Here I am

[TheWife]

And besides Em, if we are in Vegas already, that gives us the possibility of doing the Vegas JC thing in Oct, for the first time ever!

[skibum515]

Hey Michelle, this is John. A few things you might want to consider:

-You can't fly more than 120 hours a month for a scheduled part 135 company per FAA rules, and it might even be as low as 100. I know that 120 is the upper limit for actual flight time for any type of operations, and I'd have to get a book out and double check to see if it's 100 or 120, but I can assure you that Corbin will never hit 140 hours. He may CREDIT 140 hours, depending on their work rules, but I don't think their soft time rules are that great. You could send a PM to pilot602 on Jetcareers to ask him about this, as he's worked there recently.

-As far as the time being worthless, I do generally think that's a true statement. When you stack it up next to EFIS, crew, FMS, jet PIC time, it looks like a joke. The plane isn't very big, but more so the type of operation. Part 135, VFR time isn't really worth much and that's exactly what it is. While people HAVE gone from Scenic to the majors, it's not happening these days. The folks you're talking about are coming from a different era when RJ's were not as prevalent as they are now. Folks have also gone from Ameriflight, which is MUCH better quality time, but they're few and far between. So while there's always going to be an example where you can point and say, "LOOK! HE DID IT!" The realistic chances of making that leap are small.

More importantly, you need to consider going somewhere that you will get stuck. To be frank, I'm staring a furlough in the face right now and few companies are still hiring. When I got to Express the upgrade was 18 months, but now 9 months later we're probably going to start moving backwards and putting people on the street soon unless something drastic changes. The whole concept of spending 2-3 years at the regionals never holds true, and again while there are examples of people that spent a year at a regional and then went to a mainline with zero TPIC, they are few and far between and not something worth banking on. Be prepared to spend a lot longer than you think you will at the regionals. I'd say the average guy has spend 6-7 years at ExpressJet before moving on to the mainline carriers.

You could get a crashpad in Detroit for maybe $150 on the low end to maybe $200, which when you factor in the costs of relocating is probably cheaper. Especially considering the price of rent in the Vegas area.

In the end you'll make more money at Pinnacle because of the better work rules, fly better equipment, get better quality time and be treated better.

Further he'll be home more. Let me say that again, he'll be home MORE with Pinnacle. Don't buy the hype, I was "home every night" when I worked at Amflight, but I was pulling 12+ hour days and working 6 days a week most of the time. I slept in my own bed every night, but I wasn't actually around that much. Even doing the commute from Newark to Salt Lake I'm at home MORE than if I were work at Ameriflight IN Salt Lake. Even if he somehow manages to credit the 140 hours of work with Senic, he'll be working twice as hard (and be gone twice as much) than if he was at Pinnacle for only about $100 more.

If you want to give me a call, feel free. If you don't have my number anymore grab it from Emily and I'd be happy to chat with you or Corbin about this.


PS (from Emily) - I know you guys have hit a lot of stumbling blocks so far and John and I really are hoping to keep you from having another one here. I really want to see this work for you guys!! Please take an honest consideration of this - have Corbin call John (pm me if you need his ph#). We also know someone who can get his resume into Pinnacle if need be!

[TheWife]

Thanks John. We are definitely tired of stumbling blocks, that's for sure. I think the hard part for me is that I still don't understand all the terms and verbs and rules and this and that so I have a hard time knowing what questions to ask and what things to consider. I swear this is the only industry where the spouse has to be pretty much as involved as the employee, just so the 2 together can understand it all. I should have married an anesthesiologist! I'll have Corbin call you on Skype later so we can both hear the conversation and try to figure this out together. I am so tired of thinking we found an answer that makes sense, let it sink in, start to work on making it happen, and then it's not what it was supposed to be. I'm really honestly hitting my mental threshold, some thing has got to start happening for us cause I'm breaking down. Do you know what time would be good to call today? Or if you're around maybe we could even meet up somewhere or something. I don't know. I just need some freaking clarity and direction and stability.

[skibum515]

Hey Michelle, John says to give a call tonight around 7pm MST. Do you need his cell? He (and I) are both in Newark right now - he's working and I'm wasting time until he gets done and we go to the hotel to head to Boston tomorrow. Otherwise we'd love to come see you guys!! I'll be back in Utah around the middle of next week. So let's try to plan something at some point! I'd love to see all the kiddos again, and see little Bryton!!

My boobs were pretty swollen after surgery and relatively hard for a few weeks - so maybe the fluid was all in there and just got absorbed back into my body? I don't know...

I have a bad case of the itchies too - My skin got SUPER dry and i was lotioning it (carefully!) several times/day. If you're getting the itchies from the Percocet - maybe you can call your doctor and get a rx for a different pain killer? Of course, you probably won't be on it for too much longer! When do your drains come out? How are you feeling?

[TheWife]

Ok we'll call him around then, I do need his number.

