Reggy Stirred Yuza

Great work Geoff, Keep it up. You've obviously got some serious skills for someone who isn't a pro. You might be able to find work with those sorts of skills? I reckon there might even be some potential commercial applications for this sort of thing. Good luck with it all. If I can find more time in the day, I'd like to try doing something similar. I'm one of those poor sods who can't resist looking up every time a plane flies over and to be able to obtain the details if those flights like you have done would be a bonus. This is great stuff. Good one. Now I'm gonna have to find more hours in the day!!! Cheers, Reggy

Hello. Just wondering if anyone has any ideas for celebrating the occasion when you gain your PPL? It seems like it would be a good enough excuse to do something special so I was wondering what others have done. I've got a way to go yet but am trying to think of something fitting for when the time comes. Any ideas? Cheers, Reggy

Hi Robbo. Thanks for the offer but no need for private emails. If your mate has anything positive to report then a post on this forum should be good for all of us who are interested in the cadet scheme. It would be nice to see something positive from someone who is in the system rather than negative comments from people on the outside. Cheers, Reggy

Hi Mattie. I think I know how you feel. I also applied in Feb and have heard nothing at all. Matt reckons there were or are 20,000 applicants so Rex have plenty of material to sort through. Perhaps there will be more courses run throughout the year so maybe we will get interviews for one of those? I get the impression that I've missed out altogether so I'm not expecting anything (however, should they contact me that would be a bonus). I guess we can't do anything except be patient and in the meantime continue training and searching for jobs elsewhere. I'm still not really convinced that the cadet scheme is as good as I first thought and I'd like to hear from someone who has actually completed the training to get their impression of the whole thing. I find it a little disconcerting that there are so many negative opinions of the scheme. I wonder why so many people are not in favour of it? Anyway, hang in there. I guess there is still a chance that a position might come up and we can give it a go. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Cheers, Reggy

Hi Pdriussi. Everyone is different and not everyone is happy with the idea of potentially being "stuck" in the RHS of a plane (on a reduced rate of pay) for a long time. For some people, just being employed as aircrew might be sufficient; I'd be pretty happy to be in that position. However, I'd be a bit unhappy if I was lead to believe that I'd be progressing through the ranks to a command position and then find out that it won't happen as fast as it might in other organisations. A lot of other people with lots of aviation EXPERIENCE have alluded to this type of thing. It could well be a lot longer than 3 years in the RHS. If you're happy with that scenario then there is nothing stopping you; go for it. My application is still in there somewhere and if offered an opportunity for interview; I will be going and see what happens. Good luck if you decide to have a go too. Cheers, Reggy

Nice one Damo. Keep up the great work. Have fun, Reggy

Hi Matt. Rex claim to have spent $25 Million building the academy. That is a huge amount of money to spend on training a handful of first officers. The academy will INITIALLY train first officers for Rex but eventually it will be used to train pilots for overseas airlines. From their own media release "“It will have the capacity to produce more than 200 professional pilots a year for Regional Express, as well as other airlines operating in growing Asia Pacific markets, including China." So I'm not sure the primary purpose is training Rex staff. I think they will be making more money out of training other airline's staff. As for the fine print stuff; I read somewhere that advancement upon completion of training would only happen when cadets pass ground school exams that are organised by Rex (as opposed to the usual exams held elsewhere). I can't find that info right now but will keep looking for it. What that means is that if Rex don't hold those exams, cadets don't get the opportunity to progress, ie they remain "stuck" in their current positions until it suits Rex. IF that is the case, a cadet could be stuck in the RHS for a considerable time. Perhaps I've got that one wrong? If I can find the "fine print" I'll let you know. It might be a good opportunity for some people who don't mind a potentially long stint in the RHS. I'd really like to hear from any of those who have been through the system to see what they think about it now. Are you a cadet or have you been through the system? You seem to know a fair bit about it so I guess you have some connection there? I'm still curious about the scheme and still hope for an interview; might still get one with a bit of luck. Who knows?

