Quote:
Originally Posted by MasterOfPuppets
So what is the point of the 1500 HR rule if it is 1hr repeated 1500 times?
The problem is training and the airlines desire/need to keep their pilot ranks full, not the pilot. If a pilot is weak they should be let go. If the pilot needs additional training it should be provided. Airlines, in order to save money, continually try to push pilots through that don't belong. With very little oversight by the FAA. The type rating rule doesn't make anybody safer. I get the same oral as a Captain and do everything the captain does on a check ride except taxi the aircraft. That failure to taxi is the only thing that prevented me from having a type rating when I was at the regionals. The only reason I was not taught how to taxi was because it required additional instruction time and sim time to get me signed off and that translates into $$.
It doesn't matter how many hours a person has or if they have an ATP or a type rating, some people just don't belong in airplanes. Unfortunately unions and short staffing and money, keep the weak among us.
Most of what you said, I agree with 100%. The only thing I disagree with is your suggestion that the union is somehow to blame.
Even at the majors, since 9/11, training has been squeezed into the smallest possible footprint. At an operation like Colgan, a FFD type operation, their revenue is somewhat set in stone by their route network. The only way they make more money, YOY, is to reduce costs. If you've spent money training some guy and he is marginal but grinds his way through training, you're not going to just fire him. You're going to help him get through because getting rid of him at that point is going to cost more. And that is what happens. If you can charm your way through the interview, they've got too much invested in you to just broom you out the door when your upgrade presents a challenge.
I haven't heard anything about their union protecting his job, so forgive me if that actually happened. I do know he had a history of struggling through training on multiple occasions and was on his 3rd airline??? I don't think the 1500 hour rule is an unfair thing. If you want to be an airline pilot, I think you should be a licensed airline pilot. Read "Airline Transport Pilot rated".
If they can get the FAA to change the requirements for that, then you can get a job with less hours.
EDIT: after posting this, I read a few posts after the one I quoted above and agree with that too. The problem and solution isn't the number 1500, the problem is the airline industry's unwillingness to train to proficiency. The solution IS to have a more flexible course that could make sure someone was ready for his or her role as a crew member, no matter the cost or disruption to the training pipeline.