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Toro

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Posts posted by Toro

  1. Well, this must be the first time that someone who reads Baseops.net has been the subject of a roiling speculative discussion about some publicly embarrassing, scandalous event that happened to them, and that person has had to just sit back and watch the spears get baselessly thrown around.
    I don't know anyone who has had that experience.

    Hmmm...yeah...weird...me either.
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  2. 17 minutes ago, HarleyQuinn said:

    I will shut up right after your mom zips up my fly. Oh, wait there it is....

    Don't worry, I'll have her home at a decent time to make you Top Ramen for dinner my boy.

    They teach you that "shut up" coping mechanism on the short bus? Good for you Homestar! Gold star.

    HarleyQuinn is in time out.  The adults may continue their conversation.

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  3. 17 hours ago, TreeA10 said:

    Widebody flying depends on Short Call vs Long Call.  As I've successfully clawed my way to a relatively more junior position, despite wanting and bidding Short Call, I've been stuck with Long Call for the last two months.  I did 3 trips in January and I've done 2 so far this month.  Compare and contrast that with Short Call where I might fly once per month.  My personal "they don't need me so my phone didn't ring" best was 95 days last year and 105 the year before.  I was wondering if I could find the airport again.

    Correct, I should have clarified short call.  Widebody reserve on short call living in domicile is the objective for the guy who wants to maximize the pay to flying ration (that's me).

    23 hours ago, Buddy Spike said:

    Were you Domestic or International?

    I had the same issue on Domestic, but so far this month on International I'm at 5 hrs and I shouldn't have even flown that.  I have a buddy on the Bus MIA international and he's averaging 40 hours per month.  I'm curious to see how that will change when Domestic and International merge for them in April. 

    I was international in Miami, now I'm domestic in DFW.  I'm a 737 guy - I heard that while we were driving up to and over guarantee in MIA, the Bus guys were sitting around bored out of their minds in a crash pad.

  4. 1 hour ago, Buddy Spike said:

    AA has no min.  It used to be easier until the Christmas fiasco. Now it seems like all trips are red (can't be dropped).  40-50 hrs is my target when I have a line.

    You could also sit reserve and fly that much in a typical month while getting paid 73-76 hrs.

    When I sat reserve in MIA, I was usually close to or over the min guarantee on hours (73-76).  In the past four months since I switched to DFW, I have averaged around 50 hours.  I'm told it's even better sitting reserve on widebodies.

  5. Just saw The 15:17 to Paris.   Just...terrible.  When I saw the trailers I was skeptical about how they could make an entire movie out of an isolated event, but this is from the same guy who did the same sort of thing with Sully.

    Nope.

    Part of it was the acting - just bad all around. It was a risky move to use the actual guys playing themselves, and it did not play out well.  So much of the dialogue seemed forced, which is ironic since it really was their own.  The kids that portrayed their younger selves were awful as well.  From 15 minutes in I wanted to leave, and it only got worse as it went on.  By about an hour in, it was just painful - it's seemed like I was just following them around Europe on a pointless documentation of everywhere they had been.  There was an overt point to be made that everything in their life had led to this point, and there were several scenes that tied to the attack with things they had done or learned, but it was just too much.   The actual train scene was pretty impressive, albeit short, and honestly if the movie had only been 20 minutes long, I really wouldn't have had any issue with it.

  6. I don't know the answer (DFRESH would know), but my guess is that it's tied to the software upgrades on the board and not something that one of us has done.  I tried it on this post - I'm assuming you still don't see my name.

  7. I would assume you have never been to California.  Outside of San Francisco, there is no mass transit in California.

    My plan was to buy some little crappy car for UPT and buy something good once I graduate.  I appreciate the advice, but that still leaves the issue of how I get to Columbus AFB without car 

    Yeah there Cochise, I was actually born in California and lived there until I commissioned into the AF. I didn’t say BART, I said mass transit, which I used a good deal growing up because I didn’t have a car until I went into the AF. Maybe you should Google mass transit to see all that it encompasses other than BART.

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  8. 14 hours ago, Jondaman4 said:

    Not a spouse but I will be going to UPT at Columbus supposedly this September.  This is a generic question for all of the UPTs but what should I do in regards to a car.  I am coming from California and not planning on driving there as I will fly into local airport.  Does it make sense to have a car while at UPT if you are living at the base?  Am I correct I would definitely need one if I  live off base?

