From 172 to Regional Jet...Making the Transition

摘要

It's True; it can still happen. Even in today's bleak economy, though the outlook is grim for a lot of the majors, it's still possible to get a job in the right seat of a regional jet. You might even find yourself transi-tioning to that position straight from the right seat of a Cessna 172. It happened to me in the fall of 2002, when I was working as a CFI in Atlanta, Georgia, and least expecting it. I was incredibly lucky, I realize, especially in today's aviation climate, to get the coveted job with a regional airline. With my dream job, however, came the responsibility to work harder than ever in order to make the leap from flight instructing in a small piston airplane to piloting the complex Embraer Regional Jet I would be flying in a Part 121 operation. I think the first clue I had that there would be major differences between my old job flight instructing at a Part 141 school and my new job in the Part 121 environment came during indoctrination training at my new company. As a flight instructor, I was accustomed to making my own schedule and enforcing my own rules in the airplane I flew. Certainly, I followed FAA regulations and the policies set out by the school I worked for, but after that, I was the boss in the cockpit.