Originally Posted by
Floy
............ If those same pilots were to fly in a 135 crew environment from 250 hours as they are allowed to do with just a commercial, they would arrive to 121 training with the experience doing the very thing that they will be trained on. IMHO that actually enhances safety. A just trained 1500 hour ATP let loose on the world of 121 with nothing more than GA time will see a lot of firsts with those 121 passengers on board.
500 hours of jet SIC beats 1500 hours of GA flying any day IMO. I think that would enhance, not degrade safety. Again just one guy's opinion who's been working to train these pilots for a long time.
I would agree whole heartily that better experience than SE VFR would greatly improve the quality of avator that transitions to a jet cockpit, regardless of it being 121, 135, 91K or corporate. If every future professional could fly in the right seat of a turboprop freighter at 500 hours for the next 300-500 hours, the airlines hiring them (and by extension the captain's obliged to bring them up to speed) would have a better trained/experienced product to mold. The problem is, there are not enough SIC seats nor any systemic program to shepherd inexperienced professionals to the next level. Ameriflight has had a program to allow airmen to fly in the right seat, as best I can tell, the FAR's do not require an SIC for its type of operation and there is no incentive to even make this seat even available. In aircraft that aren't certified requiring an SIC, a pilot can't log time toward ME time and as such loses the ability to gain experience while logging time. You still need 25 ME for the ATP but are obliged to seek other avenues to get those hours.
If the requirements for the CPL required more X-country and required it to be after the INST rating while flying on a INST flight plan, at least the 250 hour student would have been obliged to get some real world experience with ATC beyond what is currently required for the instrument rating. There are definitely ways the system could improve the experience new aviators get before they reach the level of a 121 cockpit but as of today the FAA doesn't see fit to use the levers it has to improve the experience level required for the CPL. IMHO, it should.