Originally Posted by
trlaketige
Well maybe, maybe not. We are very lucky with the current DGS 747 instructors right now. They all flew the aircraft for many years, and some since its inception. In addition, 2 or 3 of them ran the -400 program at NWA. You aren't going to have people walk in off the street with those qualifications. Remember the -400 was only operated by NWA and UAL in the states. This doesn't mean that quality instructors from other fleets/aircraft can't be brought up to speed and provide a quality product. It just may take time.
Not disagreeing, but I'm sure there are enough ex-B747-400 pilots who would want to work as DGS instructors. It's not just NWA and UAL that flew the -400 in the US. Atlas and Polar have been flying them for years, Kalitta Air has them, and there are I'm sure some retired pilots from foreign carriers such as Lufthansa, BA, KLM, Air France and all the Asian carriers. (Many of the Asian carries employed US pilots on contracts).
I doubt there will be a shortage of high qualified, retired pilots who'd love to teach as DGS instructors.