They have changed up the written...maybe because their old one is posted. It is still ATP questions. Very Nice people. After passing the written we all interviewed with a Capt and HR. Know the Jepp plates. Everything else was just HR stuff. They say they are hiring like crazy but they only seem to be taking a very few. Haven't found anybody from my group that got hired...guy the week before said they only took one from his group. Have no idea what they are looking for in the interview so just be yourself. They didn't offer me the job but I was offered a job the next week flying the CRJ for another airline...so don't take it too personally if you get THE LETTER from pinnacle

Here is the scoop. Flew in the night before. Had dinner and a beer at the hotel. Took a sleeping aid and wore ear plugs to get through the night, cause the FedEX jets do take off in the middle of the night. The hotel is decent, but not great. Everyone that works there are very slow, but I think that is the culture in Memphis. The room had an iron and a board so I could re-press my clothes. The hotel had a nice buffet in the morning. You check out and bring your luggage with you to the interview. The shuttle comes at 0745 which gets you there way before 0830. There were 14 of us, all with different experience. Some young kids that looked right out of school, and some late 20/early 30 people. A senior pilot, Greg, gave us the company info. We then got broken up into two groups because all the big rooms were being taken up for training. There was a lot going on. We were taken to a room with a table to take the test. There were 4 different tests, but I think they were all pretty much the same questions, just put into different order. I studied the ASA 2000 ATP and the ASA 2001 Instrument test prep and I did just fine. The test is easy if you study for it. 3 people failed it. I don’t know what they studied, but if you are reading this web page you will pass. THERE ARE NO FIGURES! If a question in the book says (Refer to Figure XX) SKIP IT! The questions on the test are verbatim to the book. I’ve paraphrased to save some typing. The 4-digit number is the question number. 4000s are from INST, 8000-9000s are ATP. Some are in both.

4720 When passing through an abrupt wind shear which shift from tailwind to headwind, what power management would be required to maintain glide slope? Lower power initially, followed by a further decrease, then an increase.
4182 METAR Observation VV0008? Sky is obscured with vertical vis of 800 ft.
4868 What is relationship between centrifugal force and horizontal lift in a coordinated turn? Hor. Lift and Centrifugal are equal.
4669 How does a pilot determine if DME is available on ILS/LOC? IAP indicate DME/TACAN channel in LOC frequency box.
4410 What indication VOR undergoing maintenance? No coded ID, but possible nav indications.
4397,9011 What does “Min Fuel” imply? Emergency is possible if undue delay.
4637 When making approach to alternate, what mins apply? Landing minimums.
4736 When is radar service terminated? Automatically when ATC instructs to contact tower.
4617,8856 Holding airspeed above 14000’? 265.
4668 When more that one circuit of holding is needed to lose altitude? Only if pilot advises ATC and ATC approves.
4734,9385 When cleared for ILS, at what point can you start descent? When established on a segment of published route or IAP.
4632 What max speed for procedure turn? 200.
4767 Holding in lieu of procedure turn, must be executed within? 1 min or DME specified.
4670,8953 When simultaneous app is progress, how does pilot receive advisories? On tower freq.
4692 Parallel ILS approaches? 1-1/2 miles radar separation (NOT 4300!).
4671 When is holding pattern course reversal not req.? When given radar vectors.
4714 When maintaining 5 knots faster than Cat B? Use min for Cat C.
4717 Approach categories are based on? 1.3 times stall speed in landing config at max landing weight.
4749 When can make straight-in landing if IAP for circling mins? Runway in sight to make normal landing, and have been cleared to land.
4401 What does RVR represent? Horizontal distance pilot should see down runway from approach end.
4716 RVR min are inop? Convert and apply ground vis.
4707 What wind prolongs wake turb? Light quartering tailwind.
4796 Purpose of runway end identifier lights? Rapid ID of approach end of runway. 8377 Ratio between airspeed and lift if airspeed doubled? Lift will be 4 times greater. 8348 What affects stall speed? Weight, load factor, and power.
8361 What determines critical engine? Center of thrust closer to centerline.
8357 With one engine inop, when is it ok to deflect ball outside? Any airspeed greater than Vmc.
8360 What able to maintain at Vmc? Heading.
8347 What is load factor? Lift divided by weight.
8345 Increased airspeed on coordinated turn in constant angle of bank? Rate of turn decrease with no change in load factor.
8356 Airflow separation delayed by vortex generators? Making wing surface rough. 9061 Air pressure decreases, thrust output? Decreases
9085 What reduces critical engine failure speed? Slush or inop antiskid.
8398 Best range in tailwind? Decrease speed
8344 Turbulent air cause increase in stalling speed? Change in relative wind.
8370 Single engine? Reduction of climb by 50%.
8371 When Vmc highest? CG is most rearward.
9395 Min altitude turbine enter Class D? 1500’
8889 Turbine in Class B? Must operate above floor.
8878 What service outer area of Class C? Same as Class C when comms and radar established.
9090 Lost sight while circling? Climbing turn toward landing runway, until on missed approach course.
9136 Technique to counter loss of airspeed & lift from wind shear? Maintain or increase pitch attitude and accept the lower than normal airspeed.
9274 METAR RAE44? Rain ended 16 before the hour.
9275 METAR FC? Funnel cloud observed.
9716 METAR M1/2SM? Less than ¼ statute mile
9718 METAR VV001? 100’ indefinite ceiling.

