Originally Posted by U-I pilot

The upgrade mins is not as big a deal.... ATP mins? XJT is no different. There are very few that upgrade at these mins due to seniority.

I went through TSA training as my first experience and at low time. It was not bad, in fact it was very thorough, in-depth training. No, we didn't have FTD's like XJT does, but I felt prepared when I started doing IOE. XJT training is more streamlined and operation oriented.... TSA training is in my opinion quite good....id like to hear from anyone who thinks otherwise....

Fast forward, I am now an instructor at XJT. I have without a doubt seen a decrease in basic knowledge in new hires that come through training..... It is a problem most regionals now face..... People gain ratings at many different places and quality of training is on a wide scale..... I have some people who impress me. I have others that can not identify a proper hold entry.

I have seen 1500 hour CFIs come in and not know basic concepts. I've had 800 hour folks that leave places like PDT, TSA, MESA and with their limited experience EXCEL in our training. Yes, hours will give you some experiences, but hours is not everything.

In Europe they put 300 hour pilots in the right seat of A320s.... Guess what, at 1500 hours they have 1200 in the plane...... would you rather fly with that pilot as captain or one with 2000 hours and 100 in type? Time is not everything..... it is definitley a factor but is not everything.

I would offer myself as an example of this since I was hired at TSA with low time: 650/50 (high compared to todays standards). You would still consider me a low time pilot.....but I now at XJT have 500 in type and have been instructing for 10 months.....You'd be surprised how little some "high-time" pilots know. Some are EXCELLENT, but others are well below par.