Jet
Well-Known Member
I have and I'll take that guy that instructed for 1500 hours any day over some one who jumped straight into a CRJ. Yes the guy that jumped into the RJ can fly just fine 99% of the time but he doesn't have the experience of seeing every single way a maneuver or procedure can be screwed up like a CFI does. A CFI has seen 1000's of stalls, ones that are done right and ones that are completely botched. He has learned how to anticipate and recover from those situations. It doesn't matter if he's not touching the controls, he's seeing and learning even while teaching. If something goes wrong I want the guy that has that broader experience flying the plane.
I still disagree in this scenario we are comparing. You listed all of the items the CFI has learned but mentioned nothing the RJ pilot has gained, although I don't agree that we should be sticking 250 hr wonders in the right seat so they can learn the basics, I'm simply compared two pilots after the fact. If you want to be better at bench pressing then you bench press, if you want to be a better CFI, then you CFI, if you want to be a better at your carrier landings in the FA/18 then you practice doing just that. I still agree that the CFI makes a great foundation and I would rather see a 1000 hour CFI head to the right seat than a 250 hr wonder but we are simply comparing two pilots at a given moment in time. One will surpass the other once their relevant experience catches up to the other when you include their foundation but right now in this comparison (all other personal advantages held constant), all we have is a good foundation.