Originally Posted by
yancharlie
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.
I have to agree that the AQP assumes you have a grasp of basic turbine aircraft systems, insofar as "what is a TRU, outflow valve, inverter, etc". Other than that, AQP is easier than the other training I've been through, and more thorough to boot. I know there have been changes since I went through but the basics are still the same. 3 written test, one covering indoc, another limitations, and another systems. Failing one of those could be attributed to AQP.
Failing out of the sim isn't though. Sim training doesn't differ much from non-AQP training other than having easier checkrides with less to cover. Washing out of the sim comes from either insufficient basic instrument skills, a lack of preparedness, not being ready for airline training, or weak skills. It's to be expected given the company hires low timers who have spent much of their training in glass cockpits.
I know that the last time I went through CQ in '07 there were new hires with 20 plus sim sessions before being set to SOE or home. 27 was the highest I heard. I also heard from a good friend in the training dept the overall attitude of newhires was going in the toilet. I can see Keen babying a weak pilot with a good attitude through 20 plus sessions (I DID see it), but I can also see him sending home someone with an attitude after 8 sessions. Cooperate and graduate is always the rule.