Have I got some news for you guys who have been prepping for the American Eagle interview using these gouges...the ATP exam is NO LONGER part of the interview process!! How dissapointed was I when I showed up with my group to learn the two days prior the test had been discontinued for the interview process!! If you don't believe me though, I would still call AE recruitment to verify this. Also, the medical portion has been drastically cut down--only a hearing test, fingerprints, and urine drug screening are performed. Okay, as for the interview experience at Eagle. If you want to fail the thing before you even get in the door, only bring part of the documents they ask for! People, they just want to see that you can follow directions! They asked for a driving record so BRING IT. They ask you to flag your checkrides in your logbook so DO IT! Please don't show up unprepared as this really isn't too difficult of an interview. Make sure you bring BOTH originals, AND COPIES!! As you've read in the previous accounts, you will DEFINITELY spend a lot of time waiting and sitting around so make sure you get a good night's sleep and feel well rested.

When I arrived, at the headquarters, my group was briefed by Sean Gross (very nice guy) and we watched a video on the airline. Sean will let you know exactly what will happen that day and will tell you everything to expect. He mentioned that, overall, they want to see that you are not only a knowledgable pilot, but you are also a guy/gal that is easy to get along with and friendly.

I first had my tech interview with Tim. Tim is an incredibly cheerful fellow and you'll see that it would be a pleasure to fly with him. Know how to read a TAF and METAR. Make sure you've got the remarks section of METARS down (SLP, AO2, etc.). What does T02820205 mean? You will be asked! Without a doubt, know when we have to file an alternate and what the alternate minimums are. He will give you a scenario where you have the METAR and an approach plate and you will have to know, based on the conditions, if you can shoot the approach or not. Also, take a good look at the little boxes of the plates the may tell you "DME required" or "Radar required". He may use this in his scenario. Know the Jepp plates well. Don't waste your time with a mom and pop airport approach plate. Look at Boston or LAX. Know where to find the approach and takeoff mins. I was also asked to look at a low enroute chart. Know the different symbols you would find along an airway: MEA, distances along entire airway or to the nest fix, MOCA. Know how to distinguish between an airport with an IAP and one without.

The HR interview is so well gouged here that I won't waste my time retyping it. The previous half dozen gouges have been spot on.

All I can say regarding the sim is that it is a WHOLE lotta fun!! VERY cool! If you know how to track an ILS, you will be fine. But please, make sure you remember to call out the checklists and tell Bill to set the speed and flaps when they need to be set. If you're thinking to yourself, "I've never flown a Fokker F100. I don't know when the f*%k to even do that!", don't worry. Bill will brief you before the sim and tell you at which points along the flight you need to ask for these things. He prepares you very well. However, you will be asked to hold so make sure that part of your prep for this interview includes alot of sitting down and giving yourself madeup holds with various types of entries.

I wish a had time to type more but I mainly just wanted to let you guys know about the new situation with the ATP exam. I spent alot of time studying for that darn thing and I guess it did me very little good :(
But please understand, that past few gouges have been VERY accurate so there's no need for me to retype all that stuff.

Applied via AirlineApps.com, got e-mail 3 days later, called them for an interview in about a week. Got a confirmed seat on American from LGA to DFW the day before the interview. Stayed at Baymont for $45. Shuttle left at 6:55am for the training center. Signed in, waited until 8:30 for one of the captains to show up. We saw a AE video, and the captain talked for about an hour about what to expect at the interview. He seemed nice. There is no more ATP written, or a big medical exam. We all waited for a long time to get called first. Talked a lot amongst ourselves. The room is arranged like a classroom, and some of us (not me) turned some chairs around so we can sit and see each other. One captain upon walking in immediately said to turn the chairs back where they were. The people complied. About an hour later, one person turned the chair around again, and the same captain told him sternly to put it back. Got called (finally, at 11:00) for the tech interview.

Where do you go missed on the ILS? (DA,H)

When takeoff alternate required?

