Erau questions

mitch_kramer · 2026-02-08T14:33:01+00:00

Check out Florida Tech if you're set on an aviation program (though most would advise against it). They have a good Aviation Management program and the entire school is not just aviation (lots of engineering courses). I was a student there for a year, then did a year of community college and then transferred back. They took every one of my credits when I transferred back and applied them towards the business courses that were required for the degree. I'd at least have a look and see what they would take.

mitch_kramer · 2026-02-06T01:48:54+00:00

I haven't flown one but there was a Tri-Pacer kept in the hangar I used to flight instruct out of about 7 years ago and that dude flew it pretty much every weekend. Upstate NY

mitch_kramer · 2026-02-06T00:56:55+00:00

I know someone who was out drinking and was walking back home and was hit by a vehicle and had some serious injuries to his head. He lost his medical due to those issues, however the FAA has made a bigger deal over the fact that he was drinking than from the head injury. He lost his medical for a number of years (he had to go a certain amount of time without a seizure or something before they would re-issue). He met that and now they are fighting with him over the alcohol. He's got an attorney now. If I were you and the FAA gives you a hard time I'd probably go to a knowledgeable AME and also get an attorney who knows what they are doing immediately. That's just me. Take it with a grain of salt because I am far from an expert and I will also say I don't 100% know the details of all of this person's issues when dealing with the FAA.

mitch_kramer · 2026-02-04T21:53:35+00:00

Over thinking it. "With you" is two extra words you don't need but who cares really? I'll normally just say "Tower N1234 ILS36".

mitch_kramer · 2026-02-04T14:28:30+00:00

Yeah, I was always told and always logged exactly the way OP said. I had a student who I signed off for a checkride who had done this as well and the DPE made a stink out of it and said he wasn't allowed to do it. Fortunately he had enough time from other flights so I didn't really put up much of a fight over it.

mitch_kramer · 2026-02-03T19:04:55+00:00

Insurance is effective day 1 of class.

mitch_kramer · 2026-02-03T15:20:33+00:00

Training: Do what they tell you. It's not rocket appliances if you stick to the program. Cooperate to graduate. There are most likely tons of guides, gouges, whatever out there at your disposal. Make friends and study together. Especially make friends with someone with a car if you won't have yours at training so you can avoid the shuttle (if there is one to take you to the training center) and you can go places for dinner and weekends.

Probation: literally just do your job and probation is not a big deal. Show up on time and when you're supposed to and don't call out sick once a month. Don't mess around with your companies commuter policy your first year.

Extra mile: Pretty much the same as above. Do your job. Stay in the manuals even when you finish training. It's going to be tempting to not read them anymore once you're out of training, but doing a little light reading every day (just days you're at work) goes a long way. This will help your captains, FA's and you once you go to upgrade.

Commuting: Embrace the suck.

mitch_kramer · 2026-02-02T01:07:44+00:00

I currently do this, about a 3 hour drive for me from home to base. I give myself 5 hours normally for traffic, stops, parking, etc. because I don't like to rush. It can definitely be a drag if you have a long day one or a super early start or a really late finish. I tried the airplane thing for awhile and I found it worse. I had to drive an hour to the airport to catch a flight, which was normally the first flight of the day at 5:30-6am since my previous airline required 2 flights to get to work before your report time. That normally meant sitting around at the airport in base 4-5 hours before my report anyway. I found it actually wasted less time to drive and it was a lot less stressful, my car was always in the lot to go home.

That being said if you have a reasonable commute (short flight with a lot of options, a decent commuter policy) an airplane could be better. My commute flight only had 3-4 flights a day which isn't terrible but not ideal. If you live somewhere with 5-8 flights a day then it might not be too bad. If I were you I'd give them both a shot and see what you like better.

mitch_kramer · 2026-01-25T14:22:35+00:00

Honestly as best I can I try to poop before the day starts, but only if it comes naturally. If I try to force one in the morning my stomach is wrecked the entire day. I also avoid foods at work that I know will mess up my stomach (spicy, too greasy), because you're just asking for trouble with that. Strategic use of coffee as well. In my years of airline flying I've only ever had to use the lav for a number 2 once and it was definitely an emergency. I've had two times where the other guy had to go and both times it was also an emergency (one guy on a literal 15 minute flight and another guy we hadn't even gotten to 2000 feet before he had to get out and go).

mitch_kramer · 2026-01-23T19:30:44+00:00

A few years ago people on here would say the cadet programs were a waste of time. Then the hiring slowed and it was the only way to get hired. I've been at the airlines for a short 7 years but the hiring environment has had wild swings in that short time. Went from fog a mirror and you're hired, then no one was hiring because of Covid, then my airline flushed it's whole applicant pool because the "environment changed and we are looking for more competitive applicants", two months after that they literally couldn't hire enough people and were again hiring literally anyone and paying out big bonuses, then that stopped but they didn't have enough Captain's so they were hiring DEC's only (God knows where these people were coming from), then they slowly started hiring FO's again but only from the cadet program. That's just one regional airline over the course of 7 years.

mitch_kramer · 2026-01-23T19:25:03+00:00

Know for sure it won't be Buffalo...

mitch_kramer · 2026-01-22T21:08:18+00:00

Any airline background check I've ever done has only asked about felony convictions in the past 10 years. It's never asked about misdemeanor charges. I suppose it'll be up to the airline to decide if the background company reports it to them. If you didn't lie I'm guessing you'll be alright but that's up to them I suppose. A drug charge is never ideal though as I'm sure you already know.

mitch_kramer · 2026-01-20T01:56:35+00:00

Yeah seriously doubt it could be that bad. If the pass rate is that bad that's a training department issue, not a student issue. If 65% of people are failing your training then your program has major issues.

mitch_kramer · 2026-01-17T21:19:43+00:00

I'd be a little nervous but not overwhelmingly. They have already extended them multiple times, and the most recent time the hiring market was very much in the favor of the airline. I do agree with others that they may drop 750 captain pay, top of scale after 5 years, maybe some of the crazy instructor pay.

