Commuter airlines' underpaid pilots are plain scary!

Basic FOI stuff here man. You don't ask a pre-K child to complete an algebraic equation now do you?

I'd consider it pretty irresponsible to toss a person with little actual aviation experience right into a box or airplane flying instrument approaches. But, that gets back to what exactly are these people going to get with an MPL? What? Cross country training? Pilotage and dead reckoning? How are they to really understand turbine engine failures if they never really experienced a piston engine failure and forced landing (or simulation of such)?

Sure as hell doesn't sound like a safe way to bring people into the profession, for themselves or the people they'll be transporting.
:yeahthat:

I'm interested in actually seeing this study and hearing what the terms / conditions of any MPL program might be.

Me too. My gut tells me that there's no way they could make the selection criteria rigid enough to ensure there's 250hr pilots capable of operating an airliner safely, but who knows.
 
I'd be interested to learn how you think LEDs make such a huge difference, and whether all those DC-9s out there have them too. For that matter, any but the newest airliners.

30" radar dishes? Sure bigger is better, but again, it's not THAT big a deal. If a 30" radar will pick it up and a 24" won't (I don't know how big an RJ's radar is I pulled that out of my rear end), it won't kill you.

So far you haven't made your case for equipment being better at majors.

Actually, only the DC-9-10 series don't have LEDs, the rest do.

The difference is that there has yet to be a crash of a transport turbojet equipped with LEDs due to ice alone.

The size of the dish makes a huge difference on the distance you can pick up the weather with resolution adequate to avoid it. At jet speeds, bigger is definitely better, by a wide margin.
 
To make it simple, ALPA should just adopt the Lufthansa ab initio training syllabus. Those pilots obviously have nailed the concept of aircraft control.
 
The problem with the European-style programs is that if we applied the same criteria they apply, half of us wouldn't be in the cockpit.

They do a LOT of pre-screen testing on aptitude, mathematics and other cognitive tests before you even approach training. And it's not just "Maff fer piolets" and "Grammur for tokking guud" like most aeronautical science programs.

A pretty good writeup a few years ago: http://www.jetcareers.com/content/view/28/50/

However, in my opinion if we need to move towards ab initio programs because GA's been killed off and other traditional routes like the military dries up, I hope we move more towards a UPT-style training environment mixed with more cognitive testing, and bring back the was-hout because today if you've got the cash, you're not going to wash-out of a program.

Looking at some of the more high-profile accidents in the past few years, I think we could use a little more "You're going to have a great future at Truckmasters, but flying around fare-paying passengers and cago on a multimillion dollar aircraft? Not so much."

JMHO.

And yes, I may have been washed out myself in a process like this, but it's not about me! :)
 
I do not have information to confirm or deny the quoted statement, but I stand by the stats on safety, and that includes AE. The equipment itself is not as capable, and there are differences in a lot of other areas, from work rules to training, to the overall experience level (the F/O, maint, dispatcher, etc, experience level matters also).

You mean like this:
 

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However, in my opinion if we need to move towards ab initio programs because GA's been killed off and other traditional routes like the military dries up, I hope we move more towards a UPT-style training environment mixed with more cognitive testing, and bring back the was-hout because today if you've got the cash, you're not going to wash-out of a program.

Believe it or not Mesa's program was set up like that. I routinely saw students get asked to leave (or rather, not continue) if they didn't finish in time. This wasn't always the fault of the student and wasn't always a reflection on their piloting abilities; I've flown with 1 or 2 at my current company who had that happen and they are great pilots, but that was Mesa's SOP. Mesa didn't want their money if they didn't complete the courses in time.
 
No way experienced AA pilots could do that....that's the type of mistakes only the juveniles at the regionals do!:D

I can find one-off examples of anything, but the fact remains that the entire system, from the top down, is different, and it is reflected in the stats. I have seen the inside of both. Have you?
 
I can find one-off examples of anything, but the fact remains that the entire system, from the top down, is different, and it is reflected in the stats. I have seen the inside of both. Have you?
Really don't have any arguments with your views on this thread, but please I feel like you are about to uncloak as an alter-ego to mr. velocipede and start calling us kids. Quote the stats and make your reasoned argument. Please don't lose the message with the patronizing delivery.

The size of the dish makes a huge difference on the distance you can pick up the weather with resolution adequate to avoid it. At jet speeds, bigger is definitely better, by a wide margin.
Actually that would be the systems PRF / PRI and the software to interpret it on your screen with today's modern solid state systems. I doubt the modern day rsi (radar screen interpretation) amongst most 121 pilots is comparable to anyone trained in the military say over 10 yrs ago.
 
Really don't have any arguments with your views on this thread, but please I feel like you are about to uncloak as an alter-ego to mr. velocipede and start calling us kids. Quote the stats and make your reasoned argument. Please don't lose the message with the patronizing delivery.


Actually that would be the systems PRF / PRI and the software to interpret it on your screen with today's modern solid state systems. I doubt the modern day rsi (radar screen interpretation) amongst most 121 pilots is comparable to anyone trained in the military say over 10 yrs ago.

The tone of my response was a direct result of the sarcastic post I was responding to.

Regardless of the technology to interpret it, the size of the dish makes a big difference. The technology helps, but remember that same technology is also installed with the larger unit, maintaining the advantage.
 
