In my experience, as a former career fighter guy now with a couple years of 121 airline flying in my logbook, the average day in the 121 world does not require nearly the same level of effort or airmanship that most of my flying in the military did because of the mission and tactics factor. In general, what comprises most of the judgment and decisionmaking in a typical airline day is about 10-30% of what was required for a typical air-to-air or air-to-ground tactics mission. Other guys in other areas of the military flying world might have different opinions on where that line is, obviously, based on their own experience in their own mission types.
Don't take it as a slight -- it objectively is what it is. Nobody is saying it to be disrespectful (and I don't think anyone would take what you wrote that way, either), and nobody is doing it to measure wangs or diminish someone else's knowledge or skill. Even within the military flying world we have these divisions between different mission sets and aircraft types.
It is rarely a question of talent, it is almost always a matter of experience.
Most civilian-experienced pilots just don't have the perspective to know, and unfortunately whenever someone with the perspective of having lived in both worlds tries to explain that difference it comes off as arrogance (regardless of intent).
I'll be the first one to tell you that my first day of IOE in the airlines was a total circus act -- despite years of experience in intense environments, I felt way behind what was going on with even just a simple revenue flight. But, obviously, with experience all of this became much easier. Again, not about talent...just about experience.
Either way, this whole discussion is a great microcosm of the difference in perspective personified by the quotes in the original posted article.
). Most of them have been hired in the past three years. Osprey guys are still fooked.
