Because any swinging d$&@ can go to ATP and get an ATP. What's needed is the structured four year degree program in professional aeronautics from established universities like ERAU and UND. Their students have taken classes in advanced avionics, turbine aircraft systems and high altitude and high speed aerodynamics. Plus they will have attended the in house RJ transition course where they will experience CRM and FMS.

 

I've seen some of the courses at places like ERAU. One whole semester was spent in one course learning how to program an FMS. Yep. That's money well spent there. ERAU aviation science degree is a JOKE.

 

No surprise here: when a company owns two certificates (or multiple contracts) it can whipsaw the pilots against each other. When it's done wholly in-house with senior vs junior it's voluntary us vs them economic cannibalism.

 

Wow, Black is a b****. She just blatantly lied during a Congressional hearing because there's no way she's unaware that Great Lakes FO's make $16k, and there's no way she doesn't know how big the discrepancy between regional and legacy pay is. Isn't perjury a felony?

 

All that structured formal training and they can't fly a visual approach at 180kts. The education is excellent, but there is no substitute for the basics. That has been the biggest challenge regional training departments.

I'm a believer in the 1500 hour rule, but the quality of pilots has not improved because of it. As a matter of fact it has forced hiring the same pilots that were rejected at 500 hours, but with another 1000 hours of reinforcing their bad habits.

 

"I don't recall Senator." worked in Iran-Contra hearing pretty well.

 

She's right that structured training needs to improve, but who is going to pay. I remember a check airman told me one of the pilots on IOE tried to forward slip a swept wing jet from a high approach to landing. If the pilot had read "Fly the Wing", Aerodynamics for Naval Aviators, or received at least some good training on swept wing aerodynamics, he wouldn't have done this. I've flown with captains who didn't know about coffin corner, or who didn't consider best long range cruise when we encountered strong headwinds aloft.

There is a gap missing in airline training. Most of us go from recips to jets very quickly, with no step in between. Many go from bug smashers to airline training in a couple of days. But what I don't want to see is structured training as code word for a university degree and flying lessons that the govt. and taxpayer are put on the hook for.

RAA wants to offer metered flows and all kinds of candy that they control.

 

Though I like Sully's points, his motivation has always been scope and taking it back from the regionals, under the guise of safety. We want flying to shift back to mainline, but don't exploit safety and 3407 to do it.

 

The RAA wants something similar - MPL.

 

What people need is a couple of years digging ditches. Learning what it's like to earn a living, working with good and bad bosses. Not sitting in some air conditioned playground that was paid for by mom and dad.