Are European pilots better than American?

[Rez O. Lewshun]

Another difference is the Euro's don't generally have a four year degree, hence the 12+ Theory tests they must endure....

 

[Kenny]

Another difference is the Euro's don't generally have a four year degree, hence the 12+ Theory tests they must endure....

A little misleading; they tend to speaicialise earlier with the subjects they take in high school, hence their degrees don't take 4 years. Bachelors degrees are 3 years and Masters are 4 years. Not because their degrees have lees content just that some is already covered before they get to University. At least that's the case in the UK. All my friends flying commercially in the EU have either Engineering or Science degrees.

Well I can sort of feel qualified to comment on Australian pilots Vs US pilots being that i'm an aussie.

In my opinion the actual flight training in the U.S is better and tends to produce better sticks upon certification. Whereas the flight training in oz I dont believe is as good or comprehensive and also takes longer (as usually schedulling is an issue and it spreads your time out).

Having said that, I think the theory component in OZ is more comprehensive and the exams are tougher.

I guess ultimately its a little like comparing apples to oranges as the hour requirements for a CPL in oz is only 150hrs.

Anyway, ultimately it comes down to attitude and to some degree what flight school you went to but if I had my choice of flying with a low time yank or a low time aussie (say 250hrs) I would take the american anyday.

just my 2 cents.

Mate, try doing your Command Multi IR in Australia. It was by far and away the hardest flight test I've ever done. And that includes the two 121 check rides I've done here in the US.

 

[Lead Sled]

This training though does not make you a better pilot but a well trained pilot. Nothing beats experience in real world conditions.

So the answer to your question is no, we're not better pilots, but we are better looking!

Well said. As for the good looking part, I'll have to give you that - you must have met the guy I fly with.

'Sled

 

[C601]

The ab initio training in Europe is of a very high standard and takes over a year to complete training full time. Oxford Air Training and British Aerospace Flying school trained pilots from 0 to LOFT training. Airlines like BA and Cathay Pacific sponsored these programs. A frozen ATPL means you have passed the exams but don't yet have the flight time (1500hrs). This training though does not make you a better pilot but a well trained pilot. Nothing beats experience in real world conditions.

So the answer to your question is no, we're not better pilots, but we are better looking!

Your 100% correct, If I had the between the 1st 12weeks of ground school 9pm-5pm or 100hrs of flying, I would of taken the 100hrs of flying.

But I think one factor that bridges the gap between experience Vs well trained, is the instructors who train you. Nearly all our instructors where Ex Royal Air Force 20+ year Pilots/Navs. So from there expericence you learn alot, so you make mistakes (hopefully) other low time pilots make due to little experience.

 

[sleddriver71]

Wow, it is really hard reading some of these posts. Some of you people are just plain illiterate. At least read over your messages before posting them.

 

[Cardinal]

Oddly enough, English is not the mother tongue of much of the world, and a thread inviting comments from Europeans is probably not the venue to hash this out.

Cardinal <- avowed spelling Nazi.

 

[Guitar rocker]

Well, Lead Sled, that is exactly my point. Why will insurance companies let European wonder pilots fly jets with much lower time than they do in the US?

Do they know something we don't?

And it is not because there aren't as many pilots around: from what I hear, in Europe, just like in the US, there are many unemployed pilots.

Wait a minute, UAL hired pilots right out of college. Their mins on the app were 250TT, not that they hired em that low, but still. The courts system allows for this, as we all know UAL was sued over minority hiring. So much for insurance in that case.

In all honesty, even if a foreign airline gives their "cadets" 40 hrs of heavy jet time in the sim, after completing the Beech Baron course, it sure would be sporty if this cadet was suddenly in charge of a 777 out over the middle of the ocean after the captain had a heart attack. 40 hours in the sim aint nothing like time in the real plane as we all know.

I am just not sure if it's fair to put the flying public in that sort of risk category. Granted, whats the chance that this could happen??? Small chance, but still.......

 

[sleddriver71]

I guess the final straw was... "Your 100% correct, If I had the between the 1st 12weeks of ground school 9pm-5pm or 100hrs of flying, I would of taken the 100hrs of flying." I wasn't aware of how Europeans talk, my bad.

 

[FN FAL]

European pilots may or may not be as good looking or better pilots, but here's something that's kind of interesting...

http://www.mggraphics.net/pics/POF5.jpg

The next generation M-16 US military rifle is going to be built for the US by the Germans and they are using some really old tech to improve it. There's a correlation here and somehow I think it's going to go right over most of you all's heads.

P.S. Can anyone tell me the significance of the part just right of the rifle's pistol grip? I'll give you a clue...it's ancestry is related to my screen name, which dates back to the late 1940's.

How is it that America is going to be buying their next generation military assault rifle from a country that we had to put down big time in World War II and it's improvement comes from off the shelf tech dated by at least 50 years?

 

[mcjohn]

Ummm...that's the part that goes back to your shoulder?

 

[Cardinal]

P.S. Can anyone tell me the significance of the part just right of the rifle's pistol grip? I'll give you a clue...it's ancestry is related to my screen name, which dates back to the late 1940's.

Pick Me! Pick Me! :uzi: Your answer: A gas piston-upper! Keeps gases out of the bolt and upper receiver by transfering the force to cycle the action through a long piston that lives in the gas tube. As opposed to the 100% gas-operated M16 that can get dirty, and when it gets dirty it gets unreliable.

 

[FN FAL]

Pick Me! Pick Me! :uzi: Your answer: A gas piston-upper! Keeps gases out of the bolt and upper receiver by transferring the force to cycle the action through a long piston that lives in the gas tube. As opposed to the 100% gas-operated M16 that can get dirty, and when it gets dirty it gets unreliable.

true, but why did we have to wait for the Germans to make the change? Eugene Stoner designed the M-16 and the Armalite 18. The Armalite had a gas rod system and was designed to compete against the M-16 for the new military rifle back in the early 1960's. This set up is nothing new.

how does it relate to European v. American pilots? how can you have a job flying Americans around if all the manufacturing jobs are overseas and everybody else is working as minimum wage sales clerks at a chain store?

Where's our inventors and builders of machines?

 

[Say Again Over]

Enjoyed flying many hours with Brit low time wonder pilots, the training they receive must be good, all seemed very good pilots with a good attitude, much more than seat warmers as previously mentioned. I now live in Asia and fly with similar pilots trained over two years before transitioning to line operations in the ATR, then to the bus. Flying into major airports in the Airbus isn't rocket science.

 

[aussiefly]

true, but why did we have to wait for the Germans to make the change? Eugene Stoner designed the M-16 and the Armalite 18. The Armalite had a gas rod system and was designed to compete against the M-16 for the new military rifle back in the early 1960's. This set up is nothing new.

how does it relate to European v. American pilots? how can you have a job flying Americans around if all the manufacturing jobs are overseas and everybody else is working as minimum wage sales clerks at a chain store?

Where's our inventors and builders of machines?

Ahhh FN-FAL you are taking me back some years I learned to shoot on the SLR/L1A1 (our aussie designation) and what a reliable weapon it was. Accurate, sturdy, good size rounds at 7.62mm (whack someone with those and they doint get back up) and the steel butt plate was a perfect fit when impacting someones skull

Australia unfortunately moved to the steyer which is a good allround weapon but imho not as good as the SLR and my groups were no where near as tight with it.

You do take me back some years. I'm just upset I didnt see the message earlier and get to answer the question lol

Cheers

 

[Say Again Over]

Have an Armalite AR-10, great piece!