Restricted ATP

[KevSauce]

Sorry if this is already an open subject line, but I cannot seem to find any reference to it.

Am I the only one who seems to be disturbed by the new Restricted ATP rules?
Specifically the need for an "aviation" degree in order to qualify for reduced minimum flight time... really?

First of all, At 1000 hours I had three airliner PIC type ratings, a seaplane rating, a helicopter rating with logging experience, 500 hours of international turbo-prop cargo-airline experience, business jet experience in Africa on a large cabin business jet. And these champions of the sky want to tell me that some pimple-faced, anti-social virgin coming straight out of Embry-Riddle as a CFI has more airsense and aeronautical experience than me and somehow deserves a right seat job in a 121 jet-airliner over me or other like me? Yea... OK...

Not to sound like I am bragging, but I also hold a four-year degree in a social science from a top-50 school and spent 3 years towing, fueling and cleaning the lavs of business jets in the snow as well as supervising ops at America's busiest international air terminal. All that before age 30. And yes, I still found time to date women!

I am not bitter, as I am very happy with my current job, I am just shocked at the arrogance of Ray Lahood and his cronies in DC. This whole thing stinks of a "favor" or even a pay-off between the 141 schools and the DOT.

Furthermore, obtaining an aviation degree could be the biggest mistake one could make when committing to a life-career as a pilot, as a minor car accident, slip & fall, or similar event can render a pilot medically unfit at least for commercial ops forever! Unless line-service or perhaps airport ops is where one wants to spend the rest of their career, focusing all your resources and intellect on learning exactly what percentage of airflow static-wicks disrupt (not to mention forsaking a proper college social experience), then rock on!

Any thoughts not from Riddle-heads would be nice! :cool:

[OhNoCB]

I know very very little about the American system but if you're saying that someone with 0 experience gets more credit from having a degree than someone with 1000+ hours and commercial experience then I would have to agree and say that sounds messed up to me. Theory doesn't fly aeroplanes.

[zondaracer]

Yes, the rule is kind of pointless but nobody said that life is fair. Money talks, and I'm sure that when the rule was drafted, the big aviation universities lobbied big time to get those exceptions added.

Not much you can do about it.

My favorite ironic detail of this whole new rule is that someone such as myself can go teach at the likes of Embry Riddle but not qualify for the 1000hr reduced minimums, yet those who I am teaching/instructing will qualify for those reduced mins.

[KevSauce]

Life certainly isn't fair, but putting the 141 schools on some sort of pedestal is absolutely silly and contradictory to the FAA's own standards! Last I checked the PTS were aimed at everyone!

I for one spent 6 months at Florida Tech and left after being forced to perform uncontrolled field entries to utter "flight-team" standards as a PPL as well as holding pattern "correct" entries down to the closest heading degree, realized I was being milked by the instructors for their own PIC time... That, coupled with the fact there were 1000 guys and 6 girls worth looking at that everyone took turns with led me to conclude that 61 training from a retired Eastern Airlines L-1011 check airman was the ideal and more economical way to obtain my ratings. Anyway...

Another interesting point to note that if you go on the FAA's website, only a handful of schools are currently "approved"... The likes of FlightSafety Academy, Florida Tech, ASU, Perdue, etc, don't even show up!!! I guess they haven't paid the DOT their "enrollment fee".

That CFI at Riddle example is brilliant and comical in a really messed-up way...

This is the beginning you watch... next will come the dreaded but long expected airspace user fees and ATC will become privatized and controllers pay will be slashed!

Now I would really love to hear from anyone who actually supports this nonsense!

[Torque Tonight]

Wait a minute. In your first 1000 hrs you had 500 hrs of turboprop cargo experience and the other 500 hrs consisted of three airliner PIC ratings, a seaplane rating, a helicopter rating and biz jets in Africa. Thats about 85 hrs on each of the latter six types. You must get sacked every time you finish line training.:confused: Is your middle name Lucky?

[KevSauce]

HAHA, yea sorry it sort of read that way! :uhoh: The three PIC types I earned were from individual courses I was able to partake in due to various connections. I only have double-digit time on one of the types (737-300).

300 hours of my time is 172 and other little stuff... So I am not that abnormal... :ok: