Originally Posted by
Gazza88
I wonder if you were so against the whole notion of 250 hour pilots near the controls of a large jet when you were one of them? Before you were a very senior captain at a worldwide airline on ‘your’ heavy Airbus. How many accidents have there been in the last 20 years attributed to FO inexperience?
Are you trying to imply that I have double standards, and ‘I’m alright Jack, lookin’ after No1”.
If you think I had it easy, your grossly mistaken.
I worked my way up from apprentice aircraft mechanic, to where I am today.
I’m here trying to help, and can do without your lip.
At 250 hours I got my first paying job. It was right seat of a vintage piston twin engine cargo plane hauling high explosives on a Gov’t contract. There were two planes. One was full of dynamite and the other blasting caps. The other co-pilot said he wasn’t going to fly dynamite as it may explode, but was guite content to take the blasting caps.
The first time I got my hands on a Jet was when I bought a Cessna Citation type rating at 1500 hours. Still no job, so I went back to flight instructing. But a short while later I got a right seat job on a Lear Jet. I still instructed and worked on planes on the side. I still do.
The first job with a window seat on a Boeing came at around 2700 hours having spent time as a flight engineer. I was hired by my airline 30 years ago with 3750 hours.
When I say my airline and my jet, obviously I don’t own it. Nor do I own my wife.
But I’m proud to say them all.
So do planes crash because of inexperience co-pilots? Obviously not, but sometimes out there it’s like amateur hour. I think it’s one hell of an imposition to burden a captain with being inexperienced. You are supposed to work as a team. A fat lot of god you’d be if you don’t know your arse from your elbow.