When dreams come true... (long)

tmyers said:
I remember one particularly firm landing. As I was walking off the airplane I glanced at the pilots and simply said. Navy? They both have a hearty chuckle.
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Good one!

It was an awesome day for flying. I flew over my old hometown (KFAR) doing 518 kts across the ground. I think 200 kts was my previous personal best. I also received kudos from the Captain who assured me I'd get a very good evaluation from him. It was a good confidence boost.
 
Loren, all around awesome. Keep the posts coming as it is cool to see how it all starts. If you have an overnight in Chicago, give a heads up and a few of us should be able gather somewhere for a pint. How far out do you know your schedule?
 
masloki said:
Loren, all around awesome. Keep the posts coming as it is cool to see how it all starts. If you have an overnight in Chicago, give a heads up and a few of us should be able gather somewhere for a pint. How far out do you know your schedule?
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We usually get our schedule for the following month by the 24th. For August I've got reserve but I suspect I'll be called out quite a bit. When I get an ORD overnight I will let you all know. That would be fun.
 
Interesting day.

I started a four day trip by meeting my new captain in our crew lounge. Great guy, relatively recent upgrade. We chat all the way to the gate, getting to the point that we're plotting how to get his lapsed CFI renewed. We get to the airplane, settle in, I do the preflight then start programming the FMS as passengers board.

Then my phone rings. It's crew support. A ground school buddy of mine is about to timeout on his 28 day limit and the last leg of his trip could leave them stranded in Arkansas! They need me to swap trips. So I quickly gather up my stuff as he arrives at the plane, and I scramble towards his plane two gates down.

I meet another young captain a few months off upgrade. We hit it off. He says, "This was Jeff's leg. You want to fly it?" Sure! So off we go headed to KXNA. Problem is there's a massive storm over the airport when we get there. So we go into a hold just north. I've never seen so much purple on a radar! But it moves quickly and we start on vectors for the approach. The tower calls with winds 20G30 or something, above FO mins so he says, "I'll take this one." I happily relinquish control....with 46 people in back I'm really cool with that!

On final they report winds 6 kts almost down the runway. "You want it?" Sure!

I absolutely greased it on. Surprised myself! "NICE landing!" he says. It's always nice to impress a new captain!

We do a quick turn and head back to KMSP. En route we get an ACARS message that they're holding a Regina flight for me. I get another pretty decent landing at KMSP and head to the gate. We park and I scramble two gates down to meet my THIRD captain for the day to head off on my first international flight! The plane is full and ready to go, they just need me! No pressure at all. I stow my stuff and climb into the right seat.

Captain #3 turns out to be as awesome as the first two and we hit it off immediately. Had a gorgeous, smooth flight to Regina with great conversation and lots of operating tips, then went out to dinner and beers with him. Sadly he will be off to a mainline carrier this fall, but I'm glad I got to fly with him before he left. We will be in the ND oil patch tomorrow night where there's supposedly a good steakhouse near the hotel. Sounds good to me!

So, logged 6:28 in the jet today. I'll rejoin my original trip on the last flight day after tomorrow so I'll actually get to fly with the first captain.

I'm learning this job requires a fair amount of flexibility. But there sure are some great people I get to work with.
 
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I'm enjoying all of these stories. Living vicariously through you, if you will.

Keep em coming:)
 
This is very likely my favorite thread in this forum.

Do you commute, or do you live near your base? How difficult was it to get a based where you live?
 
Really enjoying this thread. Any chance you're flying from DAY to MSP tomorrow afternoon? If so I'll be on your flight!
 
mtuomi said:
This is very likely my favorite thread in this forum.

Do you commute, or do you live near your base? How difficult was it to get a based where you live?
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Thankfully I live 30 minutes from KMSP. I have yet to fly with a captain that lives in base, and the more I see of the commuting challenges the more grateful I am that I do.

"Minnie", as it is effectionally known, is a relatively new base, and one of the fastest growing in the company. They've been scrambling to staff it. With the company being historically based in the southwest, Minnesota winters are not well-received by our long-time pilots. When I interviewed I asked what the odds were I could get Minnie. The interviewing captain chuckled and said, "If you want Minnie I can almost guarantee you can have Minnie!"

I got Minnie. As did many of my Southern California classmates! I was thrilled. Them, not so much! It was one of those classmates I swapped with today! :wink2:
 
oregonboy109 said:
Really enjoying this thread. Any chance you're flying from DAY to MSP tomorrow afternoon? If so I'll be on your flight!
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I flew in and out of DAY last week for the first time. Sadly, I won't be this week. Maybe I'll get to fly you next time!
 
The results of our company pay package vote just came out. Two-thirds voted in favor! While the 33% boost in first year pay is huge for us newbies, the more important improvements in scheduling and Quality of Life changes will benefit all our pilots. It should put SkyWest at the head of the pack, at least for awhile. I've been impressed by this company from the first time I learned about them and have continued to be so throughout my first six months with them. I couldn't be happier to fly for them.
 
LDJones said:
Thankfully I live 30 minutes from KMSP. I have yet to fly with a captain that lives in base, and the more I see of the commuting challenges the more grateful I am that I do.

"Minnie", as it is effectionally known, is a relatively new base, and one of the fastest growing in the company. They've been scrambling to staff it. With the company being historically based in the southwest, Minnesota winters are not well-received by our long-time pilots. When I interviewed I asked what the odds were I could get Minnie. The interviewing captain chuckled and said, "If you want Minnie I can almost guarantee you can have Minnie!"

I got Minnie. As did many of my Southern California classmates! I was thrilled. Them, not so much! It was one of those classmates I swapped with today! :wink2:
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I travel to Minneapolis every now and then for business. The winters aren't THAT bad, and they have a GREAT steakhouse (Manny's)...

