Originally Posted by SkyHigh
Dear Bolt,
Please I am highly flattered and honored by your homage to me in every post. By all means leave the quote.
I think that the airlines take an assembly line approach to flying that reduces the actual skill and ability down to near rote memorization. Safety demands a sterile system that mostly removes the human element as risk. The results are that pilots are spoon fed information from dispatch and lead around like dogs by ATC. Airline pilots are not supposed to think for themselves but instead are taught to refer to manuals and decision trees for guidance. In an emergency the crew member is supposed to regurgitate a canned response like a computer and they are assessed by how well they can resemble automation. I don't know if you have any other flying experiences outside of the airlines but I can assure you that it is very different. However, if you like to feel good about what you do and think you are a superman then that is great.
SkyHigh
SkyHigh is right on the money with this one...Through the process that he has described, the scheduled US aircarriers have become the safest place to be on the face of the earth. Safer than remaining at home (318 bathtub deaths last year), safer than riding a horse or mule (at least 200 here) much safer than driving a car (40-50 thousand of those per year) and motorcycles? I won`t even go there. So, if you want to be adventurous, go join the Army, Navy or Marines...The fighter that I flew,(before most of you were born), the Crusader, was meant for adventure. 1218 built, over 800 destroyed in all sorts of aviation adventures, including one that just nearly killed me. I matured, got married, left the Marine Corps and got a job flying those boring, routine,safe airliners for the next 30 years.