Regional express Cadetship

[Blackaces]

Hi guys, new to the forums(joined for this post) so if ive broken any ettiquette or rule that im not aware of, it IS because im unaware :)

Im a post GFPT student flying at the airline academy of australia in brizzy, and also a student of griffith universities bachelor of aviation. what im after is really ANY insider information you guys can give me about regional express, and in particular their pilot cadetship scheme.

Im in the proccess of putting together my full resume and cover letter to send into the company with my application, and im just now starting to get into researching the company i apply into, A to help me make my deision whether the company is some one who i would like to work for ( its rather difficult to find staff oppinions about a company from their advertising no matter how hard you try to read between the lines) and B any information i cant get my hands on that may assist me in my application.

As some examples of information i would like;
The average time to command positions
What they would like to hear from an "ideal" FO
How many FO positions are available, and their need to fill them. ( i assume theyre are quite a few since they went to the effort to build AAPA for $25 mil.)
have they recovered from the pilot shortage they suffered in 2007?
Does jetstar/virgin/qantas still consistently take pilots from REX? is this a bit of a sore topic?
Any planned aquisitions for the company, or anything financial worthy of mention?
Pay, leave, benefits?
average oppinion of staff, not just pilots? any major gripes, something thats extremely positive?
Anything you feel worthy of mention or something you think may help me?
How is the company for compromising safety for efficiency?

And lastly if you can point me to any site that may help me like or with cool insider documents i can get my dirty eager hands on would be great aswell.
A company Ops manual would be awesome!

please feel free to PM me with anything you would prefer to say that way. :oh:

THANK YOU VERY MUCH for all of your help!!!
i appreciate any and all information you guys can give, its all going to be filled away in a little booklet im preparing so all the information is at my finger tips.

Edit. after reading some of the other posts here its obvious there is some pretty negative feed back from people about REX but i could REALLY find why? does any one mind educating this some what "niave and impressionable" young pilot as some one put it. :)

thanks again.

[tmpffisch]

Few other (large) threads that could help you out if you haven't seen them yet

http://www.pprune.org/dg-p-general-aviation-questions/301314-mega-merged-rex-cadetship-working-rex.html?highlight=rex+cadet

http://www.pprune.org/dg-p-general-aviation-questions/362953-rex-cadets.html?highlight=rex+cadet

http://www.pprune.org/dg-p-general-aviation-questions/371377-rex-eba.html?highlight=rex+cadet

http://www.pprune.org/dg-p-general-aviation-questions/310347-help-upcoming-regional-express-cadet-pilot-interview.html?highlight=rex+cadet

I don't know the first thing about Rex, but theres also an article in the latest Australian Aviation which could give you an idea of their culture towards training/cadetships.

[Blackaces]

HA!

i found all of them excluding the mega murged thread before.....

thanks for the quick reply and a thread worth reading.
Answered all of my questions and more.

Im steering well wide of REX and sticking to the tried and trued method of just slogging it out in GA.

Aces

[SM227]

Im steering well wide of REX and sticking to the tried and trued method of just slogging it out in GA.


Im a post GFPT student flying at the airline academy of australia in brizzy, and also a student of griffith universities bachelor of aviation.



Then your in the wrong place!

[PPRuNeUser0163]

SM227,

what a pathetic response!

id like to know whats wrong with doing a uni degree and flying at a large flying organization?

[j3pipercub]

Word for the day : Trued. Not having a go aces.

Nkand, I believe that sm227 was perhaps remarking on the disparity of the two paragraphs, as one states he wants to slog it out in GA, whilst the other states he is currently enrolled in a 3 year Uni degree. As this does not preclude aces from slogging it out in GA, it will delay it by sometime. Let's not do the whole sausage factory/uni degree thing again...

That said, I really don't know why some are in such a rush to wear train drivers uniforms and or wheel their flightbags through the terminals...come on guys and girls, live a little, go and experience as much as GA flying can offer. We're all young, do you really want to spend the next 4 decades flying the line BN-SY-ML-AD-BN etc etc...

Just my 2c.

j3

[Homesick-Angel]

Blackaces...

I dont have too much to say on the topic, but I can tell you that I haven't heard one positive thing from anyone in the industry about REX..

Now it may well be the best airline in the world, but in my experience when there is a LOT of bad press, there is a reason for it...

Who knows?...Its good your attempting to do a bit more research though, and I wouldnt let bad press deter you.What they offer might be exactly right for YOU...

