Brokeasspot

Do you guys have EFB's, iPads, big ass black boxes each person carries…???

stage5

think just getting more of them electronic would be a great start but probably requires yet another online platform.

Lufthansa/swiss is a good option for Europe but going through travel takes out flexibility.

missing some good Asian and/or Australian options. one day :-)

JRJ57

Nope no EFB's still old school.

A320Flyer

No thanks Gator. I happen to enjoy myself in the opposite standing-up position

NedsKid

If systems knowledge flew airplanes, that kind of qualification would be useful. Alas, pilots fly airplanes, and requiring new training candidates to be FLL FO's (to save $) only ensures nobody who's ever flown an Airbus for long will be attempting to tell current Airbus Captains how to do their job.

Systems knowledge is no substitute for experience.

bigshinyjet

Your statement makes you sound like an idiot.

"I was always afraid of dying. Always. It was my fear that made me learn everything I could about my airplane and my emergency equipment, and kept me flying respectful of my machine and always alert in the cockpit." Chuck Yeager

Flying is not just experience and its not just systems knowledge, it is being well rounded with both to handle an emergency.

Just because a person is in the left seat in a seniority based system does not mean you have more knowledge or experience than the guy in the right seat. It also does not mean you are a better aviator than that incredible asset you have in the right seat.

captscott26

I think Ned's point is that, while systems knowledge is great, the benefit of having line pilots in the training dept is diminshed somewhat without having a good amount of experience in our operation.

bigshinyjet

I disagree Captain Scott, he specifically said Airbus experience. If we want Instructors that have the most Experience in the Airbus that would not be anyone on property here at Spirit! Since we received the Airplane in the last 10 years and it has been around since 1982 I am sure we could look elsewhere for more "Experienced" Airbus instructors.

I say be careful what you wish for you just might get it. Can you imagine a day at Spirit where all of the Instructors go back to the line and the instructor group is completely outsourced? I would hate the idea! I say be thankful for the fact the guys in the training department are mostly line pilots teaching other line pilots!

I am sure nobody on this forum got all of there ratings and then started instructing with no experience!

As far as experience like you are saying "In our Operation". Its a 121 carrier! We have guys that come from 121 Carriers that are so much more complicated than the simple and small carrier that we are. Maybe we should just make them street Captains?! If the measures that people like to compare are time in the Airbus or experience in 121 operations as opposed to seniority that would be interesting to see how things really shake out. We also have guys that come from much more challenging airplanes, should we make that part of the criteria?

How about this, since we know none of that will work... We respect each CA/FO for what he brings to the table, wether he is an instructor, a union rep or even better yet a volunteer, a guy that writes schedules or a guy on the safety committee. Also we learn to appreciate and recognize the benefits having line pilots in our training department, as opposed to the Jetblue like departments that hire professional instructors and outsource training to Aerosim!

If you really want to know who the instructors are in this airline, simply pull out the Captain seniority list and read the names! The instructor group gets them a foundation to make them safe with a type rating, the real instructor group are the outstanding captains that do the real teaching in real world experience flying A320. Some Captains do a great job of that some suck.

captscott26

I have no issue with bringing a newhire into the training dept if he/she is qualified and brings some great experience to the table. My issue is with limiting training dept positions to FLL FO's. This eliminates some people before they even apply. Also, while you are correct that this is a 121 airline, the fact is our operation is unique in some ways, and having an instructor that has flown in our operation for a number of years can be more beneficial to a pilot in training...at least that is my opinion, FWIW.

I will say though, I do think all of our current instructors do a fantastic job. Don't have a negative thing to say about any that I have come across.

NedsKid

Thank you for capturing what I intended my post to communicate, 'captscott26'.

Limiting the position to FLL FO is not done to ensure the best candidate is placed in the job, only the cheapest.

Our 'assistant chief pilot position' is the same way. You MUST be an FO - that's in the manuals.

None of this is a reflection on those who currently occupy the positions. It's not personal.