WHY WHY WHY..why R we hiring 210 hr pilots?

[pilotkppsg]

Hey pilotyip, did you really fly the Flying Fortress? If so how'd you swing that and what was it like. I saw Aluminum Overcast a few days ago in Ohio.

 

[pilotyip]

B-17 Awesome!!

Yea on the B-17 is awesome, just got done to a tower fly by at DTW for a retiring ATC Controller. How did I get to fly the B-17? I started flying the C-47, 20 years ago for the Yankee Air Museum, hung around cleaned offices, and bused tables at pancake B'fasts, washed airplanes, worked on event committees. I got noticed, never complained and two years ago I was invited to become the Director of Flight Operations for the Yankee Air Museum, and asked to become qualifed in the B-17. It is a big old airplane where nothing happens in a hurry, it is almost so stable that it is hard to make last minute large corrections. It does not respond to power changes, so being stable well before you arrive over the runway is the key to getting on the ground. Power off near stall landing is the way to get it on the ground, over wise it to wants to porpoise if you make wheel landings. On take off you have to use differential power to make it go straight until the rudder becomes effective, which will depend upon what the crosswind is doing. It is a fantasy for me because I was raised on the stories of B-17 crewmembers. I know I am truly lucky and give thanks every time I get a change to fly our B-17. And "I can not resist" In W.W.II you did not need a college degree to fly the B-17, and I think those were pretty capable pilots.

 

[pilotkppsg]

That's cool, i've always wanted to fly one of those, my grandad was a ball gunner in the ETO. I've got a bunch of old bomber flight gear in my house and I thought about dropping the 400 bones to fly on Alumin. Overcast, but I wanna sit up front, not at the waist.

 

[fastbird]

Big difference in the military....it's working for the GOV'T and you're signed up for a lengthy training CONTRACT. Plus, the pay rates are set by DoD and Congress not some whipsaw minded CEO. Huge difference.

There's an article in the WSJ..."Weak Unions enable Corporations to seek Big Concessions." How are they able to do that?

It's because some snot nose brat is willing to work for less just so he be an airline pilot. Or, it's an old fart who only wants to be a pilot and will take what ever job he can get as long as it's flying an airlplane.

The old fart's position can be rationalized. But, every new idiot who comes into the business with that SJS mentality is weakening the status of career field. We're descending to the rates of bus drivers and we're loosing the "Glorified" moniker in the process.

 

[atpcliff]

Hi!

Any flying organization, but especially large, public ones like an airline, want to get the best qualified pilots that will it into their organizational culture. So, the reason that U R hiring 210 hour pilots is that you can't get 3000 hr. pilots, and the 210 ones are the best qualified ones that will work in your organization.

Things will only be getting worse over the next 5-15 years, unless something unexpected happens with the oil situation.

Boeing, Airbus, Embraer, Bombardier, Gulfstream, Cessna, Beechcraft, and all the VLJ cos. had about their best years ever last year. The number of new airframes coming online is staggering. NASA predicts 20K light jets by 2020.

The pool of pilots is stable, so with these upcoming new aircraft, there will once again be a "shortage", probably unlike any we have seen before.

It seems like a crappy situation for us now, but it will be improving soon. One example of this is the big raise given to the NetJets pilots. We arent' seeing it in the airlines too much yet, but it's coming.

Good luck!

Cliff
ABY

 

[IFlyFL410]

ABX Air has 250 hr pilots in the right seat of their 767's.

I seriously doubt that.

 

[Ty Webb]

ABX Air has 250 hr pilots in the right seat of their 767's.

No, they don't. They have pilots furloughed, and the most junior CA has been there for 11 years . . . . nice try, though.

And if you really think that 215 hour pilots are "Hired because they demonstrated they can handle it", then you need to post again when (if?) you get out of flight school and into the real world, Sport.

Looks like you're having a tough time even "handling" the message board.:laugh:

 

[YourPilotFriend]

If training is done properly, you can hire zero time guys right out of high school.

 

[Ty Webb]

If training is done properly, you can hire zero time guys right out of high school.

Hah. If this was true, NWA would be recruiting your replacements right now at your local high school, Chief.

But if you really believe it, hey, more power to you, but the days of "God in the left seat, assisted by Radio Boy in the right seat" has long since passed, and for good reason.

 

[urflyingme?!]

"Our students get hired at Mesa"... I don't think there's any guarentees, at least the Gulfstream guys get real experience whether it's a 1900 or not.

tell the 1900 guys from Gulfstream who payed to sit in that seat to come fly an approach to mins in the dead of winter at ohare....then they can say they have expirience.

12 out of my class of 13 got hired. One guy didn't, and there were a few supporting reasons why he didn't.

As for your approach to mins in Ohare, I think I can handle a 35 mile straight in, thank you.