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Compass Airlines Pilot Interview Profiles

» Home » Pilot Interviews » Jet Airlines » Compass Airlines
Date Interviewed: November 2013
Summary of Qualifications: ATP, MEI/CFI/CFII 3600 TT 1100 Multi 3200 Dual Given, Asst Chief 141
Were you offered the job? No
Pilot Interview Profile:
I was the only one who interviewed that day, there were two others scheduled but they had to reschedule for whatever reason. The previous gouges are pretty spot on, I will list some questions I was asked.
You are an FO standing close to the cockpit as you poor yourself a sierra mist with a lime, a passenger thinks you are making a gin and tonic and calls you out on it. WWYD
You are an FO getting onto a bus to go home, another FO friend of yours is getting off the bus to make a flight, you notice his breath smells like alcohol. WWYD (you are now going separate ways, you cannot contact him)
You are an FO, the flight is delayed 45 minutes due to a maintenance issue, the captain asks you to tell the passengers it is due to weather at the destination. WWYD
You are an FO, one hour from your destination the ATIS reports that the airport is closed. WWYD
You are the CA, you notice your FO not wearing his hat while on duty. WWYD
There were other questions with regard to your own leadership style and characteristics of a good captain etc. They also looked at college grades, and asked of any week areas during training. I was also asked what I thought my current employer would say about me and what other careers I would be interested if I couldn't fly.
All in all it was a great learning experience, the people there are super nice and very helpful. The interview was definitely geared toward someone with previous airline experience.
Date Interviewed: November 2012
Summary of Qualifications: Part 121 time regionals. ATP
Were you offered the job? Yes
Pilot Interview Profile:
The other gouges were very helpful. Very nice interview experience altogether. Going to interviews sure can make you nervous, but these guys were all very nice. They did the presentation on the company when I got there. It was short and sweet and I had a chance to ask any questions I had. Next was straight to the small room where you will be taking all 3 tests. There really isn’t much sitting around like I thought there might be from the other gouges. There’s 4 little computer stations next to each other in a line with a wall that makes it so you can’t see the other guys screen. You will not be allowed to use scratch paper or a calculator. You will however be allowed to use pencil and scratch paper only for the knowledge test. You grab your headphones and start the Cognitive test.
The Cog test had 12 sections I believe. Each section was surprisingly short. It’s VERY IMPORTANT to read the instructions. You won’t be timed on reading the instructions and the sample question that you can do for each section. Because if you don’t get it, and you start anyways thinking you’ll figure it out as you go, before you know it, the section is over and that’s it…on to the next. The section with the mental math section was very difficult for me. On one of them, I took too long and it went onto the next question. So if you don’t think you can figure it out in less than 20 seconds, guess! There’s another part where you have to match the symbols with the number from 1-6. That was hard as well…at least for me. Some earlier gouges were saying to practice on lumsoity.com. I think it helped a little. I only used the free practices. But I would suggest it, because it gets your brain functioning probably more than it normally does.
Keep in mind that you will only have an option to take 1 break during all the testing. So either take it after the cog test, or after the psyche test.
Next up, the psyche test. I noticed there were a lot of silly questions but asked in different ways. I think out of the whole test, there some questions that were irrelevant and some that were important….such as, “I some times feel worthless”. I saw that one again several times. But other ones asked if I liked poetry, or if I ever suddenly become full of joy. I think they’re trying to figure out if you’re a nutjob or insane in the membrane. This section really sucks by the way because there are about 240 questions or so.
Next up, the knowledge test. You get 60 questions to answer and 60 minutes to finish. I thought I was going to be crunched for time with a minute to answer each question, but some of the questions on it were really simple leaving you plenty of time for the rest.
The randomized test for me had a lot of questions like: you are on the ABC180 radial heading 175. Which heading would you fly to intercept the ABC270 10 dme radial? Or you are on the XYZ090 radial, and you are instructed to hold north of the XYZ VOR 15 DME standard turns…which heading will you go, and what type of entry? And there were the most questions about aerodynamics throughout the test.
Here’s all the questions that I can remember, along with which choices I remember seeing. I’ll also post which answers I chose too, but it doesn’t mean that I picked the right answers. They don’t tell you what you got wrong on any test.

