Originally Posted by
EAFF95
Everyone’s talking about reducing the requirements to fly 121….
Why not reduce the requirements for 135s? For both the pilots and the certificate holders.
I was fortunate to fly essential air service and cargo on my way to 1500 hours and I felt like I came into the airlines a leg up on the guys who watched someone else fly for 1500 hours. It also went by faster and I made better income.
The problem isn’t the 1500 hour rule, it’s the lack of opportunities of great experience making jobs to get to 1500 hours. Gmafb you don’t need 1200 hours to safely captain a caravan and a 135 cargo certificate shouldn’t cost $500k+.
+1 to lowering Part 135 mins, its psychotic. A kid can come out of a 141 university and fly a jet before he can be an IFR PIC under part 135. Why is it that all this great education from these R-ATP waiver schools can only apply to Part 121? Govt waste of course!
But here’s the real issue if Stossel want to play the government interference card, GA flying is significantly more expensive for kids today than it was for guys back in the days of old. The FAA can only do so much to lower that, but why are we charging hundreds of bucks for an alternator belt on a Cherokee that’s the same as on your Chevy, but has the FAA stamp of approval. Lowering the operating cost of GA should be the goal if you want to make it easier to get more guys to sign on. The Jet A fuel transition in recips won’t happen overnight, but it definitely helps cost for students as well compared to 100LL.
Last bit, regardless of the great things the 1500 hour rule has done for all of us, if they tossed it tomorrow, there’d be so few CFIs on the street that cost and wait times for even primary training would kill the industry overnight. I know not everyone CFIs to get their time, but without the 1500 hour rule we wouldn’t have new CFIs to make new pilots. We’re treading on thin ice, and the slightest bump will collapse this house of cards.