I find the 737 was more difficult than the CRJ-700 and EMB-135/140/145. Maybe difficult isn’t the right word—maybe just more “busy.”

The Saab 340 and ATR were much harder than the RJs.

I also find that the current 121 training environment is the least difficult and most friendly that it has ever been.

 

You can get way behind in a 737 and get in trouble in almost all aspects (i.e. flying, or FMS, or systems, etc.) a lot easier and quicker than any Regional aircraft. Anybody who tells you different or that it is basically "the same" is being either disingenuous or woefully out of touch. Yoou know the type, they've been in the 737 way too long to know different, basically any Legacy guy who has been there more than 10 years which is why they always give such horrible advice to new pilots.

 

I’m just gonna say it.

they fly 737s/320s all the time at 250 hours in EU. You’re all arguing with your egos.


There’s also the principle of primacy. If you’re gonna fly the 737 your whole career you have zero negative transference if it’s your first jet.


I think we can all agree these comments including this one are a waste of our time.

now. Let’s talk about how we know more about flying any airplane than management. Because we can all agree with that one! Am I right lads and and lasses?

 

Is this the part where we try to say how experience doesn't matter? (It's rhetorical, I know you dont actually think that).. I know how I would have probably reacted at 250 hrs if we're down to emer-power at night...........Yea europe throws guys in the right seat at real low time, but lets be honest at 250 hrs your still pretty clueless even though you've passed a check ride......Sorry it's my fault, i've got this nasty habit of derailing threads recently.........

 

They crash them more than we do.

 

okay okay…. But is a Miata a sports car? That’s the real debate

 

God damnit.






YES

 

Does it matter if you wouldn't have one?

 

They do indeed. I attribute that primarily to multi crew licenses and no solo time during initial training.

I agree with the person who said we're arguing with our own egos. The advantage to starting out at a large carrier instead of the current regional model is the experience of mentors.

In the 80s (the last time people with wet commercials were hired at big airlines) new hires went into the engineer seat and watched airline operations for a year or two before upgrading to the right seat. The captains had decades of experience and in most cases were able to provide effective mentorship.

I've seen plenty of competent and safe 25 year old captains over the past few years but they lack depth of experience and having them as the primary mentors for the next generation of civilian pilots is unwise.

Pretending that the purpose of the regionals is to reduce the liability of the airline when an inexperienced crew kills people is absurd. Their only purpose (directly stated by Kirby) was to create a C scale wage. In that regard they have been utterly fantastic over the past two decades. Every single pilot should be cheering the end of that nightmare.

 

Absolutely. However the idea thats it'll go away completely...I'm not so sure. The legacies wanted their C scale but they also wanted service to airports that they couldn't profitably serve that would supplement the hub feed and fill their planes. They may want to put a 220 on every RJ route now but they simply cant do it. They dont have the planes and they certainly dont have the pilots. If they did they would have taken the flying back as soon as regionals started to pay $216/hr. Why contract that out when you can take it in house? Answer: They have no choice.

I think the real question is whether or not the CURRENT regional model is sustainable rather than imploding. They have been forced to pay starting wages that compete with the legacies and Captain pay that would theoretically keep pilots from going to at least the ULCC's. How long will that last? Most regional pilots will still leave to go to the big 6 which is still an astronomical number of pilots that will leave. I think that several regionals will go away and a few big ones will survive in a smaller form. Best guesses how long the hiring continues and how long until the regionals no longer need to pay these wages and declare chap 11 and reduce those contracts back to a true C scale...