Originally Posted by
HercDriver130
Jeez.. whats difficult to understand. You should have an AIRLINE TRANSPORT PILOT certificate to fly in a commercial passenger operation. I dont think thats too much to ask. I also feel that I would have no problem with allowing exceptions for those who go thru very structured "cadet'" type programs with strict time lines and standards... ie.... if a guy is scheduled to solo at 10 hours he damn well be ready to solo plus or minus an hour or so of that mark. Same for other things. If the syllabus requires the CPL at 250 hours with "X" number of flights.. DO it.. if they can't get it done in the required time line... maybe they are not cut out to do this for a living...... The REASON I think the ATP rule is good is it allows under our CURRENT system.. those who are lets say.. not as quick to get it.. to get some experience and perhaps raise their skill levels...
Yes ..yes.. what I propose would be akin to old style military training programs...... many who could have passed didnt because they couldn't do it under the stress and timelines presented. And really.. do you want your family flying with the guys who barely got thru???
This business is NOT cut out for everybody.. hell I know guys who can fly the crap out of an airplane but put them under a stressor... and they can't keep it all together. NO system is perfect... but if you want 250 hour pilots in commercial jets I personally think we need a much much stricter training system in place.
The "250 hour B737/A320 pilot" has been on the scene for many years. I can attest that fact. Some 14 years ago, while flying for a Euroland LCC, I flew with newbies. Fresh from flight training in the U.S. then assessed by the carrier they wanted to fly with. Earned a frozen ATPL with CAE or Oxford. Final assessment with the airline they wanted to fly for then hired if all went well. These newbies were given two stripes and labeled "cadets", and off to line training they went. Were they perfect, not in the least. But did they want to learn? Most did. Where are they now 14 years later? Some are now captains flying heavies, while some are still at the carrier where their career started. They airline I was with had some of the strictest training and checking standards. In fact this is a method practiced in many countries around the world. Safety? Well, some will argue the case that it's a single pilot operation. But at the end of the day, how many hull losses involved newbies in the right seat versus a seasoned pilot who came up through the commuters or military?