Sign of the coming hiring boom

[BuzzSaw]

Pilot Shortage, Blah, Blah, Blah, Pilot Shortage, Blah Blah Blah.

Show me the money! I've been hearing the junk since 1999.

Buzz Saw

 

[Gr82Aviate]

maybe those are the duds that shouldn't be flying for a living and couldn't pass the 1/2 dozen eval/interviews they've had prior to being hired... who knows?

There is such a thing as a pilot who has no business flying tho, we all know them... sad thing is this profession has a hard time getting rid of weak performers for some reason.... don't see this happening with Doctors, and certainly not surgeons.

Sadly, this is not really the case... I used to fly around a couple of surgeons that actually made a really good living correcting the botched surgeries previously done by other surgeons. In fact they were extremely busy, and had more cases than they could handle.

 

[pilotyip]

Yip adds interesting opinons and perspective to these conversations. Don't bash him just because you don't like what he is saying.

Looking back, my experience in hiring these guys who fly the single pilot piston twins, like the Airnet pilots, is that almost without exception they are very good instrument pilots. They fly raw data in the clouds at night, non-precision instrument approaches into uncontrolled airports. Some of the weaker inst. pilots I have seen come out of the modern turbine airplanes with all the automation, coupled capability, and FMS technology.

 

[Trcb777]

Sadly, this is not really the case... I used to fly around a couple of surgeons that actually made a really good living correcting the botched surgeries previously done by other surgeons. In fact they were extremely busy, and had more cases than they could handle.

So true. Ask anyone who works in a hospital and they know the good surgeons and the bad surgeons. Hell, when in college I was working at a country club and one of the surgeons was nicknamed "the butcher".

There have been pilots who landed at wrong airports and surgeons who cut off the wrong leg, removed the wrong kidney, and a big one is leaving tools in the patients. Any profession will have the good, the bad, and the ugly.

 

[jmreii]

Looking back, my experience in hiring these guys who fly the single pilot piston twins, like the Airnet pilots, is that almost without exception they are very good instrument pilots. They fly raw data in the clouds at night, non-precision instrument approaches into uncontrolled airports. Some of the weaker inst. pilots I have seen come out of the modern turbine airplanes with all the automation, coupled capability, and FMS technology.

A pilot is taught throughout his or her career to operate the aircraft according to the equipment available on the aircraft. If the aircraft has a VOR and two ADF's you operate it accordingly whereas the aircraft with the glass and FMS you operate it accordingly. It's either management's way or the highway, so beat it!

 

[jmreii]

Ever think of what is going to happen if you are on the tail end of the hiring?
People in training now are not going to be able to go from zero hours to 1500 to regional airline captain to majors on less than 10 years. We are already seeing 5 year plus upgrades at the regionals. Figure 2 years min to go from zero to 1500. 5 years to upgrade. 2-3 years as captain to get hired at a major. 10 years give or take.
Those who are starting today are going to be very disappointed at the time it will take to "make it".

Not to mention the only way management can keep their bonuses up is to keep salaries/benefits down for the masses.

 

[ASA_Aviator]

Looking back, my experience in hiring these guys who fly the single pilot piston twins, like the Airnet pilots, is that almost without exception they are very good instrument pilots. They fly raw data in the clouds at night, non-precision instrument approaches into uncontrolled airports. Some of the weaker inst. pilots I have seen come out of the modern turbine airplanes with all the automation, coupled capability, and FMS technology.

Agreed to some extent, but it all depends on what you mean by "instrument pilots." It sounds like your definition is "ability to fly raw data with round dials and old technology."

Of course the guys who fly that way on a regular basis are better at flying round dials. It would take me a minute to warm up to a DC9. It would take a DC9 pilot a minute to warm up to an FMS and glass airplane too. However, I don't think that it means that I'm not as good at instrument flying. I'm very good at flying instruments in the aircraft for which they pay me to fly (EMB 190). If I start getting paid to fly a DC9, I'll learn that plane, and be just as good in that equipment.

 

[gearjockey]

Agreed to some extent, but it all depends on what you mean by "instrument pilots." It sounds like your definition is "ability to fly raw data with round dials and old technology."

Of course the guys who fly that way on a regular basis are better at flying round dials. It would take me a minute to warm up to a DC9. It would take a DC9 pilot a minute to warm up to an FMS and glass airplane too. However, I don't think that it means that I'm not as good at instrument flying. I'm very good at flying instruments in the aircraft for which they pay me to fly (EMB 190). If I start getting paid to fly a DC9, I'll learn that plane, and be just as good in that equipment.

It may take you a "minute" to warm up to a dc9, but it would take at least 100 hrs to get "hot".

 

[Jetjockey]

Pilot Shortage, Blah, Blah, Blah, Pilot Shortage, Blah Blah Blah.

Show me the money! I've been hearing the junk since 1999.

Buzz Saw

Some of us have been hearing that junk way longer. Like the 80's. Pilot job shortage..........yeah right.

 

[Theoden]

I understand that you are passing this on, but I do have to question the logic here. Are all low time pilots excellent, but then become poor performers the more experience they get? If so, will hiring <800 hour pilots mean they will become poor performers between 900-1500 hours at the regional? Or do they only lose brain capacity while teaching others how to fly? How does this work?

LOVE this post! I've seen great pilots who came from all over the spectrum of experience. Generally it seems to depend on attitude and effort.