Air Japan (AJX) B767

[Chewwy00]

time between medical and results?

Hi EFC,

Congrats on being successful through all selection and medical!
I passed my medical exam last Friday (a week ago) and was wondering how long it took you to hear your medical was successful? Also, have you been offered something (contract) yet? A class date?
What they told me during the interview is that it would most probably be a September or November class for me...

See you soon I hope!
Best,

Chewy

[EFC_]

Originally Posted by Chewwy00

Hi EFC,

Congrats on being successful through all selection and medical!
I passed my medical exam last Friday (a week ago) and was wondering how long it took you to hear your medical was successful? Also, have you been offered something (contract) yet? A class date?
What they told me during the interview is that it would most probably be a September or November class for me...

See you soon I hope!
Best,

Chewy

Hey Chewy,

Congrats to you as well. It took approximately 5-6 weeks before I got a call from my agency with the positive result. At the interview I was told a July class was likely, but when I received the call about my successful medical results I was told July was filled. Hopefully I will get placed in the September class, still waiting to get the official invite with an exact class date though.

More time with the family this summer and more time to teach myself enough Japanese to survive outside the classroom is how I'm looking at it.

Congrats again and I'll see you out there!

[Fratemate]

a) If you have a day off in NRT, say with an early finish the previous day and late start the following day, is there any problem with you leaving Japan provided you are back in time for duty?

Yes, there is a problem because when you commute back for your late start and then fly all through the night you're going to be knackered and the poor bloke sitting next to you is going to be carrying you. It is not acceptable that you'd be permanently shagged and your name would be mud in the first week of being on line, as well as the obvious risks it poses to safety. The nearest place to could live would be Korea and even if you had perfectly timed flights with no delays and lived next door to ICN then you'd still be looking at leaving your house some 4 hours before report. To then fly the CAN and OKA route you would be a gibbering mess by the time you had to cope with the edge of typhoon winds we often experience there. No, it's a really stupid idea and that doesn't even account for the immigration side of things (Shore Pass versus E/D card) let alone if you get a roster change. Even a Blank Day on the roster is often not a day off (unless required for 'legality') and is subject to change. Forget the idea.

b) If she has a choice of cities, we were thinking it could be worthwhile going for one with a greater number of overnights, and I could just stay at 'home'. As such, does anyone have any advice on this, i.e. is it likely/possible and if so, what cities have a greater number of overnights, understanding that schedules/routes etc are subject to change?

I find that I rarely go anywhere more than once in a roster period, unless you include OKA which is used as a cargo 'hub'. We obviously fly a fair bit into China but DLC, TSN, XMN and TAO are turnarounds. PVG and CAN would be available but if you could face living in China then you'd be better flying with the Chinese and getting paid more to put up with the place. If anywhere, I would say HKG might appear a couple of times on a roster. It's generally a short stay but you might be able to spend a few extra hours at home. Our Korean pilots normally manage a quick look at their houses when they do ICN flights but I can't remember when I last stayed there......maybe we're not night stopping there at the moment SGN, RGN, SIN, HNL, BKK, TPE you'll only ever see once on your roster, unless your name is XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (where X = a random number and should not be counted as specific). So, in summary, by all means move closer to NRT than Oz if you want to reduce your commute time and if it works for you then one of destinations would make sense but I think you'll normally only manage to get an extra night at home once per month.

2. I notice that CReW states that you would have access to staff travel after 6 months of service. Can anyone advise whether this 6 months would start post check to line or after commencement of training?

I don't know the definitive answer to this by I am pretty certain it's from when you start your training. The reason I say this is because I've known guys who are freshly released to the line use ZED tickets to go home on their days off. Obviously they would have to use the C class option for the first 6 months if the staff travel rule applied to getting checked to the line but they definitely used ZED tickets within that time frame.

