Originally Posted by
NWA320pilot
I was an IP and DE for PDT back in a day...... When I was there it took 2500/500 just for an interview. The dash isn't a hard aircraft to fly, in fact it is one of the easiest and most forgiving aircraft I have flown during my career. But when a company takes guys that have ZERO experience you can expect to have a low success rate.
The other part of the equation is what experience does someone with wet ink on a commercial ticket bring to the line? There is a lot more to being an airline pilot and good FO than just making it through training..... Having knowledge, judgement, and decision making skills are very prudent for the well being of the flight.
You are correct that in other parts of the world companies take zero timers and check them out in a transport jet. But (and heres a bid thing) the screening process and training is much different and extensive than what we do in the US. Here we pretty much do the minimum! I was just over in Tokyo last week and met a pilot that was from the USA and was working for ANA. His checkout was 9 months long for the 767 and he was already typed in the aircraft.
As for your statement about "knowing for a fact that you can bring any mainline glass cockpit drivers into our sim, and it will take them a minimum of four sessions to get caught up with that thing. Most of them forgot how to enter a hold without the FMS"....... Well this would undoubtedly be very accurate. But by the same regards taking someone who has been flying steam gauges for years and throw them into a glass aircraft and you have the same learning/re-learning curve. Both types of aircraft presentation systems and FMS require one to be proficient.
Hello NWA320pilot,
It's good to see an ex-piedmont guy currently flying for the majors checking on their old stomping ground. I agree with everything you said! The dash eight is an easy and forgiving airplane to fly, except it takes a good stick to truly master how to smooth land it with consistency.
The bad success rate with low timers is also due to our AQP training program. Under a regular 121 training, guys can manage and keep up. Now you bring a zero experience guy, with an AQP program that is designed for guys with prior 121 or 135 experiences, you obtain a disaster. Piedmont knows they have to restructure their training with the level of experience they bring, but it means spend more money, and when more money is involved, it's a no go. They do however give new hires extra sim slots, but management usually pressure them on the issue, because the more sim time you use, the more it costs the company. I wish our training was more extensive like the other parts of the world for low timers, these guys all get type rated from the get go, with the frozen ATP until they build the remaining hours to get their full ATP. But in the US it means over qualifying the FO, because they can't pay you cheap for a while due to the fact you can get a better paying job overseas.