    For those who fly, how do you get from the airport to the base if you dont have a car. Uber would seem to be pricey and if I were to rent a car at the airport, would there be somewhere in Columbus to return it to.?

    At some point I am planning on getting a car, should I buy it in Columbus?  I am going to buy something cheap which I would want to get rid of once I graduate UPT.  Would it be easy to get rid of?   In other words, as graduates leave, do they sell their cars or other gear to new students?

    Get a car.  It sounds like you're used to being able to travel in California via mass transit - that's not going to work at UPT bases.  Plus your schedule will vary - extremely early reports some days and late on others.  I've never heard of a student trying to buy a car only for UPT.  If you're coming on active duty, just buy a car and get it financed through USAA.

  9. 1 hour ago, Lord Ratner said:

    I have an interview with AA in a few weeks. Any areas to focus on other than the usual ECIC?

    Just relax and be yourself.  My personal 0.02 is not to get too wrapped up with your interview Q&A.  I did ECIC, but elected not to do the phone follow up because I didn't want to come off as having canned answers. Rather than try to think of stories for every possible TMAAT scenario, I tried to pick 6-9 stories that each covered several question areas so I could apply one to a number of different questions.

    Below is what I summarized for the AA hiring process to several people who followed me.  I have attached a close version of the cognitive test they use.

    -------------------------------

    Here’s a bit of a timeline of what you can expect during the application / hiring process.  For me it was about six months from when I submitted my application to when I received an email for a video interview, but this was in mid-2015 when the high number of furlough recalls and flow-through guys caused them to stop interviewing for a while.  The first response you'll get is an email from AA Support Department (aasupport@pilotcredentials.com) asking you to do a video interview.  Make sure you check your junk mail regularly and/or add that e-mail to your filters.  I've heard of lots of folks who missed notifications that went to junk mail.

    You have a few days to do the video interview.  If you already have your suit, wear it.  If you don't, at least wear a nice shirt and tie.  Do it against a neutral background and remove any distractions (wife, kids, pets, turn off phones, etc.).  Have a piece of paper and pen handy.  It's not an interview per se, you'll be asked five pre-recorded questions and after a 60 second prep period to compose your answer, it will start recording and you'll give your answer (which can be up to three minutes). If you don't already read Airline Pilot Forums, I would recommend it.  There are a lot of topics, but for American there is long running thread about the interview process.

    Here is my best memory at the expanded video interview questions:

    1 - "Why do you want to fly with AA?"

    2 – You are given a brief about an approach (frequencies, altitudes, runways, etc.).  You’re not specifically told to write it down, but you’re told to have a pen/pencil and paper beforehand, so I recommend writing it down as it’s being given to you.  When you brief it back, try not to make it too obvious that you’re reading it from the paper.

    4 – I was given a notional airport and five NOTAMs about the airport.  You needed to pick your top 3 concerns and brief why they might be a problem.  I don’t remember them all, but the ones I picked were nearby VFR traffic (might be a hazard, especially if they’re not talking to anybody or on flight following), tendency to be switch to a different runway on final (potential for runway incursion/violation), and potential for fog to pop up (possibility to have to hold or divert with short notice).

    5 - TMAAT you had to deal with a delay with customers.  I explained that I have never dealt with it in a traditional sense, but that my job as a fighter pilot was always to be in place on time to support troops on the ground (my customers).  I explained having had weather delays while flying commercial, and chatting up other folks who were likewise delayed and explaining that it was beyond the control of the airline.

    Most folks consider the video interview a formality - they just want to make sure you don't have three eyes, and you can compose a few sentences and not sound like a bumbling idiot.  About two weeks after the video interview is done you should receive an email from the AA support department asking you to input additional info (SSN, DOB) into Pilot Credentials (check your junk mail).  I'm guessing they start your background checks with this info.  A week after I entered the info I received a call for a face to face interview.

     The interview is a two day process and they will get you a round trip flight and hotel.  The first day is business casual (slacks and a collared shirt).  They collect your paperwork and give you a cognitive test called Pilot Skills Test.  It seems very similar to Delta's test, however, the unofficial word is that these tests are a data point for reference only and it does not affect your outcome.  They are designed to test you to failure - I felt drained and like I failed by the time it was complete (it's about four hours total).  The attached PPT covers what you can expect to see.