What's the lowest takeoff mins here? (shows the Jepp plate)

What's the ILS mis here (Jepp plate)

What's controlling, ceiling or vis? (vis)

Shows/quezzes SID, STAR, METAR, TAF, real basic questions.

After that i got $5 coupon for the cafeteria, told to be back by 12:30 (it was 12 at the time) At 12:45 i got called for the HR interview, held by another captain. I later realized that that was the chair captain, but since i never touched the chair i wasn't worried. He filled out some paperwork while asking the HR questions previously described in the other gouges. Then he read my driving record ( i have a 99mph in a 55 ticket) and another one and a previous suspension. He asked me about that. I said that i was your and stupid at the time, kinda as a joke. My guess is that that's what did it. He finished the HR questions and filled out the paperwork, and sent me back into the room. About 10 minutes later he called me to take my stuff and follow me. That was it. Just like the apprentice - 'you are fired' went to the airport and took the next flight home. I was very bummed & disappointed. Good luck all.

The whole deal begins with an presentation/video of AE. It's real cool, and after watching that, I really wanted to get the position. They tell you at the beginning that the job is yours to have if you really want it -- you just have to prove to them that you want it bad enough that you were willing to prepare and get stuff in order. The whole thing is pretty much like gouged, except for a couple of new changes. Like NO MORE ATP WRITTEN. That was kind of nice, however I spent many many hours preparing for it for nothing. The medical has changed as well. Hearing test, pee test, and finger prints and you're out. The whole process is professionally run. The guys that were doing the interview were very straightforward, and very helpful. Everyone is friendly.
It is a little stressful though because you never know how you did. You know nothing. People mysteriously dissappear! One moment everyone was there, and the next, there were a bunch missing. Everytime the door opens, you wonder if something you said or did wasn't right and it's your time to go home. I was a little worried because of my low time, but thankfully it didn't disqualify me. Be sure your logbook is in order and looks neat. They will look at them.
Finally, at sometime in the afternoon, they take the remaining applicants to the sims. Just like everyone has said, the sim were awesome. It's exactly like gouged. Know your holding entries, be able to fly an approach (ILS), and know some basics on CRM, and it shouldn't be a problem.
The medical was easy and fun. The nurses were very entertaining, and made time go by quickly.
Study everything that has been gouged and you'll do fine.

Good luck!!

Well I will start off saying that all the prvious gouge is pretty good for a study guide. The long gouge about 4 previous to mine is the one I looked at the most. I stayed at the Baymont and it was not too bad of a hotel...could have been better but could have been worse. Has a TV with cable the room is clean and there is an iron to fix up your wrinkled clothes. Of course there is NO written test. Have your paperwork straight and organized. Have a copy of your previous employment information for all the prelim. paperwork. (Address, phone, fax, ect.) Keep a copy of the one you turn in for this information. There is the technical interview which consists of questions about approach plates 1) Brief approach. On the airport page 1) where is XYZ taxiway 2) RVR requirements. On the arrival to DFW 1) Brief arrival...pay attention to the direction of the wind on the brief. On the low altitude enroute 1) what is this airspace? What is the mileage from this VOR to that one? What is the radial that my pen is on relative to the VOR? That's it for the tech. interview. On the HR interview background questions and some general questions about why you want to work for Eagle, what will be the hardest thing about working for Eagle, what is one part of your character you would like to change or improve upon. OKAY...easy enough? There is a sim evaluation that is very fun. Don't sweat it too bad. If you can fly in instrument conditions you are golden. There is a lot of sitting for the interview. Maybe bring a snack. There is water and coffee in the holding room. When you make it to day 2 for the medical its pretty short. Drug screen, hearing test and fingerprints. All the staff if is a pleasure to deal with. All-in-all it was a good experience and I look forward to starting to work. Also, as you probably know you are able to pick your base. ORD and the NE get jets. DFW, SE & SW get SAAB. This is not in stone but that appears to be the way it is. Out of nine of us 7 made it to the end of the interview successfully. Great job guys hope to see you soon.

