Is the ATPL exam a one time issue, or do you have to do this test like every two or five years?
If you have done it for one airline and then apply for another one, do you have to take the ATPL test again?

It is a one time test if you get your Chinese ATPL. If you take the test at one carrier and then move to another company without getting the license you most likely would have to take it again as that company has/owns the test report from the CAAC and they generally won't give it up.

Its only Valid for two years once written if no chinese licence was subsequently issued.

Thanks!

How about the initial medical? Does it expire after a period if you have to wait for a while before starting? Do you have to do medicals every 6 months or every 12?

12 months till age 40 thereafter 6 months validity.

So, the same way it used to be in the west.
I believe the Chinese have signed international agreements regarding this, so how they can do their own thing is a bit strange.

It's just the way things have always been done here. Things change very very very slowly here. Your recurrent checkrides are also every 6 months. One way to look at this job is to take it 6 months at a time. Some look at it like a daily job. One bad day ie a hard landing or other Level 3 QAR and you are out. I tend to take it 6 months at a time but don't come here thinking its a 20 year career. Most guys last 1 contract.

Gotorman330 may I send you a PM?

BCA offering direct entry 330 commands now, google it

is BCA for you
 

Things in BCA have changed a lot in the last few months
1. lots of new joiners
2. international flights from lots of bases
3. Lots of touring from sanya now for up to 12 days at a time (at the end of this weeks schedule i will have spent 20 out of 25 days away from sanya)
4. scheduling have heard of CRM and are listening to the pilots now about time spent away(laughs quietly under his breath)

Take a good look at sichuan airlines as they are offering a similar package and the pilots their pretty much live in sanya and are treated much better scheduling wise (but then things could change quickly there too)
also look at chengdu airlines new package, looks great

hooray, its my last flight of 4 tonight from haikou, 6 days away, had to position to haikou by train (2 hour train journey) at my own expense and effectively in my own time to haikou to operate (and no you dont get deadheading on a train) and find that 6 of us are here from sanya.... hmmm, i also just spent nearly 2 hours queueing for a train ticket today to get the early train back tomorrow to be with my family. Had a brilliant moment today though as its the first time i have had hot water in the hotel this trip..... its the little things in life that make us happy (if this lifestyle floats your boat, then come on in the water is fine, if not?)
A quick chinese joke i heard this week!, what do you call a guy that spends 22 out of 29 days away from his family in one month plus when he is home he flies 2 of those days?..... ERRRRR..... ME!

Things are really changing, if you choose sanya you will be living here but working elsewhere in china so be prepared for that, if you base yourself in beijing you will spend more time in sanya than some of the sanya based guys and make an extra 1600 usd in deadheading to boot, i am going 4 on 4 off to make this bearable..... what a shame :ugh::ugh::ugh:

all true
 

What Gatorman is saying is true.. I am based in Beijing yet spend the majority of my time in sub standard hotels in Sanya, Haikou, Guilin. At the moment it seems as though there are no bases for foreigners. About a year and a half ago the pay increased a lot for Capital Airlines pilots. I had heard verbally from a few Chinese managers that things would be changing for foreigners. Well from the looks of things the higher up managers have decreed that seeing as though foreign pilots are paid a fixed rate...then we all must fly the same amount of hours.. Seems very reasonable... except for the fact that the amount of hours available varies from base to base.. So we are all playing an elaborate game of musical chairs just to ensure we all fly equal hours at the end of the month.. The fact that our personal lives have quickly become non existent is irrelevant. So if you have no life and want to make a lot of money....this is a great place.. Otherwise....

Sichuan Airlines
 

Fellow Pilots, I guess Sichuan is not too bad but the schedule on the A320 is not well liked..! Lots of deadhead, double shifts, just hard schedules. Also, not the place it used to0 be, more hard line management here.

Be safe,

On Final

BCA sim Check
 

Hello Gents,

I will take my CAAC check for BCA in Sanya on April 8th, should be loads of fun..! Let me see if i can make it through then gauntlet..ha. I will let you guys know what then check s like.

Happy flight,,On Final

BCA CAAC Check A330
 

Hello guys,


I passed my BCA CAAC sim check on the A330. The check ride was briefed after arrival for about 20 minutes. No prior syllabus was given and No Warm up. It was briefed co-pilot fly first then I fly, but that changed on the way to the sim.


