Hours Per Week

Adam,
Its one thing when your already employed (new hire or otherwise) to apply the fire hose method of learning, its quite another for someone new to flying having to digest lots of information and also have the proper mindset instilled though good mentoring. Alot of what makes a good professional is information learned and (slowly) digested about safety, when and how to be cautious, relating of the failures of others (best gleaned though safety reports and safety related articles and publications). There is so much more than flight maneuvers, and FAR’s. Seasoning takes time. Sure, a 1200 or 1500 hour new hire commercial pilot will bring plenty of recent training, enthusiasm, and energy to there new job, but will still lack experience. You can’t get away from that reality, but the individual needs time to digest and learn. They will be a better pilot for having time to digest their training, and we, the left seat mentors that get to see them first, will be thankful if they bring something other than a shiny New ATP ticket to the show.

I’d like to add, the airlines make a lot of assumptions about what you already know about some aspects of aviation that typically aren’t part of a 141 syllabus. Either you have sought out this information on your own or you took advanced courses not required to obtain a PPL/CPL/I/CFI or even an ATP. For anyone reading this looking to fly above 10000 feet and 150kts, invest in some good courseware or reading about high altitude aerodynamics (with emphasis on jet aircraft differences) and jet propulsion, theory and practical.

Donald,

I am guessing that it has been some time since you looked at a syllabus for an ATP course. All of the things that you mentioned (high altitude aerodynamics, jet propulsion, etc) are covered in great detail in ATP’s ATP-CTP course. I know because I wrote most of it.

Chris

Donald,

Again let’s just agree to disagree because frankly most of the above is nonsense. I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt that you’re saying that a newhire is better equipped for the “firehose” because there’s aviation knowledge as a base (which you don’t say). The fact is transitioning (and “digesting”) the information going from instructing to the right seat of an RJ is equally (if not more) challenging than going from zero time to your PPL. No one nor nowhere did anyone suggest that a shiny new 1500hrs ATP doesn’t need “seasoning”, mentoring or lacks experience. That’s a given. we’re talking about the route that gets you there so why are you changing the subject? Now if you want to talk about “that the individual needs time to digest and learn” and a what makes a “good professional is information learned and SLOWLY digested” I seriously hope you’re kidding? Are you suggesting that it’s not possible for an individual to learn unless it’s done slowly and those that participated in accelerated training aren’t good professionals because there’s a few hundred thousand pilots in the US who’d disagree.

As for the rest Chris addressed that.

I’m out.

Adam

Wow seems I sparked quite the debate on here. Can’t we all just get along haha

Thanks again for the input though guys. It sounds like getting my PPL while studying for and taking those 6 tests may be the best way for me to go for both timing and my own personal finances.