They graded the test right away and the persons who failed left immediately. It was quite embarrassing for them, and I felt sorry. After a short time, we started the interviews. There was a lot of time waiting around because they have to go through the 11 remaining one by one. The first interview was a 3 on 1 with Stephanie Grantham and 2 pilots. Only 1 pilot asked questions. Usual technical stuff. V1, V2, Jepps chart takeoff mins in Memphis, etc. He asked the dreaded, “I’m Captain, and I take the approach below mins, what would you do?” Don’t say, I’ll take the controls. A good answer it to query the Captain if he has the runway in sight, if he doesn’t, call missed approach over the radio. If you know your stuff, he gets bored quickly and you move on to the HR questions with Steph. Typical stuff, Emergencies, Leadership, Communication, CRM. Any accidents, failed check rides, or flight violations? After that we met with the same senior pilot we started with. He asked Why Pinnacle? and Where do you see yourself in 5 years? That was about it. Lunch followed. Looks like a fun group of people.

11 pilots showed up for the interview. There was a good mix of experience. What was the experience mix? 3 or 4 of us are/were Part 121 major and commuter (some of us on furlough), 3 or 4 Part 135 charter and/or cargo, 1 military (USN I think), the rest were YOUNG instructors. There were 10 men, and 1 woman. Previous gouge has, for the most part, been pretty accurate. TT experience was not discussed by anyone, but you could tell there were some high time (6000+) and low time (1500+) pilots there. The published minimums are 1500 TT, 300 Multiengine, ATP preferred, but not required. You will NOT find ANY 300 to 500 hour TT college flight (bridge program) graduates at this airline! I arrived at the front office around 0800, where I was greeted by the receptionist. BE POLITE TO EVERYONE THERE! Say "Good morning", "Hello", smile occasionally (not always serious). The receptionist reports who socialized and who just kept to themselves. Remember, they know you have the flight training and skills. They really want to know if they can spend 6 to 8 hours a day sitting next to you.

Everyone there is VERY friendly. Everyone is very casual and relaxed. They try to get you to relax and be yourself. Do be yourself! If you're fake, they'll see it. But don't be TOO casual. It's "Mr. X", or "Ms. X", or "Captain X" unless invited otherwise. The very first thing was a company history session about 30 minutes long. Then a 50 question written test, taken right from the Gleim ATP, Commercial, and Instrument books will immediately follow. Some were changed to trick you up, so be careful. You need a 70% to pass. Any less than 70%, no matter your experience level, and you will be thanked for your time, then discreetly removed from the group and taken back to the airport for your flight home. STUDY for this test folks. Don't underestimate it! 2 of the 11 were eliminated here. They were the military pilot, and a furloughed CRJ pilot from another airline. My original ATP score, taken 6 months ago, was 96%. Commercial was 90+, Instrument was 90+. I was nowhere near there on this test.

After the written, the interviews begin. There are two. The first is with a line captain, and a person from HR. These questions were all very basic.

1. JEPPS APPROACH PLATES
a. GIVEN WIND DIRECTION AND SPEED, CHOOSE APPROPRIATE APPROACH TYPE AND RUNWAY. (LISTEN TO INSTRUCTIONS)
b. BRIEF THE APPROACH
c. HOLDING AIRSPEED AT WHAT ALTITUDES

2. TECHNICAL QUESTIONS
a. ALMOST ALL V SPEEDS (KNOW THE DEFINITIONS)
b. LANDING / TAKE-OFF MINIMUMS (KNOW THAT IF CERTAIN LIGHT ARE VISIBLE, STANDARD MINIMUMS CAN BE LOWER)

3. CRM QUESTIONS (LOTS OF THIS!)
a. WHAT IF YOU SMELL ALCOHOL ON THE FA's BREATH?
b. WHAT IF YOUR CAPTAIN WANTS TO GO BELOW DH?
c. WHEN WOULD YOU TAKE CONTROL OF AIRCRAFT AWAY FROM THE CAPTAIN? (ANSWER: WHEN TOLD TO BY THE CAPTAIN, OR WHEN HE/SHE HAS BEEN INCAPACITATED. THAT'S ALL! THEN LEAVE IT ALONE!)
d. ETC. ETC, ETC!

