I'd like to see that 777 CA try flying a single engine PA-31 on a dark and stormy night as well.

 

I never have been able to figure out how the regionals get away with putting low time people in jets. Wouldn't their insurance provider have a say in that? The cessna 310 I flew corporate in in college required 750 hours for the insurance and the king air 200 I fly now required 2500 to be pic. Working for the regionals sucks. Don't be in too big of a hurry to get there. I quit one of the best regionals for the king air job and I don't miss it at all. Well I do miss being able to fly for free but that's about it. It doesn't take that long to develope your flying skills. I'm only 24 and I have nearly 3000 hours, 2100 of which were prior to going to rah. In the year and a half I was there I only flew about 700 hours. One month on rsv I didn't fly at all. The flying is definitely routine and boring. It doesn't develop you as a pilot like flight instructing or charter or freight etc. You should learn how to fly on your own before you get into an airplane that is meant for two good pilots. You will also earn a lot more respect from the captains that you fly with if you come from an experienced background.

 

I think the 777 captain would have enough sense to not fly a PA-31 on a dark and stormy night. Experience influences decision making and a lot of good decisions are made before entering any cockpit.

 

Yeah, but a 300hr pilot would probably go. Thats the difference between a 300hr guy and a 3000hr guy (common sense).

 

If the FAA approves it, then its all good.

 

My response is that with so many "emergencies" in such a short period of time... what ADM are you practicing in continuing to fly aircraft from that provider.

Again, anybody can be trained stick and rudder skills and through practice how to track courses both horizontally and vertically. The hard thing to teach is when NOT to do them in the first place, and that come with time.
My question about your ILS to mins, would be, what was your fuel state while doing it, where were your alternate airports, and what was the weather doing enroute and at the alternate...

Nowadays, actual is a difficult number to quantify. For example, is somebody getting actual in a C-172 that is /G with a fully coupled autopilot, moving map displays, and all the bells and whistles.... or in a C-172 that is /U with dual VOR's and one GS... two very different skill levels required.

Stop while you're still ahead.

Ok, then perhaps you can explain why IOE times at all the regionals has gone from 20-25 hours, to 65-100 hours? The IOE Capt's are having to teach people how to fly, instead of orienting them to airline operations, and providing tips & pointers on the best ways to get the airplane to operate smoothly and efficiently...
The reason part 121 does not have the higher hiring minimums that 135 has is because you are not being hired as the Capt. In 135 you would in all likelyhood be the PIC and be the final decision maker... and everybody, including the FAA, agrees that the level of decision making for PIC, especially single pilot PIC, needs to be higher. In the 121 world they know you will be SIC, and they count on the PIC to oversee your actions and prevent disaster.

Nobody is saying you can't take a low time person and put them in a jet. What people are saying is that they typically take much longer on IOE, are still learning how to fly, and are making mistakes that more experienced pilots would not make. If not for the general high quality of the Capt's in the industry we would be reading about many more accidents this past year. Capt's now are having to litterally watch/babysit new FO's since they do stupid things at terrible times, forcing the Capt's in many cases to take the plane away. The four IOE Capt's I know personally at my base have some real horror stories this past year.... and that is just one base at one airline... yet they say the same thing has been going on industry wide this past year with the low time pilots.

So, please.... you can play devils advocate all you want.
I live, see, and hear it everyday. The FAA will allow you in the cockpit because they rely on the Capt to keep things safe... So, if that is what you really want to do, the go do it... but don't fool yourself into thinking it's the safe thing to do. If you can't go fly checks in a Cessna 172 by yourself, why should you be allowed to pilot a transport category jet by yourself? Now, before you point out that the Captain is there... I want to point out how often they are not. Frequently, human beings need to visit the restroom.... during those times, you are by yourself. AThe age 60 rule has changed to age 65, and nobody yet knows what the full ramifications will be. Last year a CAL FO had to bring a 73 in after the Capt went TU.... so, it does happen.

The point is, we can play what if games all day. The facts speak for themselves. IOE times are up, Capt's are getting stressed out from having to teach/babysit, radio etiquette has erroded, violation actions are up, ASAP reporting is at an all time high....

 

Common sense is the key. But because we are all human sometimes the common sense pendulum swings the other way too. In other words, covering up the amount of hours and focusing instead on the common sense aspect will probably point you to the more qualified of the two. In the case of the 777 captain and the PA-31, I would assume he/she would make a good call based on good judgment.

I'm not claiming to be an "old pro" in this industry, but I've seen people with very low flight time exercise very good judgment. I've also seen people with very high amounts of flight time exercise very poor judgment. Like I said before, we're human.

 

Not exactly, FAA regs and insurance company requirements are two different things. For example, according to the FAA if you are a private pilot single engine and you are endorsed to fly complex and high performance aircraft you should be able to fly a piper malibu mirage (350 hp single engine retract). But according to most insurance companies, you would need to have a certain number of minimum hours plus simulator training from simuflite/flightsafety/simcom etc. in order to be insured on the aircraft. Legal doesn't always equal safe or smart.

 

Me thinks he was being slightly facetious...

 

I feel like this thread has become a big balls trade show.