If you were commuting from another city, how many days away from home per month would you have? As in - is there a chance to actually have a family while commuting for a regional job?
 
mtuomi said:
I travel to Minneapolis every now and then for business. The winters aren't THAT bad, and they have a GREAT steakhouse (Manny's)...

If you were commuting from another city, how many days away from home per month would you have? As in - is there a chance to actually have a family while commuting for a regional job?
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Manny's is remarkable!

The CA I flew with was bidding #3 as an FO. He'd bid trips that started mid-day Monday and ended early Thursday afternoon so he'd be home Thursday evening through Sunday night. They did the math and he figured he had just about the same quality hours home with the kids as his wife who worked locally.

But it's definitely not necessarily a schedule for everyone.
 
I'm a commuter, but that's all I've done so it's what I know. Having a one leg commute is the only way I'd ever consider it. I commute from Nola to JFK and the flight is just long enough (2+30 average) that I get some decent sleep on the way up there. Typically I arrive a few hours before sign in (because you have to be able to catch a back-up flight if you don't make the first one). So I get a few more ZZ's in the pilot lounge. Talking to the guys who drive to work sure does sound nice though. One day...

That's funny that Minnie is junior for you guys - it's pretty senior at Delta. All the old NW guys didn't want to move so they stayed put and a lot of SkyWest guys did the same thing.

I'm enjoying reading your posts. I don't want to crash the party with my stories, so I'll keep them to myself, but I'm loving the airline life so far as well.
 
LDJones said:
The results of our company pay package vote just came out. Two-thirds voted in favor! While the 33% boost in first year pay is huge for us newbies, the more important improvements in scheduling and Quality of Life changes will benefit all our pilots. It should put SkyWest at the head of the pack, at least for awhile. I've been impressed by this company from the first time I learned about them and have continued to be so throughout my first six months with them. I couldn't be happier to fly for them.
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At the end of the day, if you're happy with it, good for you. I won't drag the other forums type stuff in here. I've got a handful of friends over at SKW that weren't too happy about the whole thing.

Just remember how impressed you are by them now, when in 2 years from now you aren't.:D
 
LDJones said:
I'm learning this job requires a fair amount of flexibility. But there sure are some great people I get to work with.
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That actually sounds kinda cool. For some reason, I like changing plans on the fly. :) Sounds like you had a great day with some great people!
 
KSCessnaDriver said:
At the end of the day, if you're happy with it, good for you. I won't drag the other forums type stuff in here. I've got a handful of friends over at SKW that weren't too happy about the whole thing.

Just remember how impressed you are by them now, when in 2 years from now you aren't.:D
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I'm sure there are those that wanted more...about 1/3 of those who voted. But I think it was a decent compromise. I tend to be a glass-half-full kind of guy. I've met enough 7+ year guys who still think SkyWest has been an awesome place to work. Since I only have seven years before I age out I figure I can stay positive throughout my career here and plan to do so.

Whenever I see airline pilots moaning about their QOL and ragging on their company, I think to myself: "You should be sentenced to three months in a corporate cubicle!!" That'd cure a whole lot of attitude problems flying! :D
 
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LDJones said:
Whenever I see airline pilots moaning about their QOL and ragging on their company, I think to myself: "You should be sentenced to three months in a corporate cubicle!!" That'd cure a whole lot of attitude problems flying! :D
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This. ^^^ :)
 
flyingcheesehead said:
That actually sounds kinda cool. For some reason, I like changing plans on the fly. :) Sounds like you had a great day with some great people!
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I'm back in MSP waiting to meet my 4th Captain in three days! If all goes well, I'll fly my last two legs of this trip tomorrow with Captain #1! :D

It's all good!
 
You guys have been asking for pics...

Here are two from this morning's flight from the ND oil patch.

THIS is why I fly!!
 

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Here's my plane....well, ONE of my planes! This one had just been repositioned to Milwaukee (MKE) for maintenance.
 

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Just amazing pictures. I can't thank you enough for keeping this thread going. I truly appreciate it.
 
A turn over Chicago en route to Cincinnati....

Then another view of from offshore later that evening on the return to Milwaukee.
 

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A few more pics....

Yours Truly....a happy FO!

The towering tail in BIS North Dakota.

A personal best speed (518 knots ground speed) on the BAINY2 arrival into MSP.

Waiting out a storm in CVG. When there's lightning they pull all the ramp personnel....for good reason!
 

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LDJones said:
You guys have been asking for pics...

Here are two from this morning's flight from the ND oil patch.

THIS is why I fly!!
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Great pics! I'm in GFK now and ND is much cooler/nicer/prettier than I expected (although coming from Ohio the bar is pretty low...).
 
oregonboy109 said:
Great pics! I'm in GFK now and ND is much cooler/nicer/prettier than I expected (although coming from Ohio the bar is pretty low...).
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Grand Forks is a nice college town. My son loved his four years there. I'll always have a fondness for good 'ol NoDak!

I'm currently flying into FAR, GFK, MOT, BIS and ISN on a regular basis.
 
Subscribed to the thread.

I'm pretty sure I am going to switch from Helicopters to Regional Jets based on positive threads like this.

Thank you for sharing.
 
Z06_Mir said:
Any KRAP trips?
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I've done MSP-RAP-MSP twice now, usually a quick turn. I'm not sure if we have any overnights there but I'm sure they'd be fun.

The KRAP jokes are plentiful on that run!
 
For those interested, here's a "Week in the Life of a Regional Pilot"....see attached. The spokes are pretty much out and backs with an overnight thrown in here and there.

Overnights are in ICT, ABR and IMT with a deadhead back from MKE at the end of the trip.

Livin' the dream! :wink2:
 

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