the UK flight training system is broken
"The Harrier pilot, on the other hand, would have to pay the training organisation because he cannot fly an Airbus. "
Ha ha! So he can land a Harrier on a moving target (Invincible class carrier) in poor weather but has insufficient skill (or should we agree: money!) to fly an Airbus?! Ever heard of transferable skills?
AdM - did you pay for your type rating? It is not about why a harrier pilot should not pay and others have to. Rather, why should any talented pilot pay for a TR or anything beyond an ATPL/ATP?
TRTOs were originally licenced for the benefit of the airline: To train their own pilots! CRM training and LOFT was in house for all crew. TRTOs were not touted to the public for P2F or any other schemes until CTC and their ilk came along. Outsourcing to a 3rd party is not the most effective way to build a team or improve CRM.
Further down the pipeline, the advent of JAR meant the CAA rules changed and lowered flight time requirements (700h reduced to 200h) for a CPL/IR and negated exams like BCPL/CPL to go straight in at ATPL multi guess level.
The Pilot Mills and LoCos took advantage - yes business is business. But the effect on experience levels in the cockpit and oversupply of frozen ATPLs in the UK has not been fully appreciated until recently.
Having 10 to 20% cadets is one thing (perfectly fine if well selected and trained) but 70% at Gatwick ? The CAA might disagree but maybe Mgt really want 100%?
Comparing CTC cadets (post 2008) to Lufthansa or RAF pilots about to start at an OCU is like chalk and cheese.
Assuming they all start with the highest possible IQ and hand eye co-ordination (i.e.: all capable of becoming harrier pilots if that avenue still existed!), it is clear that the RAF training is superior and would create a better aviator whilst the CTC one would produce a generally under confident but good button pusher/SOP monitor.
Studi might advise about Lufthansa whose cadet scheme is very similar to the original BA/Hamble example (not todays self funded, £84k up front for CTC/ARL to look after,BA version). Suffice to say Lufthansa do not charge for training. They even pay your travel to interview. Indeed, Lufthansa CityLine would pay the cadet/DEP around 20,000Euros as an extra bonus on top of normal salary for staying in for 2 years. The German cadet system is more about being good enough not about being able to pay. They also use Citation biz jets for part of the training - not simply an MPL with 75h flying in light pistons.
When a doctor qualifies do they have to pay for training on the surgical instruments they use in operating theatres. Do they rent those theatres (without financial gain) to practice on the public? Does a Tube driver pay for the specific type of Tube she drives? Does she pay to drive those carriages for the first 6 months and then get told to move on into unemployment so another driver who wants to pay for 6 months can take over?
When a punter pays a just a few £GBP (pre tax) for a LoCo flight do they realize the Pilot occupying the front RH seat may be subsidising the flight by effectively paying to work?
BB/AdM : would you send your nearest and dearest on a company flight knowing the RHS is occupied by someone paying to get 100h on an A319? Or someone under a Pilot Mill scheme who scored 95% in their TR exams because they had copies of the test papers supplied pre test?
Is 3000h from CTC cadet straight through to A320 really good experience to cope with the likes of a double engine failure at 3000 feet as per Flt 1529 Hudson river?
If we had not had that example of airmanship/with that hindsight would the CTC crew have done the same? A CTC TRE running a B737 JOC was asked to demonstrate a double engine failure senario in March 2008 - he was shocked: "we only do single engine failures after take off" !
CTC - for SOPs fine (if they are the same as the airline you are promised).
for anything else? It's your money -at least for now.
Last edited by angelorange; 20th Feb 2012 at 16:00.