IrishSheepdog
Sitting in the median
Lately--as in the past few months--I have noticed a disturbing trend here at JetCareers, and in the industry in general. Maybe it is because of the downturn we are experiencing, or maybe it is a generational shift. Whatever the root cause, it appears that many of us have stopped trying to gain education on important operational-related topics, and are focusing much more on political topics.
I'm not referring to politics in the sense of the Presidential election, although that might be included. The politics I am describing is union politics, labor/management relations, contract issues, and so forth.
If you click the "New Posts" button above, you will quickly notice the threads on this board that get the most attention. "McCain brags that he 'fought...union bosses'," "Republic to Operate 12 Embraer E-170 Jets for Midwest!," "Furloughs and open time;" the list goes on. You'll also notice some threads that could be quite helpful for those of us who are still new to the industry, so that we can benefit from the experience and knowledge of those who have come before us.
Another example of this trend is comparing the "Technical Talk" forum versus the "Airline Pilots" forum. You'll see on the Technical Talk forum that most posts get an average of 5-10 replies. Only two threads on the first page have reached 30 posts. However, approximately 50% of the threads you see in the Airline Pilots forum have reached multiple pages. Obviously many people here have very strong opinions and extensive knowledge when it comes to the issues discussed in that forum, so why not the same in Technical Talk? Which do you think would be more beneficial to you as a line pilot?
Sadly, I think most of the technical discussions here are done by CFIs or CFI candidates. It seems that once we have reached the level of "professional," our desire to focus on the addition of knowledge for flying-related subjects ceases, and we turn towards discussions (ahem, arguments) about union politics increases. Why is this the case?
I cannot recall the last time I have read a major airline interview gouge that has mentioned questions asked about the current United or Delta RFPs, the pay rates at Mesaba versus Pinnacle, or the average days off at Mesa Airlines. The questions I see are related to how you conduct yourself as a crewmember, and technical review. So why do we not spend more time trying to educate ourselves in our tradecraft, so we can become more competitive? Is that not the whole purpose of this board?
I do believe education on political issues is important; however, as young pilots, I feel it is less important than developing our experience level and improving our skill set. As a line Captain, I'd much prefer to fly with a First Officer who has strong systems knowledge and situational awareness, than one who is well versed in the contract talks at an airline other than our own.
It has been mentioned here numerous times that every pilot should have a copy of "Flying the Line, Volume 1 and 2" in their library. Sure, I agree. However, there are a multitude of other books and publications that would be even more important to developing a professional pilot. Here are a few of my favorites:
Those are just the tip of the spear in non-FAA publications that have an enormous amount of information that would be beneficial to us. Information we could disect and discuss here between pilots, so that we can go to work and apply that knowledge in our day to day flying.
I truly hope that the current trend is due to the events going on in the industry. If this is a sign of the future of the piloting profession, I am fearful. We need to encourage one another for continued personal and professional development, and right now our focus is not going that direction. Maybe I'm wrong... I hope you'll prove me wrong if I am.
I'm not referring to politics in the sense of the Presidential election, although that might be included. The politics I am describing is union politics, labor/management relations, contract issues, and so forth.
If you click the "New Posts" button above, you will quickly notice the threads on this board that get the most attention. "McCain brags that he 'fought...union bosses'," "Republic to Operate 12 Embraer E-170 Jets for Midwest!," "Furloughs and open time;" the list goes on. You'll also notice some threads that could be quite helpful for those of us who are still new to the industry, so that we can benefit from the experience and knowledge of those who have come before us.
Another example of this trend is comparing the "Technical Talk" forum versus the "Airline Pilots" forum. You'll see on the Technical Talk forum that most posts get an average of 5-10 replies. Only two threads on the first page have reached 30 posts. However, approximately 50% of the threads you see in the Airline Pilots forum have reached multiple pages. Obviously many people here have very strong opinions and extensive knowledge when it comes to the issues discussed in that forum, so why not the same in Technical Talk? Which do you think would be more beneficial to you as a line pilot?
Sadly, I think most of the technical discussions here are done by CFIs or CFI candidates. It seems that once we have reached the level of "professional," our desire to focus on the addition of knowledge for flying-related subjects ceases, and we turn towards discussions (ahem, arguments) about union politics increases. Why is this the case?
I cannot recall the last time I have read a major airline interview gouge that has mentioned questions asked about the current United or Delta RFPs, the pay rates at Mesaba versus Pinnacle, or the average days off at Mesa Airlines. The questions I see are related to how you conduct yourself as a crewmember, and technical review. So why do we not spend more time trying to educate ourselves in our tradecraft, so we can become more competitive? Is that not the whole purpose of this board?
I do believe education on political issues is important; however, as young pilots, I feel it is less important than developing our experience level and improving our skill set. As a line Captain, I'd much prefer to fly with a First Officer who has strong systems knowledge and situational awareness, than one who is well versed in the contract talks at an airline other than our own.
It has been mentioned here numerous times that every pilot should have a copy of "Flying the Line, Volume 1 and 2" in their library. Sure, I agree. However, there are a multitude of other books and publications that would be even more important to developing a professional pilot. Here are a few of my favorites:
- "Fly The Wing" by Jim Webb
- "Weather Flying" by Bob Buck
- "North Star Over My Shoulder" by Bob Buck
- "Fate Is The Hunter" by Ernest Gann
- "Redefinining Airmanship" by Tony Kern
- "Darker Shades of Blue" by Tony Kern
- "Professional Pilot" by John Lowery
Those are just the tip of the spear in non-FAA publications that have an enormous amount of information that would be beneficial to us. Information we could disect and discuss here between pilots, so that we can go to work and apply that knowledge in our day to day flying.
I truly hope that the current trend is due to the events going on in the industry. If this is a sign of the future of the piloting profession, I am fearful. We need to encourage one another for continued personal and professional development, and right now our focus is not going that direction. Maybe I'm wrong... I hope you'll prove me wrong if I am.