Very well said. I too enjoy reading/talking about differences of opinion. Worst case scenario, people can agree to disagree. Like I said, you bring up good points, many of which I agreed with being a newhire at a Regional and thinking I knew everything there was to know about flying and sitting in the right seat (I am not saying you think that at all).......when I look back on it now, I had no business thinking I "was all that" at 1600 hours.....much less 200 hours which is what some of these guys are/were getting hired at.

 

I disagree 100%. A College degree should absolutely be a requirement. Does it make someone a better pilot? NO. But what it does is show that someone was dedicated enough to go plug away and get their degree. Separates those that "do" and those that say "they will"...
Not a fix all but definitely a start.

 

Agreed 100%. I tried to say it as well as you in my previous post but couldn't. You put it perfectly.

 

I like this topic and I want to get some input but I feel I got misunderstood.


Here Is a perfect example of an educated person.
By the way he does not believe this economy is bad at all....

I know a man ....(I'm related to him so that should suffice...right....)

So this man is very intelligent.....he has invented so many things .....he is a mechanical engineer.....and an electrical engineer....GREAT....good for him.....he is so successful ....and rich.....runs his company well....pays his 75 employees a good salary .....good company and a tight ship he has going for him.....

AND HE STILL CAN'T TIE HIS OWN SHOES..............

POINT....... if people really want to be good aviators they need to be endulged in the subject. I am a perfect example of that....I spend much of my spare time trying to learn all I can from beginer to advanced knowledge on the subject.

I can't agree with you guys anymore than I can say I AGREE WITH YOU....I do ...I would be happy to see ATP mins as a minimum....But I just do not think a degree should be required....Delta...NWA...Ok cool the majors pretty much have always wanted a degree but I do not think that a degree in just anything is what is needed....Training and individual aptitude is what needs to be looked at here. If you want to weed out people it should be based on skill and ability...If I go get a degree in public relations thats not really flight training... But i'm a great public talker right...Military...you gotta have a degree right...to be an officer..and then what do they do...Train the heck out of em for a year or 2 ....right...so going to school is great...I do and I hope we all educate ourselves for what we want to do...Maybe I'm filling my basket with aviation credentials which some people say is bad because I will have no back up....No..this industry and the economy will come back....maybe not today, tomorrow or the next, but it will come back...and when it does I will be ready and competent and not sold the dream like the (SJS) kids out there.

Now from a personal perspective I have a small piece of advice for a few people out there....maybe you will like this idea maybe you won't ...please give me feedback....

Alot of people like to complain...and they have no problem pointing out problems.....

Answer to that is ( What Did You Do About It )

It's one thing to complain and it's anothwer to take action...so my suggestion the next time you fly with what you believe is a pilot lacking skills that you think he should have....you can do something about it...offer advice ..Tell him...hey I know we are busy right now but call me on your day off and I will kick you down some of my experiance...tell him to go study such and such chapter in the AIM or what ever you think could help this person...even a person with alot of experiance can make mistakes so do not expect everyone to be perfect...We can all do something about this.....or we sit around and complain...

This reminds me of something my father has always said...

"The justice system in this country is a failure, but it's what we got"

We all know what we are working with here and I would rather see positive changes than finger pointing

 

Getting a degree is a starting point. Does not in any way mean one guy/gal is better than the other. Just shows a different level of dedication in my opinion. Those that are arguing against it are the ones without one (I may be wrong but its what im feeling in this thread) If you have a degree, whats the big deal with the requirement?
I am at Delta and LOVE the fact that a degree is required.....again....a fix all? No way. But a starting point.
I will state this again......a person with 200 hours flying has NO business in a 121 cockpit, regardless of how good they think they might be.

 

Agreed, 200 hours is not enough,and no of course I don't have a degree. I still need 50 credits...I'm not saying I don't want one I'm just saying that is not the problem with the industry. All I would like is to see some positive changes and pointing fingers won't lead us anywhere but square one.
If people would spend a small amount of energy and come together on this we could see those changes that everyone wants. ( I know I know...I must be preaching to the chior....)

KC-10 had a great idea....maybe we could advocate for a strict training curriculum that includes subjects that should be intensley tought to potential ATP students. Or something of that nature. I'm all for training and safety.

Another problem is the flight schools themselves...If they would Quit selling these kids on the idea that they are ready to be an SIC with a 3 to 6 month program and be real about the knowledge and experiance they lack to really be a decesion maker....Some of these kids would probably drop the ignorance and the ego and realize it takes alot more than enough money and a trip to ALL ATP's to be a competent FO or CAPT.

Sorry don't mean to come off like I'm against a degree...I'm not...It's just not a logical solution to the problems. Training, Strict aptitude requirements, and intense skill evaluations should be a concern IMO

 

New safety legislation 'is not necessary': FAA's Babbitt

 

So how much more unlikely is the bill to pass now???

 

If the govt wont demand 1500 for 121 ops...then the legacies and other big airlines should form a union or demand from their current unions, that nobody gets hired at their airlines if they never did any 135/91/or significant amount of CFIing. Basically go to their logbook and demand 1,000 PIC before they ever got a 121 job. Just an idea. This would actually protect the big boys from the low end guys taking peanuts and a cool uniform to fly a jet for next to nothing, by not rewarding the mentality of "get to a 121 jet as fast as you can, even if it means horrible pay for 3-5 years." Just an idea...

 

This guys is saying this because he is trying to protect himself. By passing the proposed new bill it shows everyone that this guy is not properly doing his job. He just says, "hey, we've already started working on this," so it looks like he was on top of things. Sadly, I think this is a very clear attempt for him to buddy up with the airlines. As we have seen in the past, there is too cushy of a relationship between the FAA and certain airlines. I think there should be a way to hold both the FAA and the airlines accountable when found guilty of such partnerships like we saw with Southwest.