Who knows..Good luck

[Wally Mk2]

I recently saw what I assume to be a Rex F/O (was a Rex pilot anyway) that I also assume was a product of the cadet program at a Vic regional airport the other morning. This 'kid' looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders as he walked across the tarmac slightly stooped over . You could tell he was a only a kid as he was tall, skinny as a rake (can't afford food on their wages) pimply looking & walked a little 'goofey'. Obviously not trying to be a smart ass here (as I envy him due his age) but is this where REX is heading with their future pilots? BTW the skipper looked angry, & short, might be why he was angry, his F/O was taller !!!:):-)

'Aces' I wish you well at what ever route you take, you have missed the boat so to speak to some degree of the true salts way of earning yr wings to that big shinny bird in the sky but then again have us old salts missed the way of the future in flying training? Probably, but me thinks us old crusty buggers will have many a story to tell whilst sitting on the mythical verandah in that mythical rocking chair of the good 'ole days gone by, will today's new pilots coming up thru the ransk be able to do the same? I doubt it.....sad really.


Wmk2

[kookabat]

No really, who wouldn't?

I wouldn't.

[j3pipercub]

I wouldn't either, not for the rat anyway, and not just yet. I have far too many aircraft on my 'want to fly' list yet that aren't airliners. But one day sure, just not yet, and not for 4 decades.

Goodluck with that though WannabeQF...

[The Green Goblin]

We're all young, do you really want to spend the next 4 decades flying the line BN-SY-ML-AD-BN etc etc...


Bloody Oath I do!!

Sure beats flying 'the line' from cattle station to cattle station in weathered old birds with more clock hours than a taxi-cab.

I'll take the clean shiny QF bird anyday, who wouldn't?

No really, who wouldn't?

I remember reading somewhere that you are training to be a Qantas pilot? So are you a cadet? or just a wannabe? Something tells me that you will become disillusioned once you go looking for a job and work out what it is really like out there.

I think you will also find that the said aircraft that has clocked more hours than a taxi cab has less than a 1/4 of what a 'new' QF jet has.

An old GA machine usually has less than 20,000 hours. Most QF machines when retiring have over 60,000.

[FO Cokebottle]

WannabeQF,

IMO, you have no f:mad:ing idea what you are talking about.

You, and others of your thinking, are the "i want it all now" generation and have now clue of what "paying your dues" really gives you with regards to gained flying experience and gained respect.

I would not trade my 1600 hours in GA charter, often in clapped out machines, for going straight into multi crew RPT ops in a "shinny new jet".

I sit next to far too many pilots who are nationals and ex-cadets who fly by the rote-learned numbers and have no stories to tell other than the latest political gossip of the airline.

Harsh.......yes, but so is the world.

FO COKE

[YPJT]

This is a result of the slick advertising by some of the airlines themselves or training academys that may or may not be affiliated.
Someone I know has done the all singing - all dancing 150hr CPL course with a guaranteed slot in an airline at the end of the training (come-in-spinner). Guess what, CPL in hand and has not flown a single passenger anywhere in anything and I doubt has had to make a command or operational decision outside what was specified in the syllabus. Same individual cannot understand why employers are not jumping over each other to offer a job.:ugh: Unfortunately, many mums and dads with the readies think they are invesing in their offspring's future by forking out 80 - 100k only then to find out the harsh reality that the CPL they have paid for is next to useless without practical experience to back it up.

Go for it WannabeQF and join the ever increasing ranks of professional gear, flap and radio operators.

[Pilotette]

WannabeQF...

IF you get into that "shiny QF bird" I really hope you come back to Pprune one day maybe after doing 20yrs of it, and let us know how its going for you. I guarantee that you will be bored out of your brain...or maybe you won't be, because you won't know what you missed out on experiencing through GA?
Just to give you an example of what I mean: While completing my CPL I worked for a company that operate Metros. One day, while in the lift on my way to the office, a Qantas pilot asked how my company were going for pilots and whether we needed any Metro captains. He explained that he would do anything to go back to GA or regional flying and was in the process of looking for something like that. He said he had jumped at the first opportunity to get into a jet while he was still very young and has gotten bored and regretted it ever since.

You are still young and need to realise there is more to flying than sitting in a shiny jet watching the autopilot having all the fun! Why not take your time and get some real experience under your belt...you never know, you may actually enjoy it! :ok:

P.S. Whoever told you that GA only entails flying 'the line' from cattle station to cattle station is sadly mistaken and disillusioned. On the other hand it means more GA jobs for the rest of us!

[BrazDriver]

Well Said!

[sockedunnecessarily]

Im steering well wide of REX and sticking to the tried and trued method of just slogging it out in GA.

Aces

Well done mate. You will not regret it. Sometimes the short term ezy way is not always the best.
At least it means once you get into rex you will be able to get command and won't be an fo for the rest of your life!!!!!!!!!.

[mcgrath50]

Guys,

RE: WannabeQF,

Take a look at some of his other posts, many in the last few months have his tongue firmly planted in his cheek. Taking it seriously gives our generation a bad reputation it does not deserve!