Originally Posted by
bintynogin
How is that possible. Zero flight time???? So you're saying he/she started at United as a student pilot? Be a little bit more creative man?
UAL did indeed have a "zero-time" program. From around 1965-1967, maybe even into 1968. I was one.
You took all of the tests, including the infamous "stanine". If you passed through all the "hoops" and tests, you had up to one year to get your commercial pilot license. When you started UAL school at Denver you immediately went to an FBO - Clinton Aviation was the one I went through - and you were on the payroll while you got your instrument rating. UAL paid for all of the instrument training.
Everyone started as a S/O back then, my whole class was assigned to the DC-6.
One other item. Back then, even though you were going to be a S/O, you still went through an abbreviated DC-6 co-pilot schhol first. I say abbreviated because systems knowledge taught for this portion was minimal, just enough so you have an idea as to what was happening with the airplane.
The flight training portion was virtually the same as for a regular F/O upgrade.