Originally Posted by
rudestuff
Sounds like the FAA are trying to provide an alternative to flight instruction to meet Congress' daft 1500 hour rule.
In response to industry demands for relief from having to pay a living wage to pilots is more like it! At least that's one take on it...
While the reasoning behind the US Congress instituting the "1500 hour rule" was flawed and incorrect, the rule appears to have had some positive effect upon the entry-level terms and conditions of employment for aspiring professional pilots. The above document goes further by formalizing a practice which has been around in the on-demand charter industry for years, but left the low-time pilot with a very limited opportunity to legitimately log the time. Under this new scheme, at least the process is somewhat structured and formalized. There is obviously no solution which will satisfy everyone, but this seems a step in the right direction. Light twin and turboprop ops may even increase in the on-demand world as a result. I would have defined the "mentor-pilot" qualifications a bit more robustly if I had written the rule though. The "mentor pilot/PICs really should be qualified as company instructors IMHO.