Some can do the job much sooner...others, no matter how much time they accumulate, will NEVER be able to do the job. I know a pilot who, having never flown, went from a C-152, and after 30 days, to a twin jet, and 90 days later, to a supersonic jet. 1.5 years after starting from scratch, he went to a F/O position on a 4-engine jet, and a year and 3 months later, made the equivalent of Captain. Total time from never having flown, to a 'Captain's' position on a 4-engine international transport jet, 2.9 years. 10 months later he was a line IP on same jet, with total time of, maybe, 1350 hours, and 6 months later was a sim/local training IP.

The point is, this 1500 limit may be good, but NOT for maintaining quality...the benefit is to limit entry to the 121 job market. Pure and simple, it is the Guild system. With F/O's making $16,000, and having to commute across the country before starting a duty day, some system to limit eligible starting pilots is probably necessary, to maintain a minimum QOL for Regional entry pilots, and their Captains. Otherwise, Colgan. To maintain quality, you MUST depend on a good monitoring/training program, not just the accumulation of time. Sam