Originally Posted by
BigWammerJammer
I am serious. Tell me how a guy who has spent 1500 hours in the right seat of a 172 and a Seminole knows more about a CRJ than someone who has been immersed in it for 4 months. I will grant him radio experience, but he better not have more icing experience because those planes aren't certified for it. If he does have icing experience, I would question his decision-making skills for flying into it.
I do not deny greater experience from being a CFI - I also don't include those who drove night cargo in this discussion - but it is the application of this experience that I question. He is going to get 4 weeks of ground school and about 12 sim sessions and then fly a CRJ. I have 4 months of aerodynamics, systems and FTD/MD-80 full motion sim. I know the CRJ inside and out and will know it better than any of the guys who come out of the right seat of a 172.
Again, back up your claim that a 1500 hour pilot of singles and light twins is a better pilot of a CRJ than someone who has gone through a dedicated school. The people who trained us are far more skilled than just about anyone on this forum and they trained us to very high standards and wouldn't let us go if they didn't think we can fly safely.
As a quick historical example, the horse and buggy was a reliable and well tested mode of transportation. The car came along and very few people believed in it. Can you name any horse and buggy companies that are in business now? The industry is changing and the methods of training are changing with it. Your argument that I can't be a good CRJ pilot because I don't have a ton of 172 time is not an argument: it is an assumption. A lot of guys who follow the advice of the traditionalists may get left behind and not get job because they listended to you.
In the end, airlines are hiring EVERY Jet U graduate. All of them. Right now, I am thinking I did the right thing, otherwise, instead of going to class on 10/1, I would be going to the local FBO to teach yet another newbie how to conduct a pre-flight inspection, and I just don't have time for that.
Flyboy8787 - have your friends read this thread and choose for themselves. That should answer the original question.
First of all, what everyone is saying that you don't seem to understand is that it is not always about the CRJ systems. It's about the three logbooks filled with experiences ranging from dealing with unexpected weather to serious MX and ATC issues. Speaking of weather, you may have noticed that humans make mistakes. Everyone makes them, and learns from them. If I'm not mistaken, that's a common definition of experience. Have I done stupid things in airplanes? Damn right I have. I've found myself alone in a single piston over a lake getting low fuel warnings. I've lost 20 knots in a single piston when I encountered ice that wasn't forecasted. Could both of them been avoided? Probably. Did I learn valuable lessons from both situations that I apply every time I ask for the thrust to be set? YES. That's what people are talking about here...the experiences you learn from, that build your pilot instinct, so to speak. Not whether or not you could build me a perfect model of the electrical system. And as for your comment basically saying screw that to lowly flight instructing, let me tell you something. Had it not been for all kinds of generous people who helped me out along the way, who gave me a chance to fly their bonanza on the weekends, to take a minute out of their day to teach me something about flying, I wouldn't have gotten anywhere. Sometimes it's not about what you can bring to the cockpit, quite frankly I don't give a damn. It's about what you can give back to aviation. You talk about the pride aviation has lost...well that's my pride. I know where I came from, I know what got me here, and I won't forget about helping others out. That's why I keep all my certificates current. CFI, CFII, MEI, CFIG. Not trying to bash or anything here, just trying to better explain what I think some people are feeling and why you're feeling some distaste. Good luck to you in all that you do, just have some respect for the work other people put into this business to get to where they are. Thanks.