1. You are cruising at F350 and are experiencing a very strong headwind. For better fuel economy, you:
a. Fly at Long range cruise speed
b. Fly faster
c. Fly slower
d. Descent where the headwind will be less and fly faster (I chose)

2. If your left engine failed, which condition would worsen your flight?
a. Left cross wind (I chose)
b. Right cross wind
c. Left Quartering tailwind

3. If ground tells you taxi to 36L via Mike, Alpha, Papa, you are:
a. Cleared to taxi to 36L and cleared to cross all runways, but short of 36L
b. Cleared to taxi to 36L via M, A, P, but must hold short of all runways (I chose)

4. Approach tells you to contact tower and you forget to change freq. You then notice a steady green light. You should:
a. Land and then call tower (I chose)
b. Execute a go around and call tower
c. Fly away from airport

5. Flying into area of higher temp:
a. True altitude increases, and pressure decreases (I chose)
b. True altitude decreases and pressure increases
c. A bunch of other choices

6. What would cause a hot start?
a. Insufficient air flow during start (I chose)
b. Headwind
c.

7. Flying an NDB approach Runway 36 and you are inside FAF, you are flying heading 010, needle is off to your left..
a. Turn right X degrees correction
b. Turn left X degrees correction
c. Continue straight

8. To recover from a stall you:
a. Decrease and of attack (I chose)
b. Add full power
c. Level wings

9. Fowler flaps:
a. Have slots
b. Increase stall speed
c. Reduce surface area
d. Change shape of wing (I chose)

10. In a skid:
a. Rate of turn increases and turn radius decreases (I chose)
b. Rate of turn increases and turn radius increases
c. Rate of turn decreases…..

11. What configuration causes most wake turbulence?

12. If CP is in front of CG:
a. Better range and less control (I chose)
b. Worse range and less control
c. Better control and …..

13. Point on drag curve graph where Vmd is

14. During straight and level flight:
A. Lift equals weight and thrust equals drag (I chose)
B. Bla blab la

15. When plane yaws left, why does the right wing rise?

16. Why does a plane use a combo of the aileron and spoiler to turn?

17. When is the best time to turn on the ice protection when in freezing temps and descending into cloud base?
a. Before you enter the cloud (I chose)
b. Wait until into visible moisture and picking up ice

18. When on final approach, your plane begins a climb and airspeed increases. This means:
a. Turbulence
b. Wind shear headwind (I chose)
c. Wind shear tail wind
d. Temp change

19. Airport beacon recognition
20. What does a TRU do?
21. What does an inverter do?

22. Its turbulent out and there is a thunderstorm 5 miles away. You are on the takeoff roll and the airspeed stop increasing prior to V1
a. Abort (I chose)
b. Continue

23. You have to clear the obstacles at the end of the runway by how many feet?

24. Had to read a confusing taf and determine which runway was most favorable

25. What’s the best technique for landing on a contaminated runway?
a. Touch down firmly and apply brakes early (I chose)
b. Touch down smoothly and use reverse thrust

26. There is smoke in the cabin. What do you do?
a. Put on mask (I chose)
b. Can’t remember the rest

I believe it’s an overall score of all three tests. So if you do badly in one area, just try to stay focused. A lot of the answers had two answers that seemed right, but usually one answer was slightly better than the other.
After a short 20 minute break was the last part. The interview. No technical questions. Just HR.
- You’re the Captain and FO won’t wear his hat. What do you do?
- The captain is still drinking at the bar and it’s almost past the company cutoff. You do what?
- What is something you’ll never do again in an airplane?
- When has your leadership style worked and when has it not?
- Tell us a time where you dealt with a rude passenger
- You’re waiting to depart and the meals for first class aren’t there yet and if you wait, you will delay the flight. If you decide to wait, how long would you wait? (Don’t forget about connections if you wait)
- Qualities of a good captain
- How would you benefit compass?
- How was your training experience as a captain?
- What classes did you like in school and what didn’t you like?
- (referring to college transcripts) Why did you repeat this class? Why this grade? Why this GPA?
- Any Checkride failures or extra training
- What could you change about yourself that would be beneficial?
- What would you do jobwise if you couldn’t fly?
Well I hope this help anyone applying to Compass. Good luck.
Date Interviewed: October 2012
Summary of Qualifications: ATP Mins, 121 time
Were you offered the job? No
Pilot Interview Profile:
Previous gouge is spot on. I'd thought i'd pay it forward and post all the Job Knowledge questions I could remember. Good luck to all! The tests are hard.


Compass Job knowledge test questions.

Here are the questions that I remembered from the Compass Airlines, Job knowledge test. There were 60 questions and you had 60 minutes to complete the test. Personally I finished in around 55 minutes. I'm not sure what score I got, as the recruiter would not tell me.

