Originally Posted by
rookie1255
and almost mandatory college these days to be an officer.
That's true of commissioned officers, but a lot of the RTP guys are warrant officers, which doesn't require college. Being a good pilot or natural pilot isn't even necessary in order to make a career out of military flying.
I would agree that it does take some discipline, though.
Originally Posted by
rookie1255
The only weaknesses I personally have seen from transition training is that rotor guys don’t use the rudder when flying since helicopters fly in trim automatically.
I'm not saying you didn't see rudder misuse, but I assure you it's not because of helicopter time. Helicopters are unstable, and require
far more footwork than airplanes, especially tricycle gear airplanes. A lot of the large/military helo's do have stability augmentation, just like more advanced airplanes do, but the helicopter inherently requires a lot of pedal input (whether by human or computer). Nearly all helicopter pilots with enough experience to come in as RTP guys will have flown helicopters without stability augmentation (like the Bell 206 / TH67) where you spend far more time dancing on the pedals than any airplane pilot.
Unless you're specifically, and only, talking about rudder use with aileron input. If that's the case, you're right. Helicopters are unstable, but they don't exhibit "adverse yaw".
I'd guess that poor rudder use is not because of helicopter experience, but simply the lack of airplane experience. They're knocking out add-ons quickly and probably aren't learning the fundamentals as thoroughly as someone on a more traditional route.
Originally Posted by
rookie1255
Again, I would argue not the biggest deal. If stick and rudder skills were the primary consideration then airlines would only recruit aerobatic and bush pilots.
Yea, agreed. Helicopters, small airplanes, and transport-category jets are three different animals. Being good at one doesn't mean you'll be good at either of the other two.
Originally Posted by
rookie1255
If folks are seeing otherwise I’d be curious as to what theories are as to why these folks are having trouble.
I think the trouble comes from the fact that 121 jet flying and helicopter flying are so dramatically different. You're flying 10 times higher, and five times faster in the jet. It's all IFR, flying into busy airspace where you're expect to get in and get the hell out of the way, flying SIDS/STARS, always on an instrument approach or backed up by one. Most helicopter flying is the opposite of all that.
Most helicopter pilots have no experience with the complex taxi instructions we get in the hubs. Energy management in a helicopter is most critical when you're slow and close to things. In the jet, it's when you're high and fast and trying to get down.
It's all just so different. A career helicopter pilot with 250 hours in airplanes isn't much much more prepared than an airplane pilot with just 250 hours.
To me, what RTP proves is that you can take someone with a very basic understanding of airplanes and make them jet pilots with the right training. In effect, it's the same thing the Asian airlines do.
In my opinion, most of RTPers skills are foreign enough to be irrelevant. The biggest asset an RTP guy can come in with is work ethic and trainability. In that regard, a pilot that has been successful in helicopters is simply more likely to train successfully in jets, than is someone randomly chosen from the general public.