Regardless of the technology to interpret it, the size of the dish makes a big difference. The technology helps, but remember that same technology is also installed with the larger unit, maintaining the advantage.

Having flown the E145, 717, 737, 757, and 767 I can fully back this statement up. The tiny dish on the ERJ really only had a useful range of forty miles. The radar in the Boeings can see out to 160 miles pretty well. I was pleasantly surprised when I started using it at how well it could paint the weather so far out.

There was a fun little statistic out there that said that ExpressJet had the highest number of lightning strikes in the industry. There were multiple theories as to why, such as: pointy airframe was like a lightning rod, pilots with no fear of thunderstorms but, the one that most folks believed was just that our radar sucked. You could get suckered into a hole real quick.
 
when I'm on a plane, especially one of those little commuter thingees, I want to hear a lot of hi-ho, hi-ho coming from the cockpit. Pay them lots and lots of money, put them up at the Ritz and make me kiss their rings before I can board if it means I land with wheels down.

Yeah:nana2: I'm all for that.

But seriously. Good article.
 
The resolution that ALPA passed talks about going 40 years without any advances in training requirements. When you think about it, it's absolutely true that our current method of training pilots is not geared towards producing professional air line pilots. It's geared towards producing hobby pilots, and then the airlines have the rush them through a compacted training course to turn them into air line pilots. A training curriculum that focuses on producing air line pilots from the beginning actually sounds like a legitimate idea. Should we be forcing students to study chandelles and lazy 8s, or should they be focusing on instrument skills, engine failures, lost comm procedures, emergency descents, etc...? I think the latter is far more productive.

Sorry, but that is the worst idea I have ever heard!

Have to agree with Zmiller on this.

If the 3407 Captain had actually sat his ass in a Cessna for 1000 hours teaching/learning stall recovery then this thread probably wouldnt exist.
 
The tone of my response was a direct result of the sarcastic post I was responding to.
Gotcha. I still would like to see some of those statistics, inferential or descriptive that shows the difference in safety between the regionals and majors. I would prefer to be on mainline aircraft, but statistically I would guess the difference is insignificant. If you have a source, then I would then once again invite you to post it, as I would be very interested.

As far as Equipment? Well that depends, comparing an 20 yr old ATR 42 to B737 800, that is a no brainer but what about a new CRJ 900 or Ejet to a old nwa DC9?

Homogenization is what is happening here. Every year we see the regionals get better equipment, longer routes, bigger city pairs and the aggregrate crew experience is going up. I think the public should demand it as well. I would love to see crew qualifications addressed by the FAA and industry.
 
Homogenization is what is happening here. Every year we see the regionals get better equipment, longer routes, bigger city pairs and the aggregrate crew experience is going up.

I'm not so sure about the overall trend of "aggregate crew experience going up", unless you're just looking at the last few months or so. I didn't look at any stats, but I'm thinking the trend towards hiring sub-1000 and even sub-500 hour pilots was driving things the other direction.
 
I'm not so sure about the overall trend of "aggregate crew experience going up", unless you're just looking at the last few months or so. I didn't look at any stats, but I'm thinking the trend towards hiring sub-1000 and even sub-500 hour pilots was driving things the other direction.

Good point and that is precisely why I said "aggregate". What I was referring to, and it is just a WAG based on anecdotal evidence, is that many folks are making the regionals a career than in the past, and I have flown with many 5 digit (hours not fingers)captains. Guys with 10k, 12k, 15k, 18k etc are not extremely rare. Many guys I have flown with have no intention of sending off resumes regardless of whether the majors are hiring or not.
I may be wrong.
 
Sorry, but that is the worst idea I have ever heard!

Have to agree with Zmiller on this.

If the 3407 Captain had actually sat his ass in a Cessna for 1000 hours teaching/learning stall recovery then this thread probably wouldnt exist.
:yeahthat::yeahthat::yeahthat:

DINGDINGDINGDING!!!! We have a winna!!!!! In my last 1000 hrs of instruction, I have learned more about flying than I ever did going through my certificates. To the point that seeing a 250hr instructor just doesn't seem to cut it. Sure you can fly the PTS, but do you really know what the eff your doing? I sure didn't. I could fake it real good though.
 
One of my really good friends is a retired Delta guy...retired off of the 777, #3 in seniority, Check Airman on the airplane...got hired at Delta and started flying DC-6's as a FE in 1966. He's seen just about everything you can in an airplane...he's written numerous articles for Flying and Bonanza Owners.

I met Johnny when I was a freshly minted CFI from a big name school (DCA for those of you who care). I was a 300 hr pilot who was very green. Johnny gave me my checkouts in the flight schools airplanes. He had me do all the commercial manuvers to PTS standards...why? Because he said before he would send one of his students up with me, he wanted to make sure that I could safely handle the aircraft and divert my attention/multi-task. One thing I'll always remember him telling me that "You'll learn more in your first 100hrs as a CFI than your students will".

Being a CFI for 1000 hrs, atleast in my simple opinion, is one of the best things a potential airline pilot can do for themselves.

Being a CFI teaches you how to work in a busy cockpit with someone else, how to be observant of the other persons actions, how to make timely PIC decisions (when to take the aircraft...etc), and adds more experience to your bag (the one you want to fill up before the bag of luck runs out).

I say keep the Lazy 8's and other commercial manuvers!
 
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