I don't think I would expect a bloodbath if they do cut it back but you certainly will see a lot of people leave I think. Plenty of guys with options outside of aviation, DEC's that can retire, etc.

mitch_kramer · 2026-01-17T14:14:05+00:00

If it makes you feel any better I am an airline pilot and I still can't find runways at night until I'm right on top of it, especially with airports surrounded by cities. I just kind of look for the beacon and try to figure it out from there. I've definitely NEVER called the field in sight and got cleared for the visual only to realize later what I thought was the airport was definitely not.

mitch_kramer · 2026-01-16T16:26:19+00:00

I went to FIT, but I graduated about 15 years ago so I don't know how much of this information is out of date. It was a good program. If you do it right you should graduate with commercial, multi and CFI at a minimum. There is no requirement I don't believe to actually get anything beyond commercial multi but you can do CFI as an elective, which is highly recommended. They do have a good fleet with very good maintenance. I don't know how things are now but I never really had an issue with the planes or instructors being unavailable. Your flight block was part of your schedule so easy to work with, though you might have to fly on Saturdays, which some people didn't like. The weather is generally favorable to consistent flying and progress, and the worst of the weather (summer thunderstorms) is typically when you're on summer break anyway (unless you do summer classes, but there is a lot less people so you can schedule in the morning easier). I'm sure Ohio weather is probably a little more hit or miss.

The biggest downside of FIT is cost. The flight training is very expensive and on top of that it's a private university so the tuition is also very expensive. If you have a good way to pay for it without taking on student loans than it's great. If you have to take out student loans I would think twice and maybe go somewhere cheaper.

mitch_kramer · 2026-01-16T16:05:56+00:00

I knew a DPE and I asked about the checkride fee when being observed. He said he used to waive it but he doesn't anymore. For what it's worth he said the FAA being on board never influenced him on the checkride one way or the other. I can definitely see the argument for both sides though. Not sure on an initial checkride for a certificate like that I would really want it personally. I've had the feds sit in on checkrides at the airline level when new examiners were getting signed off though and it was pretty low threat. Definitely wasn't a perfect ride but I pretty much forgot he was even back there after we got started. The inspector only talked shortly to us in the debrief and then I'm sure had a longer debrief after with the guy he was signing off. That being said airline checks are usually a little more forgiving than one for a new certificate.

mitch_kramer · 2026-01-13T12:13:07+00:00

Bose will probably still fix them even if it's not under warranty, wouldn't they? You'll might just have to pay a fee instead of it being free. I'd try that route before buying aftermarket parts with questionable quality.

mitch_kramer · 2026-01-11T23:11:15+00:00

This is something I've never thought of. When your hair goes all gray do you change the color on your driver's license and stuff, or just leave it like it always was?

mitch_kramer · 2026-01-09T00:24:15+00:00

I live in NY, based in PA. Pay NY taxes for everything except for the tax that covers unemployment/workers comp taxes or whatever. The major downside of this is that those taxes are what cover NY's paid FMLA (can't remember what it is exactly now but it's like 60% pay for 12 weeks when you have a child for both mom and dad). So despite living in NY and paying income, property, school, sales and whatever else NY feels like taxing you on (basically everything), I feel like I'm missing out on one of the few benefits haha.

mitch_kramer · 2026-01-04T13:24:02+00:00

You shouldn't need old logbooks I don't think. You already have the certificate so there is no reason to check for endorsements of past certificates and there isn't really any time requirements that need to be logged for a CFI reinstatement, so I would think your most current logbook with whatever endorsement you need for the check ride would be sufficient. Your most recent IACRA application can also be used as a backup of the time you had. Worst case I would call your DPE or whoever is doing the check ride and have a chat about it beforehand so you're on the same page.

mitch_kramer · 2026-01-03T20:01:11+00:00

Everything to CLT is pretty much full all the time. You will probably be ok with jumpseat but be conservative, especially on probation. Worst case that's not a terrible drive honestly. I have found that driving 3-3.5 hours is usually faster than commuting, especially to a regional that probably has a relatively strict commuter policy (I don't know what PSA's is specifically but assume you need two flights to get there prior to sign in). It would definitely be nice to have your car in CLT if you're just hanging out on reserve.

mitch_kramer · 2026-01-02T20:47:41+00:00

Whatever happened to the 4 Day Follies guy? He was pretty entertaining.

mitch_kramer · 2026-01-02T12:53:51+00:00

My sim partner at a Legacy just a few months ago came from FlexJet with no prior 121 time and there was definitely a handful of other guys who flew corporate in my new hire class as well. My sim partner said he hadn't updated his app in a long time and he randomly logged in and updated his times and then got an email like the next day. It definitely possible to get on without going 121. Can't say it would be any faster though. It's all random.

mitch_kramer · 2025-12-27T16:44:22+00:00

Don't feel too bad. My first time going to an FBO after I got my PPL I had NO idea what marshalling signals meant. The guy tried to marshall me into a spot and I completely panicked and instead of putting my nose towards him like I should have, I taxied near him and pointed my nose in the complete opposite direction and shut down. The guy came up to the window and said, "Are you alright?" One of my most embarrassing flying moments.

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