What a laugh... Flight Experience
I've been told by a mate that you get paid more at Flight Experience than you do as a Jetstar A320 F/O.
Something I forgot to mention is that each FE is operated privately, so it is possible that things aren't as bad elsewhere as they were where I worked.
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I went to the one in Melbourne with super cheap tickets. Nice bloke there with a ppl or spl (forgot which) to which I told him I held cpl. I controlled everything whereas my cousin (with zero hours or knowledge) was helped throughout.
Microsoft Flight Sim running the show with 737 flightdeck.
It's great to get under the Harbour Bridge followed with a beat up and then steep turns at 250' to follow some river to the airport.
Just a bit of fun. For real ground I.F time I jump in the trainer at the flying school.
I can see how flight deck familiarisation could be an asset to those moving up.
Microsoft Flight Sim running the show with 737 flightdeck.
It's great to get under the Harbour Bridge followed with a beat up and then steep turns at 250' to follow some river to the airport.
Just a bit of fun. For real ground I.F time I jump in the trainer at the flying school.
I can see how flight deck familiarisation could be an asset to those moving up.
Nunc est bibendum
Just out of interest, what do they pay? Do they use casuals of full timers? How flexible are they with shifts, etc?
No, I'm not looking for a new job, just interested. Although if they're paying a decent amount per hour some extra pocket money a day or so a week may be handy.
No, I'm not looking for a new job, just interested. Although if they're paying a decent amount per hour some extra pocket money a day or so a week may be handy.
Join Date: Jul 2007
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I worked at the Wellington one for a stint a while ago when I was doing my CPL/MEIR. Me being employed then shows that you don't need a whole lot of experience/knowlege to do the job (I'm not saying I did it well). It was cool as I was doing my ATPL's at the time and things kinda made a wee bit more sense. It's like doing a trail flight in instructing. Make the customer think that they can do it all...
Regarding the guy from the WLG aeroclub with thousands of hours FE time, who talks about V-LOCK. He did end up going solo in a real plane during my time there... Though I hear he's got a kid now and had to get another job that pays better
Regarding the guy from the WLG aeroclub with thousands of hours FE time, who talks about V-LOCK. He did end up going solo in a real plane during my time there... Though I hear he's got a kid now and had to get another job that pays better
Hey Keg,
I inquired re a job here in Perth at FE when they advertised early this yr, late last yr.
Basically it was casual with only a handful of hours a week at about $20-25/hr I think it was. Had to be avail to work any day, 7 days a week from anytime between 10 to 10 daily. The length of the hours per day varied, maybe 2-4hrs. but it may only be 2-4 days /week depending on staffing levels ,bookings etc.
Other main problem was they only wanted people who could give a 6-12mo commitment I think it was due to all the training on the sim required. I dont think that was paid.
The long commitment for just a handful of possible work hours /week didnt make sense to me but it might be suited to some.
I inquired re a job here in Perth at FE when they advertised early this yr, late last yr.
Basically it was casual with only a handful of hours a week at about $20-25/hr I think it was. Had to be avail to work any day, 7 days a week from anytime between 10 to 10 daily. The length of the hours per day varied, maybe 2-4hrs. but it may only be 2-4 days /week depending on staffing levels ,bookings etc.
Other main problem was they only wanted people who could give a 6-12mo commitment I think it was due to all the training on the sim required. I dont think that was paid.
The long commitment for just a handful of possible work hours /week didnt make sense to me but it might be suited to some.
The hours were inconsistent, but probably averaged to about 15 a week over the journey.
The pay was in the low 20s per hour.
The training was not paid.
Overall Im glad I did the job and somehow I did learn a bit, but when my time was up it was up.There was something about the place that could do your head in if you did too many hours. If the boss was easier to deal with it would have made it more enjoyable. How many TIFs can you do in simulator before you lose it? No air, no light, and the same act over and over again.. At least we got the four bars early.
The pay was in the low 20s per hour.
The training was not paid.
Overall Im glad I did the job and somehow I did learn a bit, but when my time was up it was up.There was something about the place that could do your head in if you did too many hours. If the boss was easier to deal with it would have made it more enjoyable. How many TIFs can you do in simulator before you lose it? No air, no light, and the same act over and over again.. At least we got the four bars early.
Join Date: Dec 2001
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Apologies for the holy thread resurrection batman, but I'm looking at setting up one of these 'Flight Experience' style sims here in the UK as unless you want to pay BA £500 for an hour in one of 777 sims then you're stuffed if you want to have a go on one of these. I'm pretty sure with the birthday, father's day and kid's market you'd have a reasonable business.