***American Eagle announced a few days ago that they are now guaranteeing base/equipment picks!*** They offered me either the ERJ or the CRJ out of ORD (I found out 10 minutes after I finished the medical). ***AE NEED's pilots! However, like everyone else said, they are not willing to lower their standards. Out of the five of us that started that morning... Only 3 of us made it all the way through. Nevertheless, if you make it, they will sign you up for a class date immediately! (at least for us they did... I'm assuming it's like that for everyone) The interview is in a VERY relaxed environment. Prepare to do a LOT of waiting. It takes a lot of time for everyone to go through. If you're prepared... it's a breeze... They'll tell you straight up that you have the job... just don't give them any excuses to take it away from you. I had Sean Gross and Tim for my Tech and HR. Great guys! They try their best to make you feel welcome and relaxed. Just be yourself! However, don't let your guard down! I went through the ATP book 6 times. That was a bit overkill; however, I got a 98% on my written (you only need a 80% (40/50)...). I would recommend going through the ATP book as many times as you can... but I'm sure 2-3 times through will suffice. If you have a strong ATP written score and show up looking professional, they'll go real easy on you. Now for the gouge... The night before you'll stay at the Baymont hotel. My flight arrived at 7:50am so I had ALL day to sit in my hotel room and study. If anyone is looking for food, if you walk through the parking lot (heading west) you'll hit a chinese restaurant, a mexican restaurant, and a subway. There is also a grocery store (Albertson's) if you need supplies. All of these stores are within 3 minutes walking distance. The next morning I took the shuttle to HQ1 (or HQ2, I can't remember). We signed in and Sean took us back to the holding room. After a hour long company introduction (and jokes), we began the first part of the interview... the 50 question ATP written. After everyone finishes that, they'll start calling people one by one for the Tech and HR. Here are the tech questions I got: 1.) What is this? *metar 2.) Please read it. 3.) What is this? *departure procedure 4.) If we've just departed (ORD) and are heading to Boiler VOR, what freq are we using for departure? *look at the box within the telephone boundary 5.) What are duty hours for part 121? *8/day, 30domestic (32 flag)/week, 100/month, 1000/year *done Here are the HR questions I got: 1.) Why do you want to work for AE? 2.) Why should we hire you? 3.) Describe yourself in 1 or 2 words. 4.) Are you willing to relocate? 5.) What's important to you as a FO. 6.) What would you change about yourself? 7.) How did you prepare for this interview? ***don't think that they don't want you to mention the gouge... if you say you didn't use it, they'll tell you that you're an idiot... it's out there for a reason! They WANT you to use it! *done Remember, just be yourself! They're going to try their best to tell jokes and make you relax! I know it's tough (I was nervous as all heck...) but it really isn't that bad! If you make it through the ATP, Tech, and HR, they'll send you to lunch. They gave me 45 minutes for lunch... but unfortunately, the cash register broke... so it took me 40 minutes to get through the line! When you come back, some people may not be there. When I got back from lunch, two people were sent home. They are pretty quick with it and don't want to waste your time. The first guy who was sent home failed the ATP. He was a great guy, nevertheless, did not study enough. The second guy told Sean and Tim that he was not impressed with the company and felt that he was treated very poorly (people didn't smile and say hi to him in the hallway)... ... ???!!! I wish him luck on his future endeavors. The staff at AE are wonderful! I had an AWESOME interview experience there. Anyway, after lunch, they'll give you some background check forms to fill out... You'll have a few minutes to sit and chill in the waiting area. Take a deep breath and relax! The hardest part of the ordeal is over! Next you'll take a shuttle over to the Flight Academy. Bill will meet you out front and take you back to the sim. Just FYI, Bill is hilarious! My sim session was in the F-100. Very easy jet to fly! Enjoy the ride! Full motion sims are amazing! Sim ride: Take off out of LAX 24R, direct to Seal Beach VOR and hold, ILS 24R with the flight director, ILS 24R via Raw Data (vectors on the ride). Here is the breakdown for the F-100 (they're currently using the saab, ATR, emb 145, and 737 sim... so it's up in the air on which one you'll get). *off subject, I hear the ATR is heavy on roll and easy on pitch* SIM for F-100: Bill is sitting on the left side, you're on the right 1.) at 80kts, he'll hand the controls over to you... you gotta say 'my controls'. 