DAL4EVER

I read your bio and I'm trying to figure out where you think we disagree?

BTW, I flight instructed, flew night freight, ferried aircraft, Captain at a regional, all before DAL. So I don't think we're to far off in philosophy or background.

Tinpusher007

And again, Im pretty sure most of us learned our instrument skills on probably a POS C152/172 or PA28 and probably never even heard of a flight director, much less an autopilot way back then. So, I don't see this as being an issue. However, I don't know of too many guys on the line who are going to turn off the A/P and the FD to hand fly an apporach in actual just so they can thump their chest about raw data. Further more, thats not the way the company would have you do it anyway.

DAL4EVER

You guys are right and missing the point. The automation is a tool not crutch. The flight director is reactionary. It reacts to constantly changing attitude, configuration, temperature, turbulence, thrust settings, etc., to compute guidance. I have seen pilots who had to rely on the FD to fly constantly chase it and in so doing produced their own oscillations. I know in the 757/767 it takes 18-20 degrees NU pitch to maintain V2+20 to 1000, 12 degrees to accelerate to flaps up speed, and 10 degrees to maintain 250. I don't need a FD to tell me that. So guess what, that's what I pitch to and lo and behold the FD follows me and locks on to that to tell me I've got good guidance. I don't merely chase it up and down and hope I do what its guiding me to. That leads to an uncomfortable ride for all. And knowledge of this leads mastery to the airplane.

BTW for an RJ, its 12-15 degrees NU for V2+20 to 1000, 10 degrees for 200 knots, 7 1/2 degrees for 250 and 2 1/2 to 3 degrees for 290 enroute climb. Try locking those pitch attitudes and you will find the FD follows you like an obedient dog.

Tinpusher007

The thing is, they really don't teach that in the sim. This is my first time flying anything with a FD and I was taught to simply follow it. Then when I was getting sloppy on my single engine hand flown apporaches and I was chasing it, then I was told basically what you just said...it reacts when I needed to be more proactive. It just seemed like conflicting info from one time to another. I wish alot of it had been said up front. But I learned my lesson. Now if they will just get me to IOE I can develop some more skills.

Lighteningspeed

This is a really good point. This something all good flight instructors try to teach their students. The FD on ILS short final can and have lagged behind and have given erroneous lateral direction guide. Only thing that will save the situation is your eyeball on the center of the runway and your knowledge of the correct angle of attack required to maintain the correct airspeed for the given situation.

flaps 9

Actually we just like those who use proper grammar and sentence structure.

texaspilot76

That was not my intention. I am just trying to make a point with de727ups. He feels that if you spend 1500 hours instructing before going to a regional, you will be safer and more skilled, and are OK in his book. I totally disagree. I spent two years instructing prior to my regional job. Spending all the time in the traffic pattern in a C172 and on short cross country hops in VFR did nothing to prepare me for flying a jet in all sorts of conditions. I can say it may have helped with my knowledge and getting through ground school, but as far as operating and learning flight profiles and operations, it was a very difficult transition and was not in any way like any type of flying I had done before.

DAL4EVER couldn't have said it better. We had guys that instructed for 1500 hours not make it through training, while some of the 300 hour wonder boys aced the training. I rode the jumpseat on company and there was a guy that was in my class that had about 1700 hours prior to hire. Even after a month on the line, he had trouble handling high workloads. Our lower hour guys seem to be having an easier time. Not every case is that way, but it goes to show that flight hours are not a sole measure of skill or what makes a pilot. When I instructed, the old farts that had thousands of hours and years of experience are the ones that scared me the most!

de727ups

"I read your bio and I'm trying to figure out where you think we disagree?"

I'm not saying we disagree on anything. I'm not even sure what the question is. Might be a subject for a new thread.

My comment was simply a response to Texasflyer looking for someone, anyone, seemingly for months, even, to back up his position. Whatever works for him...

de727ups

"He feels that if you spend 1500 hours instructing before going to a regional, you will be safer and more skilled, and are OK in his book."

Now, show me where I said that?

I do believe having the CFI and working as a CFI for a time makes you more qualified to be in the right seat of an airline jet. I also think those going through programs, and taking RJ courses, to get into the right seat of a jet at 300 hours don't belong.

Deez340

I found my 1000+ hours as a flight instructor to be the most formative in my career. Light bulbs were constantly coming on as learning reached the correlation level watching others make mistakes as I analyzed how to correct them. I will say however that there is much more to be gained from CFII instruction than sitting in the pattern with private pilot students. (although that has tremendous value as well) The things you do teaching instruments are the same things you will do for the rest of your career as professional pilot so you might as well master them. Just the other day in the maddog sim I had to hand fly a raw data full NDB approach. I hadn't done that in a little over a decade yet it went great. I'm willing to bet that it had something to do with the hundreds of hours I spent teaching someone else to do it. Like anything in life however, you get out what you put in. So if you are going to spend 1000 hrs in the pattern, hating every minute of it, pouting, and wishing you were somewhere else then do us all a favor and don't become a CFI.

Lots of people argue that they don't have time to instruct, but for the young guys who are stuck in college for 4 years anyway, do yourself a favor and get your CFI/CFII/MEI as soon as possible and graduate with 1500+ hours and 200+ multi. It will serve you well. As I've said before your goal should be to get hired s soon as possible not with as little experience as possible.