    Second day is the interview process.  They read from scripts and a list of questions, but it still led to a good amount of back and forth and seemed very casual once we started going.  The first interview is with a pilot crew - one Captain and one FO in most situations.  They start with introductions of themselves and don't ask about your background (they have studied your resume and will tell you what you did...."So when you were flying XXXX at XXXXX, tell me about....")

    Here's the questions I got...

    TMAAT you had a crew member give you criticism you didn't like or didn't think was warranted.

    Tell me how important communication is, how you communicate and break down barriers to communication.

    TMAAT you intervened in something flying related that you thought was unsafe.

    TMAAT you didn't get along with somebody TMAAT you disagreed with a policy

    Then they went to scenarios.  They had a 3x5 spiral notebook with what I'd guess was at least 20 scenarios. They picked three total, and for each one they read it aloud and gave me as much time as I wanted to think.

    During my response, it was somewhat interactive - I feel like it was supposed to cover several areas of responses, and if I was missing something, they would give me a prod in the right direction. 

    My Scenarios:

    - You're holding #3 for takeoff on runway 27 with a thunderstorm six miles off the field to the west.  An aircraft taking off requests an immediate turn to 180 to avoid the storm.  An aircraft landing on 33 reports windshear on final and loss of 15 knots.  Winds are 290 at 15G23.  Now you're #1 and cleared for takeoff - WWYD?  I tried to gather as much SA on the weather from available resources (departing aircraft, weather, dispatch), and after conferring with the FO the decision was basically that if we could do it safely, we would take off.  If there was any doubt that the weather (thunderstorms and windshear) were going to be a factor, we would delay on the ground.  When I directed all my attention to taking off (or not taking off) from runway 27, one of my guys said, "What about runway 33?" which prompted a few more points of discussion since it wasn't a takeoff directly into the storm.

    - You're at FL350 going into JFK and you're at the point where you need to descend.  Weather is right at CAT I mins at JFK and very low at nearby alternates.  You query the controllers and get no response, and when you go back to your previous frequency you likewise get no response.  You're doing 530 GS - WWYD?  I basically ran NORDO procedures in detail from approach to rollout.

    - Third scenario was that you show up to the gate as the Captain and find that the aircraft has a hydraulic malfunction that is going to delay it for 3.5 hours.  I said I would standby the gate crew as they made announcement (or make it myself if they weren't around to do it), then be ready to calm down angry passengers.  They asked how I was going to calm people down; explain that I had the same interest in getting home - maybe it was my last flight of the day and I want to get home to see my family - but I can't have my passengers on an unsafe aircraft.  Try to coordinate for alternate flights with open seats, maybe a standby aircraft.  Keep in touch with MX for the status.  Regarding the information or wait time, they asked if I would lie to the passengers to calm folks down, and I told them absolutely not.

    The next was a one-on-one HR portion that seemed very (almost too) short with only two questions and a little paperwork.

    - For the first question, she took out the first (NORDO) scenario from my previous interview and said, "I'm not a pilot, tell me what this scenario means in layman's terms."  I dumbed it down to civil speak and there was no follow up discussion.

    - Question 2 "What are the factors that affect airline profitability?"  This seemed completely out of left field, so I stumbled for a bit, but then talked about the number of airplanes, routes, and pilots.  Talked about assessing routes and streamlining or removing routes were passenger numbers were low.  I mentioned the recent US Airways merger and combining forces., as well as gas prices  I didn't feel like my answer was great, but I couldn't gauge her impression on my answer.

    AA Cognitive Test V4.pptx

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  10. I have been with this board since shortly after its inception - I joined as a young Captain and tapered off after retiring two years ago as a Lt Col.  Due to my departure and shrinking level of current USAF knowledge, my contributions to this board have diminished.  But it occurred to me after a PM from a board member that myself and others in my situation still have a valuable contribution to those who are looking towards a post-AF career.

    So I'm starting this thread as a specific Q&A for airline hiring, with emphasis on direct connection to guys working for the airlines who can mentor and assist.  I am not posting this in the "Leaving the Air Force for the Airlines" thread because I want this to be less bitching and more informational.  For those who currently fly, please chime in and provide credentials.  Ideally we can provide an accurate picture of what it's like for our specific airlines.  I'll start.

    American Airlines DFW 737 First Officer.  

    Feb 2016 hire, previously MIA based.  The grass is definitely greener - no queep, no work once you're done.  On reserve, 12/13 days off a month and guarantee pay of 73-76 hours a month as a reserve pilot (higher pay as a lineholder).  Commuting blows ass, first year pay ain't great, but 2nd year pay is equivalent to my retirement pay as an O-5.  Some of the work rules aren't great, but from a relative perspective of 20 years in the Air Force, this is a sweet gig.

