Comparing UPT to a CFI check is ridiculous. My CFI check ride (before I went to UPT) was harder than any checkride I've ever done, military or civilian. 8 hour oral and a flight with a gruff old dude that made the biggest hammer at Sheppard seem like a santa. Pilot training was tougher, but only because it was a year long event with ridiculously high standards, whereas a CFI ride was a single event. I'd have taken any of the 10 checkrides at Sheppard over my CFI check any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

I do agree with Drum on the sign. Nothing wrong with the sign, every company with pilots should have a similar sign hanging over the entrances to their ops. It's not so much arrogance as it is attempting to push a mindset of professionalism and excellence.

Technically correct, but have fun listing multiple CFI failures on your app and getting a call from somewhere. One or two you’re OK, beyond that it gets dicey.

A condescending fighter pilot? Color me shocked.

Agree with this 100%. It's dumb to compare them and only serves to have an unproductive sausage measuring contest. There are challenging things about each but certainly the most grueling program is UPT.

I certainly would have chosen UPT over the civilian route because one, while difficult, includes a pretty good paycheck, lodging, a massive support system and a incredible experience/resume booster. The other is incredible expensive and only gives you the right to be poor for the next 2-5 years(sometimes going a week or more without making a dime) flying, at times questionably airworthy aircraft that no one bats an eye about when trying to get a job.

the good news is that we changed that sign so we don’t offend military pilot egos

Old OOfff....the great “Uniter”. .......Good job.

I didn’t say we needed to go back to that. I’m saying the systems training we get now is inadequate. There’s quite a gap between the molecular-journey method and the open-book systems validation. The operation is surviving on the sheer experience of the pilots. That experience level is decreasing rapidly, and I think we need to do something about our training or we risk degrading that level of safety we’ve worked hard to achieve.

CRM & SOP only take you so far. That’s why you see a higher accident rate in the rest of the world. We had accidents with robust systems knowledge & deficient SOP/CRM, they often have the opposite.

As I said the first time, we need better systems training, and the only thing stopping it is money.

Cite an accident please where the cause was a lack of systems knowledge while having excellent CRM and SOP. Thanks

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Not disagreeing with you on the CFI check ride....but... you ever wonder how much your experience helped you at Sheppard? I went to UPT with 10 total hours(thereabouts) after Hondo. Some guys showed up with 1500 back seat F-4 time or several thousand hours civilian. While most were figuring out how to fly a jet...AND......talk on the radio at the same time...”What’s that landing gear warning going off for”?....prior experience is invaluable. Fortunately....we rose to the occasion....many of my acquaintances were unable to do so.....”There but for the grace of God”....fortunately, here we are...no matter the avenue!

No problem with the sign.

If you don’t want to be “the best” (or attempt to better yourself to become the best), then go somewhere else. No one strives to be mediocre.