approach course on arrival. I'm sure these habits vary widely from company to company.

[mtsu_av8er]

Originally Posted by bluelake

This airline job is going to be very boring. And trust me on this one point: after you walk around your RJ or whatever and get past your first 100 hours or so.. your not gonna be thinking what a cool job you got. You'll be thinking about what you are gonna do on your days off, how to get more days off, and that next burrito. So, enjoy wherever you are at now.

Thank you for that!

[flywithUS]

Not another Repugnant pilot.

Sounds like you got a nice ride, although I must admit, I still wish furloughed US pilots were flying that bird. Damn that MDA fiasco.

[bluelake]

Originally Posted by flywithUS

Not another Repugnant pilot.

Sounds like you got a nice ride, although I must admit, I still wish furloughed US pilots were flying that bird. Damn that MDA fiasco.

I knew this response was coming. Start a different thread..

[falconvalley]

Bluelake, in your experience, do you jumpseat on your carrier alot or do you have to utilize the others for your commuting?

[kellwolf]

Originally Posted by ChinookDriver

Can you hand fly whenever you want, or are there rules about when you can do it?

Pretty much the same response as Alchemy's post. We've got a couple of guys that go AP on at 600 AGL, but they're few and far between. Most will handly up to around 10K. Now, if you're on the last day of a 4 or 5 day, that AP might start coming on a bit sooner. I'll normally disengage to AP after intercepting the LOC and GS on an instrument approach or whenever I feel like it on a visual. Most of the time on a visual, the FD is damn useless anyway, and that's what the AP is gonna use. If it's an outstation and I've been given the instruction to enter the downwind or base, I'll get a big grin on my face and kill the AP right about then.

The AP is MEL-able, but I've never had the misfortune to fly one of those aircraft.....

[bluelake]

Originally Posted by falconvalley

Bluelake, in your experience, do you jumpseat on your carrier alot or do you have to utilize the others for your commuting?

My commute is not too difficult, and since 100% of the time its on US Airways flights I just l ist as non-rev, go to the kiosk get my ticket punched out and do it like that. If it looks tight I let the nice USAir ladies at SYR ( some remember my ol dad form Empire Airlines days) that I can jump if needed. When that happens, its usually on a an Air Wisconsin CRJ. I have only had to execute actual jumpseat privelages maybe like once or twice month at that. It'd be more accurate to say I am non-revving to/from work rather than jumpseating.

As to the autopilot stuff... I like to handfly up to wherever it seems hard. Often, when I am feeling lazy, the first place I gotta level off seems like work and I let the AP do it. I hand fly more when its ugly out and for example today climbing out of Key West and FLL I hit the AP button quickly cuz I wanted to maximize checking out the view...

Bluelake

[Captain_Bob]

Originally Posted by bluelake

...cuz I wanted to maximize checking out the view...

But... what if the view checker is inop?? Can you take off if one view checker is inop but the other isn't??? Is it an MEL-able item????

Bob

[bluelake]

Originally Posted by Captain_Bob

But... what if the view checker is inop?? Can you take off if one view checker is inop but the other isn't??? Is it an MEL-able item????

Bob

haha Its not a deferable item.

[BrettInLJ]

I know how you feel bluelake, but sometimes you have to do what is best as far as the "big picture" goes. We are not just pilots, but also people (i.e. maybe with families, girl/boyfriends, finacees, children) and have career goals. I partly felt this way about taking an RJ regional job instead of a frieght job in a brasilia.

There is part of me that really wanted the experience of 135, flying a turboprop, and not being a part of the regional rat race, at least for a while. Due to personal reasons and my long term career goals I choose the lower paying CRJ job, but I will evertime I see a Brasilia I think about how much fun one of those would have been.

[B767Driver]

Originally Posted by bluelake

This airline job is going to be very boring.
BLuelake

It's not a boring job if you are doing it right. It's actually very challenging, IMO. If you ever find yourself bored...get very suspicious...or get motivated to learn something new about your flight. Complacency is a lethal, lethal disease.

Looking over my experience...it's seems as though I make the most mistakes when I'm "bored".

[WAFlyBoy]

Originally Posted by B767Driver

Looking over my experience...it's seems as though I make the most mistakes when I'm "bored".

Truer words were never spoken. (In my rather limited experience, anyway.)

[bluelake]

Originally Posted by B767Driver

It's not a boring job if you are doing it right. It's actually very challenging, IMO. If you ever find yourself bored...get very suspicious...or get motivated to learn something new about your flight. Complacency is a lethal, lethal disease.