Each question had four answers. I tried my best to remember as many of the answers as I could but I only have them for a few. The answers listed below are NOT necessarily the correct answers, they are just the ones I remembered.

Some of the a calculation questions had too much info for me to remember but I tried to include as much as I could.

1)You are landing runway 33 with the winds at 060/15 what control inputs must you put in, when slowing in the landing flare.
a) Reduce left rudder inputs and reduce right aileron.
b) Reduce left Rudder inputs and increase right.
c) No additional inputs are required after the initial correction has been made.
d) ?

2) The biggest factor for break temperature after an aborted take off is what?
a) Air Speed
b) Ground Speed
c)?
d)?

3) Why do you have a longer takeoff distance at a high altitude airport?
a) more power is required
b) a higher IAS is required
c) a higher ground speed is required
d) ?

4) The stall buffet usually begins at?
a) leading edge
b) trailing edge
c) the center of pressure
d)?

5)What flight control has the most authority during a high AOA?
a) Elevator
b) Rudder
c)?
d)?

6) You are given holding instructions at 1700Z to get into an airport where the weather is above minimums. At 1730Z the weather has not lifted. Dispatch wants you to stay because the weather is supposed to improve. At what time should you proceed to your alternate?
Info I remembered. Fuel flow 3000 pph. 5000 lbs hold fuel. 12,500 total fuel. Sorry I cant remember the rest of the stats.
a) 1800Z
b) 1815Z
c) 1730Z
d) 1745Z

7) What is a normal Jet engine start sequence?
a) Start Valve Opens, RPM increase, oil pressure increase, rise in EGT, Start valve close.
b)?
c)?
d)?

8)On an non precision approach at 140 knots, what vertical speed do you need to keep a 3 degree glide slope. You are at 4000 MSL and the runway is at 400 MSL. At what point do you need to start a decent
a) 700 fpm, 11 nm
b) 700 fpm, 12 nm
c) 1400 fpm, 11nm
d 1400 fpm, 12 nm

9) What does this marking mean?
http://www.flyngo.com/sites/default/files/images/aim020319.preview.PNG
this one threw me off because I knew it was a roadway edge stripe but that was not one of the choices.
a) non movement area boundary
b) runway area boundary
c) ILS critical area boundary
d) taxiway area boundary

10) trying to maintain L/D Max, what needs to happen with an increase in altitude?
a)an increase in AOA and increase in IAS.
b) a decrease in AOA and increase in IAS
c) AOA and IAS stay the same
d)?

11) what is the greatest producer of noise pollution in a jet engine?
a) the compressor fan
b) the turbine
c) the combustion chamber
d)?

12) For certification, what hight must an aircraft be at the end of the runway with an engine failure at V1?
a)35 feet
b)50 feet
c)100 feet
d) 150 feet

13)Why is fluid used in hydraulic systems over gas?
a) fluid is incompressible, where as gas is compressible.
b)?
c)?
d)?

14) With both engines failed and the APU inoperative, where does the aircraft get AC and DC power.
a) The battery provides AC power and the TRU provides DC power.
b) The Battery provides DC power and the TRU provides AC power.
c) The battery provides DC power and the inverter provides AC power.
d) The battery provides AC power and the inverter provides DC power

15) What do TRU (transformer rectifier units) do?
a) convert AC to DC power
b)convert DC to AC power
c)?
d)?

16) with all engines running, with all fuel pumps on, and all cross flow valves open, what tank will drain first?
a) they will all drain at the same rate.
b)the one with the most powerful pump will drain first.
c) the one closest to the engine with the highest fuel flow will drain first.
d)?

17) Why do transport category jets burn fuel from their center tank first before the wing tanks?
a) do reduce wing root loading
b) they don't burn their center tanks first.
c)?
d)?

18) When you are doing your preflight and your battery voltage reads zero, what is the case?
a) the voltage meeter will always read zero when the main busses are unpowered
b) the battery is dead and needs to be charged
c) the battery will be charged once the engines start.
d) volts don't matter, it's amperage that is a better indication of a battery's condition.

19) which is true regarding Mach number
a) it is airspeed divided by the speed of sound.
b) it is only used for supersonic flight.
c)it increases with altitude.
d)?

20) what should your initial reaction to a stall be?
a) add full power
b) lower the AOA
c) roll wings level
d)?

21) what can hot compressor air be used for?
a)cowl inlet anti ice
b)?
c)?
d)?

