121 supplemental cargo captain

Home 121 supplemental cargo captain

admin@readysettakeoff.com

, , CJO Offered, Delta Ride Reports, 0
Which Airline did you interview with? Delta
How many days between invite, interview, and listed availability? 7 weeks between invite and inteview; Listed availability: 2 weeks
Did you receive a job offer? Yes
If you did not receive the CJO why do you think you weren’t chosen to continue in the process? N/A
What is your experience? 121 only
Total Flight Time 4,000-5,000
Total Turbine PIC Time < 1,000
General Overview of Experience 4100 TT, 270 turbine PIC. UND graduate, CFI/stage check examiner. Former regional FO. 121 supplemental cargo captain. Zero volunteering done. Zero educational achievements. Two middle-of-course stage check failures and an oral failure.
—-
Everyone at Delta was very nice towards the group. As mentioned before, everyone tries to put you at ease even though it’s impossible with how much is riding on the day. Nobody was mean or cold. Everyone was very warm. Interview team was very conversational. They have plenty of water bottles for you to drink while in the HR interview. Yes you can drink them. I went through 4 of them during the HR interview portion since I was so nervous. They truly don’t care and they’re not grading you on ridiculous things like whether you drink the water or mess up the neat triangle of water bottles they set up on the table. Yes you can take your jacket off. No the red tie doesn’t matter unless it would make you feel uncomfortable for not being part of the majority who does wear it. I wore a dark charcoal suit and burgundy-colored tie on day 1, lighter gray suit and blue shirt and blue tie on day 2. It didn’t matter.
On the second day, I had to retake the MMPI due to being “too positive.” It was a pain to have to redo the 550+ questions all over again and I was nervous since I had to second guess my answers the second time around. Do become familiar with them before you go. It’s probably not necessary but it’ll make you feel better knowing that you’ll be asked very odd questions.
How long did you have your application in before you received an invite? 6-12 months
Did you attend a job fair? Yes
Did you do anything special that triggered the interview invitation? Yes. I attended the NGPA event in January which probably triggered my application to be scored. It was my first time going to a job fair. Ignore the question below regarding internal recs. I had none. RST doesn’t allow you to select 0 so the answer below is incorrect. I only had ONE non-internal recommendation on my application when it was scored. I had two non-internal recommendations by the time I interviewed. My low number of recs was never brought up in the interview.
How many internal recs did you have? 1-2
How long was it from the time of your invite to the actual interview? 4 weeks
Did you have any issues with logbooks, application or paperwork? No issues that I’m aware of.
I brought my original Jeppesen Professional logbook and my electronic logbook in a Pina Zangaro Varenna binder with logbook entries printed on green paper. Zero comments on my logbook appearance so I don’t think this matters all too much.
No changes were made to my application. I was asked to sign it during the 3-on-1 panel interview. Print yours out as instructed but be advised they never looked at the one I printed and this was the same for all 8 of us in the group. For those wondering about some addendum questions, I did not* check “yes” for the question about whether you have ever been convicted for a violation of any law despite having three tickets and I was never asked to change it even though they asked me about my tickets during the interview.
Regarding paperwork, I asked if they wanted color copies of my IDs and was told by Laura that black and white is totally ok as long as it’s legible. Others brought color copies but my B&W ones weren’t an issue.
Pay attention to the FAA PRIA forms that ask you to indicated your type of pilot certificate by writing in parentheses “(A)” if ATP etc. Read the instructions carefully in those forms.
There is one form that you are asked to not sign because Laura is a notary public who will notarize it during the day you are there interviewing.
Lastly, a huge thing I need to bring up that Barry Holmes requested we spread the word about: if you have ever failed a stage check or phase check (yes Part 141 middle-of-course stage check or military) or any sort of training failures, DO list them on your application. If your application didn’t have the training failures listed when your application was pulled for scoring but you later add it before the interview, you will be guaranteed to be sent home so please don’t do this to yourself. E-mail them if this is an issue BEFORE you accept the invite but definitely before you show up. They won’t appreciate that you took up a slot for someone else who could have interviewed that day with an accurate application. Barry Holmes said “please help us spread the word that we understand all types of training failures but intentionally withholding information to get an invitation to interview will never be tolerated.”
