Originally Posted by
acl65pilot
Not in my opinion. Doctors get their MD, then go work for a few years as interns being watched/mentored as the specialize. Engineers and EIT (Engineers in training) before board certification. (Seven exams with essays and arbitrary judgment of their knowledge) Architects the same deal.
Point is that you can hire the ab initio on some level, but they have to jump through hoops. Not time limit hoops, not a Type rating, but situational stuff. Like doctors taking the boards, we as a pilot association need to develop some sort of board exam that does not tie in to a business plan. You know it, or you do not. It sucks, it is hard work, extra work on your time off, but it gets rid of the docs that just cannot think on their feet. That is the ugly truth. The bar needs to be raised in this industry. I agree that time requirements are crap.
An ATP is a good start, but it is not the end all be all, as it can be given by a company examiner. These test that other industries take are given and then graded by third party professionals in the industry. (Lets expand on this in discussion)
Its a good idea. My problem with the ATP is that for a few hundred bucks you can near guarantee passing the written thanks to a quick day class and the actual ATP checkride is a 2-day crash course that again most new low time instrument pilots that just got their IFR rating could easily pass:
ATP Flight School: Airline Transport Pilot Certificate/Rating
And there is nothing to guarantee the quality of the person that gets an ATP or the quality of their flying experience. Its one more hoop, true.
But when you look at the military their screening and training is more intense so that you can have guys with relatively low flight time flying high performance fighters solo off carriers or in combat to amazing and exacting standards. It is to me quality over quantity per given flight hour. Of course it only costs, what, a million or so dollars to achieve that training?
Maybe there should be a program you have to complete centered upon two pilot commercial turbine aircraft operations.
Maybe a one time week long, class work, case studies on CRM, testing with a goal of exposure versus simple knowledge and testing in more unique ways like say the cog test? Maybe it'd have pre-class CDs to complete and the case studies would come from the NTSB, FAA and airlines having a fleet of 200 aircraft or more. Once you pass it then you have a training certificate that is therein required to be hired Part 121.
Instead of learning 1 aircraft and its systems you learn about different systems that'd you'd find in all of the common and current used jetliners. No more 727 systems but rather on an accepted group of aircraft that are considered current: CRJ200/ERJ/MD80/737/756/EJet/A320/A330/777/DHC8/ATR etc.
You'd learn what an OPS SPECS is, how an airline gets one and what it means for you.
You'd learn about ATC and see what it is they see with Part 121 operations from their side of the scope and you'd have to learn about ground delay programs and arrival rate programs.
You'd learn about maintenance requirements, logbooks and how to use MELs.
You'd learn about TERPS and RNAV and RNP.
You'd learn about medicals.
You'd learn about physiology.
You'd learn about the FAA and FAA checkrides and flight checks and the do's and dont's there.
Have it be a canned course at FSI, CAE or similiar venues but absolutely 100% minimize the use of personal instruction or instructor "techniques". Just have most of the learning be a distance learning course and two-pilot CRM demonstrations or testing done in person.
What I'm getting at is something that ensures every Part 121 pilot was exposed at some point to the same basic and vital information and methodologies. I guess you'd be lucky to squeeze that into a week but with CD at home study courses I think you could easily do it.