Looking over my experience...it's seems as though I make the most mistakes when I'm "bored".

ok.. boring probably was a poor choice of words. If it was that I wouldnt be doing it, and truth be told every day has something new I didnt expect. I actually really like the predictable nature of the work, compared to being a charter guy or something like that. I think a lot of it is I miss the west US flying and also the UPS feed work, double downwind vectors to PHL just doesnt have the same magic to it

[CFIse]

Originally Posted by B767Driver

It's not a boring job if you are doing it right. It's actually very challenging, IMO. If you ever find yourself bored...get very suspicious...or get motivated to learn something new about your flight. Complacency is a lethal, lethal disease.

Looking over my experience...it's seems as though I make the most mistakes when I'm "bored".

It cannot be a boring job until you are perfect at it.

So on every flight strive for the perfect flight. If I ever have a perfect flight I think I'll quit, but there's ALWAYS something that could have been done better. It's the little things, and sometimes it's the big things.

I agree with B767Driver - if you're bored get out - the only fun thing about the regionals is when the flight deck door closes - if you don't like that there's nothing left.

[deserteaglle]

I'm trying to decide why someone would want to quit doing something that they were great at...I know that's not the point of this thread, but I'm having trouble wrapping my mind around that kind of thinking?



You don't get great at anything if it bores you anyway.

[bluelake]

man I am so disallusioned right about now. Maybe I just dont know how to post to the masses. If anyone would like any more details on how an imperfect freight guy is surviving at a regional or Republic stuff in general, PM me..

I need to go work on my non-aviation resume now. BL

[wheelsup]

Originally Posted by bluelake

man I am so disallusioned right about now. Maybe I just dont know how to post to the masses. If anyone would like any more details on how an imperfect freight guy is surviving at a regional or Republic stuff in general, PM me..

I need to go work on my non-aviation resume now. BL

I agree with what you said (airline flying being "boring"). Striving for a perfect flight? How "boring" is that?

Why do you people think pilots carry the USA Today's with them when they leave the hotel???

[deserteaglle]

Originally Posted by bluelake

man I am so disallusioned right about now. Maybe I just dont know how to post to the masses. If anyone would like any more details on how an imperfect freight guy is surviving at a regional or Republic stuff in general, PM me..

I need to go work on my non-aviation resume now. BL

LOL! I got what you said, it's the guy who was talking about quitting once he got perfection.

I don't really think that he believes that, it just sounds cool to say.

[bluelake]

Originally Posted by deserteaglle

LOL! I got what you said, it's the guy who was talking about quitting once he got perfection.

I don't really think that he believes that, it just sounds cool to say.

Exactly. I know you did.. sorry to quote you in my response

[Tim]

You have made the first road to recovery. You admitted you sold out and now hold you head high. I am sure the freight dogs on here will forgive you and still consider you one of theirs

[Stone Cold]

Yeah, we still have much respect for you! Admitting you did the wrong thing is the first step!!! Just kidding .

Good luck on the new gig and remember, once a freight dawg, always a freight dawg!! Just ask all the SWA, NWA, DAL, AAL and other pilots who were dawgs once and still every once in a while show it!

[B767Driver]

Originally Posted by txpilot

Yeah, we still have much respect for you! Admitting you did the wrong thing is the first step!!! Just kidding .

Good luck on the new gig and remember, once a freight dawg, always a freight dawg!! Just ask all the SWA, NWA, DAL, AAL and other pilots who were dawgs once and still every once in a while show it!

I still love my coffee as black as sludge, bitter and 7 hours old. That's all I remember finding in the overnight abandoned FBO's while watching some guy throw bags of checks into his hatchback. (Come to think of it...it's about the same variant as what I find in the forward galley these days.)

I remember my first night on the job...I pulled up to a Chevette hatchback...a guy with a Frankenstein limp scurries my way. I thought for sure I'd be murdered by axe, dismembered and never seen again. It was a scary sight...almost reminiscent of a shady drug deal. And that didn't even involved the scary flying parts. Anyway...I survived...somehow.

I don't miss wearing long underwear, 2 pairs of pants and a snow suit because of the leaky airframe and janitrol heater that quit every leg.

I've got a lot of respect for those guys in their Baron's, Chieftan's, 310's and MU-2's...blasting off on their last leg home at 0700 every morning. I know what they've been up to all night...and it aint easy.