Originally Posted by
Landflap
n5296s ; well stated. The answer to all this is, of course, is blindingly obvious but airlines,driven by their own beancounters and rewarding them in the process, will never allude to the solution. A return to the glory days of fully sponsored Cadet Pilot Training. IN the 60's/70's, The BA College at Hamble was full of top instructors very happy with their lot. Oxford, Carlisle & Perth were also full of Cadets and, therefore, full of dedicated, very professional, well respected Instructors. Indeed, that level of Instruction was a career goal for many who wanted to be Instructors. Most were ex-mil. Cadet graduates with brand new CPL/ IR's will have received the benefit of very high quality instruction by very professionally motivated instructors.
National carriers should all dip into a funded Pilot Training Acadamy. Draw on cadets would be in proportion to the funding. Ideas around this model have been posted for decades. Indeed, even for a Instruction Career path, Schools could embark on fully funded courses for those who wish to become career Instructors . No one took the bait, it costs too much eh (?)and now we have the result.
I know many career orientated instructors who never wanted to be airline pilots. I know many more instructors, the so called 'Self Improvers' (!) , who suffered sitting around grass airfields as Assistant Flying Instructors through Full Flight Instructors who hated the ordeal and just counted up to hours building targets. After a while, that just became the norm. Awful for both professions, Airline Piloting and Professional Instruction alike.
The main source for commercial schools (ATOs) of FIs historically were QFIs leaving the Services. Once the Services started to contract significantly ( in the 1990s?) then that was the onset of dwindling numbers joining the Commercial flying schools. Not only did they train the ab-initio students, through their STANDARDS DEPARTMENT they ensured that non Services instructors (self improvers) were also trained to teach the customer to a high standard. Minimum experience 1000 hours instructing to join the staff.
So with QFIs reaching retirement, the void was mainly filled by non QFIs. Hardly surprising that the QUALITY control took a bit of a dip. Add to the mix that the remuneration is hardly appealing, then instructing becomes a stepping stone.
The policy of British Aerospace Flying College at Prestwick in the 1980/90s was to pay the instructing workforce something equivalent of a jet FO at that time. 44 FIs of which probably half a dozen or do were 'self improvers'.