Originally Posted by
forgot to bid
I'm being a smart aleck with the CFI requirement and doing so for a reason.
Sorry then...I didn't realize that you were trying to make a point with the statement with the CFI required comment. I've seen that idea floated many times before on the boards and it usually comes from former CFIs. I thought you were agreeing with that line of thinking and I was attempting to show a different perspective.
Because the problem isn't a lack of pilot hours because again I'll say its ATPs that crash Part 121 airliners. How many hours does a USN pilot (or the more Chuck Norris like USMC pilot) have when they become carrier qualified?
I'm not sure what they have now, but there will be others that can answer that question. I had 440 hrs (due to some civilian time before the military) before I qual'ed in the T-2C. My roommate at the time, who had NO previous flight experience prior to FAM-1 in Primary qual'ed with about 150 hrs. Now after saying that, I'll also point out that those same students by the time they got to my phase of training after getting their wings (with about 200 hrs I think) still had a lot of problems with some basic skills - Basic Air Work and Situational Awareness most often. They would have NO place anywhere near a P121 (and certainly not a P135 single person cockpit) for that matter in my opinion.
The problem is a lack of standards in the FAA, OPs Specs and therein in the airlines when it comes to training, testing and evaluations.
Yes I believe the military trains to a very high standard - for a specific purpose.
I am a fan of the 1,500 hr rule for entrance into the P121 world. I have not really thought of the lowering of minimums for P135 VFR/IFR, but it is an interesting idea if it would not compromise the safety of those operations and still provide the needed experience for later entry into the airlines.
USMCFLYR