Hi Matt. I thought the scheme would be popular but 20,000 applicants? Sounds a little high to me. Not sure there'd be 20,000 people out there (plus those who haven't applied for Rex but still want to be Commercial Pilots) wanting to become professional pilots; perhaps there is? As for Rex spending big on building a school. Well, it is not just to train first officers for SAABs but it is more likely to be PRIMARILY a school to train Asian pilots. Apparently that is where the money is. Rex has invested in a "sausage factory". You're right about the negativity on the net regarding the scheme but I would have expected some positive feedback from some of the earlier graduates in support of the scheme. There hasn't been much of that for some reason. Maybe those graduates couldn't be bothered responding? In any case, when reading the "fine print" in the Rex material, I see that promotion is dependant on passing certain courses and running those courses is up to Rex themselves. That would mean they can control your rate of progress, ie they can keep you in the right hand seat for as long as they like. That could be a problem!

I still haven't heard anything from Rex. It would have been nice to get a response either way. I'm not sure I feel the same way now as I did about the scheme in the beginning. I sounds more and more like you would be stuck in the right hand seat for years after graduation which isn't so good (but at least it is a paying job and you're in an aircraft). Perhaps if the next course is starting later than originally scheduled (it was supposed to be in March I think), there is still a chance we might be contacted? I hope so, it would be interesting to go through the selection process if nothing else and at least that way we could get proper info from those involved. I guess we'll see?

Hi CaptainGem. I haven't heard many positive things about the Rex scheme. It sounds as though graduates might actually be stuck in the right hand seat of the aircraft for a considerable amount of time and moving into any command positions might be quite difficult. I don't know if that is true or not. Doesn't seem to be much info from former graduates out there either; I wonder if that says anything? I did not get a response at all from Rex and even tried to contact them again but still nothing. I guess they think I'm not a suitable candidate? Stuff 'em. I am still training and will find work elsewhere eventually. I will still keep an eye on the scheme to see how others go just for interest's sake. If you are going to join them, I hope it all goes well for you. Best of luck with any of the tests you sit. Please let us know how it all goes. Good luck, Reggy

Hi Darren. Thanks for the response. Good luck with your training; I hope it all goes well for you. I'm already doing some training and will keep looking for opportunities for work along the way. From what I can gather, it can be very hard to get a job as a pilot since there seems to be so many others out there all trying for the few jobs available and it seems everyone else has so much more experience than I do. I guess perserverance is the name of the game? I still think the Rex scheme might be a good way of getting a job even if the pay isn't so good initially. I have to start somewhere so it might just be the way to go? In the meantime, I will keep training and keep looking. Cheers, Reggy

Hi All. Just wondering if anyone out there has had any involvement (or know anyone who has) with this scheme? I've checked it out and compared costs with other schools and I'm not sure if it is a good deal or not. I like the idea of being employed at the end of the training but I'm not convinced that there is actually a guarantee of employment straight away. The alternative is to go to a regular school and take pot luck at the end of the training. Seems that the first job is very hard to get and doesn't pay well anyway. Makes the Rex scheme more appealing. What does everyone else think? Cheers, Reggy

Hi All. Thanks for the interesting replies and info. Metars (and Specis) are reports of CURRENT conditions at the airfield and are not forecasts but might have TAFs of TTFs added to them. I think they can be confusing especially when visibility is reported as something one way and something in another direction. I've read the AIP stuff (and other material) and it seems the met people are reporting visibility from where they are located. If they aren't anywhere near the runways, then what they see can be very different to what us in the real world see. Seems kinda dumb to bother doing this when it has no relevance to what a pilot needs to know. I guess the end result is pilots need to work it out for themselves. I was just wondering how others do this. As far as I know, there are no publications that tell us where the met office is located and therefore if we don't know where they are we can't possibly work out what they are tellings us if they say visibility is reduced to 4000m South of them (for eg). I agree that plain language messages would be easier to understand and probably a bit shorter too.

By "sectorised visibility" I mean when they report things like "4000m SW 9999" in metars or specis. They report how far they can see and in what direction but it doesn't seem to represent what we see on the runway. Sometimes they report speci conditions because of reduced visibility where they are but the aerodrome is relatively clear. I am wondering how others deal with this info? I suppose most people simply ignore the reports and work out visibility for themselves?

Hi, Just wondering what others think of sectorised visibility reports in metars. I think it is a bit confusing trying to work out what they mean and how to interpret the data for take off and landing. How many people know where they are doing these reports from? How do you take into account the displacement from them to where you're taking off from? Any tips or tricks or do you ignore them and work out your own version of vis?

Hi All, just joined but have been interested in all aspects of aviation for a long time. Also interested in weather and outdoors stuff too. Take care and have a Merry Christmas. Cheers, Reggy