lol yeah that kid sounds like me a little bit, cept for the not attractive part

 

Its a touchy subject. I think the age is a bit of a deterent when it comes to making tough decisions. Sure the 1500+ hour CFI will have a better grasp on making good pilot decisions but I'd certainly feel much better if the guy up front wasn't still dripping behind the ears. Say what you will about hours and experience but LIFE itself gives you just as much real world knowledge and experience.
I know at 20, 21, 22 years old I was nowhere NEAR ready to sit up front in a transport category aircraft.

 

It is another way to weed out people without a college degree. You basically can't get a college degree before you are 21, so that plays into the decision.


You have your entire life to fly for an airline. Go to college. Enjoy being 19,20,21,22... you still have 40+ years of airline flying. Why is everyone in a rush to go to a regional. Because it will get you to a major faster... NOT without a college degree. It won't do you any good without a college degree.

 

Age as it applies to decision making skills still have no relevance IMO. At age 25 I've seen better decisions be made by people younger people than guys way older than I. I'm sure there's some 18, 19, 20 year old kids who's had to make tougher decisions in life than most 29year olds? Alot of people lives these days are guided by parents, peers, magazines and what other suggest.

 

Yes I agree to the latter half of your retort and there will ALWAYS be acceptions to the rule. In general folks with more real world experience, the kind that comes with age, tend to be better decision makers ( and of course there are acceptions to this as well).
Candidates for President, on average, tend to be much older because the feeling is the stately, older person has more experience in life to make the important decisions.
Listen, I'm not here to bash the early 20 something pilots. I've flown with some folks in their very early 20's that were really solid in their skills and decisions. All I'm saying is that history has shown us that experience gained over years, decades, better prepares us for the extreme challenges that life seems to like to throw at us. Again, there are acceptions to the rule.

 

Unfortunately its folks like that kid that give us "young guys" a bad rap. I got my first airline job just after turning 21. I have never had an issues. I got hired with 1200 hrs 200 multi. I have an ATP now that I'm 23. Bottom some can do it some can't. I feel like when I fly with the older guys(50ish) I get labled as some kid with 500hrs. Until we get to know each and get they get some background info its like they don't trust me to make decisions. Kinda strange. Maybe its because I'm ultra quiet person. I don't say too much. Flying with guys in there 30's and 40's its never been any issues. Unfortunately I don't think we get any younger than 35 or so for capts at Eagle. Just my two cents FWIW

 

Are those people close enough to 21 that by the time they're done with training and ready to fly the real thing they'd have celebrated their birthday?

 

God, I hope so...

 

This argument about age is completely insane! I have been a Commercial Pilot since I was 18 and proud of it. Yes, I had to work my ass off to earn as much money as I could while being in HS. Yes I had help from my parents and I am very grateful they were willing to help me out. I was a CFI at 19 and an airline pilot at 20. Am I saying all people at my age are meant to be where I am? NO! Are there some my age that are and maybe should not be? YES, but I hope they are far and few and I am sure any good company can rule them out before it leads to a problem. I am sorry some of you guys feel that the younger pilots are ruining the industry. NOT TRUE! There are many 30+ guys willing to fly a "Shiny Jet" for less than 20k a year! It's not the age that's ruining the industry, it is the industry itself. By this I mean the pilot shortages due to due many of reasons, one being the economy. Pilot shortages mean airlines are forced to lower their minimums to find people to fill the seats. This means guys right out of school don't even have to instruct anymore to build time to be competitive. Do I agree with this, no. I believe that instructing and other types of PIC time building are crucial to developing pilot skill and decision making abilites. Again, nothing to with age! Many companies such as compass and others are using larger aircraft that mainline uses and paying 1/3 the rate to save money. Again, nothing to do with pilot age. Sorry, I don't mean to rant and rave about this. It just frustrates me that people are puting down fellow pilots just because of their age. I personally hope I never have to fly with you. As a matter of fact it has never been an issue with anyone at my company. We have 23 year old captains flying with 50 year old FO's. Just my 2 cents.

 

The 727 had a thing called a "Panel". The Panel had a guy sitting in front it (sideways) called the "Flight Engineer". FE's did not actually fly the airplane. Your friend probably spent some time sitting at the panel.

Also, airline safety statistics in the late 60's were quite poor compared to today...do some quick research, there are lot fewer airliners and a lot more accidents. You probably don't remember those little kiosks that sat in every airport...and sold per-trip life insurance