As someone who used to fly for Eastern on the J41, I thought I would try and highlight why this scheme has probably been introduced since myself and many others are probably to 'blame' so to speak!!! I have been watching this discussion for a few days now but I think it is only fair if I try and show the situation from Eastern's perspective. I am not saying that I agree with what is being done so don't get the comments flowing.
When I joined I was on a full salary from day one of the ground school and once that was completed it was not uncommon to have a slight gap before you did your sim course. I had around 4 - 5 weeks, which at that time was unusually long. During this time you are more or less a sitting duck since you can't fly and with no airside pass either you can't do a great deal on the ground even if you were keen to help. So in my case I had just over a month's salary for sitting not doing very much. Fine for me but surely a bean counters nightmare? Maybe I am speaking hot air and the reasoning behind it could be very different - who knows!
As for the sim check that is being done - well that seems to be a story in its own right. When I joined and during my time with the company, it was very rare to hear that someone had been chopped from the training. However that was in a time when Eastern usually only took people with a bit of instructing or air taxi time behind them so flying skills were normally adequate. Back then to have less than 500 hours on joining was the exception and now it is very common by the sounds of things. As a result maybe some sort of quality control system is required to ensure that all candidates have the necessary ability. The current arrangement of using Triple A is in my view a short term one. The J41 sim is due to be relocated to Humberside and any sim checks will probably be done there instead.
However this new scheme is putting good people off from applying. Eastern
seem to prefer the more mature 'self-improver' pilot who will stay for that bit longer. However this scheme is more of a hurdle for them than it is for someone who is young who can afford to uproot himself/herself at short notice without thinking how they are going to support their family when they are away. That is assuming that the easiest way for many to 'drop their tools' for 3 weeks is to apply for unpaid leave!
I would recommend Eastern as a good solid first job. The whole J41 setup was inherited from BACX and many including myself were trained by BACX and Eastern still use all the SOPs that were previously used so standardisation and training (which is now done in house) are all good.
cavortingcheetah:
I agree that the sum of £15k is absurd for a primitive little machine such as a J41 or even the half glass Saab 2000.
Ok maybe £15,000 might be a bit steep but what are all the other turboprop operators bonding you for? It is industry average I am afraid! The J41 is not in a sub turboprop category and it is far from primitive! It is interesting to note that the J41 was the fastest prop in the market before the D328, DHC8-Q400 and the S2000 came onto the market. It is modern and it is a good grounding and the jet I fly now is straight forward compared to the J41! The Saab 2000 is actually a full glass machine - not to confused with the Saab 340, which is completely different. In fact I have been told that some of the computer logic in the Saab 2000 is on a par if not slightly more complex than the Airbus!