Airport ZSSS to ZBAA, rwy 36r take weather 2 miles, winds 270 at 15 meters, temp 15c, no rain. Windsheir on takeoff, Traffic, RA one below, one above, then FCU partial fault, (on partial fault not allow reset. Then went to FCU fault, No reset.


ILS to minimums then go around, then to a downwind 1500 feet VFR pattern to land full stop.


Take off, v1 cut climb out, speedup, clean up for a VOR DME 36r. fly that to a full stop. Take of Cabin pressure system one fault, continue climb then emergency descent to 10,000 . We had people injured or ill, expedite return to ZSSS, I flew 300kts at 1800 meters for the pax (make sure you declare emergency). They want to see how you handle the Capt stuff, Talk to cabin team, Company, ATC and big on procedures but understand variations of other carriers.


Take off 36r, engine fire, not put out, return land, evac. I think there were a few more things in there but I forgot, kinda blew through it.


I feel I messed up little things and was debriefed but acceptable. Example: emergency evac, before I verified with a call to the tower, check if fire was on, Fire warning still lit, both disc discharged. I asked second time, then no answer start emergency evac. At the end, its dark in the cockpit, I reached up to push the evac alert and hit the wrong button. I then grabbed my little flashlight ( 5 secs delay to do that) hit the correct button) then finished. I got trouble on the asking twice before starting Emerg Evac. and missing the evac alert button.


They a strict but fair. It would have been nice for a copy of profile, to get a warm up, but its China. My co-pilot was normal, no problem.


I normally do better with a warm up, get comfortable rather than a Jump start..! ha


If you guys have any questions, welcome to PM me.


Happy Flight,


On Final.

Thanks for info :ok:

Hi all, thinking about the 4 on 4 off contract for the 320, any updates on the situation at the moment please? Cheers

Hi
Im thinking of applying to BCA.
I would be interested in Sanya base.
I have heard the base is over/fully crewed but is offered by the agency's.
As mentioned by previous posters this means many nights away at other bases.
Is this still the case or has the situation improved.
How is the atmosphere in airline and the roster in general.
Any useful information would be appreciated.
Regards

I've just completed BCA screening on 320.

Medical took all day. Many tests, and long queues. Went back to hotel and by later afternoon informed I had passed. Reported at 19:00 for MRI.

Sim was straight forward. Aircraft positioned to threshold with engines running. Took of with max crosswind. ADR 2+3 Fault during climb. Elected to return. ENG Severe Damage during transit. Vectored ILS. Forced by instructor into SE GA at low level. Vectored for VOR to same runway. Max crosswind. Landed off approach. ENG fire during rollout. ECAM led to evacuation. All approaches flown by hand and with raw data. We each had to do a V1 cut and visual circuit as well. Others had to do a circle to land. I guess it gets randomly assigned, based on the instructor's mood. One of the guys turned base too late during circle to land, and was flunked for that.

We swapped seats and flew almost an identical profile again, except this time we had IR 2+3 fault.

We both passed. We were unable to write ATP as there was some issue with the computer based test, and have to go back to write next month.

as for BCA, same BS as last chinese new year, chinese captains come for a working holiday with families to sanya and the foreigners end up in every base than the one that is their home base, sanya is now ridiculously overcrewed so expect a lot of positioning to hangzhou, haikou, chengdu, xian etc unless you are beijing based in which case you may make extra money positioning to sanya every week, sanya pilots are spending 3/4 days in shenyang at the moment. As for 330 transfer from 320, you will be accepted asap after getting to line but the max age is 50, you have move to hangzhou or beijing, a mix of short and long haul on 330, if you want 330 flying, join an airline thats been doing it for a while and the pay is better and in the same base!!! HNA!, BCA has expanded rapidly but the infrastructure is still the same. If you want to change work pattern after starting, unless its to change to 6/2.... forget it, they will not let you!! If you don't take your leave, theres a good chance you won't get it back, i had to reapply 4 times to get just some leave recently, they are just happy to pay the days back to you, i will see this contract out and then, who knows but most likely, it won't be here.