Good point, FlyerJosh, about driving the car. That brings one pilot I know to mind. Another planned a multi day trip with an aircraft, drove to the airport, then realized that they forgot to reserve the aircraft. Said pilot is on their way to instructing as I type. Hours aren't everything, but they are one of the few measures we have to judge other pilots experience when they haven't had a "real flying job".

Sounds like you've got a good handle on GLA. It's tough, just a matter if you can make the sacrifice.

Thats kind of a broad statement. If that is your opinion then explain to me the magical transformation that occurs when a pilot hits that 1000 TT mark. Does Tom Cruise come jumping off a couch and perform some kind of witch craft on the pilot when that hobbs time clicks over from 999.9 to 1000? Judgement comes through education and experience, not through the accumulation of hours. Yes it does take some time but I fail to see how doing 1000 hours of touch and go's makes someone more qualified than flying 50 hours in actual instrument conditions.

*****REALBIGCHAIR****
I agree with you one hundred percent. I don't think simple logbook numbers demonstrate a pilots' ability or knowledge. Just because someone has 1000TT in their logbook that doesn't mean that all of that time was spent flying with a purpose or goal in mind, in fact a large portion of that time could be spent aimlessly flying around in an effort to just build time. The same can be said for flight instructing... I see way too many CFI's relaxing the standards set forth for their students and as a result the student doesn't learn as quickly or as effectively as they should. That said I believe that the quality of the flying that a pilot has done says more than just logged time. I also believe that a pilots' personality and maturity plays a huge part in whether they are qualified to fly for a regional, air cargo, etc.

Side note: I believe that the idea of a 300TT CFI instructing a student is ridiculous... I like the way the Canadian approach flight training. Upon earning your Comm. Multi. Inst. you are eligible to fly right seat in a King Air, 1900, BE99, etc to build time and gain valuable experience flying in weather, etc. and knowledge from the person sitting in the left seat. Then you would be able to flight instruct and earn a decent living instead of this 15-20/hr crap.

A lot of people think that others suffer from SJS or believe that jobs should be given to them, but I have to call shenanigans. If someone can do the job effectively and displays a level of competance and maturity necessary I have no problem with having them fly a regional jet. I understand that many feel this way and believe that people need to "pay their dues" and I don't have any qualms with that, but I do disagree with the way that low time pilots are expected to build time.
I do not mean to make inflammatory remarks that will ensure people rebutting what I have stated but keep in mind that this is my opinion. Just my opinion.

Seems like a very reasonable way to do things. You learn so much as a F/O.

It's easy for us airline pilots to say to these low time guys "Keep instructing" because we're already flying jets/tprops.

Lets stop supressing judgement on our collegues if they make it through training, they were tested the same as us, and should be considered equals.

I see what you are saying, but you are putting words in my mouth and making assumptions. Maybe all you did for building your time is touch and goes, I did more than that. Experience comes from doing and doing is flying. Yes, there are some people out there that have 1000 hours and cannot fly. However for the most of us, by the time we reach the 1000 hour mark (or thereabouts) your experiences will be vastly more than a guy with 250. A guy with 250 hours may be just as qualified and as knowledgeable as you with the 1000. However, the guy with 1000 hours has better decision making abilities due to experience (doing; flying) that only time (doing; flying) can build. You cannot tell me that experience (doing; flying) doesn't mean anything. If that were true than they might as well just hire at the FAA minimums (250 hrs). You can read all the books you want, I try to, but the best and most learning comes from doing it and being there. If are a CFI you know this. Older students are hard to teach but once they learn new information they understand the new information better than a younger student. The reason the older student learns information better due to the vast experience gained or his or her lifetime that aids in understanding and comprehending the new material.

Also, I was generalizing what I think for most people, a good ballpark number is for a good amount of experience gained. No 999.9 is not any different from 1000.0, but 500 is different from 1000. I would only hope that your experience increases with your flight time as does mine. Experience is everything.

Good for them. I still stand by my previous statement.

To each his own.:D

its all about experience, experience, experience, heck....the airlines shouldn't let any pilot be in control of an airplane until he's got atleast 5000 hrs....by then, he'll have enough experience to get him through the tought stuff....

quick question though - at what point does the experience cutoff begin? meaning, you can do all the flying you want to in light twins and singles and gain experience to make you a better pilot, however, there will come a time, when you've got as much as you can from light aircraft, and now are going to start flying a pressurized fly-by-wire jet that's at 40,000 feet, the only way you'll get expeirence doing that is by :doing that(flying).

Another note, if you're trying to make safe airline pilots, wouldn't it make more sense to hire a guy w/ 250 hrs? Hes young, leanring, and will gain the necessary experience in the airplane....and a year from then, he'd actually have more high performance jet experience than the guy who built an extra 750 hrs...