Is this supposed to be a knock on mil guys? Know the details and yes there was pilot error involved. He was also doing flying most people could never come close to doing (notice the paint job). Read the details as I'm not sure many could have adjusted for his error, lived and not killed anyone in the crowd.

http://www.456fis.org/T-BIRD_EJECTION.htm

 

What's your point?

 

No one is *gasp* trying to say a military pilot with zero 121 experience will be a better pilot in the beginning than a 5,000 hour regional pilot. The point you seem to be missing is that the big boys and girls are less interested in your flying skills than they are in the professionalism, leadership skills, and ability to operate in very high demand situations. A monkey can be taught to fly. But a monkey cannot be expected to lead people, be a manager, etc. That is why I think the majors are more interested in military folks, regional pilots with degrees, those who volunteer, and particularly those who have held management positions.

If you're a pilot, you can fly an airplane. If you're a leader, you can bring more to the table. And that is by no means limited to military folks. But from my short time around this particular block, the ones I hear of getting the calls do more within the company than push hunks of metal around the skies.

 

That mil pilots are humans just like us civilians. And even "the best of the best of the best, SIR! With honors!" can make a rookie mistake and write off his airplane in a greasy fireball and barely escape with his life. All that selection process and all that training and then being selected to be a walking recruiting poster and you can still forget to set your altimeter properly and barely live to tell the tale without killing anyone. Get off your high horses.

 

This was such an interesting topic and now its totally out of control. Please take the Mil vs Civ fight somewhere else!!!!

 

Put you in a simulator running the same scenario and 99 out of 100 times you'd be a smear on the ground with hundreds of casualties. His ability to assess the situation, make decisions and react after the stuff hit the fan is far greater than yours and he's a better pilot. Human error happens everywhere. That doesn't change the fact that side by side at the end of the day a military trained pilot is a better pilot and a better employee. If it wasn't true the majors wouldn't seek out mil guys and hire them at lower hours. If that burns you up, that's your problem. Sorry you can't accept reality.

 

I've trained mil guys first hand and I can tell you that is not always the case.

 

Nothing is ALWAYS the case. But no one said every mil pilot or all the time. I can see how it was implied, however it was meant generally speaking. I certainly flew with a couple on active duty that had no business flying the missions, conditions or environment we flew in. They were just fine at less than 2Gs doing milk runs.

 

Better Employee?
From what I see and hear they get hired finish IOE and then leave for MIL then return when they can hold a good schedule or upgrade. Yes outstanding employees if that's what you call it.

 

Wow... You're really giving military pilots a bad name with that attitude. Way to just belittle all your civilian colleagues.


Military or cavilian, it doesn't matter. There are good and bad from both sides. What matters is the PERSON not where they came from...