4. HR QUESTIONS
a. HAVE YOU EVER FAILED A CHECKRIDE?
b. WHY NW AIRLINK?
c. HAVE YOU EVER DECLARED AN EMERGENCY?
d. HAVE YOU EVER HAD AN EMERGENCY AND DIDN'T DECLARE?
e. VEHICLE TRAFFIC TICKETS?
f. FAA INVESTIGATIONS, VIOLATIONS, INCIDENTS, ACCIDENTS?
g. EVER HAD A CONFLICT IN COCKPIT?
h. EVER DISAGREED WITH COMPANY OR SUPERVISOR POLICY? (YOU BETTER ANSWER "NO" AND LEAVE IT AT THAT!)

If you pass this first interview, you will be taken to see Captain Terry Mefford, and Captain Parker Davis. These two have been with the company since..well, a VERY long time. They make the final decision on your hire. They ask you questions about you. Why NW Airlink? What can you bring to NWA? Why you instead of the guy standing outside the door waiting his turn? Where do you see yourself in 5 years? (Better say "At least a Captain!" That's what they want to hire. Pilots who can be Captains!) Why you over the many furloughed pilots with 1000's of hours more experience than you? No trick questions here. Just be yourself, no canned answers (they'll see them a mile away), and keep eye contact without staring. You will either be offered a position immediately, or told you will receive a phone call or letter within a few days. If you get the phone call, GREAT! See you at class.

This is a GREAT time to join this company! If you get to the interview, you'll see why. GOOD LUCK! Hope to see you on the line.

DON"T FORGET...STUDY (READ "KNOW") GLEIM ATP, COMMERCIAL, INSTRUMENT, JEPP PLATES, AND WEATHER. I also Cheryl Cage in my prep. It was the BEST $ I ever invested. Everything she did or said was right on the mark! Call her!

My interview was held in Memphis, in february of 2001. The interviewies
showed at the corporate office at around 8:00 AM and we were shown around
the offices. They are making a definite effort at improving the office
surroundings. Next we were handed applications that took several hours to
fill out (bring all your info with you). Then around 10 AM a couple of
pilots show up and hand out a 50 question written, it was very easy and I
was told that it did not carry alot of weight toward the decision to hire.
Next the HR manager gives a company overview and tells you what is
happening. Then they take you into one of the offices for a 3 on one
interview (2 HR and 1 Pilot). The bulk of the questions are situational and
involve CRM skills. The pilot will then ask a few questions about your a/c
and alot of questions about 121 regs and Jepp approach charts. Know the jepp
charts inside and out. The airline is experiencing tremendous growth, and
they are hiring off the street captains in the RJ and the SAAB. I had quite
abit of jet time and a type rating, I was told that I would recieve an offer
in the jet if I get an offer at all. I have not heard anything yet.

Interviewed with Express Airlines I/NWAirlink in February 2001. Twelve
people interviewed, experience was varied. Some piston twin, some jet, some
military helicopter, some turboprop. One guy flew with another commuter.
Surprising amount of experience considering how badly this airline needs
people. There were no 500 hour recent college grads in attendance nor were
there any current flight instructors.

They are receiving 2 CRJ's per month until they have around 55 of them.
Each airplane requires 10 pilots to be fully staffed. In short, this company
really needs people. The Saabs will be phased out slowly until they are gone
in 2006. Some are going back to the manufacturer (Leases) others are going
to Mesaba. Express is opening new jet bases in DTW and MSP with Detroit
expected to be the most junior base. Memphis will likely remain the most
senior and will be the only one that also has Saabs. There is also talk of an
eventual base in Monterey, Mexico.

Upgrade in the Saab is between 6-12 months and jet captain takes around 18-24
months. The company is going to hire 300-400 pilots alone this year alone so
get your resume in. One major downside---they don't pay you during training
or do they cover your lodging. You are on your own until you take and pass
your checkride.

The facilities themselves were fairly nice and I was pleasantly surprised.
They have two sims onsite--one for each aircraft. The airline staff members
involved with the interview process were very friendly and it truly seemed
like they wanted to hire everyone. There was about a 20 min rundown about
the company by Kim Monroe who works in HR. She is very nice and realistic
about commuter airlines. The chief pilot introduced himself as well as some
others in operations. We then took a 50question written test which was
straight out of the commercial book. Nothing required a calculator, there
were no computation questions at all. A lot of questions were out of the
weather theory section of the Gleim book.

After that the airline staff broke into three groups of two people with each
group interviewing one candidate at a time. Mostly situational questions
including the standard captain who wants to go below mins etc. Nothing
intimidating. A few jepp questions and some conversation about me and the
interview was over. Again it was very casual and enjoyable. I think that
they are mostly looking at hiring the right type of person who can upgrade
quickly and isin't afraid to stand up to jerk captains. Best way to prepare
is to just relax and have a good attitude.