How did you prepare for the JKT/COG portion of the interview? Mostly RST 15-day checklist. I ignored most of the flashcards because the typos on a lot of them became too distracting and noticed there were mistakes in some of them too. I also took a few quizzes on boldmethod.com for things like IFR chart symbology and IFR procedures. If you have time, I highly recommend you visit the latter as a good refresher on IFR rules. The quizzes there tell you the right answer and also explain why.
I read the material from the 15-day checklist with the exception of Aerodynamics for Naval Aviators. The T-34 study guide and T-6 guide were extremely helpful. I didn’t particularly like the Pilot Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge but reading about aerodynamics from all three sources helped to ingrain some key concepts. Most of the JKT was about aerodynamics. If you already fly transport category planes and truly understand your own airplane’s systems well, I think you’ll do very well with systems type questions so if you are time-limited I would suggest you focus on aerodynamics the most.
I prepared for the cog portion exclusively through the cog trainer. It was exactly like the real thing but the real thing was easier.
Technical Test Questions Be advised I don’t know which ones I got correct. If you see a choice listed it’s because it’s one of the ones I chose.
Left engine failure at V1. At Vr, how much right rudder pressure will be required during rotation compared to when the engine failed?
A. Less right rudder
B. More right rudder
C. Same right rudder
D. xxxxxxxxxxx
You’re on an approach to runway 9. Final approach fix for this approach is an NDB 5 miles west of runway 9. You are on final and maintained 090 heading the whole time and have now crossed the NDB and are 3 miles east of the NDB with your ADF needle’s tail indicating 100 degrees. What correction do you need to make get back on course?
A. Turn left to a heading less than 090
B. Turn to a heading between 090 and 100
C. Turn right
D. xxxxxxxx
Which scenario will have a higher probability of being conducive to a compressor stall
A. Power idle descent in turbulence
B. Full power takeoff with a strong crosswind
C. xxxxxxxxxxxxx
D. xxxxxxxxxxxx
Approach plate shown. What is the threshold crossing height?
A. 65
B. 35
C. 1190
D. 1523
Enroute chart shown. What is the difference between XXXXX fix and YYYYY fix?
A. XXXXX is a compulsory reporting point. YYYYY is non-compulsory
B. YYYYY is a compulsory reporting point. XXXXX is non-compulsory
C. XXXXX is an eastbound-only fix. YYYYY is a westbound-only fix
D. YYYYY is an eastbound-only fix. XXXXX is a westbound-only fix
What is the circling area radius for Category C aircraft?
A. 1.7
B. 1.9
C. 2.3
D. 2.5
Two aircraft begin a climb to cruising altitude. Aircraft A climbs at Vx. Aircraft B climbs at Vy. What is true regarding the two aircraft?
A. Aircraft A initially will be higher than Aircraft B. Aircraft B will reach cruising altitude first.
B. Aircraft B initially will be higher than Aircraft A. Aircraft A will reach cruising altitude first.
C. Aircraft B initially will be higher than Aircraft A. Both will reach cruising altitude at the same time.
D. Aircraft A initially will be higher than Aircraft B. Both will reach cruising altitude at the same time.
**not sure of the wording** What generator component ensure voltage is regulated (or something like that)?
A. Current limiter
B. ***something about parallel something***
C. Constant speed drive
D. ?
An aircraft descends into ground effect. What is true regarding drag and angle of attack?
A. ?
B. ?
C. ?
D. ?
An airplane departs Miami at 11:00pm local and lands in Los Angeles. If the flight is 4 hours and 30 minutes long, at what zulu* time did the airplane depart MIAMI and at what local**** time did it land in LOS ANGELES? (Be VERY careful with the choices. They all have numbers that match your calculations but it’s important that you double check what the question is asking regarding zulu/local for departure/destination. Make sure you take into account time zone difference when calculating local time for LA. It is very easy to choose a local landing time with Eastern time zone as opposed to Pacific)
If ambient temperature increases in flight, what is true regarding your airspeed?
