AIRrAMBO

I'm sorry but thats the biggest load of crap I've ever read. I've taken enough checkrides at enough companies to know that if they want they'll pass you...or give you so many chances its impossible to fail.

And those of you waiting for an accident are also ignorant. Try talking to a regional captain about the extra workload he/she has put on them while there 500-1000 hour co-pilot fumbles around on the radios while the captain is running radar, avionics, and checklists. FAR'S are written in blood and I don't want mine to be a part of it. Safety, REAL safety, requires us to be pro-active in the airlines because the results of retro activity are in no uncertain terms: deadly

The best way to say it is that.....you young guys surely have the knowledge to do so, and flying a regional jet may not be demanding as some other areas of aviation but unfortunatly it has the opportunity to be more deadly and that is why we, as professionals, must take every chance we can to improve safety. Even if that requires us removing ourselves from the cockpits until we've gained more experience.

Now for those of you who don't believe that there are pilots out there that are willing to put off going to the regionals until they start to pay more and have better benifits..youre wrong. The whole 135 and 91 world is full of pilots silently protesting the regionals substandard pay and benifits. And when/if that pay is finally raised to a reasonable level then you can thank these men and women for not accepting these low-ball jobs.

And since were on topic those pilots who are at the "regionals" need to get that word out of there head. A "regional" flight is not JFK to IAH or LAX to DFW. Your just severly underpaid major airline pilots and we continue to self justify that position because hey "its a regional" Its not until we as a group...finally let our balls hang and get pay and benifits up as well as requirements and get them put in our contracts that we will see change.

Unfortunatly many people have seen the light and are either staying out, getting out, or becoming ex-pats in order to makea decent living. And when someone says there is a lack of pilots you can tell them thats bull****. What there is, is a lack of pilots willing to accept ****ty jobs and that go's for all areas of aviation.

There are thousands of pilots not taking callbacks, flying overseas, or sitting in an office somewhere who'd love to come back and fly but they have pride in themselves and there craft and they aren't willing to wal-mart that skill out.

Have some pride gentleman.

sflpilot

Finally someone with some sense. Great post AIRrAMBO! The problem is really the whole seniority system. The new guys say they don't want to wait because they want a seniority number as soon as possible. Change that system and many more pilots would be willing to build more experience before entering the regionals. What a lot of them don't realize is that there is so much movement and instability at most of these companies that the seniority is becoming less of a factor anyway. Of course you still have the SJS crowd to contend with.

Ftrooppilot

Excellent disertation on how regionals are becoming unsafe because of hiring low time pilots. There is a reason.

The regionals are hiring low time pilots because the "high time experienced pilots" won't come back; their pride won't let them.

Pay and pride is keeping them from making regional operation safer.

What happened to "proactive safety . . .where the professionals take every chance they can to improve safety ? "

I think some of them have the attitude, "Let the accidents begin so I say I told you so." and that's not professional.

flyguyniner11

[quote=rickair7777;129202]

I agree that it might be worth shedding some light on the reality. Who knows, if some senator sees an opportunity to rabble-rouse and get some press we see might 121 FO's required to hold an ATP.

quote]

they do it in europe its called a sic type, and i heard the faa is thinking of implementing the same thing

Ziggy

AIRrAMBO:

Well, said. I'm one of them!

KZ1000Shaft

Not sure about other companies, but with passing your checkride my airline issues a type with the restriction of SIC ONLY.

Ziggy

So your saying I should cut my pay in half, so I can go make the regionals safer.
I think I'm a good man, but not a saint!

freezingflyboy

Its an ICAO requirement to fly internationally. At XJT your PC is also your SIC type ride.

DMEarc

Be carefull what your saying sir...

Have you ever heard that the Instrument Rating is just a "License to learn instruments"?

To get an instrument rating all you need to do is demonstrate sucessfully those areas of operation prescribed in the PTS. If you demonstrate them correctly and to standards you get the OK to fly in the clouds as PIC, even though you don't know jack about instrument flying. I think we all know that we didn't know anything about instrument flying until we actually got out there and did it.

With the being said...

Let's say a guy with his ink still wet on his COMM-AMEL ticket goes to Mesa Pilot Program and gets hired. He is trained to pass the ERJ sim. Boom- he's got his SIC in Type. However he doesn't have any real world experience doing anything but training (a little time building during his COMM). Does this give him the right to fly around 50 paying passengers- considering he hasn't even been a true decision maker of an airplane...ever?!

What would be better a ERJ SIC type on a guy who was a flight instructor for 500 hours or an ERJ SIC on a guy who didn't even study for his initial CFI?

Look, airlines should implement a 500 hour DUAL given rule prior to letting guys interview. This would destroy these pay to play programs, etc. This wouldn't raise pay, or improve QOL, but it would increase the competency and capability of the first officers in the cockpit. I too believe that the captain on a ERJ has 51 people to worry about and take care of- why in the hell should he take on one that is going to need the most attention.

Unions are going to have to sooner or later put a clause in the scope saying captains won't fly with any first officer with under 500 hours total time.

Flight instructors make great first officers...19 year old 300 hour wonders (ALLATP guys) belong nowhere near an airliner...hell they can barely fly a 172 straight and level.

So guys, unions, management, let's raise the bar bring some experience back to the cockpit and please please please stop these pay to play programs.

I typed a lot.

de727ups

What he said.....