Originally Posted by
heights good
AG during a world war that millions died and bomber crews were especially hit hard is a far stretch to a mess steward now serving food at FL350 in an air conditioned cabin in peacetime!
You may also note that this role is now obsolete as it was no longer required and professional aircrew and technology now fill those roles where required.
chugalug if you want to be recognised as aircrew, get to the careers office and apply.
Until then, cabin crew are NOT and never should be aircrew, thankfully the RAF recognises this in exactly the same way as GE, Air Dispatchers, MAMS, MICs, Aeromed etc arent.
They are more qualified by orders of magnitude compared to what are essentially waitresses in the sky. I am not trying to be derogatory in any way. I am trying to emphasise that they perform ZERO aircrew functions. Are they part of a crew, absolutely, are they aircrew? Not. Even. Close.
you can take aircrew of any flavour and they will all understand airspace, RT, aircraft tech, air law, principles of flight, ATC, emergency procedures (FRCs) etc put 99% of cabin crew on a flight deck and they would not have a clue and would be no use to aircrew if their input was asked for. I have never flown or operated a C-17, Typhoon, or Chinook, but put me into a cockpit right now and we could fly anywhere in the world and I would be 75% up to speed to get us there safely, albeit not 'fight' the aircraft at the max of its ability.
That is the difference....that is why the RAF doesn't recognise cabin crew as they are just that, crew for the cabin.
Thanks Herod, the temptation is to ignore but he does serve a purpose insomuch as it shows what we and the MAA are up against.
hg, so much pent up anger, I hope at least that having got that lot off your chest you do feel rather the better for it. As to the aircraft you quote I have no knowledge of them either, but I have to tell you I wouldn't want you on any aircraft I have flown, let alone on its Flight Deck. You are a walking CRM disaster! I have flown with cabin crew both in the RAF and the Airlines. In the RAF it was always a one man CC; my ALM. In the airlines it could be up to six (and rather prettier than the ALMs, or can one say that these days?). In both cases their primary duty was to ensure the safety of their passengers, in the air, on the ground, even in the sea. All of them were highly trained and all of them took their duties very seriously indeed. They were all aircrew and totally part of a fully integrated crew.
Thankyou for the gratuitous history lesson. Armed Forces are honed in war (especially ones in which millions die). It is then that stark reality cuts in rather than the esoteric policies of committees that decide that the 'Bomber will always get through' or the Colonel Blimps that bemoan their horses being replaced by noisy tractors tearing up their battlefields. I would suggest that Blimp is alive and well and promoted to Air Marshal these days if the RAF thinks as you do.
Aviation is rather like Covid19. It isn't interested in you 'being more qualified by orders of magnitude' than the CC in the aircraft you are pax in. If it picks you out your number is up, unless your life can be spared by getting you out of that conflagration and down a slide to safety. You won't manage that on your own. To try to do so would hazard others. You will be saved by a trained CC member carrying out their primary role, saving your life (I thought to precede that with an adjective but that would be churlish).