Hi Havick,
Yes I know of some Aussies who have gone elsewhere due to the delays at PDT in both the interview and training process being inefficient. Having said that it does suit some and we still have people in the pipeline. Best if you can plan ahead and get the ball rolling at 1400hours Tt with the 100night.
The local tap for pilots is dry as the PSA rates have taken all the local applicants over to them. Rumor is those rates will also land at PDT, in the not too distant future
in the past when I went through a 6-11 month training time was common, we had 230 pilots in backlog driving these numbers. With the above the backlog is dropping and has dropped now to 130 pilots in training. When it gets to 60 there will be little delay, so it is already coming down just due to the lack of American applicants here.
I came for #1 travel benefits (worth > $20k USD to me last year) and #2 upgrade. They are still on offer and the need to service the flow will continue to drive upgrades. It could be better here with schedule improvements , but I’m quite happy and it is a world better than my instructing / charter previous gigs.
Cheers
Ralphi