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  11. 10 hours ago, M2 said:

    Blade Runner 2049 was absolutely and without a shadow of a doubt the best movie of 2017!

    I thought it was fantastic, but if it's been a while since you've seen the original, get yourself a refresher - I hadn't seen the original for at least 15 years ago, and I was trying to remember a lot of details that weren't spoon fed to the audience (which I appreciated).   My only critique was that the story moved at one particular pace through about 90% of the film, and at about the 2:10 mark I thought, "there's no way this is wrapping up in one film....there's going to be a cliffhanger and a sequel."  Then it seemed to kick into fifth gear and wrap everything up at an oddly fast pace.

  12. 13 hours ago, gearpig said:

    Learned some interesting facts today:

    2008: NFL teams were not present on the field for the playing of the national anthem prior to the game.

    2009: NFL decided having players on the field during the national anthem made them seem more patriotic, and therefore improving the brand in terms of endearment and marketability.

    2011-2015: DoD paid professional and college sports organizations to honor the military during events.

    Aug 2016: Kaepernick sits during the anthem twice and no one notices.

    https://sports.vice.com/en_us/article/yp89dj/stephen-a-smith-points-out-nfls-paid-patriotism-problem

    The NFL is a massively hypocritical corporation that cares only for their bottom line, which is $$$.  All the military ra-ra (at the cost to the DoD) is one example, here's another.

    The NFL touts October as breast cancer awareness month, and sells a bunch of merch with donations supposedly supporting breast cancer.   Oh, it turns out just barely more than 10% goes to breast cancer research.  The rest goes to the NFL and retailers.   And what happens if a player whose mother died of breast cancer decides to do his own bling?   The NFL slaps him with a fine of nearly six grand.

    You're not going to get people (including me) to stop watching football, but nobody should have any illusions that the NFL gives a shit about anybody other than the NFL.

    • Upvote 1
  13. 10 hours ago, ROTC Guy said:

    Somehow this guy was hired for AFJROTC. Probably has something to do with hiding his record, but anyway I can tell you that he currently worlks at Pinecrest HS in Southern Pines NC. Their phone # is 910 692 7455. This guy should be nowhere near young people. Help get him removed. Call the school and enlighten them and ROTC HQ at Maxwell AFB.

    Or send them a link to this thread.

  14. If anybody was considering, stay away from the Beguiled. The previews made it out to be a 19th century Misery-esque horror movie. It turned to be a mind numbingly boring steaming pile of shit with no point and zero redeeming qualities. The movie ended with a cut to black and I literally yelled out loud, "Are you ing kidding me?!"


    Sent from my iPad using Baseops Network Forums

  15. The Market Place forum is intended as a Craigslist-esque site for buying and selling.  Adhere to the following rules of use:

    - No advertisements.  If you are interested in running paid advertisements through this site, click the "Contact Me" link at the bottom of any page to get in touch with an administrator.  No promotion of outside business or revenue sources unless it is specifically approved by an administrator.  Businesses will only be approved if they are sold by and generally for military members.  You can either PM myself, or select the "Report post" link at the top of this post to contact us.

    - All sellers MUST be military members.

    - Include specifics of what you are selling in the title, along with the price (if applicable)

    - Consider this forum similar to Craigslist - it is free, conduct business with buyers/sellers at your own risk.

    - Once your item has sold, edit your post to include the word, "SOLD" in the title and moderators will remove the post.

  16. 8 hours ago, ToyotaMC1 said:

    I love Adam Carolla's take on this:

    "I would make the ultimate defense attorney for one of these teachers because they always do these ones where they have this two year affairs with the guys in the 10th grade through their Senior year blah blah blah and they’re like hot blondes and they’re out of Florida and blah blah blah blah blah blah.  Then at some point it ends up in court and the prosecutor starts talking about irreparable damage and psychological damage and this boy’s gonna need therapy for the rest of his life and he’s not gonna trust women, he’s not gonna trust adults… I would let him wax on forever and then I’d go, 

    "I got one question and one question only for the victim of this crime. You’re nineteen now. This went on from fifteen to seventeen"

    "Yes."

    "Since it stopped until now have you ever beat off to it?

    "Uh yes. Earlier today."

    "We’re done."

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