Originally Posted by
TurbineTime
I completely agree, radio skills are one area that a lot of new guy's will probably struggle in. However, i feel like the airline who is training said new guy should do a better job teaching radio etiquette during the training process. I feel like radio skills are only acquired through a good cfi, and i was fortunate to have one that insisted we fly in high traffic areas where ATC communication was 100% nessacary. That is how i learned, but not all cfi's are like that. So while i agree that radio skills need to be seriously improved upon, I think that standardization of ATC skills should be a part of 121 ground school. If we are being examined in every other aspect of our pilotage skills, the radio should not be left out. Thats pretty scary that the first time real radio skills are used is during IOE, and I can see why that would make a captain nervous.
No, it really isn't the airline's job to teach RT. The cost of the sim makes taxi time and comms training prohibitively expensive. And ground school is no substitute for experience. A good instrutor WILL expose a student to as much as he can, but there is no replacement for going to a busy airport, day after day, during a push. I firmly believe the activity that is the most challenging and
most likely to get me violated is taxiing at night in precip. It sure is a relief to have a useful FO not just someBODY in the right seat.
A 121 airline is responsible for teaching 121 regs, ops spec, and your aircraft. A 121 CA is responsible for teaching aircraft subtleties and ATC quirks. Learning how to fly and talk are the applicant's responsibility PRIOR to the interview.