The People With The Shiny Airplanes

Well it's January 14th and still no check ride scheduled. End of Course check ride complete, 8710 complete, ground knowledge peaked and already diminishing.

We had near record cold temperatures in Phoenix this morning. It was -8C/18F at Gateway this morning. That is bitter cold for us desert dwellers. The National Weather Service says it hasn't been this cold since 1990. Why mention this? The plane wouldn't start this morning. The Arrow that I prefer to fly has always been rather difficult to start, but today difficult was an understatement. One look at the oil and I knew that flying wasn't happening. It looked like hot fudge...only I knew it wasn't hot.

It does take more cranking to start an engine when it's cold outside, but the starter on this particular aircraft is the biggest challenge. It's barely adequate when it is warm. Today, it just wouldn't turn the engine fast enough. Out of pure frustration, I actually ended up flooding the engine too...my first time. Like re-priming it over and over is going to make the starter crank faster.

So today was a bust. No review flight and no check ride on the schedule yet.

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Tomorrow, American Eagle is coming to the school for some recruiting and some interviews. Even though I'm not really ready for an interview, I would like to speak with a recruiter. I will probably be ready to meet their minimums in about 90 days.

It seems like just about everyone is down on American Eagle. The number one complaint I hear is their upgrade time, which is currently believed to be about seven years.

In theory, I expect that number to go down considerably for several reasons. All of American's pilots have been recalled, a HUGE number of American and TWA pilots will be retiring soon, which will send many Eagle captains to American.

The things that appeal to me about American Eagle: It is wholly owned by AMR, American's parent corporation. Unless I'm mistaken, there is a direct upgrade path from Eagle to American. Other than San Juan, their bases aren't hard to get to from Phoenix. Since I will be living in Phoenix and jump seating to wherever I'm based, ease of commute is a consideration.

Most people in my position are a little younger and have different needs than I do. Based on my needs, it looks like Eagle might be the one. It doesn't hurt that they'll be hiring over 700 pilots in 2007, either.

If anything, tomorrow should provide me with a few pieces of the puzzle for the rapidly approaching hunt for the job.