Originally Posted by
tlove482
Will someone explain how WATCHING someone fly a Cessna 172 for 1000 hours is gonna teach me to fly a jet? I watched John and Martha King for about 40 hours but that didn't teach me to fly the 172. I had to get some experience in the actual plane before I knew what i was doing. As long as they are trained properly, I believe they will be fine. Corporate jobs hire low time pilots like that all the time if they know they guy.
The act of flying the aircraft isn't that hard, regardless of the type of plane (civilian wise). The benefit to CFI'ing comes with you, for once, actively making decisions on a constant basis, putting yourself in different and more demanding situations over time with students, on ferry flights, etc.
I instructed 1500 hours, that was a lot for when I was hired. Did it help me "fly" any better? Probably not. Did it help me become a better
pilot? I would say so.
But you're right, todays crop of regionals will hire with low time. You, as a pilot, can certainly
fly the airplane, low time pilots don't really have any issues with that. Looking back on it, I'm personally happy I took a year and a half out of my life to CFI, meet interesting people, and make connections with 30+ instructors who will help me out down the line. I wasn't missing out on much at the airlines, I actually kinda feel sorry for the folks who didn't experience CFI'ing.