[Uptheresomewhere]

Originally Posted by Fratemate

Yes, there is a problem because when you commute back for your late start and then fly all through the night you're going to be knackered and the poor bloke sitting next to you is going to be carrying you. It is not acceptable that you'd be permanently shagged and your name would be mud in the first week of being on line, as well as the obvious risks it poses to safety. The nearest place to could live would be Korea and even if you had perfectly timed flights with no delays and lived next door to ICN then you'd still be looking at leaving your house some 4 hours before report. To then fly the CAN and OKA route you would be a gibbering mess by the time you had to cope with the edge of typhoon winds we often experience there.

Thanks Fratemate, obviously I would never do anything to compromise safety or my ability to be in peak condition when arriving for duty.

Appreciate the detailed response and honestly, even if it only serves to rule out some options. Cheers

[The Dominican]

@uptheresomewhere

I have to agree with Frate on this one...., it's just going to be impractical for you to do this with any frequency to make it worth your while and besides the point of fatigue, it is a matter of time before you won't show up for work due to an irregular operation or weather.

Although we have a relatively small pilot group and only go to a handful of destinations, there are some places that you won't go for months on end, let's say that you move to Honolulu where some of our pilots live, on average you won't get more than maybe 4 nights a year where you would be there on a trip and those nights you will just be there to sleep and try to adjust your internal clock for the departure 24 hours later, the same applies to some cities like Saigon where you can have a trip there this month and then won't go there again in 6 to 10 months.

The only place where you could move and make a good family lifestyle would be Tokyo although it is the only place that contractually we can't live in, the guys that do live here (Married to Japanese ladies for example) have the best options in terms of rosters since they spread their duty days throughout the month and enjoy the blank days and unused standby days at home.

[Feather44]

Hy everyone,

I have a bunch of questions about the sim; any help would be greatly appreciated.

1 During the T/O, where do you bring the thrust lever after having pushed the N1 p/b on the MCP?

I had a glanceat the “Cockpit Overview” but I don’t see any detent or position markings.

2 Same style. How to set MCT for the V1 Cut scenario?

3 With AP& A/T OFF but both FD’s ON

Assuming a level flight; if I select a speed on the MCP and adjust the TL to obtain that speed; does the FD will provide pitch guidance to maintain altitude?

4 I read somewhere in the thread that during eng failure the PF should ask PM to trim the rudder.

What is the standard Call out? Should we ask for a specific unit? “Trim rudder right to 10!” (If yes, what would be the unit for a T/O weight of 280 000 lbs) or “Trim rudder right until I say stop!”

5 whenever we order the PM to set a speed. The call is “Set speed Vref+60 195 kt” or “Set speed 195 Kt”?

6 When overhead the VOR:
PF VOR: VOR station shall be memorized in MAN Mode,
Select inbound course and then return to AUTO mode.

PM VOR: VOR station to be used in MAN mode and set inbound course and leave it in AUTO Mode.

What does it means exactly? How do you select a particular mode and how do you switch to another mode?

7 When setting a Navaid frequency should I do the complete TITS? (tune, identify,test, set)

8 Descent Checklist: “Recall…. checked” Where and what are we supposed to check?

Finally, I swallow my pride & ego, but I would like to practice a little bit before the BIG DAY... !!!!! Do you know a Sim Center in Tokyo where to do that? (preferably out of the view of Air Japan team)

Thanks in advance to the good souls…
Cheers

[jrmyl]

I am going to assume that you are unfamiliar with an autothrottle equipped aircraft based on your questions. I will try to answer as best I can but I hope others might chime in who have completed the screening recently as it has been 5 1/2 years since I did it.

1 During the T/O, where do you bring the thrust lever after having pushed the N1 p/b on the MCP? You will manually bring the thrust levers to 70% while holding the brakes and when the engines are stable you push N1. When you push N1, the thrust levers will automatically advance to the t/o thrust setting.

I had a glanceat the “Cockpit Overview” but I don’t see any detent or position markings. There are none.

2 Same style. How to set MCT for the V1 Cut scenario? During the V1 cut, you will call for MCT after 1500' or ALT CAP, whichever occurs first. Make the call, "set MCT" and the PM will push the correct button.

