ExperimentalAB

Please, no offense buddy, but that is exactly the reasoning that every one of the weakest Captains I've flown with has for his job...

Aztec1

Quote" This job really isn't about flying the airplane. If you want to fly airplanes, you're better off doing something else than the airlines. This job is more about following rules, covering your ass, and staying legal. There are so many ways to fry yourself out there, get violated, suspended, get a PRIA letter, etc."

Seems like a good discription of flight instructing.

mrmak2

To respond to the original question, I believe the airlines will be very profitable within 2 years. This is because the capacity reductions and ticket prices are excessive for the higher fuel costs right now. As the price of fuel stabilizes and possibly comes down, and as the less profitable routes are eliminated the airlines will recover.

All the furloughed pilots will be recalled in a year and hiring will begin again within 2 yrs. I would advise you to instruct until then and your timing will actually be very good because you will be qualified to get hired at the beginning of the next hiring cycle.

Northwest727

Thank you so much for the advice, I appreciate it. I can say that I am interning at a regional airline, and building connections, so I can only hope that this will be the "stand-out key" that you guys are all talking about. Apparently, I get a guaranteed interview at the end. Anyways, thanks again, much appreciated.

fjetter

An internship will always help as often times interns or former interns will have reduced mins, but most importantly it gives you contacts inside the company, especially if the have you working for a CP or something. Just make sure that as an intern you aren't an ass and they would like you to come back to work for them.

MikeB525

What about former flight attendants???

Dash8Pilot

Also good, as long as you were a decent employee. The company would always prefer to hire someone they know is a good employee, than an unknown.

Zapata

That is one of the most ignorant posts I've read in a long time. Flight instructing does indeed provide for experiences that contributes to airline flying. Among others; PIC decision making (a skill you don't develop as well when a Captain is holding your hand), interaction, planning, stick and rudder skills and overall airmanship skills that you obviously don't fully understand yet. As another post said; Airline flying is easy. However, when the turds hit the fan is when airmanship is demanded in an abnormal or emergency situation, give me the 2000 hour CFI over a 300 hour wonder boy with SJS any day.

At my employer, it is the glass cockpit button pusher RJ pilots that have the most trouble during training. However, someone with a solid background flying round dials that actually can figure out a holding entry when the heat is on are the ones that do well.

I suspect you will disagree because you will not be able to understand until you mature and gain some experience. I suggest checking your attitude because the longer you have that chip on your shoulder, the longer it will take you to understand.

stobelma

You are absolutely right I am going to disagree because my experience is probably much different from yours. I'm guessing you were probably an option one person with tons of experience as a flight instructor so you would not know what it is like coming to an airline with very low hours. I had the opportunity to get hired at less than 250 hours and do some instructing as well before I started ground school so lets look at the way most flights schools are set up where a good number of people who come to the airlines come from.

Flight schools, like the one I came from, usually have some sort of operating manual to first and foremost maintain the requirements for their insurance company and to operate in the safest way to protect the students, employees, and their assets. The school I learned and instructed at had a larger book of regulations than the current airline I work for. So PIC decision making......you don't get to make too many decisions whether you are a student or an instructor when it is clearly spelled out for you what you are required to do. Interaction.....well seeing you are taught to fly as a single pilot and teach people to fly as a single pilot.....there is not much of that going on at all. I could get better person to person skills doing a lot of other things than just flying an airplane. We interact with people daily and whether it is inside or outside the airplane, it is all the same in my eyes. Planning....seeing everything was pretty much electronic for us on the ground, there was not much of that going on at all. In the air, well if you can't figure out how long its going to take to get somewhere, when to start checklists, start descents, and speed reductions, then your instructor clearly failed as you should have been able to do that as a private pilot and even more so as a commercial pilot or CFI. On to stick and rudder. Flying a piper warrior is much different that a transport category aircraft. You operate them differently and fly them differently, yes the aerodynamics are the same but smoothness and accuracy is part of your commercial checkride and if you can not do that....then obviously you should not have passed. And then on to overall airmanship skills, i will agree with you on this one although it is quite broad. There are some general things that you will learn, nothing really safety related, that does come with time. A low time pilot sitting left seat should already understand this and absorb as much of this as possible.

One thing that I think is very important is to get your CFI, CFII, and MEI because not only does it give you more options career wise, but also it bring to a higher level of knowledge. Now actually using those certs I do not think is as important because of the reasons stated above.

I came from one of the largest schools flying both dials and glass, automated and automated, cold and hot, and calm winds and gusty. I instructed for a bit and I know the experience that comes with it and I do not think it is worth nearly enough to let an airline offer go. I do not fly a shiny jet and I do not fly a glass aircraft so I do a lot more than just sit there and watch the computer work.

The broader message of my last post was that if the option to go to an airline is there.....take it. Do not be one of those people who miss the opportunity and have to sit around for the next couple years instructing to most likely end up at the same place they could have been years ago. If instructing is your only option at the time....by all means do that to keep flying.

I will not attack you, your abilities to comprehend, or your maturity but like you said.....we will probably never agree......

ExperimentalAB

Stobelma...come on man, we all agree it to be a bonehead move to not take a job when offered.

But you cannot argue that a 300 whizkid will be as valuable in the cockpit as a more experienced Pilot, regardless of where that experience came from.