Well done Grobit, we both made it in the end eh!
Where are you based?

Now you 5 lucky dooders are all Thunder Gods what will you do about relocation? Can you afford to live in the vicinity of Gatwick or will you commute and how does that work out with your rostering?

A boring question I know, but I'm interested to know the answer.

Congratulations on what you have all achieved, If Astreaus offer the same scheme again I'm sure they will have some comfort in that the first 5 hopefuls all came through. If they dont offer the same scheme again then I guess we will all blame you, only joking!

cheers

MJR

Hey MJR

Relocation, well now there's a thing, it costs a fortune here in LGW, esp considering the prices I'm used to in Cardiff.

At the moment I'm staying with a friend nearby, once all the dust has settled Mrs PJ and I will make a decision on whether to move here permanently. She still works in Cardiff but may be able to get a transfer.

I get back to Wales once a fortnight or so, it's a bit of a trudge but worth it.

I have bitten the bullet and rented a small cottage nearby, 12 minutes drive to the office. It is great to be this close but I have all available fingers and toes crossed that things work out.

We are just beginning to feed into the roster and so the pace is still quite gentle. We have been assured that by September we will be begging for mercy.Excellent.

Cal

As Calypso said the pace hasn't quite reached fever pitch yet. I brave the M25 on the days I am rostered allowing a good 2hrs for what is essentialy a 1hr 15min drive. (I drive in from Chingford area). Hopefully things will pan out for us all in the end and I will be thinking about relocation on a permanent basis. The travelling is a small price to pay at this early stage.

I'm really pleased for all you guys & gals, you give all of us wannabes hope for the future. :D

Forgive me if this isn't practical, but just in case ... have you considered Yank-style "crash pad" type accomodations for this early phase? Or is it not feasible?

`
 

There was I - 0615hrs minding my own business at Gatwick...trying to wind down after another one of those 'saturday night'.....coffe in one hand....Icom in the other.....when what should I hear ????

Firestar....who's Firestar ????

There then followed two examples of what a Firestar is !

Great to see you in action guys n girls.....yes I was green after seeing your purfect departures....swop you for a T5 ????

:D :D :D

.......erm its Flystar actually but well done for being up so early anyway.

I'm a firestarter....twisted firestarter.....

Yep sorry Aztruck - zzzzzzzzz - Just as well you can hear whats going on - and you with all that 'Marshalls' time too !

Good to see your old handle is up and running !!!



:)

:) Well, 4 sectors under the belt and it's all feeling decidedly surreal! I have to keep nipping myself to make sure I'm not dreaming. Think of one of those speed drag curves and triple it by two for how much there is to take in... Same goes for pleasure derived however! Now I can look back and say this - whatever the effort, whatever the cost, however gloomy and despondent we all felt after September, dont give up because believe me when you get the break - it's worth it! Good luck to everyone that's still waiting for that break to come - it will!

Thanks to the folk at PPRuNe, and everyone else that's made it all possible.

Ali:D

Why is it taking so long to line train you?I would have thougt that with the average 40 sectors you would have been finished by now. Are Astraeus short of work or line trainers or both?

HG - Neither! It's just a logistics problem. New airline with lots of flights. Every pilot that comes in is effectively 'new' and needs some sim and or line training. The company policy is that the cadets fly the first few sectors with a senior base training captain (makes sense really - safety and pax comfort being the priority) of which there are 3, and 5 of us! We also have to fly with a safety pilot for a while so we are a huge drain on the comany's resources. Naturally the guys and girls that needed least training have been done first. We'll shortly be able to fly with regular training captains and then the line training sectors will come thick and fast... Hope this explanation is correct or no doubt some higher being will soon put it right...

AR