2.) at 140kts rotate. "positive rate, gear up."... pitch for 15 degrees nose up. 3.) after passing 1,000' "flaps up, climb thrust, climb checklist..." 4.) Bill will tell you to climb to 3000', at about 2,500' make sure you start your level off... remember, the F-100 is a jet :)... at about 2,700' start taking out some power. 5.) at 3,000' "cruise thrust, cruise checklist" 6.) Bill will now give you vectors direct to Seal Beach VOR. Brief the entry correctly (I had a direct entry), and you wont have to fly the hold. ***brush up on holding procedures nevertheless! it is POSSIBLE that he'll make you do it. 7.) Vectors for the ILS 24R at LAX. 'Eagle Flight One, descend and maintain 2,000'" Call out for descent thrust, descent checklist. at 180kts, flaps go to 8 degrees. 8.) Eagle flight one, maintain 140kts. This is where you make a reduction on the power and call out for 'Set thrust, flaps 25 degrees'... also call out for 'Approach checklist' 9.) As the localizer starts to come in, make your turn inbound (okay, I'm sure everyone knows that.. sorry!) Bill does a great job FLYING THE SIM FOR YOU... This first approach is done via the flight director. *as you break out of the clouds, you might notice a 737 taxiing onto the runway. GO MISSED! 10.) 'Set max power, flaps 15, positive rate... gear up' *** Bill will freeze the sim and reposition you back on the final approach course (second round of the ILS) 11.) fly the approach via raw data. Make note that there is a slight crosswind. Bill will bug the correction.. if you keep your nose on the big, you'll come in perfectly. ***all of us forgot about the ground winds so we all came in from the left. not a big deal, just crank the jet straight and land! That's it for the sim! Remember, Bill understands that most of you guys have never had any sim experience. He just wants to make sure you know the fundamentals of CRM and have scanning skills. He'll do EVERYTHING for you, just tell him to 'set thrust, set and bug the courses, and set/ident the VOR/LOC' Also, make sure you used two hands to fly the sim. good luck flying it one handed! All you have to do is make 'initial' movements on the throttles.. he'll take care of the rest after you say 'set thrust'. That was it! You have to fast for 12 hours prior to your medical. I lucked out because only 3 of us made it to the sim. We were done around 6:30pm. However, the previous weeks interview classes were packed (about 9 people each) and I've heard about people getting out as late as 9pm. Make sure you plan accordingly! Eat enough at lunch time to hold you through, you might not be able to make it back to the hotel before curfew. (but don't worry about it, Karen tells you to eat something 'light' if you don't make curfew.. they don't want you passing out on them). Next day is the medical.. they'll give you a 'medical history' form the day before.. make sure you fill it out, I completely forgot about it and was scrambling the morning of the medical to have it filled out. It's the most extensive medical I've ever went through... Blood work, urine tests, eye exam, hearing exam, full physical (EKG), along with fingerprinting. Be prepared for a LONG day. Hehe, this is a piece of cake though... there's nothing you can do to 'study' for it :) During your medical, you'll receive your 'conditional letter of employment', if everything goes well (if you pass the captains board/background check/medical) you'll be hired! After the medical, you'll be sent back to recruitment to 'finalize paperwork'. You may or may not have to fill anything out. Also, Karen will most likely ask you if when you want to start and assign you your base/aircraft. After all of this, you head back to the airport. Cross the street, and make a left. The shuttle will pick you up a block or two down the road (in front of the post office). That's it! That was my two day interview process... now for some random stuff... *The Baymont Inn really isn't that bad. My bed was kind of stiff.. but it was clean and everything worked well! You pay for the first night, and if you make it through Day 1, AE will pay for your second night. *Bring an extra alarm clock! If you show up late to the interview, you will be sent home immediately. I used my cell phone, the alarm clock that was provided, and another one I brought on my own. *The hotel provides an ironing board and iron for each room. --- Here's how I prepared (along with my study guide)... 