I agree aswell. Your part of a crew and your in training to one day be captain/ aircraft commander.

I actually forwarded several airline company "Pilot Minimums" to my state's Congressmen suggesting that they look into the hiring practices of the US Airlines in regard to "potential" future calamities on US soil.

I pointed out what is happening in the industry, concerning lack of "new" private pilot training starts, lowering of minimums, depressed wages, overseas airline increased hiring of US pilots, overworked pilots, poor ailrine management, high attrition rates from pilots, Flight Attendants, and Ramp personnel, etc. . . .

In addition, the Washington D.C Lobby push for GA (General Aviation) user fees by the airlines will completely "KILL" all potential pilot starts because of cost. (Airlines want to pass their costs on to the GA pilot). The airlines are shooting themselves in the foot for their future. By doing this they are ensuring even LESS pilot starts while taking down the GA pilot as well. (More on this topic later)

Wow this thread really shook the house. We got the low timers defending it and the high timers doggin it. This is about 3 posts away from an all out prize fight. Or maybe we should have softball teams - the "hundreds" Vs. the "thousands" . :D

Okay, I'll chime in here. I guess I'm considered a high timer, and when I graduated college in '92, you could'nt sniff a commuter FO job with anything less than 2000 TT. So yeah, I might be a little bitter about having to flight instruct for 2 long years, fly the Alaskan bush for a year and a half, and instruct and charter for another 2 years before getting a decent cargo job on 727's. If this new crop of pilots think they have it tough to build 500/50, I don't wanna hear it. I had 2500/500 before I got a 121 job, and that was only because I had friends working there who walked in my resume, and got me an interview. Say what you want, but flight time and experience count for alot in my book, no matter how good your training was. I would probably be a CA at a major right now if the mins were this low when I graduated, so I guess I'm a little ****ed at my timing!:(

Hell no,

Problems adapting....I just told the Capt upgrade and the instructor that they were now flying with the worlds best pilot and if they had any questions just ask...

And then I proceeded to show them how to do a nice barrel roll and a split S. Boy where there civilain eyes watering....

Come on, I've been on both sides...military, commuter, legacy and Cargo. With a military guy you have to train him how to do the job, it's not like flying fighters. MEL's? FAR's? Waaa? But, you know he will make it thru your training. With a civilian guy, he already knows the job, but and a big but, you do not know where and of what quality his training record is. Both bring something to the table.....

Now, anyone else need an opinion supplied to them just ask the world's greatest pilot.....

all said in fun boyz.....:D

Look at what we are debating here. What are hours, experience right. It is what can be recorded and needs to be recorded for every pilot. What else is there other than the physical license that a pilot can be judged by. Not much, you really cant rate kind of training because two pilot from the same training background can be completely different. So setting a minimum hour is really just the airline trying to prevent some yahoo from applying because he has 200 hrs flying his cessna 50 miles for a hamburger once a week. I mean how many people have flown with a captain with thousands of hours and was still incompetent. Number of hours is just a rough way to estimate experience. Then you can argue different kind of hours, piston cross country, piston flight instruction, jet xcountry, 121 experience, military; which is more worthwile. There is no right answer we as pilots have just gotten used to associating hours with flying ability, when really it doesnt make you a great pilot or a bad pilot. That said the more hours you have the better chance and learning the problem solving skills nescessary for our job, but there is no way to measure that. And like others have said where else are we going to find pilots, I agree that if the pay was higher more would probably be attracted but maybe not.

That is why we have standards, checkrides, and TWO crew.

Yes, very "serious".

Case and point, commuter plane runs off the runway, word on the street is, captain has his hands full with a relatively new fo. Fo was flying. Bad weather go/around to another approach, thrust reversers not armed, landed long etc. Luckily no one was injured.

I had a trip a few weeks ago with a new CA. I had to grab the controls at 30ft, and slow the rate of descent a bit. The ca got it under control and landed fine. Very windy conditons. (no hard feelings afterwards) Ca had not flown in over a month. And no Im not sitting there telling them how to do their job. This was a first for me after a few years. Maby I overeacted. My point is I was so exhausted at the end of the trip because of the constant looking over to make sure they are doing everything right. Catching small mistakes hear and there. Can’t imagine what it must be like to be a ca with a fresh 500 hr fo in a snow storm at ord. Although im sure I will find out soon enough.

And no I am not saying that a 500 hour pilot cannot do the job. What I am saying the airlines are creating a new environment for accidents because of there unwillingness to pay a livable income.

You are waisting your time!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If airlines were forced to only hire high time pilots(1000+/ATP rated), then those airlines would operate just like Mesa. With the critical shortage of pilots, there would be cancled flights, crew trackers waiting at the gates, and days off would dwindle down to the bare minimums.
So, without us low timers you high timers would not be in the positions your in, or the positions your about to be in. In conclusion, stop looking down on us pilots that are accepting WORK with low times and start thanking us!

BW

OH MY GOD THANK YOU!!!!!!!!