I don't have any feeling of being hard/full, so I think that's what the drains help with. I want them out though, they are annoying, cause I can feel where they go in, so as soon as they aren't draining much I'll get them out. Did they have you changing your gauze? They told me I didn't need to mess with it, but I can tell some of it has dried to myself.

[skibum515]

I didn't really have any gauze stuff. Like, I went home with a bra stuffed with these giant "surgical pads" (you can find them at RiteAid) and they said take them off after 24hrs and then that was it. I ended up having all that stuff go wrong, so I had more bleeding and whatnot than was normal so I ended up buying my own and changing them myself and doing that. Even this second time around they told me to take the dressings off after 24hrs. I still had some drainage though and used the leftover surgical pad thigns from before to collect that. They're much more absorbant than regular gauze and don't stick (that sucked!!)

I just stuck them in the surgical bra. Not sure if they would work for you with the drainage tubes or not though. I also used some of those Telfa pads that don't stick to skin, but those don't absorb that much, so if you have a "lightly draining" wound I would vote for those, or if you have a "heavily draining" one I would go with the surgical pads above. Again, not sure how it would work in your situation though...

i'll pm you the ph#

[Bigsweetie]

Hi Michelle-
Just to reitterate what John said, my DH has 1100 hours of PIC time at a 135 carrier and NO ONE has called him. And he's had those hours for years. He's been to career fairs and the majors have told him directly that those hours don't count. And don't forget, my DH has time in a 727!!! Still doesn't matter. He's more than competitive in every other aspect of his resume except PIC time. If "PIC time is PIC time" don't you think Delta, NWA, or one of the others would have called him when the hiring was at it's peak not too long ago? I'm not trying to be snotty, please don't read it that way. But Eric and I are worried that he's only slowing himself down with going to Scenic.

Eric did talk to his friend who works for Scenic and he said that Corbin can't upgrade until he has 1000 hours in type and his ATP. He also said that they're in negotiations with another company that they just merged with (I think it's Grand... something) and they're working on the payscales. Hopefully it'll work in the pilots favor. He also said that they fly a ton in the summer months, but come November thru May things slow down considerably.

Like I said, if Skywest is an option, they're hiring states specifically that they're looking for CRJ time and doesn't even mention PIC time.

As for regionals, as much as I hate Mesa, they have bases that are VERY commutable from where you currently are. They have bases in Phoenix and somewhere in CO. I'm not sure if they're junior or senior bases though.

One more thing, I know the concern about sitting reserve. My DH did it in IN when he worked for Shuttle America. We absolutely could NOT afford a hotel. He slept in the crew lounge most of the time. Not fun, but luckily he flew most of the time. When things slowed down and he wasn't flying as much, he bartered with the hotel manager to stay in one of their rooms in exchange for fixing some things around the hotel. Another friend of ours who works for NWA has a "crash pad" here in DTW. About 8 guys went in together on a hotel room. They pay next to nothing for it. Sometimes guys are sleeping on the floor though. Just a thought.

I hope John is able to help...

Whatever you decide to do though, I understand. It's a tough industry right now and decisions are so hard. Especially when you have a family to feed.

(((HUGS)))

[TheWife]

Thanks Tanya. We are still trying to figure this all out. Canyon Air and Scenic is who merged and their new payscale is all done, the 140 hour pay guarantee was the result of that, as well as the $4 bonus. Even in the slower winter months, he'd still get paid the guarantee. And they stated to upgrade he only needed 500 in type and the ATP which they'd pay for.

He does want Skywest but he's not at their mins yet, it sounds like what might be a good option is to have dh go to Scenic through the summer till he hits Skywest mins and then apply, and then keep flying for Scenic till he gets out of the Skywest pool. At least that way we have a guaranteed income. It may not help skip the regional like it initially sounded like, but it will get him to the Skywest mins with a guaranteed paycheck which he is not getting at UVSC. Don on JC said if anything Scenic would open a lot of doors for Corbin, even if it's not a door directly to a major. We'll talk to John in a few hours and see if we can't figure some things out. This whole thing just really wears me out! Thanks again!

[skibum515]

I'd be really leery of Mesa right now. They have a huge bill coming up in June that they aren't going to be able to pay. Not by a long shot. Mesa is most likely going to go under (John thinks right to Ch7 - liquidation) and the rest of the regionals are chomping at the bit for the Mesa flying. I am pretty sure SkyW is making an aggressive bid to acquire it (and they also tried to buy xjet this morning but that's a whole 'nother can of worms!). If SkyW gets that Mesa flying, they're going to end up hiring like gangbusters here in June or July (as will whoever gets the Mesa flying) but beware of the Mesa PILOTS who are all going to be heading out for jobs then too! It's almost better to jump in ahead of those guys (if possible) and then hope that your regional is the one getting the flying and hiring and all those guys will then be below you and provide you with a bit of a cushion.

*note* This is all PURE speculation on my part (and a little bit of John's) so take it for what it's worth!

[TheWife]

We're off to have dinner at a neighbors house Em, we'll try to be back around 7, maybe just after, and then we'll give him a call. Thanks!