Does FOFT = Ab Initio?

[surplus1]

As for the young captains at some carriers .......- The fact is that EVERYONE of them had to PASS the exact same sim checks, line checks, IOE, etc., etc. ,etc., etc., as the much older captains so with that being said I will rest my case.....- That is just a fact since airlines don't incorporate different sim and line checks for different ages. (food 4 thought)

C H E E R S

3 5 0

See my comments to Typhoon about the checkride stuff. What I'm talking about is not flying skills and "young pilot" isn't chronological age.

You can have a 23-yr old pilot with 5 years of excellent and solid experience. At the same time, you can have a 50-year old pilot who hasn't done much more that fly around in the practice area and the pattern for 20 years. In that case, I'd much rather have the "young" guy (age wise) in the left seat.

Judgment can compensate for low hours to some extent. I don't think it works the other way around no matter how old you are on the calendar.

Hours, depending on what you did in those hours, give you the exposure to different scenarios that I call experience. If you have the rest of the "right stuff" you'll be able to make the right calls.

 

[BigFlyr]

Re: Enigma,

Why do I (today) see so many very green pilots seeking employment in their first airline job, asking "how long will I be on reserve" and "what's the upgrade time"? They barely know how to keep the airplane right side up, yet expect to be "captains" over-night when in reality, they have no clue as to what being an airline Captain really means.

Their first "airline jobs" are the ones that they want to grow out of as soon as possible and with at least 1000hrs of PIC turbine time, that's why they want a quick upgrade. Not to mention that FO pay at a regional is never above poverty level. If their first "airline jobs" were with one of the majors, then they wouldn't care how long it takes to upgrade because the money is there as an FO.

As far as a true "ab-initio" program in the US... it never has and never will exist because there are enough opportunities out there for pilots to get the necessary airline qualifications.