A. TAS increases
B. TAS decreases
C. CAS increases
D. CAS decreases
You are at FL 360 and need to descend to FL 190. Using the 3 to 1 rule, how far out do you need to start your descent? (the question actually specifically mentioned “3 to 1 rule”)
You are flying with an aircraft that has an FMS. You are approaching your top-of-descent point point when you notice you forgot to input the HEADwinds. What is true about your top of descent point?
A. Your TOD point will be farther from YOU
B. Your TOD point will be closer to YOU
C. XXXXXXX
D. XXXXXXX
You are on the 090 radial 20 DME position. You are told to proceed direct 190 radial 60 DME. Which heading should you turn to? (the choices in the real test made a LOT more sense than the RST choices for this question)
A. 040
B. 190
C. 210
D. 330
Regarding straight and level flight, all of the following statements are true EXCEPT? (I think I got this one wrong. Two choices looked correct. Sorry I can’t remember the exact wording. I thought the choices were very difficult)
A. Angle of attack does not affect lift
B. Increasing the angle of attack will reduce drag
C. XXXXXXX
D. XXXXXXX
What was the hardest technical question or content you experienced during the job knowledge test? The last question above was the most difficult one. I was stumped by the choices. The job knowledge test seemed very straightforward. I completed the whole test with a full 20 minutes to spare which I used to go back and check some I was unsure of.
Cog Test Easy. RST cog trainer will have prepared you well for this. The real test is much easier having the stylus to touch the screen. I think the gouge has been inaccurate regarding the memory symbol-number recall test. I think everyone gets the same amount of number recall tests but the way it’s been described is where the discrepancy is.
You have the first number-symbol test that has the legend visible for you to use so you can match symbols and numbers. The test immediately after this no longer has the legend and is the “immediate recall” test which is just like RST. Towards the end of the cog test is when you have the “long term” recall test. This is probably why some have described it as having seen this test 3 times versus 2 times. Based on talking to my group, we all got the same amount of “recall” tests.
Level 13 (previous number test) in the RST cog trainer is incredibly easier in the real thing thanks to the ability to hover your stylus on the previous number before the transition to the next number. The transition between numbers is slower than on the cog trainer so this allows you to hover your stylus on the listed number before it changes so you don’t even to memorize it.
Cog Math Questions Way more simple than the cog trainer. I only got one percentage question in the form of “if an item is $2.00 and it is listed at 20% off, what is its final price?” Everything else was very very basic math involving adding prices and determining how much change is needed. I was not expecting it to be this easy and my mental math is HORRIBLE.
HR Questions Day 1:
All questions were regarding my own background and all tailored to the intro you gave them. Not a single TMAAT question. Four to five WWYD questions.
“Tell us about yourself in 3 minutes and stick to the 3 minutes because we’re running behind schedule.” (She wasn’t rude about it. They truly were 40 minutes behind schedule when they called me. I was the last one to interview that day. I ended up NOT sticking to the 3 minutes and doing the original 5 I had planned. I took a gamble on this since I figured I would screw more up if I changed something at the last second. It turned out ok because it gave them many talking points for the follow-up background questions.)
Why did you choose UND?
Would you have gone to a different school knowing what you know now?
You mentioned never having driven a car prior to soloing. How did that affect your flight training?
When did you finally get your drivers license?
So you get to UND and start flight training. Your first flight. How did you feel? GO.
Who did you call immediately after your first solo?
Where there any flight instructors that stood out to you while you were training and why?
Based on what you just told us, did that affect the way you now deal with others in the cockpit?
You mentioned cargo operations being very different to passenger operations. Tell us more why it’s different.
We see you are a member of *insert group here*. What level of membership do you have at the group? Do you volunteer for the group?
Do you do ANY volunteering and how would you be a good ambassador for your company?
Do you have any applications in at other companies?
Have you interviewed anywhere?