1.) Go over the gouge!!! airlineinterviews.com is amazing. *If you have any questions about metars. go to: 1.) http://www.met.tamu.edu/class/METAR/quick-metar.html 2.) http://www.weather.cod.edu/notes/metar.html *If you have any jepp questions... go to: 1.) http://www.simtakeoff.com/legend/enroutelegend_content.htm *If you have a G5, try to top this :) 1.) http://flightaware.com/live/flight/GLF17/history/20070206/1538Z/KATW/KATW Okay, here's my study guide... HR Prep: 1.) Why American Eagle? 2.) Why should we hire you? 3.) What would you change or improve about yourself? 4.) What do you like most/least about flying? 5.) How do you handle criticism? 6.) What are two words that describe what it takes to make a profesional pilot? 7.) What is important to you as a FO? 8.) How did you prepare for this interview? Tech Prep: 1.) Know RVR!!! If you can get jepp material, do it! I studied stuff from BOS, DFW, ORD, and LAX. They will most likely ask you this question "if you are taking off of (airport name), and the RVR is reported as _______, can you go? *Determine what the RVR is and then flip to the take off mins page that they'll provide you for the departure airport. Look up the RVR mins. For example, if the reported RVR is 500ft and the take off mins are 6-6-6 (i.e., tdz, cl, and roll out) you CANNOT go! Now, if the reported RVR is 600ft and the mins are 6-6-6, you CAN go, however, you'll more than likely need a take off alternate (because the mins are below the approach mins for that departure airport.) Remember, for a twin engine jet, your alternate needs to be within 1 hour, at normal cruise, in still air, with one engine inop... 2.) Be able to read a METAR and TAF 3.) If you're inbound on the FINAL APPROACH SEGMENT, and ATC tells you that mins are below the mins required for the approach, can you continue? YES, because you're FINAL APPROACH SEGMENT inbound. However, if you're outside of this segment, you have to choose another approach. 4.) What allows you to come down to 100' HAT? *seeing the ALS allows you to do this... if you see the red terminating bars, the touch down zone, tdz lights, tdz markings, runway, runway lights, runway markings, threshold, threshold lights, threshold markings, vasi, or reil, you can come down all the way. 5.) What is Adequate Visual Reference? *this is a grey area... I'm not too sure on it's actual definition, and I've asked many pilots to explain it.. and they're not too sure what it is.. here's what I've gathered (but don't take my word for it.. I hope someone else on the gouge can explain it)... *AVR is enough visual reference to 'maintain' directional control on takeoff. If you're at an airport which does not provide you with tdz, cl, and roll out RVR's, then you'll move to AVR.. which is a higher RVR. 6.) Know holding procedures!!! Entries and what to do when and where! *After ATC instructions, tune and ident the VOR. After you pass the fix, turn (if you have to), twist (the OBS to the inbound 'TO' course), and start time (1 minute legs). After you come inbound and pass the fix, announce to ATC that you are 'established in the hold at _____ intersection at (altitude), at (time). ***In the interview group before me, a 40 year old corporate jet pilot failed the sim. Rumor has it that he was given a hold and messed it up. This is understandable because he may have not had to have perform a hold in the past 20 years!!! In my case, I haven't done one in 2 years... as silly as it sounds, MAKE SURE YOU REVIEW!!! 7.) MSA (minimum sector altitude) *in MSL, and runs from a specified point to 25 miles out. 8.) That big black arrow on the jepp chart (which signifies the highest obstical in the area) is in AGL. 9.) Be able to finger fly and read approaches, DP, STARs, ENROUTE charts, etc. *I hear a common question for the enroute portion is holding speeds and identifying the top of Class B airspace Holding Speeds: MHA-6,000' = 200kts 6,001' - 14,000 = 230kts 14,001+ = 265 kts. 10.) If you're in the Tech and they ask you (on an arrival) ATC tells you to 'EXPECT to cross at (altitude)' what do you do? *EXPECT TO CROSS AT = maintain your altitude until ATC advises you further instructions *CROSS AT = descend on your own. 11.) PAY ATTENTION TO NOTES ON THE DP AND ARRIVALS!!! 