According to the FAA one of the definitions of slow flight is: The establishment, maintenance of, and maneuvering of the airplane at airspeeds and in configurations appropriate to takeoffs, climbs, descents, landing approaches and go-arounds.

So in essence yes we practice slow flight in airliners daily.

 

There really isn't a difference. It's called being on your own & gaining situational awareness. It was never just about teaching stalls. You had to constantly be aware of your students abilities, and where you were going if the engine quit. Where were you going on a cross country if your student became ill? What happened if a thunderstorm popped up and you couldn't get back to your airport? Seems like simple stuff now, but to low time guys who haven't made a lot of decisions it's can be complicated.

I put my instrument students in IMC all the time. I wasn't teaching them to fly under foggles. I was teaching them to fly in IMC. Never did I intentionally, but I did get into ice or near thunderstorms, & it taught me a lot.

I had plenty of 500 hour puppy mill FO's when I was an RJ CA. We got along great, but many of them lacked the basic situation awareness to really operate the airplane in a 121 environment. One flew me right through the localizer on a visual approach to parallel runways in 10 SM of visibility because he didn't have a Flight Director to follow. I should have never let it happen, but I went heads down for a minute and he's 8 miles out doing 250 kias blowing right into the path of another airplane. Others couldn't even do a visual approach without an ILS to the runway, even if they had a PAPI/VASI. And don't even get me started on when we were down in Mexico!

I had over 1100 hours when I got hired at my regional, and I don't think that was enough time. It took several months on line before I was comfortable. I strongly support the ATP requirement. Your Pt 135 experience is a great way to cut your teeth too, and you have to have quite of bit of time to be a 135 PIC. We need to shut down these pilot puppy mill operations, because they continue to hurt this occupation.

 

Disregard.........

 

It doesn't matter. 1500 rule can't physically happen. A career circiling the drain = no future pilots. They will have to make training harder or something, fix the "law" but low timers will be here to stay.

 

There is a tremendous amount to be said for CFI experience during the 250 to 1500 hour range, especially since the airplane is flown in a lot of regimes that are seldom if ever seen in scheduled operations(particularly 121). That said if Captain Renslow had done some CFI'ing instead of 250 hours to the right seat and "Gear up auto pilot ON" The stall recovery would almost certainly have gone satisfactorily. There are many other flying "jobs" that build or solidify flying skills that should be flown BEFORE 121 where the risk curve drops. Then fly for a regional to get experience for the airlines don't skip steps, that leads to an incomplete pilot.

 

Again, the law has been past.
Again, 1500+ was the de-facto rule for years. Those hired with less than 1500 should feel very lucky.

 

Flying pure visual approaches: The "box pattern" turns into an ovoid. Straight ins with no vertical guidance, the guys aren't sure when to leave pattern altitude, or what rate to descend.

On non-precision approaches: The don't mentally plan a VDP. We break out eight miles from the runway at 600 AGL, and you really want to start your decent here? Or, the missed approach point is the runway threshold, 2/10ths of a mile out the clouds part, and he wants to dive for the runway.

About half the time we get non-standard holding instructions they cannot figure out where we are supposed to be of how to enter (usually they invert it). I know it can be confusing (that is why I still draw it out on paper), but that is basic IFR.

In the round out or flair or whatever is the current term for the last 20 seconds before touchdown. They never learn to be smooth. Winds calm, speed is good, power coming back, and they are sawing away on the yoke like a logger. The plane never rolls, but his hands and the ailerons are goin' like a bat outa Hades.

 

What? You got a problem with doing a DME arc to a tear drop to a VOR approach without radar?

 

You are the exception to the rule. In fact the FBO that I got my tickets from doesn't even allow training on "non-vfr" days

 

Speaking as an FO, I have done 4-5 "saves" of captains who were blowing past our runway to line up on a parallel