22) you are flying outbound on the 270 radial from the XYZ VOR. You are given instructions to fly the 15 DME arc to the 180 degree radial. What will your initial heading be?
a) turn left to 180 and twist the VOR needle 10 degrees once crossing through the 260 radial.
b) turn right to 360 and twist the VOR needle 10 degrees once crossing the 260 degree radial.
c)turn right to 360 and twist the VOR needle 10 degrees when crossing the 280 degree radial
d) turn left to 180 and twist the VOR needle 10 degrees once crossing the 280 degree radial

23) on an NDB approach to runway 9 you fly a constant heading of 090. on short final the tail of the ADF needle is at 100. what way do you turn to correct?
a) turn left
b)turn right
c)?
d)?

24) You are on a circling approach to runway 7 after the ILS to runway 25. You lose sight of the runway what should your reaction be?
a) turn towards runway 7 and then execute the missed approach.
b) turn towards runway 25 and then execute the missed approach.
c) turn towards the missed approach corse
d)?

25) You are on the ILS at 6 DME and you are one degree off the LOC. How far are you off corse?
a) .1nm
b) 1 nm
c) 10nm
d)?

26) With colder air on the ground your engines produce more thrust than with warm air. Why do your engines produce less thrust at altitude where it is colder than on the ground?
a) because pressure decreases much more than air temperature.
c)?
d)?
e)?

27) What on aircraft does not aid in the creation of lift.
a) flaps
b)winglets
c) fuselage
d) spoilers

28) what wind condition leaves wake turbulence over a runway the longest?
a) a 5 knot left cross wind
b) a 10 knot left cross wind
c) calm winds
d) a direct headwind


29) what is the purpose of fowler flaps?
a) to increase angle of decent with out increasing airspeed.
b)?
c)?
d)?

30) the center line lights on take off go from white to alternating red and white. What does this indicate?
a)that there is 3000 feet of runway remaining
b)that there is 1000 feet of runway remaining
d)
e)

31) The distance between the touchdown zone markings are?
a) 500 feet
b)1000 feet
c) 1500 feet
d) it depends on how long the runway is

32) Crusing at max range speed at FL300 you are cleared at pilots discretion down to FL240 and then to cross a fix at 12000 feet. When should you start down to maintain max range?
a) you should start down immediately to 12000 ft.
b) you should start down once a constant decent at 3 degrees can be made to level off at 12000 ft.
c) you should stay at FL300 as long as possible and then start down with a faster speed.
d)?

33) Your altimeter was left at a 29.85 setting. The actual setting is 29.55. wich of the following are true regards to the aircraft's true altitude?
a) the aircraft will indicate 300 feet higher than the true altitude
b) the aircraft will indicate 300 feet lower than the true altitude
c)?
d)?

34) You forget to change your altimeter setting from 29.92 and the actual setting is 30.15. What will your altitude indicate on landing?
a) 230 feet high
b) 230 feet low
c)?
d)?

35) what is NOT a function of a hydraulic accumulator?
a) to store hydraulic fluid
b) to store hydraulic pressure
c) to aid in starting and engine should the starter fail.
d)?

Cognitive questions.
The cog test is where I think I busted the testing portion. Specifically the mental math section. Here were a few of the questions I was asked and I only had about 20 seconds to answer each one with out the use of a calculator or scratch paper. The first two were easy but the last one I did not finish.

1) you save a quarter every day for two weeks. How much money do you have?
2) Peaches cost 60 cents a bag. Pears cost 40 cents per bag. You want to buy two bags of peaches and two bags of pears. How much would it cost
3) There are 580 seniors in a high school class. Seventy percent graduate. Of the graduates, thirty percent go to college. How many seniors went to college?
Date Interviewed: April 2012
Summary of Qualifications: Commercial pilot 2300TT500Multi, Cfi, CFII,, MEI Current 121pilot
Were you offered the job? Yes
Pilot Interview Profile:
Interview was pretty much spot on to previous post. Started off at 8 am with brief company overview and question/answer session. Then off to the battery of tests. First up was the cog test, i would agree with previous posters. If you can play brain games on websites such as luminosity you will have no problem with this portion. The personality profile is a no brainer, just try to keep your answers consistant and you will be fine. Last was the job knowledge test, although difficult it can easily be prepared for with a little time and effort. Looking back on it i would say that the delta gouge gave me a better idea what to expect as the study guide they give you is rather vague (just outlines topics to study). if you understand the concepts of the questions in the delta gouge you will do fine, it wouldnt suprise me at all if they are using deltas question bank as the questions are pretty much the same. One thing from my expirience that varied from others was the flow of the interview. After i was done with the battery of tests i was given employment paperwork to fill out, fingerprinted, and picture taken. This all happened before the HR/Panel portion of the interview. This leads me to believe that if compass cantacts you for an interview they really want to hire you, the HR /panel portion of the interview was a quick 30 minute get to know you. They are not there to ask technical questions they really just want to see if you will be a good fit for them and that they will be a good fit for you. Overall it was a very stress free enviroment and everyone i interacted with was very friendly and relaxed. It seem like a great place to work and i cant wait to start. Job offer and class date are given by the end of the day!
Date Interviewed: February 2012
Summary of Qualifications: 1800TT, 800TT Multi, CFI/CFII/MEI, 300 HRS CRJ-SIC, Current Soon To Be Bankrupct 121
Were you offered the job? Yes
Pilot Interview Profile:
Accepted the interview, and was given a study guide for the Job Knwledge Test. The study guide is all encompassing with aviation knowledge that will certainly take some time studying to do well. I used the Aerodynamics for Naval Aviators, Everything Explained for Proffesssional Pilot, Mental Math for Pilots, and The Turbine Pilot's Flight Manual. I also used the delta study gouge from http://www.mypilotcareer.com/delta-airlines-interview-gouge to understand the core concepts that the Job Knowledge Test would be asking me.

