Didnt wanna go through the entire thread reading, im too lazy to do that.

There are two types of people who became pilots in the first place. Those who aspired to be one , and those who went for the salary for their primary objective.

Me? Im the latter. I have neither the initial interest, nor the aspiration to become one in the first place. Let's just say, fate has it in me that i had to choose between two junctures, and the other choice was taxing on the financial to pursue. So i told myself that i may learn to like the profession once i get into it, but after 9 years in the job, i couldnt really find anything to like with the job other than the salary, and to a certain extent, the perks that comes with it (travels, etc).

Good luck to those who had their applications accepted and undergoing training, my months of training in Tamworth, batch MAS04, was the crazier days of my life. First solo, first landing, first takeoff, first under-the-hood, and first life-threatening experience at the flight academy.......these are among the few things i will never forget my entire life.

To the person who posted about his disgust flying old planes, i only have this to tell you. I had a two year stint flying the "old" Fokker 50 planes around East Malaysia and Indonesia, and those two years are the two best goddamn years of my flying career. Very laid-back, relaxing and everybody treats everyone like family. When you move back to West Malaysia and into KL specifically, typical city selfishness sets in and you starts taking care of your own arse more rather than mutual benefits.Im in the B777 now, and although things had started to look up, better than my 737 years, nothing can beat the friendliness of the Fokker fleet.

Sorry for reminiscing, but i had to let it off my chest. To me, flying is not just about piloting the state-of-the-art planes, it's about the fleet experience as well. No point flying the Airbus A380, when the airports you go are only Sydney and London. I'd rather pilot a Twin Otter and fly into Mulu , dodging towering CUs, than piloting big planes. When you go bigger planes, you no longer "fly" these planes, you "manage" them. The flying part only comes after you press the TOGA buttons, rotated and pressed the A/P switch, and after you disengaged the A/P into Flight Director mode until you made a safe landing. It takes more skill landing in short field airports like Mulu anyway. So please, not everything is about flying the biggest or the most modern planes.

Im using my stint here in 777 to great use. Narita nightstop? It's Tokyo DisneySea! Charles DeGaulle? Disneyland Paris! Brisbane? MovieWorld! Except for Chinese nightstops, i enjoyed all the places i've been. Been using the nightstop places to scout out bargains and never-before-seen accessories and stuff for my videogaming hobby as well.

If you ask me, im not ENTIRELY happy with my current job. Weird flying hours, away from home, short rest periods and long duty times. It is no longer enjoyable like last time where you get to spend long days at nightstop stations, or long off days to cater to your hobby's whims. It is now ...almost like driving a bus, only thing is, our buses are a little bit more complicated than just gear clutches and RPM dials. I dont mind being away from home for longer periods of time, enough so that i can safely say i've explored the nightstop station myself. Just a little habit in me, that once i arrived at a new nightstop station, you wont see me in the hotel, i'll be exploring the city! But what exploring can i do if we arrive there with barely enough rest priod to recover from duty, only to depart back home the next day? Classic example is the current Paris Charles DeGaulle nightstop, which had been shortened to a single day stay only, thanks to the increased frequency of the flights there. It's embarassing to tell your friends that you have visited Paris, but you had gone nowhere but within the confines of your hotel room! Me? I could care less, most if not all the time, i would embark back out of the hotel to Disneyland Paris, or Champ Elysees.

Off days at base (aka KL) is a commodity preciously rare to pilots nowadays as airlines trimmed their workforce numbers while increasing flight frequencies. During my 737 years, my leave have been denied 5 years in a row, they basically open the leave system out of courtesy, coz short of manpower. I finally manage to take a proper leave and vacation once i moved up to 777.

So, yes, im not ENTIRELY happy with my job at the moment. Granted, there are those who love flying, hence they dont mind more hectic working schedules and such. I'd rather have A LIFE, than just ordering fuel at the despatch center and looking at NOTAM and METAR/TAF documents. I dont want flying to be my one and ONLY life.

Aircraft manuals ,MCARs, FAA transcripts, Jeppesen updates.... Lazy to read? Susah mau jadi pilot ini macam!

Yup, have a fallback in case the deal doesnt turn up. Had mine, although i hated it as much as i hated flying. My dream job wasnt even available locally anyway......

Most of the time, they would say previous applicants who had applied need not reapply again, sort of to say you didnt make it. I ignored that and applied the second time, and land myself this job. Either they didnt keep track of who had applied before, or i got lucky.

I can only give you one advice: Be truthful and dont lie. The panel questioning you can see right through you, no matter how you mask or portray yourself as.

I'll give you my example, and it's true story. I was interviewed in Kompleks A in Subang , where there are 6 person in the panel grilling me with questions and all. First they ask about meter to feet conversation, which i didnt know at the time, then they pointed outside and ask me to identofy what aircraft is there on the tarmac in Terminal 2, which i also dont know. Perhaps the interviewer got exasperated, he went straight for the bullseye: He asked me why i want to become a pilot. Went straight to the point as well, i said and i quote " I hear the job pays quite well". Then came all the usual "you should know all this, otherwise how are you gonna become a pilot, bla bla bla, and we'll call you if you are selected" standard scripted response, and i excused myself from the room. Didnt really think i made it, but got called back later for the medical checkups and finally got selected for the final 16.

I dunno, maybe they value my honest response. And i also found out during my training in BAeFTA, that you dont need to know about that meter to feet conversaion crap, you will be taught about it there, that interviewer is trying to get on your nerves and see if you crack under pressure.

So, be yourself, and be honest. Rather than lie your way to impress them, which they will dig further and further and you cannot sustain the lies anymore, that is more devastating than telling the straight truth. Im sure from the responses i gave them, they know i wasnt the ultra-geeky-passionate-about-planes type, but i dont pull strings or pamper answers with nice things they want to hear, i tell them as it is, straight up.

My answer:

"As long as im treated as an asset for the company , not an expendable, i will return the same treatment by working my best for the company."

Reason being, MAS has the history of treating their frontliners like garbage before, and although the practice has reduced somewhat, the well-being of these frontliners are being jeopardized yet again. Minimum rest at the nightstop stations, pulling out of previous agreed hotels to a lower 3 star hotel closer to the airport for cheaper rates. The problem is, for example, nightstops in Sydney, crew are placed near airport hotel which has no food stores or places to eat in the vicinity. The hotel is situated around airline warehouses, offices and such. The only option is hotel food, which is overpriced and tasteless.All in the name of cutting cost to justify the turnaround plan.

Question #2 - I will take over command, assume command to bring the aircraft out of danger, and once safety of the situation have been assumed, confirmed and maintained, then only shall any discussions or deliberations on such acts takes places. Safety is paramount.

This post has been edited by stringfellow: Jan 28 2007, 09:06 PM

The Captain may get angry at you first, but the case will be brought up to the disciplinary inquisition. With the cockpit voice recorder, no matter how pompous or arrogant the Captain is, if his actions does not conform to the safety and wellbeing of the flight, he will be held responsible and the one taking over control will be commended and no harm comes to him. Would you rather let the Captain handle the aircraft while he is incapacitated and doesnt know his action is dangering the lifes of everyone on board?

I'd rather be screamed at, but remain alive. If you are timid and shy, but end up dead in a crash, does any of this matter? You cannot be timid and unsure of yourself if you want to be in this profession, everything in this job involves split-second decision, especially during the critical moments like takeoff and landings. So, i dont give a damn if the Captain thinks im being "kurang ajar" for taking over, as long as the act of me taking over control saves the lives of everyone on board as well as his life.