What do you think triggered your application to get picked for scoring?
We see you fly cargo. Why not just fly for UPS or FedEx? Those companies are good aren’t they?
We noticed you have PIC and SIC time in your logbook after becoming captain. Can you explain that?
Recently, there have been modernizations in the aviation world. How might those developments affect you especially since you fly the DC-9?
How about airspace related issues? Can you think of something regarding that or the ability for you to get into airports?
Every company you have ever worked for has had pros and cons? What do you think would be a negative about working for Delta?
You mentioned company culture being something that unifies us. What do you think that culture is like at Delta?
Do you want to be a captain at Delta?
WWYD (each question has several levels of escalation depending on how you answer):
1. During the climb, FA calls you and tells you a passenger heard an unusual sound. You look at your indications and everything is normal. (I was asked to make a PA based on my choices)
2. Flight attendant hands you a club soda but passenger thinks she handed you an alcoholic beverage.
(I was asked to make a PA based on my choice)
3. Captain makes suggestive remarks about the flight attendant. She storms out of the cockpit uncomfortable with the remarks he makes. How would you handle this?
4. First Officer on your trip doesn’t want to wear his hat.
Day 2 Psychologist:
Tell me how you got into aviation.
Tell me about a role model or parent who helped shape how you are now.
Looking back at your life, what was one thing you learned that you would do different now whether it’s personal or professional.
How do you handle stress?
How do you cope with stress?
What other methods apart from the first one you mentioned do you use to cope with stress?
Do you have any hobbies you like to do on your time off?
Your personality test mentioned you had had encounters with the law. Can you tell me more about this? Anything alcohol related such as DUIs or tickets you’ve gotten?
Can you tell me about something you might want to change about yourself or something that needs improvement?
Can you tell me something good about you?
How have those good qualities affected the way you lead as captain?
How long prior to the interview did you prepare for the HR portion of the interview? One month.
Which HR Prep service did you use and did it help? I didn’t use any HR prep services. I truly believed that doing HR prep would lead me to parroting other people’s answers and I absolutely did not want that. I do think that the HR prep would be invaluable for military guys with absolutely no 121 time. I felt well-prepared on my own to answer questions after reviewing all of the gouge questions along with reviewing questions asked at OTHER companies like AA/United/FedEx etc. Given my personality, I truly do not think an HR prep service would have solved my nervousness during the HR portion. I didn’t get stomped by any questions but I was nervous as I answered them and it was noticeable I think. I’m naturally more nervous than others and I’ve been told this in the past. Short of regularly doing public speaking, I’m not sure anything else could change this part of me. If you believe my approach is a crazy gamble, definitely get the HR prep.
In preparation for the HR portion, I started a Word document with over 60 questions where I typed out some answers without thinking too much. This helped getting my thoughts to flow. 5500 words later, I stopped with the document and focused on answering things out loud. I had my partner ask me HR questions every time we drove somewhere and I answered them in the car just to hear myself speak. Every time I drove by myself, I practiced my HR intro out loud and timed it each single time. I did this at least 30 times before I interviewed.
I also used the “Checklist for Success: A Pilot’s Guide to the Successful Airline Interview” book though I found it to not be too useful apart from the sample HR questions towards the end. A lot of the stuff in the book is common sense stuff on how to act around other people. If you have poor manners then maybe read that book. It mentions things like not forgetting to make eye contact with all three interviewers when answering a question and not ignoring the HR person when answering questions pertaining aviation. Ignoring people is rude and you should already know this by now.
I made sure to have around 10 stories I could adapt to a variety of questions. This helped greatly for Day 2 with the psychologist where I had to talk about some work experiences.
Any additional information you would like to add.
Is their anything you wish you could have done different to prepare you for this process? Not really. Focus as much time as you possibly can to aerodynamics and HR scenarios. The HR portion is incredibly crucial. You will never feel 100% prepared for the interview. Learn to accept that early on but don’t let that affect your ability to study.
Related Articles
 

©2024 Ready Set Takeoff

Log in with your credentials

Forgot your details?