Originally Posted by
Southerner
There's no guarantee a line guy will be any good either. But most of our guys on the E190 now have numbers. The only ones who do not are the ones with no medical or aged out.
I think check airmen should be line guys, but the P phase is all about the book. You don't need line experience to teach the black and white procedures. It helps to give some color to the lesson, but it's not required at all.
I agree there's no guarantee a line pilot will be great, but in reality that's what the adjunct interview and review process is for. My experience through 3 full training events so far has shown the adjunct guys to be the best and most consistent overall. I strongly believe that having the ability to rotate from OSC to full-time line flying and back keeps guys more mentally fresh, and is more applicable experience than just flying MCO-CUN or MCO-LGA 1 to 2 days/month.
Much like we say in the safety pubs, it's not the "who" but the "what": other than my previous example I've had several non-seniority list guys and gals in both fleets who ranged from average to excellent. It was really disappointing to fly with so many newhires after I upgraded that said 'training was great, EXCEPT this guy...."
Overall IME a guy who has not flown the line here, or worse has no 121 major/lcc line experience, can't fully translate what we're being taught, P phase or otherwise. And yes, I also view it as a legitimate scope/jobs issue. There are plenty of pilots living local to MCO that can't or choose not to hold the base, but would be excellent instructors and enjoy the extra time at home.