Originally Posted by Led Zep

That is more what normal is. Getting hired right out of flight school and into the right seat of a jet is not the normal scenario. In fact, those days will probably never return.

Originally Posted by usmc-sgt

This is an easy one. Pilot A any day of the week. I am flying one of the more advanced regional airplanes out there and I can tell you that except for a bit more icing, major airport operations and copying a clearance I have gone a bit stagnant as far as what I was actually learning while being a CFI. I can say confidently that I have mastered flying a vector to a 20 mile ILS.

Being a CFI just prepared me for when things are not normal. Part 121 is a very safe operation and there are just fewer things that go wrong under the close supervision of the large team that oversees your operation. When you are a CFI you are flying at all edges of the envelope in varying weather situations in light singles and twins. When stuff is abnormal or goes downhill in a hurry you are all alone and forced to use your noodle to come up with a solution.

I repeatedly hear from checkairman who get new guys having their FOs freeze on the controls in simple abnormals like a gusty crosswing and literally just holding onto the controls and fixating on the guages and not making the necessary corrections to put the plane where it needs to go. Not saying that experience as a CFI will avoid all of these problems but it certainly lets you know that the plane is just a big 172 and it will go where you want it.

Of course as everyone else mentioned, if someone would hire me right seat in a falcon 900 at 300 hours I would have jumped on it in a second.

Why is it always the non cfis or guys with <200 dual given that always argue this point.

Originally Posted by duece123

USMC

yeah I am pretty sure a dude coming off of AD would have very little problem with any airline training. I only have 350TT but most of that is turbine has been good training focus on CRM and EP's. I am about to finish up C-130 school and wonder how would compare to dude that has CFIed for a few thousand hours. Just want to see if anyone flew with baby mil guard/reserve guys.

Originally Posted by maveric311

Yes these types of pilots can get through a structured airline program very well. Shooting approaches over and over again and getting procedures and profiles pounded into ones head is totaly different than flying the line. But how are you guys going to react when the SH** hits the fan. The lack of experience with stressfull situations combined with the preasure of on-time performance and heavy weather can and does break these guys down. 250hrs is not enough to Safely handle anything that could possibly be thrown at you on the line. Instructing exposes you to intesnse situations and you learn not only how to operate in airspace and busy airports but you learn how to properly respond to stress and deal with the responsibility of being Pilot in Command. What are these guys gonna do if the Capt. (god forbid) passes out or becomes incompasitated. a 250 hrs pilot has never been in the plane by themselves except on VFR solos now he/she is at 30,000 ft with thusnderstorms and icing and has to guide an aircraft full of 50 people safely to the ground on his own. Are you realy ready for that???? come-on, anyone who would say yes to that I would not want to fly with ever!

Go instruct, get ome expereince before you just through yourself out into the world. This job is not a video game.

Originally Posted by Max Glide

I disagree with this whole post. Honestly, teaching as a CFI does not have much in common with regional or major airline flying or the airliners. This concept of logging many hundred of hours instructing only exists here in the US. I have seen CFI who have thousands of hours of dual given time totally flunk out of airline program on the other hand I have personally attended classes with few who never instructed, had low time, and did just fine in turboprop and/or turbofan classes.

Flying freight…well, you need over 1200 hours to even be qualified to fly freight. By that time, you’d have almost 900 hours of turbine time with an airline.

And there’s nothing to be scary about 210 hours of Total Time. I can give you an example of a 250 hour pilot who was hired and trained on a B-757. Perhaps it’s time that we all get off this bandwagon of low-time vs high-time.