3 With AP& A/T OFF but both FD’s ON

Assuming a level flight; if I select a speed on the MCP and adjust the TL to obtain that speed; does the FD will provide pitch guidance to maintain altitude? When you are manually flying you will command the PM to set the speed you desire. You will then manually adjust the thrust to maintain that and adjust your pitch to the FD pitch. That will maintain your altitude.

4 I read somewhere in the thread that during eng failure the PF should ask PM to trim the rudder.

What is the standard Call out? Should we ask for a specific unit? “Trim rudder right to 10!” (If yes, what would be the unit for a T/O weight of 280 000 lbs) or “Trim rudder right until I say stop!” I have heard it as "Set trim (right/left) 5 units." 5 units is a pretty safe area to set it. On the approach after reducing thrust on GS you will need to readjust to less trim.

5 whenever we order the PM to set a speed. The call is “Set speed Vref+60 195 kt” or “Set speed 195 Kt”? I order "Set speed 195"

6 When overhead the VOR:
PF VOR: VOR station shall be memorized in MAN Mode,
Select inbound course and then return to AUTO mode.

PM VOR: VOR station to be used in MAN mode and set inbound course and leave it in AUTO Mode.

What does it means exactly? How do you select a particular mode and how do you switch to another mode? On the glareshield you will see the VOR frequency and Course. In between those two things is a push button. That is how you select manual or auto mode.

7 When setting a Navaid frequency should I do the complete TITS? (tune, identify,test, set) Not sure on this one.

8 Descent Checklist: “Recall…. checked” Where and what are we supposed to check? You will order "Check recall" or some other type of command. I can't remember what they are wanting to use now as they recently changed it. The PM will push the recall button next to the Upper EICAS and read out any messages that appear. If they are appropriate for the flight condition, then "Cancel Messages"

Finally, I swallow my pride & ego, but I would like to practice a little bit before the BIG DAY... !!!!! Do you know a Sim Center in Tokyo where to do that? (preferably out of the view of Air Japan team)I don't know of any in Japan but there are some in the US.


Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[koubri]

Hi Feather44
I had the sim last week and now waiting for the medical result.
What jrmyl is correct. I would just had a few points if that can help.

5 whenever we order the PM to set a speed. The call is “Set speed Vref+60 195 kt” or “Set speed 195 Kt”? I order "Set speed 195"
They want you to call the exact speed "set speed 195", that's what they said during the orientation.

6 When overhead the VOR:
PF VOR: VOR station shall be memorized in MAN Mode,
Select inbound course and then return to AUTO mode.

PM VOR: VOR station to be used in MAN mode and set inbound course and leave it in AUTO Mode.

What does it means exactly? How do you select a particular mode and how do you switch to another mode? On the glareshield you will see the VOR frequency and Course. In between those two things is a push button. That is how you select manual or auto mode.
I think they want you to do it "just before" being overhead. They'll review that with you during the orientation and will explain how that works. But basically when you do your set up, tune your VOR frequency in MAN and then push again the button that jmryl mentioned to get it back to AUTO. Then when approaching VOR just make sure your PM has his one in MAN.

7 When setting a Navaid frequency should I do the complete TITS? (tune, identify,test, set) Not sure on this one.
I didn't do it but maybe that can be a good idea. I just called for "check weather, set for ILS 17" and let him do the thing. The PM was amzingly quick in doing the set up. That's maybe because already on the ground he had already set up the CDU for the next approach. Anyway he will tune the frequency and course, and set up the approach in the CDU, so once he is done (and he will be done in less than 2 secs) you just have to handover controls, set your bugs and do the briefing.
And they want really short briefings.

8 Descent Checklist: “Recall…. checked” Where and what are we supposed to check? You will order "Check recall" or some other type of command. I can't remember what they are wanting to use now as they recently changed it. The PM will push the recall button next to the Upper EICAS and read out any messages that appear. If they are appropriate for the flight condition, then "Cancel Messages"
I kept it easy on that one. When the item "recall" on the check-list came i just called "checked" and so did the PM. I didn't do any action.
My PM was reading the checklist very fast.