To the guys that instructed at these places, could you tell me - were they fully booked? Have many of them gone under? Would there be an initial burst of business only for it to go a bit quiet? I'm interested in getting the inside track on the logistics of a business like this.
Thanks in advance chaps,
RU
To the guys that instructed at these places, could you tell me - were they fully booked? Have many of them gone under? Would there be an initial burst of business only for it to go a bit quiet? I'm interested in getting the inside track on the logistics of a business like this.
Thanks in advance chaps,
RU
Yes they were fully booked.
The set up cost is huuuuuge!
The advertising has be constant and unrelenting.
They crapped on that they weren't making much money. Maybe they were maybe they weren't. They were losing f¥ck all money on us.
The front of house system needs to be as slick as the sim, and it would be beneficial if you had an actual recognized sim as you could then cover pilot and non pilot clients.
For the benefit of all of us be a nice fella and pay well, and treat even the youngens with respect and you will go well. Happy staff your gonna laugh.. All the way to the bank. Remember it is basically a customer service role, if the staff are plotting ways to kill you while their "instructing" it can make for an interesting dynamic..
The set up cost is huuuuuge!
The advertising has be constant and unrelenting.
They crapped on that they weren't making much money. Maybe they were maybe they weren't. They were losing f¥ck all money on us.
The front of house system needs to be as slick as the sim, and it would be beneficial if you had an actual recognized sim as you could then cover pilot and non pilot clients.
For the benefit of all of us be a nice fella and pay well, and treat even the youngens with respect and you will go well. Happy staff your gonna laugh.. All the way to the bank. Remember it is basically a customer service role, if the staff are plotting ways to kill you while their "instructing" it can make for an interesting dynamic..
Join Date: May 2006
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reverserunlocked: you may want to google 'ipilot', who are definitely in the UK. Not that it necessarily rains on your parade, but knowing there is competition might be worthwhile
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Hey Mark
Yes I know about ipilot, but they're only darn sarf thus far and to be honest their sim looks comically poor and the ambience of shoppers walking past (it's completely open to the shopping mall) hardly adds to the realism.
I'd want to be doing something more like the motion 737 sim at Lelystad in Holland.
Yes I know about ipilot, but they're only darn sarf thus far and to be honest their sim looks comically poor and the ambience of shoppers walking past (it's completely open to the shopping mall) hardly adds to the realism.
I'd want to be doing something more like the motion 737 sim at Lelystad in Holland.
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The flight experience stuff is pretty much in line with ipilot, although in melbourne at least, behind a door. Just so happens I've poked my head into both - and thought no way I'm paying *that* to play flightsim with some fancy knobs.. A 'proper' full motion sim would be much more interesting.
Join Date: Dec 2001
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I quite agree. I was emphatically told by sim builders over and over again that motion was unnecessary - until I flew a level D sim with it. From the moment we started taxying I knew that motion was the thing missing from my life!
short flights long nights
It is interesting to read this page in 2017. I was offered a job at FE, as a very experienced airline captain and they were still offering $25 an hour. Why anyone would do it for that money is beyond me..and they still need you to spend endless free hours with them for "training"..Ummmm no...
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FE wasn't a bad place to work provided you took it for what it was - a sim.
As the years have gone by, I believe they are all up to 4.5 standard (I haven't worked with them for a few years). The steep turns, as highlighted above, were always a little wacky, as were turns in general. These facts was always highlighted to pilots that came through to practice airline profiles, before their sim assessments. We always did our best to help with as many differences that were reported back to us. Different airlines use different sims, so it was always nice to get feedback.
I know during my time there that I did learn a lot and the few people I worked with are now all flying big jets around. By large they say the time they had in the sim, outside of working hours, helped a lot.
Not to say that the requirements are a little excessive all things considered but if you're flying casually in a major city, it is a good supplement to the income when every little bit helps (plus, it is aviation related in some way).
As the years have gone by, I believe they are all up to 4.5 standard (I haven't worked with them for a few years). The steep turns, as highlighted above, were always a little wacky, as were turns in general. These facts was always highlighted to pilots that came through to practice airline profiles, before their sim assessments. We always did our best to help with as many differences that were reported back to us. Different airlines use different sims, so it was always nice to get feedback.
I know during my time there that I did learn a lot and the few people I worked with are now all flying big jets around. By large they say the time they had in the sim, outside of working hours, helped a lot.
Not to say that the requirements are a little excessive all things considered but if you're flying casually in a major city, it is a good supplement to the income when every little bit helps (plus, it is aviation related in some way).
