I read this on another forum, posted by a former co-worker (in response to a related article). I thought I'd put it up here for perusal, debate, and discussion.
I think it is particularly germane right now, with the discussions of raising the minimums for Part 121 to 1500 hours (and at least one well known school attempting to thwart it). In other discussions, much has been made of how other countries utilize low-time, ab-initio pilots. Their is often the tacit implication that these low-time pilots are just as qualified as someone with more "real world" experience - a claim I very much dispute and disagree with. Without further adieu, here are my counterparts thoughts on the matter (speaking as on who flies with some of these individuals - the identity of the country has been sanitized, so as to not distract from the actual pertinence of the observations):
The reason many [pilots] are so reliant on automation is because they have never had the proper amount of time or experience to master the purest form of airmanship; flying manually for them can well be a dangerous proposition. Tough lessons learned from personal experience. Often, I'll let them fly manually when asked, however, when tired or simply tired of holding their hand, I'll either say no or make them keep the flight director on. Many senior types with backgrounds in the military {editorial note - not the US military} are no better and sometimes worse than the sharp young guys with little total time. Like many things in life, it simply depends on the individual and situation. When first arriving in [country other than the US], we couldn't get them to land on the center line of the runway; vast improvement has occurred over the last couple of years. On their behalf, they have mastered the CDU/FMC like no other and put my typing skills to shame. My theory is, their intelligence and high relative technical orientation makes the boxes their comfort food in the cockpit. Some Expat. captains will tell them to sit on their hands and leave the damn box alone. However, their technical proficiency is appreciated when time is short. Unfortunately, this trend towards total automation is the reality for most aspiring aviators today. I'm patiently waiting for the first Drone Airliner from Boeing. God help us all.
If the [somewhere other than the US] public were truly informed, they would fear the fact that technology can also be used as a crutch.
The emphasis at the end is mine, but this is another thing which concerns me with even our training here in the US: With even the lowliest of aircraft having a G-1000 panel with technology which causes a B-777 to feel inadequate, are tomorrow's aviators developing the basic airmanship skills they should have, or are we truly breeding an entire generation of "children of the magenta line?"
Discuss...