12.) The only thing restricting whether or not you can shoot an arrival is RVR. You can have a ceiling at 100' and shoot the approach if the RVR is met. 13.) KNOW 121 regs! 14.) When do you need a alternate (for filing purposes)? * 1-2-3 rule!!! At your destination for 1hr before/after on the ETA... you need to have 2000' ceilings and 3sm vis. if you don't meet this requirement, then you need an alternate... remember, 600-2 for precision and 800-2 for non-precision. however, once you're enroute, anything's fair game... alternate mins on IAP determines the landing... 15.) When you study the ATP, you do not need to study any performance questions, or 'refer' to questions. This knocked out a few chapters! Ignore the part 135 chapter, the king air chapter, the b737 chapter, etc. 16.) Know about the airport lighting systems!!! I hear they like to ask about this stuff during the Tech. *Runway lighting: HIRL, MIRL, LIRL... on runways with a precision approach, the lights are white and will turn to yellow on the last 2,000' or at the 1/2 mark of the runway, as a 'caution' zone. HIRL and MIRL are 'intensity selectable' via the mic switch. Why are these lighting features important? Because they provide for better situational awareness! (i.e., during an aborted takeoff, you can tell what kind of breaking action you need!) for CL (centerline lights) they'll be white, then red/white alternating at the 3,000' mark, then solid red at the 1,000'mark. Study up on the ALF I-II, MALSR in the AIM. 17.) Random airport lighting system abbreviations. ALS: Approach Lighting System ALSF: Approach Lighting System with Sequenced Flashers (rabbits with horizontal bars) RAIL: Runway Alignment Indicator Lights (Rabbits) REIL: Runway End Identifier Lights (Strobes) MALSR: Medium Intensity Approach Lighting System with Runway Alignment Indicator Lights VASI: Visual Approach Slope Indicator PAPI: eek... brain fart... google it :) HIRL: High Intensity Runway Edge Lights MIRL: Medium Intensity " " " LIRL: Low Intensity " " " 18.) RVR translations: RVR 40 = 3/4 sm RVR 32 = 5/8 sm RVR 16 = 1/4 sm RVR 7/8 = 7/8 sm --- All the gouges I read goining into my interview with American Eagle were right on. Eagle is an exceptionally well run and organized company and they are looking to hire alot of pilots in 2007. That said out of a interview class of 9 only 3 of us made it through the interview process, so they need people but will not back down from thier standards of quality. My advice would be to pay attention to everything they tell you as you start your interview and make sure you are 100% prepaired with your documentation going in. 1 or 2 people were eliminated because they were disorganized with thier paperwork. ATP written test is straight forward followed by Tech Interview then HR Interview. Tech is laid back, but know your Jepp's and regulations, HR is the same. If you make it through the first portion you will go to the sim, which is a great time, Bill gives a long briefing but if you pay attention you will do fine and have fun in the full motion ATR sim. Good luck! and have fun with it, they are as much looking at your personality as they are your technical knowledge. Okay, well... I hope this helps! REMEMBER! The gouge is helpful, but studying on your own is just as important! Chairfly, review the jepps, and STUDY THE ATP Gleim book! Things at AE are looking great! 8 FO's out of BOS were just upgraded 2 weeks ago. A friend of mine, who is a Captain on the ERJ, says that AE is looking to upgrade 45 FO's to Captain JUST THIS MONTH! AE is looking to hire 700 pilots THIS YEAR ALONE! THEY NEED PILOTS and want YOU to work for THEM! With base/equipment picks, higher than average pay, great equipment, and now... descent upgrade times... who WOULDN'T want to work for AE? A guy from my interview class was switching over from Mesa... He said he's following about 6 of his friends over to AE (they said that it was a hell/heaven difference). This has to mean something, right? Show them that YOU want the job and things will be fine. Anyway, good luck, and I hope this helps!