Compass flew me out in the afternoon the day before interview process, and put me up in the Crown Plaza in Eagan. I would suggest to get up early and get the breakfast in the morning as it's about 8 dollars or so. Being fueled for the whole day is important to your success as the interviewee.

The Day starts off with an introduction to the company, and a question an answer session with the Capt. in charge of hiring at Compass airlines. They are also back to giving the type rating on the E-170 + E190 and an ATP if you need it.

Then the dreaded battery of test happens for 3 hours or so. The 1st test is the Cognitive exam which can be for prepared by visiting Luminosity.com. If you can play the brain games on Luminosity you will do well on the congitive exam.

Next is the psychological exam which can't be studied for, but remember they are asking the same questions in different ways. So in theory keep all your answers uniform with what they are asking you, and you will do well.

The next exam is the Job Knowledge Test, which is diffucult but more than do-able. The delta gouge I listed above certainly helped me understand the core concepts that they would be asking. After the congitive exam my brain was mush, so here are some question they asked me

-Descent planning
-Transitioning between Mach and Indicated Airspeeds
-Single Engine Ops, and which Runway is Favorable with the Current Wind Conditions
-Pressurization Probblems
-Crosswinds on an ILS, and Where Would the Nose Be in Relation to the Runway
-Basic Electrical Conponents/Questions on Jet A/C
-Runway Lighting
-High Altitude Jet Aerodynamics
-EPR
-Aiport Beacon Lights, and Light Gun Signals
-Dutch Roll, Proverse and Adverse Yaw, and Swept Wing Theory
-Fuel System Abnormalities

I would also understand the 3 to 1 rule, and the 60 to 1 rule. If you feel you are doing horrorable, just don't give up. I felt either I did well or failed miserably, and I passed to go on to the next phased which was the panel interview. Just keep a positive attitude as them seem to watch you during the exams as well....

We had an hour or so to have launch, and get cleaned up for the panel interview. The interview itself consisted of a HR rep, a current co-pilot, and the Capt. who was the head of hiring for Compass Airlines. It wasn't a threat type of environment, but in my opinion it certainly wasn't relaxed either. They asked me

-Tell me about yourself....
-Why make a lateral move to Compass?
-Why leave your current carrier?
-What have you heard about Compass?
-Capt. won't follow noise procedure..WWYD
-Cspt. want's to go in between cells, and if you go around you will have to land and get more fuel delaying the passengers... WWYD
-Hzve you ever been tired, were you fatigued, and what is fatigued in your opinion?
-Why compass?
-Smelled acholocl in friends breath, and he's going to fly..WWYD
-Tell us about a time team work was essential to your success during a tough flight...
-Tell us about a tough flight, and how you handled it...
-A few querstions about customer service

The Panel interview lasted for about 45 minutes to an hour, and they deliberated as I patiently awaited their decision.
They came back and offered me a position and a class date which I gladly accepted as my current carrier seems to be a sinking ship.

Everybody was very friendly at Compass, and honestly it seems to be the best place to start or escape to in my situation. They type you in the E-170, and only 200 or so people have to move before you can get into the left seat, and they are currently looking to get another three jets, but there are none on the market. They certainly seem like a world class operation compared to the other regional carriers I have interviewed with. Compass certainly seems to know what they are doing, and who they are looking to staff their planes. Goodluck to all, and I can't wait to start!!
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