Originally Posted by
SkyHigh
My favorite part:
"The only place you can get experience is in the cockpit of an airplane experiencing all that goes on," Kuwitsky said. "Now you can get 3,000 or 4,000 hours of experience in a crop-duster — that has no translation to our operation."
My question is; how does 1500 hours of touch and goes from the right seat of a 172 going to help one to fly a transport category airplane either? Most of the things that a new pilot does to build time do not apply to airline flying at all.
The best way to build time to become an airline pilot is to serve as one. The flight deck is a system of mentor and apprentice. It only takes one guy to fly the plane. The other is there as back up and to learn. Not to be a second captain.
Skyhigh
There are transitional jobs from fresh commercial certificate to an RJ. It's dangerous, to introduce a pilot to his first ILS on a 70 seat RJ in icing conditions. If I were captain, I would like someone in the right seat that isn't worthless because he's too nervous to actual assist in a critical phase of flight.