I am not rated on B767 so my knowledge of how to operate the aircraft is very very basic. Be aware that everything goes extremely fast in the sim (at least that was my impression). Once back on the ground you have less than a second to take a deep breath and then the show starts again.

Hope that helps a bit.
Good luck

[Feather44]

Ok, I take note guys.
Thanks a lot for your comments!!

[EFC_]

During my sim briefing they told me I could set the frequency in manual and go back to auto while on the ground if I wanted, so I set it while setting up for my second takeoff prior to the VOR approach portion. Also, I did not tune and id, just call for the PM to set up and concentrate on stuatonal awareness and aircraft control.

[EFC_]

I'd like to ask the line guys some of their favorite and/or least favorite overnights. Just trying to get a feel for normal operations over there.<br />
<br />
Thanks.

[Kraus]

You do a majority of freight, so overnights are not quite what you might euphemistically describe as "overnights". That being the case, taxi to HND, fly to OKA, then PVG, arrive in the morning, that night it's back the other way, with the only difference you catch a bus back to NRT instead of a taxi is not a popular one.
On the PAX side you can get 9 hours or less in TPE, CAN AND HKG, but it is during the night!

[The Dominican]

It is subjective really...., there are people that like the several days cargo trips since they pay for less nights at the hotel in Narita, Not Me! others absolutely hate the day trips and I could do nothing but passenger out and back for my entire roster; you hear others complaining that they haven't done a Honolulu in months where as they could have all of mine..., over priced dump with multiple time zone crossings that leaves you like a zombie at both ends of the trip! Some like cargo, others like the passenger trips!

But the rule of thumb around here is that you will get plenty of what you don't like in your roster to accommodate the life style of a few numb nuts that try to rearrange their schedule, don't answer their phone on Stby days and plain old refuse trips they don't like.

The days of cozy two nights passenger trips to nice destinations disappeared with the merger..., come here for the lifestyle of your days off and the business class commute.

[EFC_]

Thanks guys. I've always been a commuter, so whenever I look at my trips for the month I'm looking at start and finish times and that's it. I don't really care what the company has me doing on their time. I'm not a squeaky wheel.

[EFC_]

Have any guys in the hiring pool received class dates recently? No news for me yet.

[Chewwy00]

No news either...

Hello EFC, Koubri,

I've been notified by Parc last week that I also was in pool now since the results of my medical came in good (after 6 looooooong weeks)(had the interview on 20th April). They also said that I had to be patient and that I would most probably be looking at a November class (no guarantee though, just a wild guess from experience she said). She also said that the amount of waiting time would be in function of the successful candidates that have the same profile as me. There's apparently three distinct group of classes: 767 rated guys, Boeing previous experience guys, and the rest. So if all the successful guys are 767 rated it'll be a longer waiting time for me than if those guys are non 767/Boeing experienced.
If anyone as more info, I'm willing to take it ;-)

Thanks for sharing the info and hopefully see you guys soon in Tokyo.
Cheers,

Chewy

[EFC_]

Thanks for the info, and congrats Chewy. If it makes you feel better, I interviewed at the end of February. Does anyone know how much lead time a new hire usually receives before their class date? Meaning time between phone call offering class date and first day of class.

[koubri]

Hi Chewwy

It has just been two weeks that i had the medical so i guess i still have another 4 long weeks to go for the result.

Did you have to get the call for the psychiatrist ? If yes, when did that come?

[EFC_]

Did you have to get the call for the psychiatrist ? If yes, when did that come?[/QUOTE]<br />
<br />
The psychiatrist call came about 2 weeks after returning from Tokyo for me.

[DIESELENGINE]

Can anyone pith in on how particular they are about appearance, as far as beard goes?

And what about that 100 PIC x-country requirement? I dont have it, some agencies say you gotta have it some say as long as you have 3000h total, you can apply...I need some help guys,

Thank you