Originally Posted by
mooney
There is a huge difference that really cannot even be compared in a 250 hour CFI teaching someone to fly a 152 or seminole in very basic aerodynamics/meteorology in VFR pattern hops or the rare actual IMC instruction day or the 80 mile cross country $100 hamburger without even touching class A,B,or C and possibly even D airspace, compared to a high altitude swept wing jet flying in March on a 1000 mile leg from ATL surrounded by thunderstorms to BOS where it is 1/4 mile vis heavy snow and gusty winds under the time restraints/pressures/fatigue/nobody is there to hold my hand of the 121 world.
Originally Posted by
Duksrule
You make my point for me. What true experience does the CFI in your example here have? How does doing the things you mention for 1500 hours make him qualified to strap on a RJ? Someone who rented a plane and flew from the east coast to west and back would have far more real world experience than someone doing instruction in the local area.
We have to go over this again, don't we? The CFI learns decision making skills, planning, alternate planning, and situational awareness. He/she learns to be on their own, and they learn personal limits that they have to set for THEMSELVES.
Originally Posted by
Duksrule
OK so if it is just hours..........500 or 1000 hours in a FO program should be OK then. It would probably cost less than getting all of your CFI tickets and it gives you more real world flying experience right?
No. It wouldn't be OK. A 121 environment where your and my family are flying as passengers is NOT the proper place for training. If a CA has to focus on taking care of everything because the FO has no idea what is going on then that completely defeats the purpose of a multi pilot crew and CRM. CRM is the foundation which todays safety standards are built off of. When I was a Flight Instructor I had plenty of my own pre flight planning to do. I had to ensure the WX would be good for whatever training we were doing. If I was taking my students in IMC I had to know what my alternates were. Where was I going if we couldn't get in? Where was I going if we encountered icing? Where was I going if we encountered a thunderstorm? How long could we hold if we couldn't get in? Could we hold at all? What would we do if we lost our radios? I learned to make my own decisions, and learned how to plan ahead. That way when I made it to the airlines, I knew that if I was ever not doing anything then I was already behind.
By the time an FO gets to an airline 121 environment he/she should have the ability to make their own decisions. Yes, you will always learn something, even as an experienced FO or CA, but one needs to learn the basics on their own. Gaining these qualities in a 121 environment is inappropriate and a hinderance to safety.