So let me ask you- ever been through the Phoenix base?
Is it possible that you can't see the military attitude and polarization that you don't like, because the main perpetrators treat you with more respect bc of your background?
Think that's possible?
Of course I have. There's obviously a lot of former AF guys there, F-16-ers from the Luke area. And while there is a lot of them there, I don't think a lot of them are still carrying the "military attitude and polarization" that you think. I spent my first nearly 7 years there as an F/O, and there was only two or three former AF captains that I flew with who still seemed to think they were still in the military. And I agree that's not a whole lot of fun; anymore than the two
civilian-trained captains in PHX that treated me like sh1t, just
because I had been former military.
Also, air tran hired a lot more civilian pilots than military. If SWA is now hiring more military than civilian to even it out, would that be acceptable to you?
Do you think that would be right?
No, of course not. I've never said that. They should hire whoever's qualified, and more importantly, whoever has a good attitude--whether that comes from the military or civilian world. I couldn't really give less of a crap where a pilot comes from, as long as they fit in
this world.
Btw, I have never said that civilian training is better. I would put many civilian flight schools on par with any training, including military, as well as many 121 training departments as pilots make that step to turbine aircraft. But it isn't about training for me. It's experience.
Answer this, why do civilian pilots need 2-4 TIMES the amount of flight time, when they're flight time is the most applicable?
Argue that for me? Justify it?
Actually, you HAVE argued that civilian training and experience is better, even claiming Cessna experience as equivalent to military, as if that kind of Part 91 has anything to do with the kind of flying we do now.
And I agree that it's experience that counts. And that's why essentially every pilot employer out there counts the first 1000-1500 hours of military as "better," or more applicable than the first 1000-1500 hours of civilian time. Military guys are gaining experience in turbines, multi-engines, high altitude, multi-controller environment, and
real cross-country, not to mention international experience, in that first 1000hrs. Not so much your average civilian-trained. Although, as I've said, certainly
after that period, both guys are gaining valuable experience.
And please, not with the 121 stuff again. It's
not the big deal that you want to make it. Literally within 2-3 months in the right seat, the 121 rules are ingrained just like every other set of rules a pilot may have learned. It's the experience flying, running procedures, working airports, weather, ATC issues and irregular ops that matters. And that all comes from time in a seat, and
not whether or not you're used to working with rampers, ops agents and passengers.
And I'm not sure I believe your comparison that a civilian guy needs "2-4 times" the flight experience (and you keep making that number larger and larger every time you argue--later on you even equate 2000 mil hours to 10,000 civ hours). I don't believe it's compared with anywhere near that big of a difference. Especially even after you note that the first 1000 hours of civilian time in part 91 Cessnas bears nearly
zero applicability to what we do now, compared to the first 1000 hours of military.
Whatever.
Why do you even care so much? Who cares who the company wants to hire, as long as they're behind you on the seniority list? Who cares what they did before, as long as they can do the job now with a good attitude? You really
do seem to have a chip on your shoulder about this, and I can't figure out why. We still have
much more than half trained the way
you think they should be trained; isn't that good enough?
Bubba